A city famous for a red horse with wings

I think so many downtowns are dying as the people - and attractions and entertainment - are moving to the 'burbs. Dallas got it right - they made a Public Art Walk to bring people downtown. My mom and I went down on a Sunday morning, and I wouldn't call it hoppin' - but it obviously brought us down, and I saw several others toting the Public Art Walk map we had downloaded and printed.

The map had 30 art and architecture landmarks in a planned, walkable route. I won't bore you with all 30. I'll stick to the highlights. But you can always see the others on the Public Art Walk website.

My favorites, most of which I've gone back to see more than once by now.

By far, my favorite was Fountain Place. I've already been back in fact, I loved it so much.
"The plaza, designed by landscape architect Dan Kiley, features 172 bubbler fountains in the pools, and 360 fountainheads in the Central Court Fountain. Kiley also designed the well-known Fort Worth Water Gardens."

It is claimed that it is up to 10 degrees cooler in the summertime. It definitely had a cooling effect. Love the bubbling "brooks," but even better are the shooting fountains. 

They weren't on the first time I visited, but my mom and dad and I went to lunch while they were visiting at Avanti, which overlooks the fountains, which was so relaxing and beautiful. The patterns of the shooting water are always different.

Towering beside the fountains is an I.M. Pei office skyscraper. I wouldn't mind working there - and having my lunch outside every afternoon.

My mom's favorite: The Pioneer Plaza.

Developed by Trammell Crow, the "combination of landscaping and sculpture offers a glimpse into a cattle drive along the Shawnee Trail, which was a conduit for cattle on their way to market in Missouri, passing through Dallas near the current site of Pioneer Plaza as early as the 1840s until just after the Civil War."

Each sculpture weighs ~1200 pounds!

I don't think you can fully communicate in photographs what this plaza feels like.

This isn't just a bunch of metal cows. It is laid out over 4.2 acres - with full landscaping - and is impressively done.

The intricacy of the sculptures, the way they are laid out - coming down the hill, crossing the stream.

You feel like you've gone back to the 1800s and the escaping steer is really being reigned back in by the cowboy.

 

 Also loved the Magnolia and the Adolphus. Side by side.

On the right,"the Magnolia building was the first skyscraper in Dallas and the first high-rise in the United States to have air conditioning. Originally designed for the Magnolia Petroleum Company - later the Mobil Oil Corporation.

Atop is the famous Pegasus. The winged red horse has been a fixture in the Dallas skyline since 1934. Airline pilots have said Pegasus is visible as far away as Waco (about 100 miles away). Actually two horses 14 feet apart, the current Pegasus was rebuilt to match the original and unveiled on New Year's Eve 1999.

The Hotel Adolphus was built by Adolphus Busch, founder of the Anheuser-Busch Brewing Association, with the intention of establishing the first grand hotel in Dallas. Upon completion in 1912 the Adolphus was the tallest building in Texas with 22 floors (the Magnolia Petroleum Building beat it in 1922). The tower on a corner of the roof is said to be modeled after a Busch beer stein. When it opened, it was called the most beautiful building west of Venice.

 

Then there was Thanksgiving Square - a park developed to promote the concept of giving thanks as a universal human value. On a Sunday morning, it is also apparently where everyone takes their dogs to do their business. It disgusts me a little than humanity can't find a better place for the pooper scooper.

My mom and I tried to go into the little sprial chapel. The door was open, but the sign very clearly said on the door that the "hours of operation" weren't until that afternoon.... so we obeyed. Not sure that anyone would have stopped us, but you know that guilty feeling like "Someone" (with a capital S) is watching, especially as you go into a chapel.

The second time, I didn't get much time to look around - just literally up. Apparently, I picked a time when many were there for the Muslim afternoon prayer time. Out of respect for them, I refrained from snapping my normal million photos, but did sneak a quick one so you could see too. The inside of the chapel is much more beautiful than I had imagined from its appearance on the outside. "Inside the chapel is a stained glass window by French designer Gabriel Loire."  Kudos Gabriel!

