Posted on 02/01/2013 2:42:49 PM PST by morphing libertarian
I’m a sucker for the old places.
One of the best thing about the State Capitol is that a tablet depicting the Ten Commandments remains on the grounds. Here's Greg Abbott in front:
In addition to honoring God as the foundation of our country's values, its mere presence drives liberals crazy!
I’m two miles from mission san Luis Rey, very active parish and the old cemetery still in place
I could not agree more!
It really is a “must see”
Note that since I'm 70, I remember when downtown areas used to be nice, with motion picture houses, family-oriented restaurants and department stores.
The only time I've visited Dallas was for a few days in August, 1966. We stayed in the downtown area. I believe the hotel was called the Dallas Hotel--it was a large, white, multistory building that was quite impressive and stood out in the city's skyline--although old-timers from Dallas whom I have met don't recall a hotel by that name.
In any case, we found Dallas to be a pleasant city, with family-oriented restaurants, just as you described it. We ate at one that served particularly good steaks, although I don't recall its name. And we visited one of the motion picture houses to watch the movie "Batman."
In the sixties, Dallas was known for its conservative politics, which drew the ire of liberals, as reflected in the Warren Leslie's bestseller Dallas Public and Private--Aspects of an American City (New York: Grossman, 1964), which trashed the city. However, I understand that Dallas has long since turned "blue."
Lots of old missions in San Diego.
I think there are 14?
I lived in SD for 10 years.
You didn’t say you were coming from California. There are missions in New Mexico and probably Arizona. If you are driving from California, Fredricksburg is an interesting old market town, shops and art galleries. There are small old Sunday houses where families stayed when they came into town for Saturday shopping and Sunday church. Some of them are now bed and breakfast places. Fort Worth Stockyards area has stuff going on. You can ride a longhorn steer and have your picture taken on it if you are able.
Dallas is now Blue on Blue
In 1966, I walked over to Dealey Plaza from the downtown hotel where I was staying. At the time, it was merely a park and an intersection. The famous school book warehouse nearby was probably still being used to store books. I saw nothing to indicate the area’s historic significance.
When you go to Casa Rio on the Riverwalk to eat, catch the boat there for a Riverwalk boat tour. San Antonio is my favorite place to visit.
My mother, who once owned property in Oceanside, knew a realtor who was a parishioner at San Luis Rey.
I fled Dallas long ago. But I sure miss the way it was.
I second the nomination of the Dallas World Aquarium. It is totes awesome.
That caught my eye when I visited Austin in 2000. I was amazed that the ACLU hadn't gotten rid of it.
Just curious before I make a suggestion. Do you have kids that need to be entertained? Are you interested in upscale restaurants or home cooking?
I will say that as far as bbq goes, I would get off of the beaten path on my way up from San Antonio and go to Lockhart. Of course taste is subjective...but Black’s is the best I have ever eaten (outside of my own, lol).
God bless Texas! Great advice on this forum. I seriously want to move there in a couple of years I just have to establish my career first.
Just me
Love down home most types including chili and bar b q
Noted, sea world with grand pups three months ago
I’m fallen away and wife at Calvary chapel oside.
Coincidently we are both re brokers
Putting on my list thanx
Flying in
I have wires in my chest. I’ll eat some steer, but no rides. Lol
I read that you were going to Dealey Plaza. Afterwards, I would grab a sandwich and take a trek to Fountain Place on Ross Ave. It’s pretty cool. The Frontiers Of Flight at Love Field is very interesting...and the Perot Museum is really cool. I thoroughly enjoyed it...without kids.:)
Lots of great suggestions on this thread. I have to concur that Fort Worth is a friendlier environment. The Stock Show may sound like a cattle auction...but it really isn’t. It is a lot of fun. Lots to do.
Down home eating..Babe’s (several locations) is my fav. Served family style.
Hook, Line and Sinker (Lemmon Ave) serves excellent catfish, shrimp and grilled seafood.
Motor And Maple (location in name) serves a great homemade burger.
Although Texas is not the Mecca for Italian food..Sal’s Pizza (Wycliff Ave) rocks.
I hope you have a great trip!! Please report back!
