One thing I will never say “no” to in my life is a road trip. Being from Oklahoma, we’re surrounded by six other states. Which is actually really cool because if I’m feeling full of wanderlust, I have quite a few options to pick from for a trip. One state I always love to visit out of the six is Texas.
To celebrate the new year, my boyfriend and I had an opportunity to take a trip to Dallas. We have friends that live there and I’ve always wanted to welcome a new year in a big city because I love the big celebrations that occur. So, we booked a hotel room for one night, packed our bags and hit the road. The only sight we planned to see at that point was the Buc-ee’s gas station, which I highly suggest checking out if you’re in Texas. Besides that, we winged it! So, here’s how it went.
After Buc-ee’s we headed to the hotel because being in a car for 4 hours can be tiring. After we checked in, it was time to get some food and explore Dallas a bit before getting ready for New Year’s Eve celebrations. We got food at the one and only, In-N-Out Burger. We don’t have those in Oklahoma so it’s typically a must-do for a lot of us if we see one. After that we headed to Klyde Warren Park in downtown Dallas. This park was beautiful and had some amazing views of the city. After enjoying the nice weather with a stroll around the park, we decided to check out a museum. The Dallas Museum of Art was right across the street, which was really nice because we didn’t have to pay for transportation or walk too far. The museum was very cool and offered a lot of different collections from different cultures.
The next stop was the Giant Eyeball, which is literally a 30-foot eyeball sculpture in downtown. It’s a very random attraction but it’s so random that you have to see it. By that point, the sun was setting and it was time to get ready for New Year’s Eve and grab some dinner.
Pro tip: Have a plan for dinner or make a reservation in advance if you plan on eating out in a big city on New Year’s!
Every restaurant in the Dallas area was insanely busy. We tried 4 different restaurants before stumbling across BoomerJack’s Grill & Bar in Bedford, which was very tasty and wasn’t busy at all. The next day involved some must-do’s such as Ikea and the Galleria mall. It was a shorter day since there was still a drive to make, so that completed our trip!
Some places I wanted to check out but didn’t have time to is an interactive museum called Rainbow Vomit, the Dallas Farmers Market and a restaurant called the Dallas Grilled Cheese Co.
Dallas is such an amazing city. I’ve only been a couple of times but I still haven’t been able to scratch the surface of things to do in it.
If you have the chance to explore a city you haven’t gotten to before, take it! There’s nothing quite like exploring a new place.