Howdy y'all! and Happy New Year too!
We had a most delightful Christmas weekend at the Mansion on Turtle Creek, in Dallas Texas. This hotel is incredible. We have not stayed in too many Five Diamond hotels of course, so what do we know, but if this is an example of such a thing, they are pretty darn nice. I mean, I think they changed the towels every ten minutes. And after about 15 minutes, everyone knew Ruby by name - not because she was bad or anything, simply because that is part of their "thing". Rated #1 for service by Travel and Leisure Magazine...to the staff, that translates to: Be on Your Toes at All Times. Of course, this luxury comes at a price...but this was our Christmas Gift to each other, so what the hay. Our room was on the first floor, which meant we had a little garden patio out back - the better for Ruby to pee in. And there was a fine sitting room, with a couch and easy chair, a nice marble bathroom with -my only complaint - a wee tub. But honestly, the people there couldn't have been nicer. We are dressed as we are - campers - but no one batted an eye at our t-shirts and jeans. Everyone was so friendly and of course the fact that they loved Ruby, well, you know that old adage - love my dog... So, it was a very special place.
For Christmas, however, we probably could've chosen better. I don't mean to quibble, but the main decorations were big nut balls made out of hazelnuts or walnuts tied with ribbon and big bowls of pine cones...no red pointsettias, no wreathes of green and red holly. Mostly a brown theme. All very subdued and...shall I say...proper? Maybe this is Dallas. We were glad we had our own Colored Lights for the room... And, we must admit, we were far from blown away by the food. Of course it was Christmas dinner for the masses of Highland Park, so what can you expect, but still, it's Dean Fearing after all. The Man. What was he thinking, with Turkey on the menu??? Turkey?? For those bills, we want roast goose or at least duck or pheasant...but Turkey? Not what we had expected.
Frankly, if we were to do it again - Christmas away from home - it would only be Manhattan. No body does Christmas better than NYC. And maybe that had a little to do with our disappointment in Dallas - we compared it to New York. You can't do that. Dallas can't help it that it was warm and sunny on December 25th. Dallas can't help it that there's no Holly or Snow or Christmas music on the Radio...wait a minute...they could help with that! Dallas can't help it that none of the stores downtown had Christmas windows with anything other than the usual ads for what's for sale inside. Dallas can't help it if...oh, forget it. We were homesick for Christmas in Kent County, let's face it. We saw people walking down their street, bearing pies and casseroles, and we were so jealous - we wanted to be with a bunch of friends and family and neighbors too!! So, let this be a lesson to ye - Christmas on the road is not all it's cracked up to be!! Especially in Dallas Texas!
But, that is NOT to say we didn't have a good time! How can you not have a good time at a Five Diamond Hotel, with fresh towels every ten minutes? We had a great time. We just wouldn't do the same thing again next year.
Now, some notes on Texas -
#1. Lots of windmills. Working windmills. Everyone - most everyone - has one.
#2.Cattle gates - most everyone has one of those too.
#3.Deer catchers - many, many, many pick-up trucks ( and police cars) have big grates over the grills of their vehicles, which we learned were not unlike the cow catchers you might see on a train - these are DEER catchers!! Oh my! There are a lot of deer out here and there are a lot of dead deer by the roadside.
#4.Long horn cattle are very cool looking. We want one.
#5.There's a big drought going on here in Central Texas. We thought it always looked this brown, but apparently it is very dry and hence the grass fires -we saw one yesterday. Scarey. Burn bans in effect in all of the State Parks. And no fireworks for New Year's Eve.
#6.Texas BBQ - the absolute BEST so far - Louis Mueller in Taylor Texas. We will never be able to eat Beef Ribs again that compare to his, let alone the brisket. An unbelievable meal there - really, the brisket was perhaps the best beef I have ever tasted, so melt-in-your-mouth-tasty. Amazing. We will keep trying, but I think it is a waste of time.
#7. Mistletoe - all over the place. We were able to pick all we personally needed for the Holidays. And we used it.
#8. Llamas are out in the field with the sheep to protect them from predators.
#9. Kevin wants a Cowby Hat. Oops - overshare!
#10. Texas as an Icon - everyone uses the state image for an Icon, be it on their ranch gate, an ad for insurance or just decoration on the side of a building. That and the Lone Star. I just can't see the image of Maryland plastered all over the state at home, but here it is very common. Lot's of State Pride. We've seen Texas State Flags in all shapes and forms, everywhere.
We left Dallas on the 26th and headed back toward San Antonio - more of the Hill Country. Kevin's brother John is here in S.A. for an Army Convention of sorts - the Army All-America Game next week. So we met up with him yesterday and we will be leaving for Southern parts this afternoon. Meanwhile, he has a nice suite here in town, and I am using his Ethernet for some Blog Time, while Kevin and John have some Sib Time. Works for all of us!
We've been spending a lot of time in Texas driving from one State Park campground to the next, with the destination being some place we've heard or read about for lunch along the way. Seems like that's all we've done, really. And we've had some good lunches! the aforementioned Mueller BBQ being the Best to go out of the way for so far. We are heading to the Gulf Of Mexico for New Year's Eve - where we want to do some birdwatching - and then back up toward Houston to to try to hook up with my niece and her fiance who will be making their home there after their wedding in May. From there it's the Louisiana coast - probably a quick pass, for obvious reasons - and then into Florida. The weather right now in Texas is fabulous - except for the drought of course - low to mid seventies during the day. We are planning to totally avoid any other winter weather until what ever we have to deal with at home in March. A year without winter - nice.
So, I'll post some photos and then we'll be on our way to celebrate the New Year on the National Seashore. Happy New Year to everyone! WeGo.