They will help you up on the longhorn long enough to have your picture taken. We won’t tell that you didn’t actually ride it. ;*} Best of luck with your chest wires, Mr Ditter had the same 5 years ago and he is fine.
Checking out the Rodeo web page, I see them saying they were "the original indoor rodeo".
Which brings to mind one that used to be in Mansfield, which billed itself as the first permanent indoor rodeo (every Fri or Sat. nite, can't remember which.)
I'm afraid I couldn't find the place if I drove out there, since Mansfield and Arlington now blend into one another...been gone 30+ years and can scarcely recognize the place.
Guess now I'm going to have to Google "Kowbell". It used to be what Mansfield was known for. Now, everybody seems to be driving everywhere...and there's a lake covering where we used to cruise around drinking beer, with houses allover the places where we used to drive along slowly, mooing at the cows (and if you did it good enough, they'd moo back, hehheh).
Oh, well. I guess it wasn't that prime of farm or cattle land, in the first place, since if one didn't always stay after the tree growth, small scrubby sorts would soon take over.
I remember way back, when 303 (Pioneer Parkway) dead-ended coming from the West, at Collins...and there were not anything but older farm houses South of there (think 45 years or so back).
What was once South Arlington, is now called "East" Arlington. And not to be racist, but where the town was in those days predominantly white, that Collins/303 area is now predominantly Mexican and Southeast Asian, with some native born and raised black "Americans". Just talking with folks, I get along much better with them, than I do the uppity & suspicious Asians, though most everybody is fairly rude when behind the wheel. Hijab covered female drivers not looking to left or right, Hay-zues in his lifted pick-up truck with the sagging bumpers closely tailgating...what a pain. They make California drivers look quite civil in comparison (though not quite as rude as Connecticut Yankees, thank god!).
"East" Arlington has lots of Vietnamese businesses, some of which cater so exclusively to Vietnamese, that upon walking in the joint(s) just to check 'em out, I get hostile "what do you want" sort of questions. One gal, at a Vietnamese pool hall came running for the door (to close it!) when she saw me standing in it. Another place I couldn't figure out at all --unless it was an unmarked Asian massage parlor of some sort (bearing an obviously left-over-from the previous business at that location's signage). Looking in the tinted windows (most of the area Asian, Indian & Pakistani type business, even legitimate appearing restaurants seem to be fond of tinting the windows so darkly one cannot see in) all that was visible were over-stuffed couches and other lounge seating, but no customers. I asked multiple times "what is this place?", "what business is conducted here?". The young gal told me "people come here to 'watch the game' ".
"Game", huh? It's probably some sort of illicit gambling den, with maybe some prostitution on the side? What happened to the town? Section 8 came long ago in a big way, or so I was told some 20 years ago. That was credited to helping to bring many of the black people. Well, ok. But now, it's Indian/Paki Muslim, Vietnamese, and lots of Mexicans.
Like I said...I don't recognize the town, not this part, and I was around when it was all built. I wonder what 'ol gravel-throat Tom Vandergriff would think about the changes. To the North, near the old turnpike is Cowboy Stadium of course. And some portion of a cent extra in local sales taxes to help pay for it, and wonders to beat all (local) wonders, the Rangers have even been in contention, have been a winning team.
Ok all you Ranger fans...swear an oath. If Jerry Jones EVER tries to get his micro-managing hands on the Rangers, it's pitch-fork and torches time! Is anybody with me?
... I can't hear you. Say it LOUDER.
>>> the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum just off I-35 north of Waco
I agree. The museum also offer visitors a chance to pull out a Ranger’s revolver and experience how heavy it feels (.44 or .45 caliber with a long barrel). There’s lots to see at the museum.
As a teenager, where hwy 360 goes under I-20 and it's sweeping approach ramps, we used the lanes on the Northbound side as a short drag strip. From where the newly-built divided four-lane hwy terminated, just South of 1-20, it was 1/5th mile to the first bridge. That part of road was all but completely un-used in those days, with just a narrow country lane leading to the South...though that country road did bend off to the East too, if memory serves.
