Dallas Day 1: Easy as ABC (American Airlines Center, Barbecue, and Caves)

Melanie's alarm woke us up at 7:30, our plan being to head back to Barton Springs for another swim before heading from Austin to Dallas. This plan was derailed by the violent thunderstorm going on outside. We decided to go with Plan B, which involved sleeping until 10:30am. Just as good, I say! When we woke up the second time, we shuffled around, slowly getting ready, until we saw a Bug That Shall Not Be Named on the wall. That got us moving! We were out of the room and back on our way to Central Market for breakfast. We headed out of Austin on I-35 at 11:00.

On our way north, we stopped at Inner Space Cave, a big limestone cavern. Incidentally, we got lost looking for it, even with our GPS and a call to the place -- I hate when there are only signs marking an entrance from one direction! We would never have found it coming from the south. Obnoxious! We went on a tour of the caves, which are really pretty and cool. Our tour guide, Ryan, was hilarious. He was a cross between Rocky and Matthew McConaghey. That is as entertaining as you would think. We saw little bats up on the roof of the cave and lots of beautiful stalactites and stalagmites. He also pointed out "cave bacon," another type of formation.

The barbecue was delicious, the best I have ever had.

We were back on the road to Dallas by 1:45, and we made one more stop at Sonic for a quick snack around 2:30. The drive to Dallas felt like it took a lot longer than the one to Austin, probably because it was raining this time, and we were much more tired. We pulled into the garage at our hotel at 4:30, then checked in and hung out for a bit. Melanie went to the gym, which she said was tiny (basically, the size of two hotel rooms) and incredibly hot because of the sun coming through. Ugh. I stayed in the room and figured out where the places were that we wanted to go that night.

At 6:00, we walked a few blocks from our hotel to Sonny Bryans, a famous Dallas BBQ chain, for dinner. We were excited that the W&M/Mason game was on TV, and we even had a Redskins fan for our waiter. The barbecue was delicious, the best I have ever had. You get a plate of up to 3 meats and 2 sides, so I had beef, pulled pork, and sausage with potato salad and baked beans. Tremendous! Melanie said the ribs were excellent, as was the macaroni and cheese. They also brought hot rolls, a plate of pickles, onions, and jalapenos, and a bottle full of warm barbecue sauce. We used tons of the sauce. The meat just soaked it right up. It was great.

After dinner, we explored the West End neighborhood a little bit. We popped into Wild Bill's Western Wear, which turned out to have a lot of really cute t-shirts and fun hats and jewelry. We decided to return the next day so we wouldn't have to carry our purchases around all night.

At 7:00, we took the free light rail (yeah, it is free -- don't listen to the cop who tells you to buy a ticket) to the American Airlines Center to see the Mavericks play the Knicks. The AAC is brand spanking new, and it is gorgeous. I've been to a lot of big arenas, and this is the best by far. It doesn't have that cattle chute feel that most arenas have. It is really, really well done. Our seats were high up, but we were right at the midcourt line, so they were pretty good. The game, on the other hand, was not good. The Mavs started out leading 10-0 and things just got worse from there. The final score was 108-79 (boooooo...ugh), but we were entertained. The Mavs have the requisite dance team and goofy mascot, but they also have a drumline and a party squad that roam the stands, throwing t-shirts into the crowds and leading the cheering. At the end of the first quarter, there was an exhibition of the Texas Senior Women's team, featuring players aged 65-91. 91!!! That lady is awesome. They had one of those little remote control blimps that flew around the arena -- this one was from Chili's, and it dropped gift cards into the crowd. You would think this would be a festive atmosphere, but to be honest, we were a little disappointed by the crowd in Dallas. There was only cheering when the Mavs scored or made a good defensive play. It was not crazy at all. I wish it had been more animated, but I always love going to sporting events, so it was fun. Melanie was annoyed that they played music through the whole game (even when play was actively going on) and at the light effects, some of which were almost strobe-esque. I can't disagree with her.

After the game, we got back on the light rail for the short ride back to our hotel. We came upstairs and started the arduous task of packing to go back home. We have accrued a lot of stuff on the trip, so our work is cut out for us. For the first time on the trip, we lounged around a little bit and watched TV. Tomorrow, we have a few hours in Dallas before we have to fly home and go back to (ugh) work, so we need to maximize our time.