Nyari of fun 2013: Day 8

Monday, June 17, 2013

Today, we left the house at 8:00 a.m. and didn't arrive home until 8:00 p.m. I'd say that constitutes as a pretty good day!

We started off fighting the wind and rain to get to the Dallas World Aquarium by opening time. We arrived just a few minutes after 9:00 a.m. and thankfully there was not that many people there. Melinda was blown away by all of the animals and neat exhibits. We've always loved the Dallas World Aquarium! We were able to spend as much time as we wanted at each exhibit. We even got to hand feed one of the birds!!! Then, while walking around one of the corners, we passed this man WALKING a baby panther on a leash!!!! How incredibly amazing was that?!?!?!? He was so stinking cute, I just wanted to reach out and cuddle him. I later learned that he is not even six months old and was rescued by the Dallas World Aquarium and will later be on display once he is old enough. I highly recommend getting there as soon as they open. We were able to see the employees feed several of the animals. The best one was the adult panther. They placed some raw meat in a tree trunk for him/her to find and we watched as they let the animal into the exhibit until he/she polished off the entire meal. Magnificent!

Once we were done at the aquarium, we drove around downtown for a few minutes trying to decide what to eat for lunch. Wouldn't you know it...we ended up eating at Spaghetti Warehouse in the West End, just a few short blocks from the aquarium!

After lunch, we decided to walk over the the Victory Station train stop and take a ride over to Fort Worth to walk around the Stock Yards. The Trinity Railway Express is a double-decker train that makes several stops between Dallas and Fort Worth. Yes, the trip took twice as long as it would have had I just driven, but it gave us a chance to sit and talk with each other instead of me driving and them watching Rio for the fourth time. We took silly pictures and laughed, and laughed, and LAUGHED at Miss Abigail being silly.

One of my favorite pictures!!!!

Once we arrived at the downtown station, we got on a bus that take us down to the Stock Yards. When we stepped off the bus, we could see all the way down to the famous Stock Yards. Shop after shop filled with Texas themed attire, housewares, boots, hats, and just about any other cowboy and cowgirl necessity were in front of us. Melinda couldn't believe her eyes! We made it just in time to see the Fort Worth Herd Longhorn Cattle Drive. This was a real treat. All of my girls got to see 'real' cowboys lead a herd of longhorn cattle down the street just like they did when the west was young.

The rodeo

Here come the cattle!

Abigail on a real longhorn cow

Once we went through almost all of the shops, we decided to break for an early dinner before making the long trip back to the car. We hadn't taken Melinda to have real Texas bar-b-que yet, so I decided to stop into Risky's Bar-b-que for a chopped beef sandwich and french fries. It was incredibly delicious!!! Melinda loved it!!! Next time I'm going to have her try ribs. We talked about her house and how she has a 'pond' in her backyard. She also mentioned that she wants to make us Hungarian pancakes. Um, yes please!!!! She described them as bigger and thinner than American pancakes. I'll give you an update on those after I try them.

After dinner, we started on our journey back to the car. A short walk back to the bus stop, a long bus ride back to the train station, an even longer train ride from Fort Worth back to Dallas, followed by a short walk back to the car and we were on our way back to Forney. While waiting on the train, I asked Melinda if smoking in Hungary was a popular habit. She said it was and expressed how much she disliked smoking. Just like my mine, she said her grandmother is a heavy smoker much to everyones disappointment. She said that the teenagers in Hungary like to smoke because they think it makes them cool. Not much different here, unfortunately. On the train, she told me all about the classes she takes in school and which were her favorites.

Today was incredible. We saw and did so many things! Tomorow will be a day of relaxation before we venture out on our next adventure. Where, oh where, will we end up next?