The cops pretty much left us alone, but a few got tickets. It *might* have been outside of city limits back then. Driving around, I see Grand Prarie limits go far to the South. Arlington had to "stop", and couldn't expand city limits boundaries as far going South, bumping up against Mansfield, I take it.
I would like to tour some Tx BBQ joints. We should get together along the way.
That was quite the history lesson.
I am a transplant that got here in 92.
As to Jerry Jones, I think it is well past pitchfork time LOL
San Antonio is the home of Tex-Mex food. You can’t go wrong at almost any Mexican food restaurant, but ask the friendly locals for their favorites.
Somebody mentioned Mi Tierra restaurant over in the mercado. The thing about Mi Tierra is that it is a 24 place that caters to all sorts of people who go there after a night on the town for some Tejano music and after midnight snacks. You might see high society people in formal clothes sitting next to a poor Mexican farm family or bikers or high school kids after their prom. So don’t go there before midnight.
Great side trip: Drive 25 miles on IH35 to New Braunfels and visit the restored old town of Gruene. Maybe eat some German food there or in New Braufels proper. Drive up the river road where cypress trees line the Guadalupe river to Canyon Lake. From the lake drive west to Hwy 281 S. to San Antonio again.
Slightly longer trip takes you to the quaint town of Fredericksburg where German settlers made peace with the Comanches that was never broken. More German food, a winery, and nice Hill Country scenery.
If you play gold there are lots of great courses open to the public all over the place.
Western Dance Hall: Midnight Rodeo has the original “race track” dance floor with bars in the center—and all around for that matter. Middle aged folks mingle with the twenty-somethings doing the two-step. Reasonable prices and not really a tourist joint. check our their web site: midnightrodeosanantonio.com/ for reviews and info.
Frankly, Dallas is like Atlanta is like Houston is like any number of American cities. Lots of high buildings and business but nothing you can’t see somewhere else. Forget Dallas and spend a week in San Antonio.
Thanx new and interesting for me
Flying to Dallas. Will hit dealey plaza and head south
Stents replacements after ten years
Best wishes
Thank
Will ping back as many as I can
For myself, being raised in the State, I've always been at least part Texan, even as I've spent my entire adult life out West (that's beyond Ft.Worth, for those in Rio Linda, and in the know enough to figure it out 8^)) Family going back a few generations, them most all being born in this State, other than my own father being born in Salinas. His own mother and father Texas born (Bowie area) as was both my older sister (in Dallas) and younger brother. Mother's family from Celina.
The stadium is quite a sight. The Ranger's ballpark is pretty fancy, too. It was built long after I'd left, years ago now. Last Ranger game I watched in person was in the old "Turnpike Stadium"(?) which had been at first a triple-A park, hosting the Dallas-Ft.Worth Spurs (Turnpike Spurs)which was a farm team for the White Sox, I think.
I remember back when Arlington was attractive as a bedroom community due to it's low residential tax rates. Or so it was told to me to be so, when I was just a tadpole.
That mayor I mentioned was instrumental in having a railroad spur developed along what is now 360, and bringing in Six Flags...then later, the Rangers, too(?). Anyway, it was explained to me the commercial tax base was broad in the early 60's. The town grew fast, then just kept on growing. After a while, there were so many new schools, fire stations to take care of, roads to maintain (lots of steets in this town are not in good shape) that relatives who stayed, told me in the late `1980's, through the 90's the City was about broke, all but bankrupt. I have no idea the fiscal condition today, but it seems to be functioning, for the most part.
The Crash at Crush.
In 1896 two trains were crashed together by the Katy Railroad in a publicity stunt. Location is between Waco and West. All that remains is a Historical Marker sign on the east side of I-35. Still an interesting story.
http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/llc01
And a little Texas music:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=333d34NoN28
I’m down with the music thanx
Hubby is in San Antonio a couple of times a year and he always stops in at Casa Rio. He says it is good food and nice atmosphere.
John T. Floore’s Country Store, where Willie Nelson used to play when he was starting. It has an air of authenticity to it.They serve lunch there most days I think. You can look it up on line. The history of it is interesting and it is mentioned in Texas songs. When Downtown San Antonio. be sure to go to the hotel bar where T.R. and the rough riders used to hang out. (The name of it escapes me at the moment).
