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KLMNO The Impulsive Traveler In Texas, dome, dome on the range BY JUSTINMOYER
I like fake stuff. Shopping malls with wilderness themes. Indoor nature walks along meandering, well-swept concrete paths beside man-made streams that bloom with ersatz cacti and strategically placed Purell hand sanitizer stations. Or strolling a Texas prairie when “Texas prairie” means a climate-controlled re- sort under a dome six minutes north of Dallas-Fort Worth International Air- port, minus scratchy tumbleweeds and plagues of armadillos. These are the charms of the Gaylord
Texan Hotel and Convention Center in Grapevine, Tex.: adventures in simula- cra.
Brought to you by the same folks who
approximatedNashville’s country music heritage at Gaylord Opryland and syn- thesized the American dream atGaylord National in National Harbor, the 1,511- room Gaylord Texan is as fake as you wantit to be. Sure,youcould bike or hike trails that connect the 150-acre property to boating and fishing on 8,000-acre LakeGrapevine. But it’sdamnedhotand humid in Texas, even in September, and there are, like, longhorn-size mosqui- toes and flying roaches and other nasty critters out there. So why not order a Shirley Temple at the Gaylord’s Silver Bar Saloon, recline in a plush leather chair next to a roaring gas fireplace to escape the frostyACandlisten to a piano man stumble through “Tiny Dancer”? But the Gaylord Texan’s not just for Crocodile Rockers. The hotel’s center- piece—a domed interior complete with artificial trails beside an artificial river not unlike San Antonio’s Riverwalk but, well, under a dome — is a mock oasis that offers real comfort to scree-weary Lone Star State travelers. Visitors can mosey down to Relache Spa for a Texas Hot Stone Massage ($190 for 80 min- utes) or to Ama Lur for contemporary Southwestern cuisine (orange-achiote seared ahi tuna, $30). The faux-stone fort that looms over
theGaylord’s imitation prairie looks like the Alamo, but Texas Station isn’t where Davy Crockett or Ozzy Osbourne made their last stands.This sports lounge with a 52-foot flat-screen features food in- spired by all things cowboy and decor inspired by all things Cowboys, since the Gaylord is the team’s official hotel. Red- skins fans might enjoy the frito pie ($8) but shouldn’t flash Donovan McNabb jerseys at the large gentlemen chowing down on the wings-and-ribs combo at the bar. Those dudes are big and have considered opinions about the NFL. Still, those brave enough to venture
outside theGaylord’sdomewill find that Grapevine offers diversions. In Texas, suburbs look less like Bethesda and more like Deadwood—and that’s a good thing. Though connected to sprawling Dallas-FortWorth by an intricate web of superhighways, Grapevine still feels like
IFYOUGO
Want to take a spur-of-the-moment trip to the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine, Tex.? Here’swhat you need to knowfor theweekend of Oct. 29-31:
GETTING THERE AirTran has one-stop flights from BWI Marshall to Dallas-FortWorth International Airport, with fares starting at $352. The Gaylord Texan is 10 miles north of the airport.
WHERE TO STAY Gaylord Texan Hotel&Convention Center 1501 Gaylord Trail 817-778-2000
www.gaylordhotels.com Rooms start at $159.
WHERE TO EAT Esparza’s Restaurant Mexicano 124 E.Worth St. 817-481-4668
www.esparzastexas.com Classic Tex-Mex with a bit more emphasis on the Mex. Entrees start at about $10.
Kountry Donuts 102 S. Main St. 817-421-1257 Whether you like apple fritters or Bavarian creams, you’ll get a lot of sugar for less than $3 at this doughnut hut.