And so many more. :) Great Public Art walk. Way to go Dallas. Check out more photos on my Flickr.

The junk you never knew you needed for the problems you never knew you had

I now travel for work about as often as I travel for pleasure - and one thing I've found that is signficantly different about traveling for work is that I am often alone. Which means I sometimes find meaningless things to occupy my time. For example, reading SkyMall.

Honestly, I've never heard SkyMall summed up better than this: "All the junk I never knew I needed for problems I never knew I had." I cannot claim credit for this phrase. The quote was by Sheri Rosen who presented at the IABC (International Association of Business Communicators) World Conference in San Diego this week. It was in reference to SkyMall's 28 Day Mascara.

"Think how much time you'll save when you drop the daily mascara ritual. Just apply 28 Day Mascara once a month, and you're done," it reads.

In addition to that must-have, which I suppose is the poor (wo)man's version of permanent makeup application (which I also find creepy), I thought this SkyMall issue was particularly good. All products available on SkyMall.com. Check out the:

Nano-Silver Sanitizer, which pretty much looks like a a microwave for your crocs.

Apparently, it is a "multipurpose sanitizer to eradicate germs, bacteria and fungus from the surface of virtually any item with one eight-minute cycle." Of course, any item that can fit in a microwave. They should probably clarify this is not safe for use on children. Only $299.99 but if you call in the next 30 minutes, we're slashing the price - not once, not twice, but three times - and throwing in a free gift. Just pay $5.95 in shipping in handling.
 
Tranquil Sounds Oxygen Bar
Formerly, you had to go to Vegas to get a tube up your nose to provide you with more oxygen than a human being needs "for easy, concentrated inhalation."
 

Now, for just $299.99 you can experience this "stress-relieving" therapy in the comfort of your own hasn't been re-decorated since the Victorian era home rather than awkwardly snorting O2 in the middle of Fremont Street. Bonus, now you won't gamble away your money (unless of course you enjoy a hand or two or twenty of online poker).
 
Weed Whacking Golf Driver
 A simple flick of a button on its plastic bottom flips open the club to reveal a built-in grass trimmer. That could significantly improve your golf game, for just $39.95. (Much cheaper than golf lessons, which also could).
 

And now there's no need to carry your scythe to the green when you can stick a handy dual-purpose club in your bag. Much less obvious that you're cheating.

Ok, to address the elephant in the room (because I like elephants, and I think they deserve to be roaming free in Africa, not stuck in your cubicle where you're reading this on your lunch break), some of you are thinking, "Did her joke come before or after she found that cartoon?" Surprisingly, before. More surprisingly, I decided after I wrote that bit above to just see if typing "scythe in golf bag" into Google would me anything. Most surprisingly, typing "scythe in golf bag" actually turned up with a picture of a scythe in golf bag. (Saves me from a really bad photoshop job).  The New Yorker published this cartoon in 1947. You have to love the world wide web - it makes buying weed-whacking golf clubs as easy as finding a 1947 cartoon of a scythe in a golf bag.

 

Magic Wand Remote Control

So here's the scene. Guests come over. The TV is a bit too loud. No bother, I'll just turn it off with the flick of my magic wand. "Why yes, I am a wizard. Did I forget to mention my acceptance to Hogwarts in my last 13-page Christmas brag letter? Oh, no, I slipped in front of you Muggles."

 

For just $89,95, you get a wand "forged with a motion-sensing accelerometer that detects the hand's nuanced movements to translate 13 distinct gestures. Simply point the wand and your device's remote at each other and push the function on the remote the wand is to "learn"while gesturing --pressing "up volume" on a remote could be linked to the wand's up/down gesture while changing channels could be linked to the wand's clock/counterclockwise gesture."

Nevermind the fact that programming then learning those 13 gestures would take significantly more time than just using the remote. I guess this is what people do when they retire.

Authentic Bluegrass Autoharp

In case you have an extra $350.00 to spend, consider the authentic bluegrass autoharp... "it has become synonymous with the bluegrass music of Appalachia." I wonder if I can learn to play the John Denver tune... Take me home, country roads to the place where I belong.... Appalachia.

