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!

IF ONLY HE'D KNOWN

The things this poor baby has to put up with!

And, it wasn't even his crazy daddy or Papa John or Uncle Nootie who did this to him. It was his own mother! 

 

If only he'd known what kind of crazy family he was being born into, he might well have...

pumped his fist into the air, hollering "Hot diggity dog! Let the shenanigans begin!" 

After all, he did inherit their genes, did he not?

P.S. I'm headed up to Dallas for a few days to help celebrate Sister Poo's Big Seven OOOHH. Strange, but I'm not in the least disturbed by the fact that I'll be turning 63 at the end of next month. But, having a sister who's turning 70? Now that kinda freaks me out! Unfortunately, the weather does not bode well for the first day of this adventure. Here's hoping it's not white-knuckle-driving all the way to Big D! (Actually, here's hoping I can even get over our low-water-crossings when it's time to leave.)