Thanx
Thanx. This thread is better than any travel agent
Yes it is. I am a recent transplant to Texas and have been wanting to see some of Tx that I have not been to. I made notes of 13 mentions on this thread that are of interest to my wife and I, and will use it to plan our next get-a-way.
Thanx
Can we call you Tex, yet?
I’ve got a few and don’t know how much I can do in shirt time.
Food is a priority of course.
An evening at the Grist Mill in New Braunfels (Gruene) is also great fun. Plan on an intimate dinner with just a few thousand others and drop by the oldest dance hall in Texas. Remember, "y'all" is singular, "y'alls" is plural.
nortex: I like ya, but you’ve got some very odd ideas about how Downtown Dallas is these days. You thought there was going to be massive rioting there when the Mavs won the NBA championship and there just wasn’t - as I’d predicted.
As someone who is out in downtown after dark on a regular basis for work and social reasons, I can tell you that the idea that the place getting overrun with goons is quite outdated. True, the more southerly parts of downtown aren’t as safe as they could be but there has been a wave of gentrification and HUUUGE enforcement efforts from Dallas PD that have overtaken the area in the last decade-plus. You can now travel from the West End to Deep Ellum as safely as in Fort Worth or most other well-policed American cities. Dallas has been making enormous strides on making downtown a cultural and residential center as it is in Fort Worth - CCW has had a large role to play in that. Redevelopment of old buildings into residences and retail businesses is the order of the day there. No huge mobs of thugs, illegals, etc., in downtown anymore. Homeless is still a problem, but that’s the case in most cities.
However - as things go, most of the attractions in Dallas for the older set only operate during the day. Younger persons like myself are what the nighttime attractions cater to - nightclubs, bars, concert venues, what used to be called discotheques. I would suggest visiting downtown Dallas during the day - not because of safety issues any more, but simply because you probably wouldn’t be interested in anything that goes on there after dark.
Oh yeah and plenty of Czech stuff over East of SA.
Czestochowa is the oldest Polish settlement in the US. I think the Pope John stopped in to visit there on his trip to SA.
All that remains of the small town is the beautiful church and directly across the street a tin shed dance hall with a springy floor built specially for Polish dancing and polkas.
So many things to see in Texas; so little time.
What sorts of things were you looking to do in Dallas, anyway?
The best burgers in Dallas (and perhaps the whole state) are made at Del’s Charcoal Burgers in Richardson (a suburb). Place is straight out of the 1960s - small shop, guns on the walls, still has the Formica counter and menu from the 60s. Even more unusual, they have a perfect health department score. Video at site: http://www.delsburgers.com/
The world’s only flying B-29 bomber lives in Addison at the Cavanaugh Flight Museum. If you go there and ask nicely, sometimes they will let you look at it and crawl around inside it. They also have warbird rides when the weather is good, must be scheduled in advance: http://www.cavanaughflightmuseum.com/index.php/navwbflights/navrides
Plenty of stuff downtown to see aside from Dealy Plaza - the Old Red Courthouse, Old City Park, Reunion Tower (which has a rotating restaurant on top), half the buildings used in the Robocop movie...
Spktyr:
Indeed, I think you're right and have nailed it just as you were correct on the lack of rioting when the Mavericks claimed the NBA crown, which I thought was inevitable.
It's likely a generational difference to a large extent. Younger people, such as yourself, are more agile -- and dare I use this word, in its best sense -- tolerant of we older folks see as bizarre. Our agreements are probably in the range of the 90th+ percentile but I know we veer off into quite different paths when it comes to things like music. And you'd probably be comfortable in a club setting, with its modern music and "adult beverages" whereas I wouldn't as a non-drinker with tastes along the lines of the Happy Goodman Family and the Gaithers. I guess it really boils down to the old saw, "if it's too loud, you're too old..." :-)
Thanks for the response and for a reality check from the younger side. Plus, if you had to deal with a thug, you'd plug 'em in no time, while I'd still be fumbling with the gun and getting my glasses adjusted to even see the miscreant!
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