Sweet Little Vacation

It's vacation time!!!! I'm a "vacation-addict"! Seriously...When it hits the 3-6 month mark that we haven't been anywhere, I start getting very antsy. My poor husband...he's always having to answer questions like, "When can we book flights to Vegas?", "What are we going to do this summer?", "Can I at least book a hotel somewhere"? Pretty much every day, I ask him something along these lines. I told him the other day that in 2011 I want to go to Vegas, Corpus Christi, San Antonio and Connecticut. I'm 95% sure that I'll get to one of those places, but I really do have my hopes up that we'll hit all of them this year. Ha! That doesn't include a wedding we are going to in Dallas in November and maybe a family reunion in September in Abilene, TX. I know, I'm ridiculous! Why can't we work 2 weeks out of the year and vacation the rest of the time...instead of the other way around???? :)

Anyway---At Christmas, we decided that we didn't really want or need anything, but we did want to take a trip to Ft. Worth again. I fell in love with it last year when I went with Michelle for our annual girls trip...and introduced Ken to it this past August. Thankfully, he loved it as much as I did! When his birthday rolled around in February, he said the same thing that was decided at Christmas....he didn't want a present, he just wanted to take the trip. So that's what we did.

He had never been on a passenger train before, and I was excited to go again. Its SO affordable!!! Cheaper than a plane and its even less expensive than a two tanks of gas PLUS paying to park once we get there. It also relieves any of the stress of driving in traffic in I-35 South.

We also decided to ask my parents to go with us. They have been in need of a vacation for too long!!! We thought it would be fun to have them go too! Ken and I drove to my parents so we could leave the dogs with their dog-sitter. We were up EARLY on Friday morning so we could be in OKC by 8am. We made a must-needed stop at Starbucks for coffee and breakfast before we made our way to the train station!Once inside the station, the camera came out (much to the dismay of my husband!). And, the vacation begins!We arrived in Ft. Worth around 1pm and got settled in our rooms at the Omni Ft. Worth. We were starving and the hotel's restaurant, Cast Iron, was still serving lunch. They had an amazing lunch buffet with grilled fish, all kinds of salsa and dips, a great salad bar and sooo much more!!!! It really was incredible!

After lunch, Ken decided he needed a nap...but mom, dad and I were ready to get into town. We walked the 7-10 blocks into Sundance Square and found ourselves at Barnes and Noble. My mom was wanting to find a book for the weekend. My dad and I grabbed a magazine and sat down. It wasn't long before my head started bobbing and I was falling asleep. We walked back to the hotel and napped before our first big night!

Our first night out, we all dressed-up (as dressy as we got for the entire weekend) and went to dinner and a concert. Ken and I took my parents to our FAVORITEST place! The Reata!!!! All of our food was really good, but my dad's was the best! He ordered Chicken Fried Steak and its probably the best I've ever had!After dinner, we made our way to The Scat Jazz Lounge. This was a little out of my parents' element, but they ended up really enjoying it. Ricki Derek and the Vegas Six were playing!!! I had seen them already and knew the others would like him! He plays a lot of Sinatra and Dean Martin! Thankfully, I was right....even though I kept my parents out later than they are used to, they really enjoyed the music!Saturday, we got up and headed out to brunch! We went to a place that none of us had tried and we were not disappointed! The Cowtown Diner is awesome!!!! Their portions are HUGE and the food was fantastic! This time, I have to say my mom's was the best...she ordered Sweet Potato Pancakes! OH, so good!!!! This will definitely be a place we go back to.We spent the day showing my parents around Sundance Square...the shops and the sights.Making our way back to the hotel (in the background below) through the Ft. Worth Water Gardens. It was a beautiful day!!! When Ken and I were there in August, it was so hot that it was pretty unbearable to be outside too long. This time, we were able to enjoy the Gardens much more.That afternoon, we grabbed a cab and went to the Ft. Worth Stock Yards. Little did we know that there was a big St. Patrick's Day celebration going on. When we arrived (just wanting to get there in time for the Cattle Drive), we were quickly finding a spot for the St. Patrick's Day Parade.Thankfully, they didn't cancel the Cattle Drive, even though the parade quickly followed. This is really what we came for.And, the parade??? Well, it was definitely a cow-town parade. I think anyone with a horse was allowed in the parade...and people even painted the hooves green.There were some VERY entertaining people/"floats" in the parade. Mainly it was young people riding horses or old people dressed in crazy costumes.After the parade, we made our rounds at the Stock Yards...visiting the longhorns, shopping and people watching!While we were shopping, I looked out the door of the shop I was in and saw the CRAZIEST thing I've ever seen in my life. I did a double-take! I grabbed my mom and pulled her outside so she could see it too!!!! When we told my dad, he said that we had to be on drugs! haha! But, we saw it again after we left the store!!!!! And, yes!!!! I took pictures! And, YES!!!! We gave the guy a tip!!!! This guy was walking a dog on a leash. The dog had a cat on top...and on top of the cat was a rat! It was HYSTERICAL!!!!! This guy probably makes a lot of money in a weekend!!!!! And, I have to say that we were "solicited" by a few homeless people wanting money. I'm not one for just handing out freebies....but for this guy? Um, YES! He was definitely earning his money! He said any tips go toward food for the animals. I believed him because you could tell they were healthy. So funny! Made my day!For dinner, we made reservations at The Lonesome Dove. I was super excited to eat here b/c the chef appeared on "Iron Chef America" and actually won! I can count on one hand the times I've seen a chef beat the Iron Chef on the show. I was also VERY excited to try the Tomahawk! It was featured on "Best Thing I Ever Ate..." by Guy Fieri. He said its one of the best steaks he's ever had! Its a HUGE steak with the bone in and its served with a LOBSTER!The meal is for two people and this is just my plate! 1/2 of a 28oz (that includes the bone) Ribeye, 1/2 a lobster and amazing mashed potatoes! SOOO GOOD!We also dined on Blue Corn Lobster "Hushpuppies" (which was my absolute favorite!) and Rabbit and Rattlesnake Sausage. Mom got a side salad that we all tasted. And, there was bread too. We were STUFFED!!! However, once back at the hotel, it didn't stop us from listening to some great live music at "Whiskey and Rye"!Sunday was our last day in Ft. Worth. Sunday is always my favorite day to be there b/c I LOVE having brunch at Taverna Pizzeria and Rissoteria! I'm never disappointed! Ken had his favorite of Eggs Benedict with crab meat. Mom and dad split the Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon. And, I tried the French Vanilla French Toast. Oh, my...was it ever good!!!!! YUM! We also had complimentary foccacia bread! They bake their homemade foccacia in their pizza stone oven. Its wonderful! :)

After brunch, we walked the square one more time and grabbed a coffee at Starbucks.We took our time getting back to the hotel b/c that meant it was time to pack . :( We checked out, but still had some time to kill. We spent a few hours at Whiskey and Rye just visiting and had a late lunch/early dinner of nachos! Yet again, amazing! We didn't have a bad meal the entire trip! It was really fun and glad my parents were able to experience one of our favorite places!