2 Trips to DFW in a Week

There have been a couple of times I have ended up in the same place multiple times in a short period of time. I once had to go to Lubbock two weeks in a row. For this time, I would be heading to the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) area twice in a week.

One thing I have found is you know you've been living in Texas for a while when you refer to this area as DFW. Almost everyone in Texas refers to the area as DFW, but anyone who hasn't been here a while will scratch their heads until you say, "Dallas-Fort Worth."

From Austin, DFW is about 3 hours away. It is a bit of a haul to get there. For my first visit, I was going to visit my buddy, Andy. He is a Dallas police officer. Ironically, we have both known each other since middle school. We're both from Marshfield, Wisconsin yet ended up in Texas.

Since Andy is a cop, he has to work on normal weekends. His weekends are typically Tuesdays and Wednesdays. While I was working and traveling to TABC, this made it hard to visit him. Since my departure from TABC and going full time with my blog, it is much easier to drop by during his time off. Visiting him early in the week was going to be my first trip to DFW.

My second trip to DFW was for Victoria's dad's birthday party. Her uncle lives in Plano, and they planned a get together there. We were going to stay the weekend and have a good time. Victoria was actually going to drive on this trip. This meant I only had to actually drive once to DFW.

I packed my trusty backpack to stay the night at Andy's. I then threw it in the 2007 Focus, along with the beer I bought at Which Craft.

Gray and black backpacks sitting on an entryway mat by a white door Blue backpack on car passenger seat next to paper bag and water bottle with popcorn scattered on floor

I hit the road for DFW. I made a pit stop at 7-11 for gas and some breakfast.

Black car at 7-Eleven gas station with fuel pump nozzle inserted Two croissant sandwiches with egg, ham and cheese alongside Kickstart energy drink on car seat

It was a cloudy day when I hit the road. I definitely needed that caffeine I bought as a pick me up.

Overcast highway view showing concrete lanes and sparse traffic near billboard

A while later, I made another pit stop at Slovacek's. I got a little food to eat on my way.

Buc-ee's beaver logo sign mounted on metal tower structure against cloudy sky Smokery's Best pepperoni receipt and two meat sticks (orange and brown) in plastic packaging

Before you know it, I was by Andy's apartment. We opened up the mystery six pack I bought from Which Craft and then BSed a little bit.

Two brown paper bags marked "Keep Mystery Beef? $10 All ATX, All the Time" on kitchen counter Six craft beer cans with colorful labels arranged in row next to bananas and produce on granite counter

We both had Flying Man wheat beer. It was really good!

Flying Man Brewing Company Crophopper Wheat Ale can with illustrated label on granite countertop

After hanging out a while, we thought it would be cool to go to a Dallas Stars game. Andy found cheap $10 tickets. We decided we wanted to drink a few more beers and also save on parking, so we got a Lyft to take us downtown. This was actually my first Lyft experience.

iPhone App Store screen showing Lyft and Lyft Driver app listings with download buttons

We had some time to kill and were hungry. We walked around a bit to find a place to eat. I took a few pictures and noticed there were grackles everywhere, just like Austin.

Dallas skyline at night featuring illuminated buildings including green-lit Reunion Tower Prevost tour bus parked on Dallas street at dusk with illuminated brick building behind Two wooden owl sculptures on pedestals in Dallas urban plaza at twilight Same wooden owl sculptures from different angle showing street and downtown buildings Dallas street scene at night with traffic, buildings and overpass infrastructure Victory Park sign with power lines and Dallas skyline buildings visible through evening haze Birds perched on multiple power lines creating pattern against gray sky with Dallas buildings Close-up of hundreds of birds lined up on power lines with urban buildings blurred in background Yellow pedestrian crossing sign with T-Rex skeleton chasing people silhouettes reading "PUSH THE BUTTON BEFORE CROSSING" Person walking on wide Dallas sidewalk at night with illuminated buildings and Reunion Tower in background Blurry nighttime view of Dallas downtown area with illuminated skyscrapers and street traffic Oak Lawn street sign at night with green-lit Reunion Tower and highway overpass visible behind Night street scene showing El Fenix restaurant sign with Dallas skyline and traffic in background

Andy liked El Fenix, so when we saw it, we headed over there.

