mapngo

We decided on Ft. Worth because it is an easy drive (4.5 hours) from home and we have a toddler who doesn't like long stretches tied down to her car seat. We were planning on arriving Ft.Worth about 1pm but it turned out to be closer to 3pm. We spent lots of time sitting on 635 in Dallas, then we managed to get stuck behind somebody's furniture that fell out of their truck on Loop 12, then the rest of the time was sitting on I-30 waiting to exit on University Drive. Our plan was to visit the zoo for a couple of hours and then go check into our hotel. As we creeped nearer the zoo we saw big traffic signs that said "Zoo Parking is full." We grumbled and then had to get ourselves turned around to try and find our hotel. Unfortunately we had picked a hotel that was close to the zoo, so we had to navigate back through the traffic once again. Once we reached the street that we were suppose to turn left on we notice that Ft. Worth Police had it blocked off to manage traffic. We continued ahead and got ourselves turned around again so we could make a right hand turn onto Vickery st.
We had reservations at a Springhill Suites by Marriott. The hotel was very clean and had a friendly staff. The one downside is that the shops and restaurants that aren't very far away were not very walkable from this location. We tried to get over their with the stroller but we determined it was not worth the risk of being run over. So we headed back to the room again. We stayed in the room for awhile and decided to watch the local news. One of the top stories was about the traffic back up on I-30 and what a huge success the 1/2 price day at the zoo was. It seems that the zoo broke all attendance records that day with 19,000+ guests. I had no idea about the discounted rate at the zoo.
It was nearing dinner time and the traffic around the hotel is still horrible so we decide that we have no option but to walk to a Mexican restaurant that is across the street. It was named Pulido's after the street it was on. The food was edible, but I wouldn't go back again. I ordered a salad that came with a very liquidy tangy jalapeno dressing. Somehow i managed to get a fine droplet in my eye when I had taken a bite. The stinging and watering happened immediately. I sat there with one eyed closed and tried to finish my food, but gave up shortly and was ready to leave. My daughter was more than ready to leave too. She was not excited about being tied back into a chair again and was making it publicy known.
We are back at the hotel again and notice that traffic was letting up, so we decided to drive on down to the Botanical Gardens. It is a very beautiful, well-done park. We were hoping to visit the Japanese Gardens but it closed at 7pm and we missed it. We very much enjoyed walking the pathways and the wisteria was in full bloom. Our daughter had a good time burning off energy and we were glad to be out finally enjoying something.
We ended up the evening at Toys R US picking out a gift for the little one as she turned 2 the next day. We wondered the aisles overwhelmed with choices. I'm just glad we didn't end up with the Elmo toy that she had first laid eyes on. Whew!!
I will finish the report when I return back to my computer.

travelerfromtx

Enjoying your report so far. Hope you made it to the zoo the next day.

mapngo

Yes, we made it to the zoo the next morning. First we had the hotel's breakfast which consisted of sausage, biscuits, waffles, muffins etc. I learned on this trip that my DD likes breakfast sausage. She was quick to swipe it from my plate and she surprisingly finished it. We knew the zoo opened at 10am and decided to head down there early because we knew the traffic would get bad again. The parking was filling up quickly, but we got ourselves a good spot and we were able to enter the park before it opened. I had been to the Ft. Worth zoo before and it is still top notch. It was a beautiful day outside and the animals were out and active. We especially got a good show from a gorilla. He did everything a gorilla should do. He beat on his chest and made faces at us through the window. My daughter hated it and is now probably scared of gorillas for life now. After walking around and viewing the animals we decided to board the zoo train. Ft. Worth's zoo train is probably the only exhibit that isn't really that good. Anyway my DD loved it and our video footage of her on it is priceless. She also got to ride a carousel for the first time too. The crowds were picking up and our little one was getting tired so we decided to head on out. We were hoping to go out to lunch, but our DD had fallen asleep in her car seat before we reached the road. We decided to get Subway sandwiches and go back to the hotel for her to finish her nap.
After naptime we headed down to the Historic Stockyards. There were lots and lots of families down there. We parked and crossed Main st. where my DD lost her little Ked. Luckily my DH saw it and was able to run back to get it before the traffic light turned. While we were there the Grapevine Vintage Railroad pulled in. My daughter flipped out over the train. She loves Choo Choo's like most little kids. I checked the train's ticket counter and they had a 3:30 departure for the Trinity River Run. I had checked on this before we left and that route was only run on the weekends. Thankfully they were running it everyday of spring break so we bought tickets. It was our daughters birthday and we couldn't have given her a better gift. She shouted bye bye out the window and we pulled out of the Stockyards. The train ride was an hour and afterwards we walked around a little bit more and then we went back to the hotel.
For dinner that night my DH wanted to take our daughter to Chuck E Cheese. I groaned but went along with it. She was really too small to do most of the things there, but she sure tried. The funniest thing was that she wanted to play Ski Ball (Not sure if I'm saying it right.) She was absolutely terrible, but she was getting to throw balls so she was happy. I think some of her balls ended up on the lane next to us.
We went back to the hotel for the night and got up the next day to head back to Oklahoma. We went a different route to totally bypass Dallas this time.
We were planning on going to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing but we will do that another time when our little one will enjoy it more.

joygerm

mapngo - don't know where in OK you are, but if you're near OKC you might consider taking the Heartland Flyer (http://www.heartlandflyer.com/) from OKC to Fort Worth sometime since your daughter likes trains so much. We thought it made for a fun weekend with little ones.

mapngo

I live 2.5 hours east of OKC. We did stay at a Courtyard in Bricktown and watched the Heartland Flyer along with lots of other freight trains go by on our last road trip in October. I do think that is when she got so train crazy. Thanks for the suggestion joygerm.

sarge56

mapngo- They also had a train all week long that ran from Grapevine into Ft. Worth and they had robber cowboys on horseback set up to rob the train. We didn't get a chance to go, but next year, I'm going to take all the grandkids. I think they'd really enjoy that.

Additionally, those trains run special at Christmastime and Santa appears on some of the trains. You should check it out some more come December. I think you can find it under the "Tarantula Train".

I'm sorry you didn't have a better time in Fort Worth. I hope when you come back, you will take the time to get to the Botanic Garden before they close. The Conservatory is terrific- don't miss it! Additionally, in the summer, they have "Concerts in the Gardens" and it is wonderful to bring a blanket and picnic. Most shows have fireworks after. They have everything from Elvis impersonators to the Fort Worth Symphony. They always do a great 4th of July show. Schedule will be out some time next month: http://www.fwsymphony.org/concerts/c...the-garden.asp

If you haven't been down by Sundance Square, that's a nice place to spend some time, too. (And if your DH is into football, you might want to swing by Arlington and see the new Cowboys stadium!)