Dallas

We drove up to Dallas this past weekend..... been there, done that.... and can't wait to do it again!  I don't know what took us so long to make that trip.

We went to the Dallas Arboretum (which was outstandingly beautiful, and we didn't even get to see one-third of it, so another trip there is a must-do)... the tour of the inside of the mansion on the arboretum grounds was worth the price of admission.

Through the Internet, my husband discovered In-Sync Exotics, a wildlife sanctuary specializing in cats. Lions and tigers and panthers... all rescued from people who bought them as cubs and didn't know the first thing about taking care of them. Wonderful established sanctuary... worth the trip just to see how the volunteers love those beautiful animals.... it's not far from Dallas, in the town of Wylie.

My husband found two Greek restaurants... Kosta's Cafe (old-school and delicious) and Stratos (more of a bar-scene with crazy non-Greek music).  We also ate at two Chinese restaurants... Bo Bo China and Royal China (the better of the two).  The best find was "The Deli News," a New York-style deli with New York foods (minus the attitude)... we had breakfast there two mornings in a row.

Also saw the Perot Science Museum... lots of glitz, not much substance... more of a kid's museum than an adult science museum (we were totally spoiled with the Science Museum in London back in May). Plus, the museum cafe was the typical fast-food stuff on paper plates... give me a blessed break.

The best find in Dallas.......  Half-Price Books... huge, huge, huge..... I was in book-heaven, and we went there three separate times during our three-day stay.  The store is open seven days a week, from 9:00am till 11:00pm..... books, books, books........ I searched every inch of the Clearance section and found about a dozen books to bring home. Will there ever be enough time to read all that I want to read?

We got to see friends V and B, our next-door neighbors from our old house, who have since moved to Colorado.... they were in Dallas to visit their daughter and son-in-law and their new baby.  First grandchild for V and B.... and it was nice to see them all again.  Last time we got to visit with them was at the wedding of their oldest daughter, who is now the new mom to a beautiful baby girl.  It was a bittersweet moment, holding that tiny baby.... and remembering when the baby's mom used to come to our house when she was a little girl.  We all had such fun on our old cul de sac.... and now we're all spread out from Texas to Colorado.

Great, great weekend........ fabulous restaurants, good friends, and the best bookstore.