GAYLORD TEXAN HOTEL & CONVENTION CENTER Gaylord Texan’s atrium remembers the Alamo, but there are no last stands here,maybe just the lonesome sound of “last call.”
the frontier town that sprang up around where Gen. Sam Houston signed an Indian treaty in 1843. It just has better retail now. Main Street offers Western tchotchke shops, art galleries, a tobacco- nist, wine bars, gastropubs with live bands and a variety of dining options, especially if you like steak, steak or steak. I opted to eat two blocks off the main drag at Esparza’s Restaurante Mexicano, where the margaritas flow cheaply, the quesadillas are vegetarian and the house salsa has kick. Meanwhile, back at the Gaylord, the
partywasjust getting started in between flashes of heat lightning over Lake Grapevine. Though I could see the Glass Cactus, the resort’s ’80s cover band- friendly lakeside nightspot, from my room, I hopped onto the shuttle that regularly runs between the two build-
ings to keep inebriated brides’ DUI arrests to aminimum.After a three-min- ute ride, I flashed my room card at the door—lowly outsiderspay a$10cover at theCactus, butGaylord guests get in free — and stepped into a Southwestern- themed dance club where 20- and 30- somethings got their freak on, urged on by the Black Eyed Peas’ boomy kick drum. Quickly tiring of this techno sweat lodge, I retreated to my car and again left the resort, driving five min- utes up the road to the curiously named Love&War inTexas, a Dallas steakhouse chain that puts on local bands with a bit more Texan flavor than, say, Ke$ha. Though I was too late for the music, I was happy to chill out for a while in a strobe-light-free bar with saloon doors and a frontierish feel. Mornings at Grapevine are a great
time tocommunewith nature before the mercury strays into the 80s and 90s — or, for those who prefer to remain indoors, an excellent opportunity for mallwalking at Grapevine Mills Mall. After wolfing down an old-fashioned glazed and a Bavarian cream atKountry Donuts on Grapevine’s Main Street — the Riverwalk Cafe, the Gaylord’s most appealing breakfast spot, was closed for renovation — I burned off those empty calories turning circles in Grapevine Mills’ 1.6 million-square-foot interior. At 8:30 a.m., no one was around and no stores were open, ensuring that neither people-watching nor side trips to Books-
a-Million and Forever 21 would distract me frommy walking meditation. There would be plenty of time to shop
later at Grapevine’s enormous Bass Pro Shop, where a Ruger .357-caliber and .44-calibermatched gun set were on sale for the low price of $1,259.97 (display case included). While the Rugers were out ofmy price range, those with means could shoot pistols of any caliber at Bass Pro’s indoor shooting range for a mere $12 an hour or, with a reservation, rifles for $14 an hour. But remember, especially if you are a diminutive East Coast journalist who doesn’t normally frequent gun ranges: You will need to bring your own gun to shoot at Bass Pro. Don’t sass the cashier if you forgot to bring your piece—that’s just the way indoor gun ranges work, at least in Texas. And that cashier, a former Marine, is bigger than you.
moyerj@washpost.com
MoreTravel this week
FRIDAY Escapes creeps around Manhattan on a tour of celebrity death sites, in Weekend.
NEXT SUNDAY The Impulsive Traveler
shops till she drops in Brooklyn, in Travel.
WHAT TO DO Grapevine Mills Mall 3000 Grapevine Mills Pkwy. 972-724-4910
www.simon.com/mall/?id=1248 A 1.6 million-square-foot facility with more than 180 stores and a year-round indoor ice- skating rink.
Bass Pro Shops OutdoorWorld 2501 Bass Pro Dr. 972-724-1710
www.basspro.com Fire off a few rounds at the indoor gun range or browse the ATVs.
Grapevine Opry 300 S. Main St. 817-481-8733
www.gvopry.com Live music on Saturday nights. $15 adults, $10 children 12 and younger.
INFORMATION
www.grapevinetexasusa.com
—J.M.
All flight and lodging info valid as of press time Thursday.
Love&War in Texas 2505 E. Grapevine Mills Cir. 972-724-5557
www.loveandwarintexas.com On Sundays, don’t let the $12.95 all-you-can- eat baby-back ribs distract you from the great local music.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2010
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VIRGINIA
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GHI
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