While in Dallas we took some time for day trips in the area. I asked around for suggestions of what to see and do. Most answers were to go to the surrounding areas outside of Dallas!
McKinney
This suburb was clear across the city from ILC. En route we were on the High Five, a 5-layer interchange with the top layer reported to be 12 stories high. What a view! No time for pictures because we had to be sure we were in the correct lane coming down.
McKinney has a beautiful historic downtown with lots of shops and restaurants to wile away the hours on a beautiful sunny day.
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A ski shop in north Texas? We had to go in. They've been in business for over 40 years, catering to those with winter homes in the mountains of Colorado.
Fort Worth Stockyards
On another day we went to the Fort Worth Stockyards. That sounds like an odd place to go. It is a historic district, telling the story
of the cattle industry of Fort Worth.
With the arrival of the railway, cattle were brought to Fort Worth to be
shipped to eastern markets or slaughtered in the local meat packing
plants. Now the area has been turned
into shops, restaurants and a rodeo ring. Every day there is a reenactment of
the great cattle drives of the past. We
enjoyed wandering around, watching the cattle drive and eating lunch at the
Biscuit Bar. Instead of a bun, it's a biscuit with whatever sandwich filling you might desire, or the traditional biscuits and gravy.
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| the famous Texas longhorn cattle |
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| The cattle drive along the street |
From there it was on to something completely different. The Fort Worth Botanic Garden reminded us of the U of A gardens near Devon. It was a beautiful day to be outside in the sunshine, meandering along the pathways looking for what was in bloom this early in the year: tulips, daffodils, wisteria and roses; and of course, the Texas bluebonnets. As a special treat, the conservatory had a butterfly exhibit with butterflies from all over the world fluttering about. What a riot of colour, impossible to capture with a cellphone camera.
Joe Pool Lake
On Saturday we thought we ought to go on one more excursion to somewhere. Ennis was suggested because the bluebonnets are in full bloom and apparently there are a lot of them there. After thinking about that for a few minutes, we realized that’s a lot of driving around and there’s a lot of traffic everywhere, so no. Maybe we could just go to the local outdoor mall in Cedar Hill and watch people while drinking coffee. Which is what we did. Then, Dave mentioned Joe Pool Lake. It was on the way home and so we stopped in there at the State Park. It was wonderful. A little taste of nature in the city. A chance to talk to people who were fishing. And fields of blue bonnets. If we’d thought ahead, we could have had a picnic supper too!
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| Who wouldn't want a splash fountain in the middle of an outdoor mall! |
Easter Weekend
One of the speakers said that in the retelling of the story we remember. It's not a new story to most of us, but it's important to retell the story of Jesus' death and resurrection to remember that He did this for us. It is through believing in Him that we have eternal life.
We had several very different retelling experiences this year.
Maundy Thursday the Dallas International University led participants to follow the way of the cross, taking turns carrying the cross and reflecting on what Jesus did for us, followed by a communion service.
Good Friday we attended the service at Park Cities Presbyterian Church. It was a retelling of the story through song and scripture narration with full choir and orchestra, a production called Lamb of God. When I get to heaven, there will be a choir and orchestra in my corner of heaven. It was so beautiful and powerful.
Easter Sunday we attended Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship church which presented the musical "He Is". What a powerful voices with choir and solo, mostly an all African-American. They make the resurrection come alive.
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