Embedded Files
11/16/2018: The Perot Museum in Downtown Dallas is truly a wonderful museum. Architecturally it is a beautiful building and from the inside it’s very well done. We had a very fun day here and would love to come back some day. As an added bonus, it was a sunny and warm day. It was nice shift from the cold and wind we had experienced in Dallas up to this point.
11/16/2018: The Perot Museum in Downtown Dallas is truly a wonderful museum. Architecturally it is a beautiful building and from the inside it’s very well done. We had a very fun day here and would love to come back some day. As an added bonus, it was a sunny and warm day. It was nice shift from the cold and wind we had experienced in Dallas up to this point.
Okay, so here’s the deal, our kids have never seen acorns before this trip. So, they are enjoying them very much!
Okay, so here’s the deal, our kids have never seen acorns before this trip. So, they are enjoying them very much!
On the surface of it, this could be any ole’ picture of Grant posing with an animal in the background…….
On the surface of it, this could be any ole’ picture of Grant posing with an animal in the background…….
……until you see the name of the animal!
……until you see the name of the animal!
If you know Grant, then you know his love for ALL things Helicopter! There was a hands on science experiment that spoke to the theory of flight and gave you the chance to practice your helicopter hovering skills. To any and all other kids that wanted the opportunity to try their hand at this on the day we were there……I’m sorry.
If you know Grant, then you know his love for ALL things Helicopter! There was a hands on science experiment that spoke to the theory of flight and gave you the chance to practice your helicopter hovering skills. To any and all other kids that wanted the opportunity to try their hand at this on the day we were there……I’m sorry.
11/17/2018: Today we venture out the Cedar Ridge Preserve. This place is almost 600 acres of wonderfully wooded landscape that is still so close to the city that you can hear sirens. It was another beautiful day and it was a great place to experience a hike somewhere new.
11/17/2018: Today we venture out the Cedar Ridge Preserve. This place is almost 600 acres of wonderfully wooded landscape that is still so close to the city that you can hear sirens. It was another beautiful day and it was a great place to experience a hike somewhere new.
Good thing she brought her binoculars…..and pink cowboy boots!!!
Good thing she brought her binoculars…..and pink cowboy boots!!!
Dylan is starting to learn the concept of “Photo Bombing”…..he’s not good at it yet, but he’s learning.
Dylan is starting to learn the concept of “Photo Bombing”…..he’s not good at it yet, but he’s learning.
11/18/2018: Okay, a little background first; The Red Bull Air Race series is a set of pilots and very purpose built aircraft that travel the world to different race courses vying for the championship by winning points at each race. Think of it like Race Cars, but in the air. If you’ve seen the movie “Planes”, then you know that “Dusty Crophopper” has a dream to one day become a racer like the Red Bull series Here’s a good example of what I’m talking about:
11/18/2018: Okay, a little background first; The Red Bull Air Race series is a set of pilots and very purpose built aircraft that travel the world to different race courses vying for the championship by winning points at each race. Think of it like Race Cars, but in the air. If you’ve seen the movie “Planes”, then you know that “Dusty Crophopper” has a dream to one day become a racer like the Red Bull series Here’s a good example of what I’m talking about:
Okay, now that we have that out of the way, there is one “Superstar” of the series and his name is Kirby Chambliss. Think of him like the Mario Andretti of the race series. He’s an ambassador for the sport and just a good guy. Kirby has historically flown the Red Bull sponsored plane and has done a phenomenal job marketing himself and the race series. Publicity video for the race in Texas:
Okay, now that we have that out of the way, there is one “Superstar” of the series and his name is Kirby Chambliss. Think of him like the Mario Andretti of the race series. He’s an ambassador for the sport and just a good guy. Kirby has historically flown the Red Bull sponsored plane and has done a phenomenal job marketing himself and the race series. Publicity video for the race in Texas:
Now that you know all that, the next thing you need to know is that Grant LOOOOOOVES Kirby Chambliss. He watches Kirby Chambliss videos on YouTube and he talks about him on a very regular basis. Wouldn’t you know it, the last race of the season was held at Texas Motor Speedway while we were in town and mainly for Grant’s sake, I wasn’t going to pass on the opportunity to see it. Here’s a picture of Grant standing in front of Kirby’s hangar in the infield. Important to note that this was as close at the general public was allowed to get and that’s after paying the additional $10 for an “Infield Pass”.
Now that you know all that, the next thing you need to know is that Grant LOOOOOOVES Kirby Chambliss. He watches Kirby Chambliss videos on YouTube and he talks about him on a very regular basis. Wouldn’t you know it, the last race of the season was held at Texas Motor Speedway while we were in town and mainly for Grant’s sake, I wasn’t going to pass on the opportunity to see it. Here’s a picture of Grant standing in front of Kirby’s hangar in the infield. Important to note that this was as close at the general public was allowed to get and that’s after paying the additional $10 for an “Infield Pass”.