El Fenix Restaurant illuminated oval sign at night reading "Mexican Food" and "Restaurant" with office building behind

After eating at El Fenix, we walked to American Airlines Arena. As we got closer, we saw a lot more hockey fans.

Dallas skyline at dusk showing multiple high-rise towers and highway overpass with moving traffic below Multi-story illuminated parking garage at night with residential buildings visible above Circular fire feature with blue and white flames in outdoor plaza at night Motion-blurred nighttime street scene with colorful light trails from traffic and buildings Shopping complex parking lot at night with blue-lit modern buildings and rows of parked cars with brake lights Colorful illuminated building facade with red and gold panels visible across busy nighttime intersection with traffic cones Three people in hockey jerseys walking toward illuminated entertainment district building at night

Soon we were inside the American Airlines Arena. The Dallas Stars were taking on the New York Rangers. This was actually my first professional hockey game I attended. I figured I'd root for the home team and was glad Dallas won 2-1.

Knowing that there would be surge pricing after the game for Lyft, we decided to go to a bar. We planned to have a beer or two and let things calm down. We settled on going to Hooters.

Green-lit Reunion Tower rising above parking area and highway overpass at night Covered walkway or concourse at night with shops visible through windows and overhead lighting

We met some air traffic controllers from Abilene who also went to the hockey game. There were also plenty of other hockey fans around including this guy:

Reflection in window showing person and scoreboard with "HOOTERS" text visible

After two beers, it was time to go home. I summoned Lyft, and we were soon back to Andy's apartment. We had two more drinks before calling it a night. Both of the Austin beers I drank after this were a bit sour and I didn't care for them.

Hand holding Austin Beerworks craft beer can with red, white and blue design featuring "A" logo Hand holding Austin Ciderworks Argus Ciderkin can with pink and white design

Andy's dog Bella also kept us company.

German Shepherd dog with tongue out looking at camera indoors with backpacks and pet bed on floor

The next morning, we got breakfast at Dallas Diner. It was just down the road from Andy's station. After breakfast, we swung by his station so I could fill out ride along paperwork. That will be an upcoming adventure that I will blog about.

Winterhaven Patrol Division building sign with white dome top on cloudy day with bare trees Three flags on tall poles against overcast sky with bare trees visible below

I hit the road and then headed back to Austin. The weather was even more dreary and rainy than when I came there the day before.

Highway view showing multiple lanes with sparse traffic and hotels visible in distance under cloudy sky Empty wet highway stretching into distance under overcast sky with flat rural landscape on both sides

I made a pit stop at Buc-ee's for gas. Even with almost 258,000 miles, the 2007 Focus still got almost 36mpg!

Car dashboard showing fuel gauge at half tank and odometer reading 257,866 kilometers with trip meter at 34.73 Buc-ee's gas pump display showing $21.37 total for 9.503 gallons Black Ford Focus at Buc-ee's gas station pump under covered area Buc-ee's exterior parking lot view on overcast day showing store with three stars on facade and parked vehicles

I then made it back to Austin and chilled out until Friday morning. That's when I loaded up the trusty backpack again for the weekend.

Gray and black backpack leaning against wall near electrical outlet on carpet

Victoria was driving, so we made a quick pit stop for breakfast.

Hand holding yellow Rockstar Recovery lemonade energy drink and green cheese dip container on napkin

It was still kind of cloudy and dismal, like previous drives I took.

Highway view approaching overpass with overhead signs and minimal traffic under cloudy sky Elevated highway view following red vehicle on curved roadway under gray sky

In between the drive, we stopped at Czech Stop. We got some more food and then hit the road for the airport to pick up Victoria's brother Michael.

