We arrived in Arlington texas on Friday evening (1-15-15), We pulled in to the RV park around 6 pm – several hours later than expected. We had planned to do some exploring but the time flew by quickly and we decided it was better to eat dinner and rest up. For those that don’t know arlington is between Dallas and Ft. Worth. ( I learned this while planning)
Our first day in DFW didn’t start off all that great. As we were getting prepped for our day my children needed to do a little school to make sure they stayed up to speed with our travel schedule. We discovered that Zanders computer had died. Like, dead-dead. Luckily we were close to a massive flea market. By noon we had not one, but two new (new to us) computers that we acquired for a decent price. (100 dollars less – per laptop – that I found on all my used and refurbished websites I scour from time to time.)
Traders Village is a big flea market. It seems bigger than the one near Denver and is the biggest one we have seen. After some research we found that it is the largest regular flea market in the region. We don’t go to a lot of flea markets but this one had everything you might need from live animals to tools, electronics, and more. We returned the next day to finish browsing since we were really only there looking for computers.
After lunch and some PC work we headed to Fort Worth to explore downtown. It was a good afternoon. We drove a bit and took pictures, then we drove a lot to find some parking. Fort Worth is a small down town area but is well laid out. We ended up spending time at the water gardens and the square. We missed the historical stock yards, due to a loss of daylight and our uncertainty of it’s accessibility during the stock show.
The water gardens are pretty awesome. The whole style reminded me a little of minecraft meets quiet japanese garden.(I know that it came after minecraft, my kids though it was designed in minecraft). It was surreal and serene. Our favorite area is the active pool which allows you to walk down (via concrete pads) to the middle of the pool. Down there you are surrounded by the looks and sounds of rushing water. Other than one or two buildings that pop up near the area the city completely disappears. The whole experience can be peaceful or frightening depending on how you feel about water. My boys and I also scaled the steep side of the mountain, which looks simple enough until you are half way up and realize what you started doing. (In the time we were there, we were also the only ones to take on the steep wall, most others shuddered and turned away). From here we headed to Sundance Square
Sundance Square is a downtown area filled with shops, restaurants, and theaters. It is a unique setup and highly recommended for the area. You can even valet you car for free if you eat at any of the restaurants- I took advantage of this, they can try and park the big truck somewhere. It was a great place to be after nightfall with changing lights, lit fountains and other neat light and water displays. We ended up eating dinner at 5 guys burgers and fries – I know it’s not unique but it was quick, and our youngest was so hungry, walking all day apparently makes the youngest quite hungry…maybe even hangry (hungry angry – Gail added that, I had to look it up). After dinner we spent the rest of the night exploring the square. At the end of the evening we had some frozen yogurt with the boys and texted the valet company that we were ready to pick up the truck.
After 8:00 the area become more of an adults only crowd. It was also when the boys started getting sleepy after a long day of walking. With that we called it a night and trecked back to the RV. We only spent about 6 hours in downtown Fort Worth and felt there was still a lot to see. we planned to go back on Sunday but Sunday turned out to be a rough day with lots of work and a little exhaustion related attitude problems from the boys. (we need to rebuild our travel stamina). At the end of the day we never made it back. I guess the stock yards will have to wait.