A particularly pivotal moment of the day came when I noticed somebody in the crowd that was wearing a jacket that indicated he was part of Kriby’s crew. I had a brief chat with him about the “importance” of Grant getting to meet Kirby. Amazingly, he went back to the hangar, retrieved the team manager and we had a chat with her. We make arrangements for the “possibility” of meeting him after the first round of the race. Sure enough, after that first round, she came out to the fence and hung “VIP Passes” around our necks and in we go. It was a brief visit, but an honor and a privilege to get any of his time on a race day. I like to think that it was the highlight of the trip for Grant up to that point and he talked about it for a long time.
A particularly pivotal moment of the day came when I noticed somebody in the crowd that was wearing a jacket that indicated he was part of Kriby’s crew. I had a brief chat with him about the “importance” of Grant getting to meet Kirby. Amazingly, he went back to the hangar, retrieved the team manager and we had a chat with her. We make arrangements for the “possibility” of meeting him after the first round of the race. Sure enough, after that first round, she came out to the fence and hung “VIP Passes” around our necks and in we go. It was a brief visit, but an honor and a privilege to get any of his time on a race day. I like to think that it was the highlight of the trip for Grant up to that point and he talked about it for a long time.
11/20/2018: Today we ventured out to the Ft. Worth Museum of Science. In the world of “big city” museums, it is a small-ish place, but we liked that. It was a little bit quieter and had some really great hands on, interactive, exhibits.
11/20/2018: Today we ventured out to the Ft. Worth Museum of Science. In the world of “big city” museums, it is a small-ish place, but we liked that. It was a little bit quieter and had some really great hands on, interactive, exhibits.
Dylan tries out the bed of nails
Dylan tries out the bed of nails
Grant enjoyed the heck out of this HUGE Lite-Brite
Grant enjoyed the heck out of this HUGE Lite-Brite
It doesn’t seem to matter where we go, it seems like everybody has a “digging for bones” type of activity. Honestly, I can’t figure out why our kids keep enjoying it as much as they do because it seems painfully repetitive, but man o’ man, they just love it.
It doesn’t seem to matter where we go, it seems like everybody has a “digging for bones” type of activity. Honestly, I can’t figure out why our kids keep enjoying it as much as they do because it seems painfully repetitive, but man o’ man, they just love it.
They have beautiful Dr. Seuss sculpture garden that I found quite amazing. The detail was remarkable.
They have beautiful Dr. Seuss sculpture garden that I found quite amazing. The detail was remarkable.
11/21/2018: We are just calling this “Downtown Dallas” day. We had already ventured down here for the Perot Museum, but that was a full day all by itself. This time, we had a list of smaller things all over the city that we wanted to hit. Started off at Thanks-Giving Square and I’d like to note that it was the day before Thanksgiving, so we found it quite appropriate.
11/21/2018: We are just calling this “Downtown Dallas” day. We had already ventured down here for the Perot Museum, but that was a full day all by itself. This time, we had a list of smaller things all over the city that we wanted to hit. Started off at Thanks-Giving Square and I’d like to note that it was the day before Thanksgiving, so we found it quite appropriate.
Thanks-Giving Square is this pie shape wedge that probably amounts to half a city block right in Downtown Dallas. It’s easy to just walk right by it and miss it, but I was glad that we stopped to investigate because it’s pretty neat. The kids got the most amount of enjoyment from this giant ring. If you are standing inside the ring, you can hear your own voice echo, but nobody else can. Step just an inch or two outside the ring and all is normal, but stand in the “sweet spot” right in the middle and your voice reverberates.
Thanks-Giving Square is this pie shape wedge that probably amounts to half a city block right in Downtown Dallas. It’s easy to just walk right by it and miss it, but I was glad that we stopped to investigate because it’s pretty neat. The kids got the most amount of enjoyment from this giant ring. If you are standing inside the ring, you can hear your own voice echo, but nobody else can. Step just an inch or two outside the ring and all is normal, but stand in the “sweet spot” right in the middle and your voice reverberates.
At one end of the square is this spiral shaped spire that we’ll just call a “place of reflection”. It’s very church-like inside with several seats and a podium, but I doubt they have actual services there. What is notable is the stained glass installation. I think they claimed that it’s one of the largest _horizontal_ stained glass installations in the world. It was very beautiful to look at, but painfully frustrating to photograph.
At one end of the square is this spiral shaped spire that we’ll just call a “place of reflection”. It’s very church-like inside with several seats and a podium, but I doubt they have actual services there. What is notable is the stained glass installation. I think they claimed that it’s one of the largest _horizontal_ stained glass installations in the world. It was very beautiful to look at, but painfully frustrating to photograph.
Pioneer Plaza is one of those tourist-y things that is on most every “Must See in Dallas” lists, so we did. It’s a large park that contain an extremely sprawling sculpture installation of an early American cattle drive. It’s one of those things that looks sort of boring in pictures, but in person, the details really bring it to life. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.
