Perhaps it's the sleep deprivation talking, but I cannot say enough good about my weekend in Dallas, Arlington and Ft. Worth. Yes, I most definitely hit up all of those places in my five days in north Texas.
Upon arrival, I got to have lunch and have a nice chat with a long-time friend and fellow Rangers fan, Lisa. I hadn't seen her since my last trip to the area three years ago. Back when we both got baseball-related tattoos. Our tattoos have faded a bit since then, but it was great getting to see her, chat with her and check out her new-ish house.
After some shopping (where I bought a supercute Rangers jacket), Lisa delivered me to Nikki, one of my best friends. I spent the entire weekend with her. We had yummy food, delicious wine and a lot of quality time. She doesn't much care for baseball (or other professional sports), but she was a trooper the whole weekend. She must really love me, right?
Friday, I got to see another long-time friend, Sarah. We met about nine years ago while standing in line for a Tony Lucca concert. Not joking. We have a lot more in common than Mr. Lucca, mostly music but also Rangers baseball. I hadn't seen Sarah since her wedding, which was four years ago (almost to the date of our reunion), so it was awesome getting to see her and watch Opening Day with Sarah, her husband, Kevin, and a bunch of their friends in Ft. Worth. I also got to meet her son, Jake, who might be the most precious thing ever. Oh, and the Rangers won. It's always fun to start the season with a win.
After we returned from Ft. Worth, Nikki and I headed to the Flying Saucer. I had read and heard a lot about this place. So many beers on tap. I tried a pair of Dallas-area brews Deep Ellum Brewing Co.'s IPA and Rahr & Sons Texas Red. Both were delicious. Completely.
Saturday was all about Rangers baseball. It started with lunch at Chuy's with a bunch of fellow female Rangers fans. There were 20 of us in total, and we had a supercute waiter named, Colton.
Colton handled this loud (there was lots of laughing) and eclectic group very well, and we rewarded him with cupcakes (still thinking about those White Russian cupcakes) and tips (at least I did). I had only talked to most of these women (with the exception of six) on Twitter. It was great to finally put some real faces with all the names. And everyone I met was even more fabulous in person than they were online. I would love to get back and go to a game with those ladies. Who else is down with that?
After lunch, I walked around with Nikki and another friend, Mandy, for a little while. We ventured into Charming Charlie's. It was my first time there, and I'm pretty sure I wanted to move in. We had fun trying on different jewelry, hats and headbands. I actually ended up buying and wearing a headband that day. It just went too perfectly with my gameday outfit.
Then we were off to the ballpark for some pre-game fun. I got to meet some more Rangers fans I knew from the internet. It was a little overwhelming and a lot fun. And I got a lot of hugs. I love hugs. I also love homemade sangria and homecrafted brews. I got to enjoy both, and I was feeling good as we walked through the ballpark gates a few hours later.
Ahh. My happy place. It was my first time here since Opening Day 2009. And even though the Rangers lost, I was really glad to be back.
The good times mostly end there. Sunday was lazy (much-needed) and Monday was a stressful travel day.
All in all, it was a good trip. I wish I'd taken more photos, but it seems I got caught up in just experiencing everything instead of documenting it. That's not a bad thing, but I now wish I had more pictures from the trip. Oh well. I'll be back, right?
So glad you made the trip and that we got to meet! It was so much fun!
ReplyDeleteIf you want to steal any of my pictures from FB or my blog, feel free!! I'm a picture taking queen!
:)