Advertisement
Published: July 22nd 2010
Edit Blog Post
I looked through the window to see Dallas on high. I saw tiny cars running on wide highways. The scenery was dyed in a sand color of desert. Buildings, houses and streets were also dressed in the similar color, and were secretly embraced by the heat and wind. What I was seeing instantly reminded me a picture of cowboys on their horses’ backs, racing in the noises of full gallops and crossing small towns where wooden houses were scattered and temporarily built.
The humidity of the weather brought me back to the exit door at
Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) Airport where my friends had been waiting for me. I almost flied to her car to escape from the heat. It was killing me. It was burning and airless. It made my skin sticky and sore. I did not like it even though it welcomed me so well. The a/c cooled me down and I started to pay attention to the journey from the airport to my friend’s apartment. Under the bright sun and hot wind, the workers were working on a new highway project. “Everything is large in Texas”, my friend said; “and now people even want to expand that
largeness in size even more”, I added.
The next morning my friend and I decided to make a short sight-seeing trip at
Gaylord Texan Resort. Well, it was more like a castle to me for its giant and luxury outlook with arch roofs and chimneys. The architecture which was a harmonious combination of wooden and concrete constructions perfectly expressed the elegance and authenticity of this Lone Star State. I passed through a large and high welcome gate before crossing a bridge under which was a peaceful lake with a high fountain at the middle. Trees and flowers embosomed the lake and every entrance of the resort gave every visitor the impression of bonhomie and warmness. I felt in love with the scenery right at the first look.
I was soon wowed by the interior. A wide multi-floors resort with more than 1,500 rooms and 127 spectacular suits surprisingly appeared to me right after I entered the convention center. On the top, the climate-control atriums painted in white embraced the whole relaxing place. I was separated from the 101 degree Fahrenheit weather to enter a wonderland that Alice experienced in Lewis Carroll’s story. I explored this 360o garden in
every step. I saw animated multi-colored flowers, giant chess board and a beautiful sand art portraying the Mad Tea Party. I enjoyed walking through a small artificial canyon decorated along with beeches and casuarinas and located right at the heart of the resort. The rooms with glass doors surrounded the whole garden reminded me that I did not go anywhere but was still in the territory of Gaylord Texan Resort. I loved the experience. I loved everything that I saw.
My friends and I drove to Houston in the next morning. It was 4.5 hours trip. We stopped at
the Space Center to experience Living in Space! I am just kidding. We did not go to the moon. Instead, we learned how humans had built spaceships and had trained astronauts on ground at this Center. We joined their activities to at least understand partially the experience of Living in Space. The place was both like an amusement park for kids and a museum for adults. We took the
Blue Tour to have a brief look of the center where people had persistently researched and achieved many triumphs in exploring the moon and other planets in the solar system. The
history of race between the U.S and USSR in conquering the moon, the generations of spaceships and their births and deaths, and the politics behind this progress of controlling the sky were all reflected in this small center.
We headed to
Kemah Boardwalk right after the Space Center. We took some pictures at
Galvaston beach and then had dinner at a fine Texan Mexican restaurant. It was almost 10p.m. when we checked in
Indigo Hotel. $53.00 for one night stay was a very good price for a nice hotel like Indigo. Even though we did not have free breakfast or other extra services but we were appreciate the friendly and relaxing environment of the hotel and its hospitality.
According to the nice suggestion of a hotel’s receptionist, we went to
Smith & Wollensky Steakhouse to have a fancy lunch. With a limited budget, I ordered
Medallions of Beef medium cooked. The two small pieces of steak did not give me any special impression. However, the first bite brought me to heaven. The piece of meat smelt in my mouth softly and benignly. With their signature steak sauce, the dish was perfect in every bite. I loved my dish,
the surrounding environment and especially the hospitality of this restaurant. I would love to come back there again.
It was heavily raining when we got to
Hong Kong Market on Bellaird Blvd. We decided to have some
crawfish and Vietnamese food before going back to Dallas. We ordered one pound of crawfish with cajun seasoning. I could not stop eating for the spiciness and saltiness of this wonderful dish was stimulating my food consuming. Texan rain and crawfish - this perfect combination gave me the best memory in my trip to Houston.
My friend was so nice when she took half day off work to take me to
Forth Worth Stockyards on my last day in Dallas and in Texas. The welcome of the stockyard briefly revealed the spirit of the place.
“The Fort Worth Stockyards is the history book of the livestock industry in Texas. Each chapter is represented by the original bricks and mortar, the wood corrals, the men, and the music that are all still a part of the the Stockyards today.” Since I went there in week day, I could not see rodeos or listen to cowboys’ musical performances. But I took great pictures with any cowboy and cowgirl whom I just encountered in this small stockyard. At 4 p.m., a simple parade called
Forth Worth Herd started. People cleared the street for the cowboys on strong horses corralling longhorn bulls to make a short trip through the town. They were holding lassos and made whistles to usher the bulls. The performance was distinguished and outstanding.
We stopped by
Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame to have some good-looking American old style pictures. The price was acceptable and we were not put on a long waiting list. They let us choose our outfits and backgrounds for the picture. The photographer deliberately suggested us proper posts to fit with the background that we chose. We had a very nice picture at the end. It was my precious gift of the Lone Star State. I came back to California with a heart filled with Texan spirit, heat and harmony. I would love to go there again some days.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.128s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 6; qc: 44; dbt: 0.0326s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.3mb