Travel Living in Texas ~
Cheryl Yale-Bruedigam
A native of the Fort Worth,
Texas area, I grew up in the small-town, country, cowboy
culture; however, my family traveled a great deal and I grew up
knowing there was much, much more. We were a rodeo family and
not only traveled the major circuits from Houston to Cheyenne,
but included trips to the Dakotas, the mountains, the southern
coastline and many places in between. I did finally leave the
Fort Worth area but returned several times as an adult “travel
living” there for short stints at a time and what I found were
many of its jewels that I had never even seen.
Returning with a family of my
own, I took my children to the Fort Worth Stockyards, which by
then had been completely renovated and had become the city’s
largest attraction. I bought the children cowboy boots and they
rode a Texas Longhorn. They sat in fields of Texas Bluebonnets
(state flower), visited the Fort Worth Zoo, fished and swam in
the abundant Texas lakes, shopped in the many D/FW area stores,
enjoyed fine restaurants as well as southern home cooking with
relatives. Visiting Six Flags was of course on the list, as were
area swim parks. They rode the Dallas Area Rapid Transit
visiting museums such as The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
which chronicles the assassination and legacy of President John
F. Kennedy. The Fort Worth Botanical Gardens offered enjoyable
walks and photo opportunities as did the many other parks and
nature trails in the area. The Texas State Fair, The Fort Worth
Fat Stock Show & Rodeo, the Omni Theater, Dallas Cowboy games,
Texas Ranger games, Texas Motor Speedway, eating Tex-Mex and
good old fashioned Texas bar-b-que are just a few more options
available in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Fort Worth has a good old
hometown down-to-earth cowboy-culture feel with friendly folks
and casual attire, while biscuits, gravy and fried chicken are a
favorite and unique boutique hotels like the Stockyards Hotel
offer a real Fort Worth experience. Consisting of several
popular areas, Fort Worth has much to offer including the museum
and cultural district, the Stockyards and Exchange area, and its
charming downtown and Sundance Square.
Dallas, on the other hand, is
high-tech, higher dollar, high fashion (with the Dallas Market
Center located there), and high-end shopping can be done at
stores like the Texas-based Neiman Marcus or huge malls like the
North Dallas Galleria. Gourmet dining is not uncommon and hotels
like The Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek offer the upscale
traveler a unique, superior experience.
Day trips abound in Texas as
do weekend getaways. A favorite is always the Texas coast with
easiest and quickest access to the island of Galveston. With it
stately old homes full of sea-faring merchant history, it’s
piers, the seawall with walking, biking skating and
people-watching, dockside fishing with locals, the Galveston
Island Ferry, a 2.7 mile ride to Port Bolivar, or the annual
Dickens on the Strand, Galveston is teaming with life, culture
and experience for such a tiny island. Not to mention top-rated
hotels, fine seafood and its famous Moody Gardens. This is just
one of many Texas getaways to be enjoyed while “travel living”
in this great and unique state full of various cultures and
peoples.
Day trips out of D/FW are most
all water-based for there is a different lake a stone’s throw
away in any direction. Grapevine Lake, Eagle Mountain Lake,
Possum Kingdom Lake, Lake Whitney, Lake Ray Hubbard, Lake Texoma,
Lake Granbury, and Lake Lewisville just to name a few. The
Brazos River also makes for an adventuresome outing especially
if you visit the dinosaur tracks. Small towns like Waxahachie,
Weatherford and Sherman are enjoyable for unique shopping,
crafts, quaint restaurants and antiquing.
All in all, we experienced
life in the Texas sub-culture as travelers stopping through
temporarily but gaining memories and experiences that would last
a lifetime and I was appreciative to have seen my hometown
through the fresh perspective of a traveler.