SkyMall touts, "It is easy to make music without a single lesson." Personally, I think music should not be easy to make without a single lesson. They never say that about the clarinet - and for good reason. I think music easy to make without a single lesson should be reserved for iPods and self-playing pianos.

Easter Island "Ahu Akivi Moai" Monolith Statue

For just $995, you can have your very own Easter Island "Ahu Akivi Moai" Monolith Statue. Why you would want one is the first question. Why there is a little boy holding his head and pointing is the second question.

If his purpose is merely to show the scale of your brand new Easter Island "Ahu Akivi Moai" Monolith Statue, why need he be in that position? Perhaps instead he is to show you that this addition to your backyard would provide great hiding spots when the neighbor kids come over to play hide and go seek. More likely, this is to show that the neighbor kids will point and laugh at you for having made such a ridiculous purchase.

Maybe this is the real purpose of SkyMall. It doesn't just provide "the junk you never knew you needed for the problems you never knew you had." It also provides an additional outlet for people to waste money on - junk they cannot afford and will never use. I suppose they assume if you are affluent enough to fly on airplanes, you can afford to waste your money on oxygen bars and magic wand remote controls. I wonder, however, if this magazine is also available in first class. I somehow doubt it, which is a bit ironic, and perhaps a reason why so many Americans have so much debt. Life lesson: Budget, save, and if you're going to splurge, don't do it on a Easter Island "Ahu Akivi Moai" Monolith Statue.

Bluebonnets, Buckeyes and other Texas botany

Texas is not a state I would ordinarily associate with wildflowers. 

Wyoming? Montana? Illinois? Maybe... Those are states where I picture pre-teen girls in sundresses and strappy yellow sandals running through a field of wildflowers chasing butterflies.

I guess in Texas that's the case, but the little girls wear cowboy boots instead. 

Texas is HUGE on wildflowers. There are all colors of blooms sprouting in every field - bright orange, yellow, and of course blue. The Texas favorite is the bluebonnet.

There are bluebonnet festivals and trails across North Texas, but I didn't want to have to go too far to find them. Thank goodness for the blogosphere. I googled bluebonnets near Allen, Texas - and low and behold a mommy blogger had found a bluebonnet patch at Allen Station Park. I'm sure it wasn't the most impressive display of bluebonnets Texas has to offer, but it was just a short bike ride away. 

And they were just as beautiful!

But not all flowers in Texas are wild. Some are carefully planned and planted.
The spring blooms are abundant at the Dallas Arboretum. The Arboretum is GINORMOUS. 66-acres. It took an entire afternoon to wander the grounds, and I'm still convinced I missed parts of it.

 This flower kind of looks like a bursting firework.

 

The landscaping and architecture were beautiful.

This was my favorite part of the park. Vibrant blue flowers, trellises and waterfalls.

 

 

And it's where we found the Mexican Buckeye tree. Brutus the Buckeye isn't just our mascot - Buckeye trees dotted the Ohio State campus.You know whenever you feel a longing for home, there's always something there to remind you...

"In fall, the leaves turn golden yellow and the leathery, three-lobed seed pods change from green to reddish brown. The hard, dark, shiny seeds - which rural children sometimes use for marbles - are poisonous," reads the sign. Fear the nut!

 

Hope this guy doesn't confuse the buckeyes with his stash of acorns.

The gardens overlook White Rock Lake, which we biked around later that afternoon.

The entire way around. All ten miles. Which isn't truly that large of a feat. Except for when your biking against the Dallas winds.  Because honestly, 10 miles isn't really that far on a bike. I am the first to admit that. But when you're fighting Hurricane Andrew, 10 miles feels like 10,000.

 And you'd think that at some point the wind would be at your back, propelling you forward.... No. This is a classic, "when I was your age... uphill both ways" kind of tale. 

Nevertheless, the lake was very beautiful.

 

 Even got a sneak peak at the Dallas skyline beyond the cattails.

I went home that day red - I'm not sure if it was sun or wind burn, but either way, I'll probably check the forecast before heading back out to White Rock. :D