back in the spring, my parents took a long weekend to go on a trip to san francisco together and they left my favorite puppy dog with me at the pink lady b&b. :) and to say i was excited about this little fact is suchhhhh an understatement. my parents were dropping him off on thursday afternoon, and i actually took friday off from work so i could hang out with him. at that time, lucky had only come to sleep over maybe one other time, for a night or two, and i hadn’t really left him alone at my condo before, so i would have been a little nervous about being at work all day friday, leaving him in a still somewhat foreign place at the beginning of his stay. i was really glad that i could take a vacay day and not worry about that [he has stayed with me multiple times since then and feels a lot more comfortable here, so i’m able to leave him now without worrying]. but this was going to be FOUR WHOLE NIGHTS of me and my canine brother, stayin’ up late, swapping manly stories, and in the morning… well, i didn’t make waffles. but you get the jist.
anyway, lucky had no intention of just sitting around at home when he had dallas to explore. which is good because i was thrilled to show him around d-town in true dallas fashion – you know, patios, brunching, shopping, and the like – and i had already planned out our weekend accordingly:
yep, lucky’s social calendar was jam-packed. we didn’t get to everythingggg on our list, but the two of us did explore dallas, and the truth is, i saw more of the city than i’d seen since i’d moved there two years before! there’s something about exploring a place by foot that really helps you get to know it the best. it was nice to have company in the form of a little brown dog who loves to walk. plus we got to hang out with mike, which was of course made lucky happy [this was back when mike was here in dallas for his internship… i’m so PUMPED for him to be living here permanently!], and mike’s roommate dylan, who was always a good time. i’m happy that i took about a thousand photos because it was a weekend to be remembered. dallas is a very dog-friendly city and there’s lots for little pups to do [and lots for people to do too!]. follow along on our weekend adventure to see how we spent our weekend doing dallas, man’s-best-friend style:
{on thursday afternoon, we kept things pretty low-key. we started with a walk to turtle creek, which is a small but lovely little green space with trees and flowers and a path that follows the creek. there’s apparently a hidden neighborhood along the creek too, which i don’t think i’ve ever seen! i’m planning on trying to find it sometime!}
{across the street from turtle creek is arlington hall at robert e. lee park, which is a beautiful mansion used as a venue for special events.}
{arlington hall is modeled after the custis-lee mansion in arlington, virginia, and the 15 acres of park that it sits makes for a wonderful place to walk a dog, throw frisbees, or have a picnic in the grass.}
{i really can’t believe i had never explored this little park and seen the mansion up close before lucky’s visit!}
{i was planning on just taking it easy on thursday night, so we walked to the local redbox to pick out a movie.}
{…and lucky helped me with my bible study too…} :)
{we started the next morning with his favorite game. his canine cousin cody gave it to him a few years back, and you hide small treats in the slots and slide a wooden covering over them, and the dog has to find the treats by sliding the wood covering back open. lucky loves it.}
{then it was trolley time! this was lucky’s first time on a trolley. the m-line trolley runs through uptown all the way to the edge of downtown, and the best part is that it’s free! the historical trolley cars are unique and a great way to get around uptown dallas. kids love them and dogs are allowed too, and although lucky was a little nervous about it all, he did just fine. click here for a route map and schedule if you’re interested in going on one.}
{we took the trolley to klyde warren park, the coolest park in dallas. because we were there at 9:30 am on a friday, we pretty much had the place to ourselves.}
{we walked around…}
{…and watched the fountains on the splash pads come on and off. lucky had no interested in going in them!}
{we explored the kids’ area, which might be the best playground i’ve ever been to!}
{and we mostly just enjoyed the nice quiet morning.}
{but then we were off! oh, and that walking on the ledge thing, that was all lucky! he wanted to go up every staircase and jump up on every ledge that we walked by…}
{we walked by the nasher sculpture center and the dallas museum of art…}
{we saw some cool art as we walked around downtown dallas. and lucky was convinced that he wanted to go to stephan pyles restaurant for lunch, but while i commended him for his great taste, i explained to him that this time around, we would need to find somewhere a bit easier on my pocketbook.} :)
{passing by the first united methodist church of dallas.}
{he loved being a city dog for a weekend! also, see that small shell-looking building tucked in there between those buildings and behind the trees? that’s the chapel of thanks-giving.}
{thanks-giving square. this is one of my favorite secrets of the city. dogs unfortunately are not allowed inside, but if you don’t have your pup with you, i highly recommend visiting and going inside the chapel. it has the most beautiful spiral-shaped stained glass window that you may have even seen in books and movies… you can get a glimpse of it towards the end of this beautiful movie trailer. it is a reverent, holy, thought-provoking place to visit. if you do have your dog with you, it’s still a cool place to view from the outside.}
{we stopped for iced coffee + water at this little kiosk.}
{it was nice to take a little breather before heading to downtown pawz. i wanted to buy lucky some interesting/more healthy treats, so i got him some [very expensive] sweet potato chips, and lo and behold, he hated them. go figure. for being a part of a very adventurous-eating family, lucky sure is a picky pup! anyway, to this day, the only way he’ll eat those sweet potato chips is if they’re slathered with peanut butter. yep, he has me trained well.}
{another interesting sculpture and another neat little chapel, st. jude chapel.}
{after our big downtown adventures, we took the trolley back into uptown. here we were at the stop, waiting for the trolley to come.}
{the best part of our day was getting to meet mike for lunch! he worked in uptown so we met him over at his building and then walked to the lovely marie-gabrielle, another hidden gem of the city, for lunch. also, i love that picture on the right so, so much.}
{marie-gabrielle is an oasis in the city. the grounds are just beautiful.}
{you can’t bring dogs inside, but they’re allowed out in the gardens, so we took turns getting our food and then sat out together on the patio to eat. i loved this ginger peach tea + my sandwich, and mike had tea + pizza. lucky had water. he still wouldn’t eat his fancy treats.}
{a giant chess set!}
{love this place.}
{we walked mike back to work, and then took the trolley home to have a relaxing rest of the afternoon. we napped and watched bend it like beckham in honor of the world cup, which was going on at the time.}
{that night, we met mike and some friends over at the nodding donkey over in state thomas for some drinks. it was fun and pretty low-key, and we didn’t stay out too late, as we still had a big weekend ahead of us!}
{lucky was one tired pup that night!}
stay tuned for part 2, where we’ll share more fun places to go with your canine companion in dallas!