Cowboy trip 06

West End Market Place.

After grabbing your luggage, getting a rental car and maps you travel the vast 5 miles to get out of Dallas Fort Worth Airport.

Dallas is huge, we stayed in Addison dropped the luggage and headed downtown.

Westend is the touristy district, near the infamous Dealy plaza where President Kennedy was assasinated. Neon lights mark Dallas Alley and a number of restaurants.  Nearby is the famous Reunion Tower, this structure looks like a giant microphone.

On this trip we could see it in the distance but lacked the time to go inside.

We did eat at the famous Sonny Bryans Smokehouse for BBQ.

Sonny Bryans was fantastic. Texas BBQ and all you can eat. I was too full and still wanted more!

We wanted to try everything so we ordered the family style with all you can eat Beef brisket, pulled pork, pork ribs, smoked turkey, ham and sliced pork. Wheewh...I'm still full with onion rings, beans, and potato salad.

We got up early to test drive the trip to Texas Stadium. Traffic was light on Saturday and the weather perfect. Getting to the stadium was a tad bit confusing for first timers. We ended up sitting in a truck stop gaining our bearings till we realized we had to travel around the stadium to get to the perimeter.

We took in the tour and entered the nirvana of a shop filled with nothing but Dallas Cowboy memorabilia, clothing and souvenirs.

The tour brought us into the circle suite boxes where the VIPs watch the game, we saw the Stadium Club and then ventured on the field. We missed the lockerroom but I guess since its during the season it might be off limits.

Cody and Shane got to play ball and make touchdowns in Texas stadium. On this trip tryouts for the arena league Dallas Desperados made the field a bit crowded but still was awesome.

We hit the shopping at the Galleria, the 4 story upscale mall.

Hunger hit so we decided to look at mexican food and headed to Blue Mesa for lunch. Located at the Village on the Parkway in Addison. This is a Mediterranean style shopping area.

Blue Mesa is a great mexican restuarant with some of the most flavorful meats. I had some thing light  - Spa Churrascarita, this is a piece of chicken, beef, vegatables or seafood on a skewer. Wow that was good stuff.

George had the fajitas and the beef was so tender you could cut it with a fork not only that but the spices were perfect.

The best was yet to come as we walked to the nearby Paciugos (pa-choo- gos) for gelato.

I have had Coldstone and Brusters but that was lead compared to this fare. There is no cream or butter used in this. It was light but the flavor was intense. You have to try the wedding cake. I ate the tramisu and chocolate chip. When you order you can get 3-5 flavors and mixed together create a whole new flavor! The only restriction was the size cup. We ordered the small and were still satisfied.

The big game started at noon but we hit the road early. We ate a breakfast at Denny's to get us going but after all the food we ate so far - that was more than enough for me and my small breakfast keep me satisfied till well after the game ended.

We got to the stadium early to take in all the ambience. I blog to Cowboys-Forum.com and meet some of the guys who manage the site at a tailgate party they had planned for this game. Brats, sausage and hot dogs were offered along with drinks but I was already more than satisfied.

We spent time circling the stadium and then found our seats. We were so close - right on the 10 yard line close to the railing. On top of that we sat in front of the tunnel the Cowboys come out of, too good!

My sons were taking in Rowdythe Cowboys western garbed mascot and a costumed Count Chocula and Frankenberry. I was taken by the proximity to the cheerleaders.

We watched as the Cowboys took the field to stretch and prep for the game. Only dressed in shorts and T-shirts, it's a part of the game you never get on TV.

The scoreboard clicks down the time till kickoff and about 15-20 minutes before an inflatable helmet is set-up and firework boxes with torches rolls on the field. The cheerleaders form an alley so proceeds the music and fanfare as Rowdy and then the whole team pour out in their home whites.

The drizzly rain came but barely touches the spectators due to the canopy and the famous "hole in the roof" still lets elements be part of the game.

The score was 6-3 Houston from a pretty mundane half but that gave way to a scoring barrage that included Terrel Ownes cacthing his first 2 Cowboy passes right in front of us, along with a spectacular, acrobatic Greg Ellis interception and a Terrence Newmen return of a pitch.

The rout was on and the cowboys won 34-6. All in all it was great.

We waited in the stadium for the crowd to filter out then made our way to the Tom Landry Statue outside the stadium for photos. We took our time and found the car as the rain started getting heavier we sat just listening to the after game interviews and anaylsis on the local radio. Traffic moved so slow and plodding. We took our time and made our way back. To Addison.

Our last meal was to be at Peggy Sues BBQ but we did not want to take to the highway due to the rain and visability.  We made it to the region near SMU, "Lovers Lane" a real road in Dallas marks the district. Right infront of SMU is Peggy Sue.

This time George ordered a jalapeno and BBQ wrap along with a sandwich, I got the 3 meat smapler. I was full and basically looked at my dinner. I could not eat at it was around 6, we ate breakfast at 9 but I not hunger. My voice was cracking and weak from yelling at the game, and I had a slight headache that I though was due to lack of food but I was wrong so we packed up most all of the food. Lucky we had a suite that has a refrigerator.

On the way back the rain came down steady and we talked about the gelato. In Virginia that shop woudl have been closed by now - 7:00 PM. we said lets make a run over there and see since it would be a long while till we could try another taste of Paciugo. The long drive back and the rain made us lose our bearings for about half and hour but once we got stright it woudl be another 30 minutes till we got to the shop.

I anticipated it being closed but as we drove close we could see customers seated in side. We rushed in as if they were going to lock the doors in seconds and delighted in the chance to savor more gelato. we were so into the stuff we got some to go and we knew we had to eat it that night or early in the morning since our flight leaves at noon.

I fell asleep watching the game wrapup on ESPN. The next morning had us packing and showering early to get to the airport. My breakfast this morning was the left over BBQ and still we ate the left over gelato from the night before. What a breakfast! Hey but we were on vacation so there were no rules, right!

The trip to the rental car center and then the flights, connecting flights and layovers concluded this trip.

When the new stadium is built we hope to make that trip but maybe before it does we can try this again. In the meantime I just keep hoping for more gelato!