DISNEYFIED TEXAS

I met up with my sisters in Dallas Tuesday, to celebrate a landmark birthday for matriarch Poodie. We then drove over near the town of Grapevine to check into the Gaylord Texan Resort, which I had never seen. My first thought was Hill-Country-Hyatt-On-Steroids, but with one major difference -- everything is covered by a giant glass dome, which means the weather is always perfect, no matter when you go!

Plus, you can visit the San Antonio Riverwalk...

the Alamo...

or even a west Texas canyon, without ever leaving the comfort of the dome.

Everything was absolutely perfect, from the plantings...

to the presentation...

as long as you didn't look too closely.

There's nothing but a blank wall behind those saloon doors.

It's the best place in the world to rack up lots of fitbit steps without ever breaking a sweat...

or dine semi-al-fresco on a gorgeous patio, with nary a bug in site.

In fact, it was soooo perfect, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was a character in one of my dystopian novels, part of some weird experiment, or living in a biodome on some inhospitable planet -- especially when something seemed just a little bit off. For instance, though all the food was super gorgeous and uber expensive, not one thing made me moan, and though there were lots of lovely shops, there was nothing I really wanted/could afford to buy.

Still, there was eye candy galore, and old town Grapevine was just five minutes away, where we found plenty to buy and eat and moan over (more about that tomorrow).

All in all, it was a most excellent adventure, and when Little Goober is a bit older, I'm thinking we really need to take him to this!