Dallas, Texas. The biggest city in the state that has the biggest everything. Dallas is full of opulent wealth and southern accents, but don't assume that you have seen this town before you have been there. There is plenty to do that is a little off the beaten track.
Nature
For natural beauty in Dallas, you can't beat White Rock Lake. This preserve is (of course) huge, sprawling over more than a thousand acres. If you are an active kind of person, this is the perfect place for running, hiking, kayaking, or a spot of leisurely bird-watching – or people-watching.
Things to Do
For less sedate pursuits, it must be world's only 'thrill amusement park,' Zero Gravity. Zero Gravity offers chillingly named rides like Nothin' But Net, Skyscraper, the Bungee Jump, Texas Blastoff, and the Skycoaster. They're as scary as they sound: Young children and anyone with a heart condition is advised to stay well clear.
A less scary, but more macabre Dallas attraction is a tour of the sixth floor of the Dallas County Administration Building (formerly the Texas School Book Depository). It was from here that Lee Harvey Oswald fired those much-debated bullets, and is now devoted to an exhibition chronicling the life, times, and death of former President John F. Kennedy.
Off the Beaten Path
To head off the beaten track, get yourself down to Deep Ellum, the neighborhood occasionally described as the love child of New Orleans and SoHo. Get your fortune read, get a tattoo, then hit the quirky restaurants and funky clubs of this Little Bohemia in the heart of Texas.
Take your dirty laundry to the Bar of Soap, across from Fair Park. You get both kinds of suds here – there's a bar that will pour you a beer while your clothes get clean, and the locals are always ready for a chat. On the way home, stop in at the grave of Bonnie Parker (one half of Bonnie and Clyde). She's at the Crown Hill Memorial, a peaceful and pretty cemetery on Webb Chapel Rd.
Rodeo
Ok, you're in Texas. Natural law dictates that you should go to the rodeo, and they don't come much bigger than the Mesquite Championship Rodeo. This is the Olympics of Rodeo and the riders are as celebrated as any Hollywood celebrity. The hats are big, the hair is big and the, erm, assets of the female fans are big too. It's a world all of it's own.
Hotels
There are some incredibly good hotel deals to be had in Dallas, especially if you keep your eyes peeled for internet specials. A night in a Bed & Breakfast can be had (for two people) for as little as $85. The same price can buy a night in a chain hotel that offers 24 hour room service and late checkout. A town for big bargains as well as big everything-else.
Use the Hotelsio Rate Finder to find top accommodation and cheap hotels in Dallas.
(Photo:Fotolia/Bradon Seidel)
