Rope off all the western dueling and cactus coolers in your mind before visiting the Dallas metropolitan. Giddy up now because you’re in for a surprise.
My brief, but packed trip to visit Texas allowed a new view of the good, the bad and the ugly of the Lone Star state. My room at my great aunt’s condo was like the aorta of Dallas where construction sites and shindigs galore were at my 20 floor-level-view. In addition, the Arts District was just a walking distance, so after conquering that trail, I soon ventured off to the neighboring places to visit the talks of the town — The King Tut exhibit, the Dallas Symphony and The Stockyards.
The Dallas Museum of Art is like the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, but with a featured King Tut exhibit. The exhibit was introduced with a short documentary, followed by a spooky lighting up of the first artifacts. From the first impression, I had expectations as high as the peak of the Great Pyramid of Giza. However, after countless repetition, my appreciation became superficial. In the end, the maze led to no King Tut, as he was only mentioned via artifacts and video footage. The rest of the museum was lively with a band and more interactive arts and crafts.
Fridays with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center are much like The Disney Philharmonic Casual Friday Series. The Dallas Symphony is led by music director Jaap Van Zweden, who has upbeat movements that are like a puppet on strings in cadence with Strauss and Brahms. Maestro Van Zweden conducted world-class musicians from the cello to the typewriter. The encore was just as lengthy as the nonstop standing ovations, uniting the community through music.
Transitioning from the pretentious arts, my final full day was spent seeing a different type of conductor, the one that functions the TRE, much like the Metro and Metro rails. The frequent passengers, also known as the homeless, are friendlier than the L.A.-mind-your-own-business bums because these ask Jesus Christ for a cheeseburger and make petty magic tricks for a dollar’s worth.
My next stop was Fort Worth to see the saloons in the stockyards. In the nighttime, it felt like a ghost town, as the western microcosm is only a hokey-pokey hoax to stimulate the imagination. Fort Worth had no cowboys but cowboy machines and mechanical bulls, similar to the star impersonators in Hollywood.
Overall, Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas are hyped like Los Angeles in their own right. The two cities can be exciting for tourists that want to be familiarized with all it has to offer in the arts and entertainment. The place is a bit more peaceful than our own metropolis, but safety should always be the number one priority after fun.
Good heavens, such a sad tourist. Did you happen to notice that the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo is happening as it has since 1896? That nearly 900,000 people are visiting Fort Worth for an event that runs from Jan 16 to Feb 8th? It’s kind of hard to miss. I’m assuming you missed the incredible parade, comprised of no mechanical vehicles. Did you happen to visit the world class Bass performance hall, did you even see it (as it is one of the most beautiful buildings in Fort Worth? Did you walk in Sundance Square? Had you done so you might have visited the Firehouse museum where you would have learned 150 years of Fort Worth history. And by the way, Sundance Square is named for the Sundance Kid and the place they holed up with his girlfriend is now an exquisite little hotel. While you were in the Stockyard, did you not notice the coliseum where one might enjoy a real rodeo, (which is also going on at the Will Rogers coliseum during the Stock Show). Perhaps you skipped out on dining at the Lonesome Dove with award winning chef Tim Love. Did you realize that Fort Worth has at least ten museums that range from the Kimball Art to the Vinatage flying museum? Did you even get out of your rental car?