Pioneer Plaza is one of those tourist-y things that is on most every “Must See in Dallas” lists, so we did. It’s a large park that contain an extremely sprawling sculpture installation of an early American cattle drive. It’s one of those things that looks sort of boring in pictures, but in person, the details really bring it to life. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.
I like taking pictures. I take thousands of pictures per year. It’s a simple pleasure in life for me that makes me smile inside most of the time. One of my favorite things when taking pictures is when a picture comes together completely by accident….or at least without much thought. In this case, we were walking back to our car from Pioneer Plaza and we were cutting through this little park to save some time and there was this water feature “thing” and Grace and Dylan asked if they could try to walk through it. Out loud, I said “sure, have at it”, but in my head I said “yeah, yeah, whatever, I am sure that you are going to get soaking wet and we are ALL going to be miserable as a result”. After that, I walked to the end of this “Water Feature” and got ready to take a picture of their extreme misery as they got soaked…..what I ended up with was my favorite picture of the trip to date. That’ll teach me to be negative!
I like taking pictures. I take thousands of pictures per year. It’s a simple pleasure in life for me that makes me smile inside most of the time. One of my favorite things when taking pictures is when a picture comes together completely by accident….or at least without much thought. In this case, we were walking back to our car from Pioneer Plaza and we were cutting through this little park to save some time and there was this water feature “thing” and Grace and Dylan asked if they could try to walk through it. Out loud, I said “sure, have at it”, but in my head I said “yeah, yeah, whatever, I am sure that you are going to get soaking wet and we are ALL going to be miserable as a result”. After that, I walked to the end of this “Water Feature” and got ready to take a picture of their extreme misery as they got soaked…..what I ended up with was my favorite picture of the trip to date. That’ll teach me to be negative!
The last stop on our “Downtown Dallas Day” was at this beautiful Samurai Museum. They claim that it’s the largest collection of Samurai artifacts outside of Japan and I believe them. It occupies a space above a fine dining restaurant and is painfully confusing to find, but once you are there, it is beautiful. Everything is impeccably restored and presented with stunning attention to detail.
The last stop on our “Downtown Dallas Day” was at this beautiful Samurai Museum. They claim that it’s the largest collection of Samurai artifacts outside of Japan and I believe them. It occupies a space above a fine dining restaurant and is painfully confusing to find, but once you are there, it is beautiful. Everything is impeccably restored and presented with stunning attention to detail.
11/22/2018: We have come to accept that there _will_ be days that we are _not_ going to venture out into world for activities. There has to be “Down Days”. To that end, the campground we were staying at had these 3-wheels bikes for rent and the kids had been bugging us for a while to try them out. Today was one of those days and plenty of smiles were the result.
11/22/2018: We have come to accept that there _will_ be days that we are _not_ going to venture out into world for activities. There has to be “Down Days”. To that end, the campground we were staying at had these 3-wheels bikes for rent and the kids had been bugging us for a while to try them out. Today was one of those days and plenty of smiles were the result.
11/23/2018: Waco Mammoth National Monument. Just outside of Waco Texas, they found a collection of Mammoth fossils in a small river bed. Some have been fully extracted, but others they have left in situ and built a building around them for the public to come view. You can only enter the building in timed intervals and with a Park Ranger, but that's okay because we enjoyed our Ranger very much.
11/23/2018: Waco Mammoth National Monument. Just outside of Waco Texas, they found a collection of Mammoth fossils in a small river bed. Some have been fully extracted, but others they have left in situ and built a building around them for the public to come view. You can only enter the building in timed intervals and with a Park Ranger, but that's okay because we enjoyed our Ranger very much.
Grant was having a bad day and was NOT impressed.
Grant was having a bad day and was NOT impressed.
11/24/2018: North of Dallas is the town of McKinney and the home to the Heard Natural Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary. As the name implies it is part Museum and part Wildlife Sanctuary. *I* might add part nature preserve because there was an amazing network of trails that having you exploring their ~300 acres of undeveloped land. This includes prairie land, wooded land, marsh land and a large section of riverfront. Very interesting place with lots to see if you’re will to walk a little.
11/24/2018: North of Dallas is the town of McKinney and the home to the Heard Natural Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary. As the name implies it is part Museum and part Wildlife Sanctuary. *I* might add part nature preserve because there was an amazing network of trails that having you exploring their ~300 acres of undeveloped land. This includes prairie land, wooded land, marsh land and a large section of riverfront. Very interesting place with lots to see if you’re will to walk a little.
I don’t know what they are feeding the raccoons at this place, but they are angry little creatures!
I don’t know what they are feeding the raccoons at this place, but they are angry little creatures!
The highlight for the kids was their animatronic dinosaurs. I’ll even admit that they were VERY well done!
The highlight for the kids was their animatronic dinosaurs. I’ll even admit that they were VERY well done!
This one “spits” water at you and they both knew that and they both seem to prepare for that, but it would appear that it STILL caught Grace a little of guard!
This one “spits” water at you and they both knew that and they both seem to prepare for that, but it would appear that it STILL caught Grace a little of guard!
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