Talk to me about Dallas / Fort Worth and Texas

I am planing a trip to Texas in the spring and would like some advice on what I should see and do (or avoid) in and around the Dallas / Fort Worth area, the trip will also include Houston and San Antonio (maybe Austin). The trip will be about 7-8 days in length, and have 3-4 people all adults, age range will be 30-60 Y.O most of the group will be open to most event.

Thanks Paul B

The San Antonio river walk is sort of a tourist trap but might be interesting if you run out of things to do.

The JFK Museum is well thought out. It's an easy way to kill a few hours. I would skip the Holocaust museum just down the road if you're short on time; I wasn't a huge fan of its layout, and it pales in comparison to the one in D.C.

I have gone to the Dinosaur Park a number of times growing up; I think it's somewhere nearby, at least in the Texas scale of nearby.

Austin has a ton of neat stuff. Salt Lick BBQ is a must-do. Your group is a good demographic for west 6th st. 6th street is THE hangout. East 6th (also called "dirty" 6th) is full of vomiting 21-year-old UT students. Its worth a walk, but West 6th is perfect. Lots of pretty people, cheaper drinks. Annie's West, Molotov, the Ranch, Kung Fu Saloon. There is also some really quiet hipster stuff east of I35 on 4th, 5th, and 6th.

San Antonio has the Riverwalk and the Alamo... both worthy things to see.

If you're looking for some neat hill-country stuff, hit Gruene (pronounced Green) and Wimberley.

If you head a bit west you'll find Fredericksburg and Luchenbach.

Oh, and Austin has Stubbs BBQ. Since it was taken over by the new owners, the BBQ isn't worth feeding to the dog, but they have killer acts on their stage most nights.

DFW fans should cover their ears and skip right past this post - don't say I didn't warn you. I go to the area at least twice a year, and I've spent considerable time in both cities.

The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza is a respectful remembrance of President Kennedy and his assassination. It is light on actual artifacts but tells the story well, and is worth the 90 minutes or so it takes to make your way through the exhibit.

The Dallas Museum of Art is just okay. The Dallas World Aquarium is a depressing animal jail.

Fort Worth Stockyards is like every other Old West hokey-town. Riscky's BBQ is overrated. Downtown Fort Worth has some cool old neon signs.

A Texas Ranger's game exceeded my expectations, which were admittedly low. The stadium was fine and beer/dog prices were very reasonable.

The metroplex is thick with generic chain restaurants, which locals seem to prefer. Regional cuisine is largely Tex-Mex - heavy on the Tex, at the expense of the Mexican part.

Local culture seems to revolve around shopping and eating, with a heavy dose of "Don't Mess with Texas" arrogance. There is a lot of what my snobby friends call "new money" - i.e. tacky and garish conspicuous consumption.

1 out of 3 Texans believes that humans and dinosaurs lived together on Earth - a la "The Flintstones".

Every time some group starts a secession movement in Texas, I mail the a few bucks in support of their initiative. Maybe we could build a "Berlin Wall" around Austin, but the rest of the state is free to leave.

this is relevant to me as well - planning to visit a friend in the Houston area sometime this year.

so what's cool in H-Town and/or Galveston?

The way to tell a real mexican restaurant in Texas is that they have to find somebody to speak English to you. Joe t Garcia's in Fort Worth is a nice place with a gorgeous outside courtyard that serves decent white people tex mex. Billy bobs has rodeo every weekend in their arena.

The stockyards in Fort Worth are hokey, silly, and touristy but you can see cattle walking down the street, see an "old west shoot out" and get a picture on the back of a longhorn.

Art museums in Fort Worth are free. Perot science museum in Dallas is by far the best in the area.

Take cash to Joe T Garcia's if you go, they used to not take plastic, don't know if they still are that way.

I live in Houston and can tell you there is not much for a tourist to see. Maybe a tour through NASA. Galveston is pretty avoidable, as well. There are much better places to see the beach further down the coast.

I actually wouldn't argue with bludroptop about some of his comments, especially about Dallas, having lived there, too. Houston is more of a blue collar town. It is also about business, and not so much about lifestyle. People live here because it is a good place to work and the cost of living is pretty low compared to most cities. The awl bidness dominates. There is nothing pretty about Houston. I used to say the only natural beauty was in the strip bars, but a good bit of that is man made, as well. There has been some revitalization downtown that makes it more livable, but, again, nothing worth visiting as a tourist. I'd live around Denver if I had a choice, but it would mean a big pay cut and more taxes.

I disagree with the dinosaur and arrogance comments, though. I don't know who he is rubbing shoulders with, but I have a lot of friends in Texas and most of them are great, intelligent people. Yes, they are conservative in politics and really don't like gov't interfering in their affairs, but so are almost half the people in the US. There are plenty of idiot rednecks riding around in pickup trucks, though, too.

Many Texans would like to build a wall around Austin, as well, considering the local politics, though everyone likes it as a town.

To clarify my earlier comments - my only experience is in the greater Dallas - Fort Worth metroplex. Other than a brief convention visit to San Antonio, I have only ever been to DFW.

The arrogance I experience(d) is primarily related to the prevailing local opinion that Texas is grandest and most wonderful place on earth, and that all other destinations are second rate in comparison. While I understand that it is natural for most folks to like where they live, I've never been to another place where the populace is more delusionally enamored of their home turf.

I'll concede that Joe T. Garcia's was okay, but definitely not authentic in any sense. And no, they don't take plastic.

Billy Bob's is a stick-to-the-floor dive bar, nothing more. (Free the armadillo!)

I felt like calling the cops when I got the check at Bob's Chop House. I was prepared for the cost, but not for the suck.

I'll stop now. I really have nothing against DFW and I do have a bunch of friends there. I just don't get the hype, and since I'm forced to go there regularly, the bad stuff is what I remember.

I was born on a ranch in the hillcountry. I live in Fort Worth. My grandfather won the cutting horse nationals. I am about as Texas as you can get. Even I think that Fort Worth, and Texas, is a good place to be FROM, but not necessarily the best place to be.

Thanks for the informational and opinions, I am taking notes.

Paul B

I live 2 hours (about) north of Austin. I live 3 hours (about) west of Dallas. Pretty much in the dead center of Texas. Austin is my home town though (even though I moved there when I was 13). I love it and hate it. Love the town, love the sense of home I feel. Hate the traffic, hate the fact there is a police officer around every corner waiting to nab you for anything. Was there last weekend and got a ticket for running a yellow light. Seriously. Anyway, San Antonio is cool, riverwalk and all that jazz. Dallas I've never been a huge an of, except for the fact we drive through Cresson to get there. I see Motorsport Ranch every time we go.

I'm not much help, but there it is. LOL

OH, and the attitude about Texas being better than everywhere else is absolutely true. They will tell you about it constantly. Some being funny, some being asses. Ignore the asses.

Conquest351 wrote: Ignore the asses.

That's good advice for just about anywhere.