Airport approach road with overhead signs directing to terminals and service roads under partly cloudy sky Highway traffic with white Jaguar and other vehicles approaching overpass under cloudy sky Airport roadway with parking garage and air traffic control tower visible ahead under partly cloudy sky Nissan Xterra with roof rack waiting at airport terminal pickup area with police vehicle nearby

We then headed to Victoria's uncle's house in Plano.

Suburban street with water tower visible in distance, bare trees lining road, and school bus on right

After waiting for everyone to arrive, we all headed to Cantina Laredo. The food here was amazing! It was the best corn tortillas I had! Once we chowed down, it was time to go to work off those calories at Top Golf.

Top Golf was a lot of fun. By the time we were done, it was time to head to our hotel and check-in. We stayed at a La Quinta, the hotel chain I've become very accustomed to. On our way to the hotel, we pulled alongside this Lamborghini. You could tell you were in a richer area of town. The dude driving it was pretty cool.

Black Lamborghini sports car in parking lot with modern building in background on sunny day Black Lamborghini with angular design parked under highway overpass with brake lights illuminated

Once we got settled at the hotel, we went back to Victoria's uncle's place. For dinner, we headed over to Spring Creek BBQ. There was a nice sunset along the way.

Woman wearing blue mirrored aviator sunglasses smiling in car backseat with traffic visible through window Dramatic orange and pink sunset with silhouetted trees and parked cars on residential street Vivid orange and pink sunset sky behind traffic lights and utility poles at intersection with evening traffic Motion-blurred sunset view from moving car showing orange sky, power lines and road with vehicles

After Spring Creek BBQ it was time to go back to the hotel and get a good's night rest. There was a lot planned for the next day. We then got a good night's sleep. In the morning we met again at Victoria's uncle's house.

We were planning on getting a heavy dinner, so we opted for Chili's for a light lunch. Chili's was just enough to hit the spot. We had some time to kill, so Victoria's uncle drove us around Dallas and the suburbs.

After riding around a bit, it was time for that heavy dinner. We went to Kobe Steaks Japanese Restaurant. The food and show we got with them cooking it was amazing! While we got a show of them cooking for us, our next stop was a comedy show. We went across the parking lot to Addison Improv.

The show was good, and I got a bunch of good laughs from it. Once the show was over, we headed back to Victoria's uncle's place. We hung out and ate some cupcakes to celebrate her dad's birthday. It soon got late, and we were back at the hotel.

The next morning we ate breakfast and said goodbye to Victoria's dad. He was heading back to Colorado. We then hit the road. The weather was horrible, and it put Victoria's winter driving skills to the test.

Weather app screenshot showing Plano, Texas at 29°F, cloudy conditions with location map and wind indicator at 9:32 PM

Another weird driving quirk of this drive was seeing the stop and go light signs. They were sideways around Plano and not up and down.

Traffic light sign on rural road curve with stormy dark clouds overhead and sparse development in distance

It was nasty on the road, and we wanted to take a break. Lucky Slovacek's was along the way! They had some amazing wifi (actually best I've ever seen for free) and the food was amazing as always! I had a Frito pie and a ham sandwich.

Ookla Speedtest results showing 145 Mbps download and 124 Mbps upload speeds with severe weather warnings and provider rating Tray with loaded fries topped with cheese, jalapeños and sour cream, two wrapped burgers and bowl of mac and cheese Red wall sign reading "SLOVACEK MEANS I ♥ YOU IN Sausage" hanging in restaurant dining area Close-up of sliced smoked sausage sandwich with BBQ sauce, grilled onions and pickles in checkered paper basket

I also picked up a stick of summer sausage.

Slovacek's Original Smokehouse Summer Sausage package on wooden cutting board

After Slovacek's, we headed back to Austin. The weather cleared up. It was actually a nice day, especially considering what we drove through. I definitely had a cool week with two trips to DFW. I saw a lot of cool things and even got to eat at Slovacek's twice!

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