We really enjoy living here in Dallas. My husband likes his job, we like our apartment, and I have found a solid playgroup for my son and me. When we have visitors though, we aren’t going to bring them to work or playgroup and expect them to have the time of their lives (no offense, fellow moms and accountants haha). My parents and siblings decided to come visit us this past May, so I put a little work into making sure they stayed entertained!
It makes my heart happy when people come to Dallas to spend time with us, but I always worry about our visitors being bored! I love researching fun things to do so I made a big list of potential activities, sent the list to my family, and had them cast their votes for how they wanted to spend their time. I left quite a bit of time for working out, hanging out, and swimming at our pool. It’s hard to balance having a busy-enough schedule to entertain everyone, while making sure there’s enough down-time! Here’s what we ended up doing:
AT&T Stadium + Globe Life Park
Did you know that the Texas Rangers (baseball) Stadium is right across the street from the Dallas Cowboy’s football field?! We chose to do a tour of the Cowboy’s stadium on the same day as a baseball game, so that we could see both venues in one trip. We scheduled a 3:30 tour of the football field, which gave us plenty of time to eat, chill, and find parking before the the 7:00 baseball game. I was nervous about bringing my 2 yo to both of these activities, but he did great.
Cowboy’s stadium tour: We bought tickets for a VIP guided tour. I would highly recommend this over a self-guided tour. You get so much more information this way, and can go inside Jerry’s suite, the locker room of the football players, and cheerleader’s locker room. Our favorite part of being at this stadium was going down to the field and running/playing around. Tips: Bring a football or frisbee to throw around on the field. We didn’t know we could bring our own, so we just kept stealing other people’s. The tour lasts about an hour and a half, Children 5 yrs and under are free! Buy tickets here.
Ranger’s baseball game: We bought our tickets using the “gametime app”, which was really easy to use and understand. The game we went to ended up being an exciting one- the Rangers hit a home run to win! Funny story: when the Rangers hit the home run, every one cheered loudly and fireworks went off. My son was not prepared for this. He started crying from fear, and in his words, “They lost the ball then it was loud like a rain cloud.” We got a good laugh at his expense! Tips: bring empty water bottles to fill up and drink throughout the game. Think about your seats and if the sun will be in your eyes. There is a kid zone at the stadium. Ages 3 and under are free, and it’s only $5 for older kids. I was very impressed by this kids zone. There’s a playground, a concession stand, and employees running games, and checking wrist bands, and a mascot signing autographs. My family took turns being at the kid zone with Owen. The kid zone closes in the 7th inning, so you don’t have to miss the end of the game.
Downtown Dallas
This was the day we kept everyone on their feet all day! We chose to spend our Saturday touring downtown. I like going downtown on Saturdays. It is more crowded, but it feels more “happenin'”.
We parked in the free parking garage in Uptown, near all the shopping and restaurants. From there, we rode the free M-line trolley downtown to Klyde Warren Park. At the park we let Owen run around the splash pads, while my brothers played frisbee (we brought our own frisbee and a change of clothes for Owen). We also went to the Trammel Crow center to show my family where my husband works.
Owen loves the “Giant Eyeball”, so we had to take a walk down Elm Street to show my family this unique piece of ….art?
Then we explored Deep Ellum. We parked at a $5 parking lot and went searching for all the fun wall murals. We were able to get there before the dinner and drinks rush, which I think was the perfect time of day to go! Owen basically had to stay in his stroller this whole time, so it wasn’t his favorite part of the day. Deep Ellum isn’t what I would call family-friendly, so we didn’t spend a lot of time here. It is just a fun, unique part of Dallas that I wanted my family to see and experience. Next time we go back, it will be for a girls night or date night, and not with my two-year-old. However, it was do-able with all of us.
Next, we needed to pick up my sisters from the airport, so we went to Bachman Lake Park to wait for their plane to land at Lovefield Airport. Again, Owen ran around at the park while the rest of us played frisbee. After we picked up my sisters, we headed straight over to Trinity Groves. Trinity Groves has restaurants galore! Right across the street is a great walkway for getting pictures with the Dallas skyline. This is a MUST for giving visitors a real Dallas experience.
After walking this bridge, we ate dinner at Bapp Bro’s BBQ. There are a million good places to eat in Dallas! I try to avoid including places to eat on my blog posts, because there are too many good restaurants to waste your time on my personal favorites. It is so easy to find a good dinner here! I will only recommend a place to eat if I know for sure it won’t disappoint! Anyways, Bapp Bro’s BBQ at Trinity Groves- I have tried all the recommended barbecue places around here and Bapp Bro’s is my favorite! The food is fantastic, but we go for the experience. There is live music on Friday and Saturday nights, which makes it so fun and authentic. It was a great “Welcome to Texas” meal for my sisters who had just arrived. Owen loves dancing to the music there too. Tip: The music doesn’t start until 7, but seats fill up super fast, so get there early!
Turner Falls
We booked an entire day with a trip to Turner Falls. It is a state park in Oklahoma with hiking, a waterfall, and a swimming hole with a diving board and slides. I am working on a post dedicated to just this. I will let you know when it’s published!Turner Falls was my family’s highlight of their trip! Click here to go to the state park’s website for more information.
Carrollton
Carrollton is probably my favorite suburb of Dallas! We only live a few minutes from Carrollton, so we get over there frequently. We definitely didn’t spend a whole day here or anything, but it’s a great place to hang out when you have some free time. Mary Heads Carter Park has a fantastic playground, and a path around it. We worked out at this park, and played with Owen at the playground. On a separate occasion, we went to Historic downtown Carrollton. This square will remind you of Stars Hollow from Gilmore Girls. You guys it is the cutest little part of town with some fun shops, dining, a theater, and rock climbing gym, a candy store, and community events! My family walked around the square while waiting for our table at Babe’s Chicken.
Remember how I mentioned that we picked up my sisters from the airport on Saturday? Well my parents and brothers left a few days later, but my sisters stayed. So the last two “things-to-do” are about what I did just with my sisters, and not with my whole family.
Fort Worth
We made the drive to Fort Worth. Going to the stockyards is a fun way to “wow” visitors from out of state. The stockyards have fun “Texas” themed shops, lots of history, and kid activities like a petting zoo, train ride, and maze. Tip: Parking is only $2 if you go during the lunchtime hours. The cattle drive is at 11:30, so I would suggest getting there at 11:00, when lunchtime hours start. Two hours is plenty of time to explore the shops, grab something to eat, and let your kids play.
On the way out, we hit up the Fort Worth Water Gardens. I had never been before so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to check it out. The water gardens are a free park full of water fountains. Walking around this park was serene and worth the stop.
Downtown Round 2
Since my sisters missed most of our first downtown tour, we ventured there again to give them the experience. This time though, we moved at a much more relaxed pace. We went to the Farmer’s Market, the Arboretum, and Bishop Arts District. Owen played at the Children’s Garden at the Arboretum while my sisters walked around and admired the gardens. The Arboretum is typically very expensive for a one-time-visit, but with my pass I am able to get 6 people in, plus free parking! Tip: If you are visiting a local, see if they have an Arboretum pass to get you in for free!
I was sad to send my sisters home. Owen was even more sad! He loves the attention he gets from his aunts, uncles, and grandparents! The good news is, even though my family was here for a total of 10 days, we still didn’t do everything this city has to offer! Guess they’ll just have to come back for more another time!
I hope this post provided you with some new ideas and inspiration for showing people around this city! Let me know what you think & thanks for stopping by!
