Dallas Sightseeing

Janet, Rosie and I spent Saturday sightseeing around Dallas. After breakfast, we left the boonies to go back into the city. We met up with Rosie's aunt and uncle, Julie and Mikal, at the Dallas Galleria. She hadn't seen them in years, and they showered her with gifts and attention.



There was a marionette show that we watched in the mall. Nothing like seeing puppets moonwalk to "Thriller."

There were large animal statues that we had fun taking pictures with

The Galleria Mall had an AmericanGirl Doll Superstore. We had fun figuring out which dolls looked most like each of us.

After the mall, we took pictures at the DallsTemple. It was the last place I could take pictures with my real camera because my memory card was full and the batteries died. The rest of the pictures for the trip were taken on my cell phone. We had a gigantic Texas-sized meal at On The Border Mexican grill: virgin daquiris, queso appetizer, entrees, and dessert. We ate so much, six hours later we were still so full that we couldn't go to Babe's Chicken. Sad...I was looking forward to it.
In the afternoon, we met up with Janet's husband Jon to tour Dallas proper. I was so proud of this cool picture with the Reunion Tower in the background.

We walked around the "grassy knoll" area where JFK was assassinated, and walked to his monument. The Mardi Gras celebration was beginning, and some more questionable characters started streaming into the city, so we left just before the parade began.



In the evening, we went back to their house to play Rockband and watch The Mummy 3. The flight loads were pretty iffy for Sunday, so we bedded down early to take me to the airport at 5:00 am.

Revisiting my past in Texas

This weekend, I'm in the Dallas area with my good friend Janet. We have been friends since 1993. We grew up in the same neighborhood, have many common friends, attended YW together, were in drama in HS together, our parents are friends. We have a lot of history. Her dad is a very senior captain for Skywest, and has been one of my husband's aviation mentors. Our birthdays are both in February, and we try to do something special with/for each other every year.

Last night, we flew in to DFW, Janet and her husband Jonathan were waiting for us as close to our gate as they could. They greeted Rosie and I with big hugs. Only one other time in recent memory, when Liz picked me up from LAX a few months ago, has a friend actually gotten out of the car and been my welcoming committee. It was so awesome! (Not to say I don't appreciate all the times I've been picked up at the curb...it's probably saved me thousands in rental car expenses)

The stars at night, actually ARE big and bright...*clap clap clap clap*...deep in the heart of Texas!We got dessert at Braum's on the way back to Little Elm. The caramel on my sundae actually rivaled Leatherby's as my favorite. Instead of Leatherby's creamy, hot and drippy sauce, Braums has thick, taffy-like caramel that is just like homemade caramels. Once we got back to their beautifully decorated home, I crashed into bed around 12:30.

Today we've got a lot on the agenda. After some amount of consideration, we are going to be meeting up with Rosie's aunt and uncle at one of our sightseeing stops. Yes, that would be my ex-husband's brother and his wife (who I must add, looks incredibly similar to my ex) I don't think I've seen them since before he and I got divorced. They are very sweet people who hold no animosty toward me, but it feels a little strange. Actually, the whole extended family is great...but we had some rough patches through the whole court experience.

The last time I was in Texas was at Christmas in 1999. My ex and I came to spend 5 days with his brother's family. My funniest memory of that trip was going on rollercoasters at Six Flags over Texas. I looked at the signs on the rides, and kept laughing, "Good thing I'm not pregnant! I love rollercoasters." One week later, my pregnancy test was positive....and nine months later Rosie was born. Maybe she's so awesome because she went on thrill rides in utero.