J.R., Bobby and Sue Ellen are back. Believe it. TNT’s resurrected the television series Dallas, and it looks like a hit. But don’t believe the bill of goods that there’s nothing free in Big D. Take it from a native Dallasite, there’s plenty.
Here are some suggestions from the Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau, with a couple of ideas thrown in by me:
- See the most comprehensive collection of Spanish art on the planet – outside of Spain – at the Meadows Museum at Southern Methodist University. The sculpture garden is sublime, and the tree-lined campus of SMU itself a nice retreat.
- Not all that far away is serene Turtle Creek, an impressionist-like linear park winding its way through tony Highland Park. Ducks, and a few intrepid geese, grace the banks of the creek – across from which live the high and the mighty of Dallas society. Early morning is the best time for a quiet stroll here. Helps put the rest of the day into perspective.
- Texas Discovery Gardens is a revelation, a 7.5-acre enclave of diverse garden styles and botanicals. There’s even a butterfly house.
- The Knox-Henderson district is a laid-back two-mile area that straddles North Central Expressway, a good place to take in the Dallas inhabited by everyday people. My favorite haunt as a kid is still there on Knox Street, the Highland Park Pharmacy. It’s one of the few drug stores in the country that continues to offer a full-service soda fountain. The Cherry Coke goes down especially well on a hot summer’s day. The sodas aren’t free. But that ambiance is.
- The National Scouting Museum is a must-see for any family whose son’s ever been a Boy Scout. Immerse yourself in the Norman Rockwell Art Gallery and experience the 100-year-plus expanse of scouting via the museum’s interactive exhibits. It’s located on West Walnut Hill Lane in Irving.
(Image: dherrera_96)
