Category Archives: Travel

Two Tons of Steel and the Turnpike Troubadours

Last Saturday, a few of us headed to Dallas to see the Turnpike Troubadours. I’ve never been to the Granada Theatre – I’m glad that I finally got the chance. Completely authentic, the perfect size, seats and standing area. I’m convinced that any seat has a great view (we were in the last seated row). The venue was easy to find and parking was convenient. I look forward to going back – I already have a show in mind!
Evan (the lead singer of Turnpike Troubadours) has a HUGE fan (my current roommate) so we were bound to go. We caught the second opener for the band – Two Tons of Steel out of San Antonio. The best way to describe these guys would be Texas Country meets Country Swing. The lead singer had some Dwight Yoakam / Elvis mannerisms. They were pretty good. The stand up bassist was phenomenal. There’s not enough good stand up bassists in this world!
The Turnpike Troubadours are out of Oklahoma but its evident that Texans are forgiving them. They’re pretty great (we’ve seen them numerous times). Evan – you do seem to get a little more drunk on stage every time I see you play though. Just sayin’.
The two bands (we missed the first) complimented themselves very well. The crowd loved them. The sound was great in the theatre. If you’re looking for some good ole Texas / Texas Country bands – these are two you should definitely check out either live or just pick up their cd for your Sunday drive!

The Omni Dallas Art Collection

Last week, I shared my experience at the Family Travel Conference, however I didn’t really have time to tell you that much about the Omni Hotel in Dallas. The moment has arrived!
The Omni Hotel was built just last year and is conveniently connected to the Convention Center. We were actually lucky enough to be there for the one year anniversary on 11/11/12 (that’s right – it opened on 11/11/11)! In just one year, the Omni has already made a name for themselves as being named one of 100 Best Places to Work in Dallas. When you look at it – why wouldn’t you want to work here?
  • The building is beautiful, inside and out.
  • The staff is absolutely out of this world! They’re kind, helpful and everywhere. Have you ever been somewhere where you need to find a staff member and can’t find a soul? That’s not going to happen at the Omni Dallas.
  • Parking – easy as it comes in the parking garage or you can valet.
  • Rooms – Well here is where I can’t provide much insight as I didn’t stay at the hotel but I did hear a lot about the TV’s in the bathrooms. Did your ears just perk up?! Plus, there’s also only 16 (out of 1,001) rooms (if I remember correctly) with a balcony so if you get one, you are one lucky duck!
During the Family Travel Conference, all of the attendees split up into various groups to tour the hotel. My particular group toured the art. Now at first you may say, is there really a lot of “interesting” art to see? The answer is yes. It’s everywhere and definitely interesting.
I love traveling but I love finding the “hidden treasures” even more. The art collection at the Omni is one of those “hidden treasures” but on top of that they stay true to their local roots. All of the art displayed within the hotel is by 150 local artists. All of it. All 6,500 individual pieces of it. Let me share some with you!
Wade Moore, Manager of the Collections Gift Shop provided us with the tour.
In the first photo on this post, you can see the lights on the outside of the building. These lights are moving all the time! When the Red River Rivalry was in town the lights showed the Texas Longhorn. Again -they’re moving all the time and the building looks gorgeous with the Dallas skyline behind it but the interior designers even took it to the next level. (Below) These the the walls along a hallway, the lights mirror the lights on the outside of the building!
Here are a some of the pieces of art that we were lucky enough to see on our tour. The art portion that we saw was so immensely small compared to the volume that is featured in the hotel.
Art can even be seen hanging from the ceilings.
Now, in the below picture, the water droplet pieces hanging from the ceilings are not actually featured art but items picked for the interior design of the hotel. Our group, thought it was just a piece of art that was included. It fits right in – amazing. Everything flows so well together!
The below artist also has artwork featured Barbara Bush’s personal collection.
I loved these pieces!
The artwork can also be found in local meeting rooms. Imagine holding in meeting in this room?! It’s absolutely stunning!
Now if the art featured inside the building wasn’t enough. Check out the stunning view of Dallas from inside the hotel!
Finally, I need to mention the Collections Gift Shop downstairs. If you enjoy a piece of the art in the hotel, it will not be difficult to find the artist go to with the piece. Some of the items, you can even purchase if you would like. In the Collections Gift Shop, the experience takes one step further. The shop holds items from the local Nasher Sculpture Center and Dallas Museum of Art that can also be purchased as well as other items from local vendors.
Below is the Villy Custom bike. Villy Custom was recently featured on ABC’s Shark Tank and received the largest amount of investment funding. Each bike can be customized however you like and can be shipped if you are visiting from out of town. Such a unique piece that can’t be found in all hotel gift shops! You could get one for yourself, for a friend, for me… just throwing out some ideas!
If you have an opportunity to at least stop into the Omni Dallas, I would definitely recommend it! I saw so many hidden treasures!

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, HOB Dallas

On November 10th, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals paid a visit to good ole Dallas and my friend Amberly and I were not going to miss it (as usual). If you are ever looking for a wicked show to check out – this is your band. They’ll play a little rock, perhaps a ballad or two, but the magic lies in performance. Personally, anyone can sound good on a record but when GPN comes into play it’s all authentic and 110%. Guitar solos, hitting every note, the band collaborating on the drums, dancing and getting the crowd going from the stage. Everything you want will be there and it’s always a good time!

Here are a couple videos from the show!

Originally from Vermont, they’ve really paved the way in the past few years. They’ve started the Grand Point North Music Festival in Burlington, VT (which I really need to get to). Grace has also collaborated with Kenny Chesney on ‘You and Tequila’ and ‘El Cerrito Place’. They’ll even be going on an European Tour with the Avett Brothers next year! Keep an eye out – you won’t want to miss them!