Big "D"

Our trip to Big "D" was fabulous

My son works and lives in the heart of Dallas

and he was thrilled to show us around

his favorite town.......

He lives in the middle high rise building
It's right behind the W  Hotel and next to the
American Airlines Center



What a great view we had from his apartment

on his balcony

.....and a few more views
from his High rise

American Airlines Center

Roof top Lounge area over looking down town Dallas

He had a full day planned for us.....

First stop, check into the Ritz Hotel

and our beautiful suite compliments of my

very thoughtful son

Anne enjoying our luxury suite

Next, we were swept off for lunch at Lark on the Park

The restaurant is across from the

Klyde Warren Park

a beautiful park built right in the middle of down town Dallas

next on our agenda.....

A tour of Dallas including Highland Park,
Preston Hollow, Oak Cliff and the
Bishop Arts District

My son the tour guide showing us Big D

After a wonderful tour we were
returned to the Ritz to freshen up for
our evening on the town.....

Andy and Anne at the Ritz
ready for our big night 

Son and Mother

We started our evening with drinks and appetizers
at Reunion Tower

Better know as the famous ball in the Dallas skyline

The ball revolves around so you get a
360 degree view of the area

After drinks we went to Stephen Pyles

Stampede 66 Restaurant

the perfect place to show off
our Texas Culture

My son ordered a special drink made table side
using Liquid Nitrogen

to our delight famous Chef, Stephan Pyles,
stopped by our table for a little chat

We had a fabulous Texas meal of Frito Pie, Brisket, tamales,
deviled eggs and Shiner Bread  .....YeeHaw

After dinner we were picked up by
our car and driver and delivered to
the Oak Restaurant in the Design District
of Dallas for dessert

......and then on to
the Ritz Hotel for drinks in the Lounge

where Anne and I received beautiful bouquets of pink roses
from one of my sons very sweet friends, who happens
to be General Manager of another Stephan Pyles Resturants

Thank you Michael B


......very tired but extremely happy
with our Dallas experience we finally
retired to our suite for a good nights rest
before our trip home to South Texas the next morning


We loved Big D!!!

....and as the Dallas tourist campaign says

"Big things happen in Dallas"

the B & G travel around Dallas for publicity pictures
we found it on our visit to the Bishop Arts District

On the Island

We took a day trip to Rockport

and Port Aransas on the Texas coast

While in Rockport we stopped by the

Art Gallery

The exhibit on display was done by a local artist

Beautiful coastal pictures

Then on to Port A

It was a bit chilly with the sea breeze

but still very enjoyable

Hubby with my English relatives

The tide was in.......

After a nice walk on the beach

we had lunch at our favorite beachy place

called Shells, made one stop at one

of the big beach shops and then

headed home

Every Little Birdie says

It was a lovely day at the beach

Life on the Ranch

One day we took Andy and Anne, our English relatives,

to visited my friend Charlie on the Reeves Ranch

This historical ranch has been in the

Reeves family for four generations

The ranch house that Charlie lives in

in over one hundred years old

Charlie loaded us up in his

pickup truck and gave us the

ranch tour explaining it's

history along the way

After a ranch tour we headed to

Charlie's famous community center

where he holds his party's and activities on the ranch

Charlie is some what of a collector

and there is lots to see in his 

community center 

There is even more room out on the pavilion

which includes a band stand

cowboy decor???

Our last stop was the ranch house

Charlie explaining his family history to Andy

Tour of the clock room

His Office

Yep, even his bedroom

Thanks Charlie for a great

Ranch tour!!

Every Little Birdie says

and that folks is life on the ranch

It's Your BIRTHDAY!

We had a blast in New Braunfels!!

Let me recap.....

We hit town just in time to eat at Cooper's BBQ

Good dose of smoked meat for the Brits

After we'd settled into Greune Estate
we started getting ready for a special concert

by the Blooms held in an old opra house

downtown New Braunfels

Our dear friend Janie was one of the coordinators

and she had reserved a very special table for our family

We are the table right in front of the band stand!!

Janie snapped this photo of our family
We sat at the premier table
marked with a special sign
"Friends of the Queen"

The band was great and
rocked us right out of our chairs!!

When the sun came up Monday morning
we had something to celebrate......

Andy was one year wiser!

The perfect reason to party all day

Birthday cards over breakfast

A trip to Gruene Hall 

One of Andy's favorite places in Texas

Bellied up to the bar!

Doesn't Andy look smashing!

Later Dan & Janie did a little concert for us
while our dinner was cooking on the grill

Continuing with the birday celebration

the song "It's Your Birthday" by the Beatles

was played

 Yum Yum

We had dinner outdoors

under the beautiful live oak trees

As it grew dark we moved the party over
to Janie and Allen's beautiful home
 a couple of blocks down the road

The view from their deck is breathtaking

Janie surprised Andy with

a birthday cake

It was a carrot cake- a little Birdie told us that was his favorite!!

and to finish a magical evening

Janie sang a few of her favorite songs

which included "Happy Birthday" of course!!

Every Little Birdie says

Next post I'll share our adventure

to the historical Reeves Ranch