Entries from October 2007
Welcome to my who-knows-how-long tribute to the State Fair of Texas! The actual Fair ended on October 21, 2007, a week ago as of this writing; consider this your Monday-morning, armchair-quarterback dissection of the event. I’ll try to keep these entries down to a manageable length, but there’s a lot to see, hear, and do. After all, our State Fair is the biggest in the country, with more than 3,000,000 visitors a year. That’s a lot of aching feet. But it’s a great state fair, and I can prove it. See?
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Tags: Events
Let’s pick up from where we left off last time, shall we?
So there I was, in Houston — almost home, I thought. Little did I know that the worst was yet to come. Here’s a big tip: if you get stranded in Houston, don’t expect tea and sympathy from Continental, ExpressJet or from Bush International Airport, especially when they can blame things on the weather. Sure, if they’d actually tried to help everyone they’d have taken a huge financial hit that day — but sometimes you have to suck it up and service the customer. I’ve owned a business or two, so I know what I’m taking about. ExpressJet treated me and my fellow passengers like annoying bugs. This isn’t the way to succeed; it’s a recipe for failure. Aren’t two bankruptcies of the parent corporation enough to teach them anything?
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Tags: Transportation
I recently endured an experience that provides me with a good, heartwarming opportunity to warn you about the kind of treatment you can expect at the hands of some Texas airlines and airports, depending on the weather. Beware, traveler: this could happen to you! (Cue dramatic music.)
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Tags: Transportation
Welcome to the first entry of a new category: Shopping. A friend recently pointed out to me that most people like to shop when they’re on vacation, seeing as how spending money can be soooo relaxing. I quickly realize that she was right — I shop when I’m out of town, too, just in case I see something I can’t find at home. When I was pondering what I’d introduce the category with, it occurred to me that I spend a lot of money on books. That being the case, the first entry for the Shopping category popped into mind with no trouble at all — so here you go.
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Tags: Shopping
Here’s what I know you’ve been eagerly waiting for, and about time, isn’t it? I’m talking about Part III of my three-part tour of what may be Dallas’ biggest landmark, Fair Park — the place that’s ostensibly meant to house the great State Fair of Texas, but which is oh so much more. As you’re probably aware by now, my intent is to prepare you for the annual extravaganza itself. The truth is, I’ve already been there and come back with pictures, which I plan to entertain you with extensively in the upcoming weeks. Meanwhile, enjoy this introduction, and this one, and this one.
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Tags: Events
Welcome back to our three-part retrospective of Fair Park, which will soon be followed by the who-knows-how-long 2007 State Fair report itself. First, a few fun facts. Did you know that Fair Park consists of 277 jam-packed acres, and has been hosting the Fair since 1886? The Texas State Fair has the highest number of visitors of any state fair in the USA, drawing more than three million visitors annually. Most of the important buildings in Fair Park were built for the Centennial Exposition in 1836 (which celebrated the founding of the Republic of Texas), and as with most such structures, they were built to last and have been lovingly maintained.
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Tags: Events
The State Fair of Texas is upon us; in fact, it started just over a week ago as of this writing (October 7), back at the tail-end of September. I haven’t gotten to go yet, but I expect I’ll be heading over there in the middle of next week or thereabouts. Meanwhile, this is an excellent opportunity to introduce you to Fair Park itself, which is a semi-permanent affair in which almost all of the structures therein live lives of their own, independent of the yearly fair. I’ve already given you a taste of that fact with my entry on the Dallas Aquarium at Fair Park, which is nestled within its own little corner of the fairgrounds. Gators and gars and piranhas, oh my!
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Tags: Events
A while back I wrote a brief entry about the Sixth Floor Museum – the facility in Dallas’ historic West End that celebrates the life (and tragic death) of President John F. Kennedy, who was murdered by an assassin stationed in the very warehouse, and on the very floor, where the museum is located now. The Sixth Floor Museum is the most obvious of the local tributes to that day in November 1963, but it’s not the only reminder of our shared civic tragedy.
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Tags: Architecture · Attractions · Memorials
