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Monday, June 8, 2020

Fort Worth, TX - FL To NM Road Trip - Stop 6 - Day 2



We headed back into Texas after our visit to New Mexico.  We had stopped in Texas for two days, and enjoyed all San Antonio had to offer, on our way to New Mexico.  On our way back, we were stopping in Dallas/Fort Worth.  We wanted to see both these cities so we dedicated one day to each.  We spent our first day in Dallas.  Today we would be spending the entire day in Fort Worth.

The weather forecast for our day in Fort Worth was not a good one for a full day of sightseeing outdoors but that was our plan for the day!  So we set out prepared with our umbrellas and winter jackets.  We were determined to do everything we had listed on our itinerary.  The first stop of the day was the Stockyards National Historic District.


We were excited about seeing the cattle drive that happens here twice-daily at 11:30 am and 4:00 pm.  It was really cool and fun to get a close up view of  the cattle and cowboys.


After the cattle drive, we made our way to the visitor's center to get a map and a bag of goodies.  The hostess at the visitors's center also gave us free entrance tickets to Billy Bob's Texas, the world's largest honky-tonk. 


The 100,000 square foot entertainment center has 30 bar stations, an indoor rodeo arena, mechanical bulls and a huge dance floor.  Some of country music's biggest stars have performed at this venue.  


It was very early in the afternoon when we went so besides for a small group of people drinking at one of the bar stations, there wasn't anything else going on.  It was still fun to look around though.  Hopefully, we can come back to Fort Worth one day to experience Billy Bob's when it's hopping.  That would make a great memory, I'm sure!


Billy Bob's would be the place to be in the evening but there is plenty to do and see during the day at The Stockyards like the Stockyard Museum and the Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame.  There are also plenty of gift shops and western wear shops here and we went into most of them looking for souvenirs for the kids. 


We gave our grandpuppy the pet bandana we got in our free bag of goodies at the visitor's center.  We think he liked it!


There were also lots of restaurants here but our plan was to eat lunch at a restaurant that our friends suggested.  We were getting hungry so it was time to leave The Stockyards and find Velvet Taco.


The selection of tacos here were the most unique we have ever seen before.  The taco ingredients included items like charred tomato poblano salsa, house brined pickles and buttered cilantro basmati rice.  It was so hard to make a decision about which one to get and we did only get one because we knew we would be meeting Cristina and Matt for dinner at their favorite BBQ joint in a couple of hours.  Soko finally decided on the picnic chicken taco and I had the grilled flank steak taco.


We shared the barbacoa beef nachos with blue corn chips, queso blanco, roasted corn pico, lime crema, salsa verde, queso fresco and micro clantro.  It was delicious!  Everything we ate here was so fresh and amazing.  We really need to get back here one day to try the rest of their menu!


It drizzled and rained the entire day we were in Fort Worth but we couldn't let that stop us from doing the other sightseeing we wanted to do here.  Next on our itinerary was the Fort Worth Botanic Garden.  (We were determined to see as many gardens as we could on this road trip!)


I especially wanted to check out the Japanese garden here.


  It was so authentic that I started to get homesick for my mom's homeland.


The other areas of these gardens were equally as nice and we were happy that the rain let up a bit when we got here so we were able to enjoy all of it.


We had one more stop before meeting our friends for dinner.  Sundance Square is the heart of downtown Fort Worth and is a 35 block shopping and entertainment district.  By the time we got there, though, the rain was really coming down and it got very cold.  We wound up going to the Cheesecake Factory to have a cup of coffee to wait to see if the rain would let up a bit.  We wanted to, at least, go to the Fort Worth Water Gardens, if not anything else.  The rain never let up so no water gardens for us, but we did take a ride past it to get a glimpse at least.


We toured the rest of the downtown area by car but would have loved to be able to walk around the city.  Next time!


Now it was time to meet up with our friends and have some Texas BBQ.  Their suggestion was Heim Barbeque whose food Cristina and Matt have enjoyed since the days they sold their delicious meats and sides from a food truck.


Cristina was nice enough to order for us to make sure we got to try all their best offerings.  The guys got a plateful of meats and the girls got the brisket sandwiches.  The meats were smoky and tender and the sides, mac and cheese, twice baked potato salad and coleslaw were all so yummy.  We knew from the first bite why this place is a favorite of Cristina and Matt.


We also had the most delicious banana pudding, complete with crushed vanilla wafers and banana slices, that I have ever eaten and bacon burnt ends which I'd never had before but haven't stopped thinking about having again one day!


One of the best things about road tripping is that you sometimes wind up in someone's new hometown and can catch up a bit after not seeing them for years.  We had so much fun catching up with these two!


After a day of spending the entire day eating delicious food, (Did I mention the Whataburger Breakfast Burger Soko ate to start the day off and the cheesecake we shared at the Cheesecake Factory?!) it was time for us to head back to the campsite but we should have been heading to the gym!  

Next stop Arkansas!!














6 comments:

  1. You did so much in Fort Worth TX and it looks like you both had a great time. Thanks for taking us along with you.
    Thanks for visiting and leaving a comment on my post of the greek marinade I made. I hope you try it out as it gives chicken a great flavor. Enjoy the week. Julie xo

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    1. Thank you for stopping by and I can't wait to try your greek marinade. I am trying to go shopping only once a month now so it's on my list for July!

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  2. That cattle drive looks so neat! Thanks for sharing with us at Encouraging Hearts and Home. Pinned.

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    1. It was a little scary being so close to the huge horns of the cattle!

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  3. So glad you are enjoying your trip. I used to live in San Antonio and miss the culture there. Texas is a great adventure. Thanks for sharing with us at #HomeMattersParty

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    1. Yes! Texas is a great adventure and we loved San Antonio. It was one of the first places we stopped on this road trip. This link will take you to our San Antonio post if you would like to see what we did in your old neighborhood - http://www.lifeof2snowbirds.com/2020/04/san-antonio-tx-fl-to-nm-road-trip-stop-3.html - Thanks for stopping by and for hosting your nice party every week!

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