So where were we? Ah yes, Dallas! Let’s dive back in from yesterday, when we were heading to the Dallas World Aquarium. Find part one of Dallas escapades here.
Dallas World Aquarium
We decided to race to the aquarium using two different methods; I would walk from the restaurant- a half mile or so- and he would take a motorized scooter that you can rent downtown. (It’s all the rage in big cities and there are scooters everywhere – you just download an app to your phone and turn one on and go. I tried one once and said, “Nope.”) I had a slight advantage to the race, as he had to go put the food beneath the car in the garage. (You know, normal things, as I’ve just mentioned.)
After waiting in line for 10 minutes at the Aquarium, I texted Jeremiah, “Did you crash?” He had not. He came sauntering up on his scooter, we shuffled in line for another 30 or so minutes. If you are going to visit the Dallas World Aquarium, do not go on a rainy Saturday. Jeremiah is a huge fan of all things aquatic, and so we’ve been to several aquariums together. We’ve never waited to purchase tickets.
The aquarium was beautiful inside, and Jeremiah was able to watch an octopus puff up which he was enamored with. As someone who loves scuba diving, he told me that under water he had seen octopuses but when they puffed up, they’d jet away rapidly. Here, though, he was able to see if puff and move across the tank – because of his diving experiences, he appreciate this so much more than I could. (I googled the plural of Octopus so don’t come for me. Don’t get it mixed up with Latin. The plural is not Octopi.)
Since I get fairly dizzy looking into water through glass, I was not as appreciative as Jeremiah about the under water sea life. However, I saw two crocodiles! Crocodiles fascinate me – it’s a big reason why Florida is on a pedestal in my mind. After all, they have crocodiles and alligators; what more could I need? What isn’t lovable about giant teeth that could pull me into a lagoon and a tail that could smack me until I was dead?
The race back
We meandered through the aquarium for several hours, and we raced back to the car in the same fashion – when I received a call from Jeremiah, I knew I had lost.
“I think you forgot to turn,” he said.
“Yeah,” I agreed, “I did. I wasn’t paying attention.” I had just continued walking, looking at the buildings and taking pictures of various tilework. He won this race, fair-and-square. Meeting Jeremiah outside the parking garage, we took the elevator up to our level, then emerged.
“Someone took our chicken,” Jeremiah said in a voice comparable to what I expect he’d say if our car had been stolen. “Someone came up underneath our car and took our chicken!” For a moment, I considered that was a lookalike explorer, or that it was the angle at which we stood, camouflaging our packaged dinner.
“Are you sure?” I asked
“Yes! I put it behind the tire. Someone took our chicken!”
A wave of relief washed over me that I was not eating garage chicken for dinner. I began to laugh.
“I can’t believe that someone that was hungrier than us in a busy parking garage on a cold Saturday would eat our hot food!” I replied.
I think the sarcasm was lost on Jeremiah who firmly believed that we would have diesel-infused fried chicken for dinner. A bit like a parrot, he repeated, “Someone took our chicken! I can’t believe it!” (Jeremiah is legitimately the smartest person I know, which makes this funnier.)
So folks, here’s the lesson: don’t leave a carton of warm food under your car and expect to ever eat it.
Still here, still more to see
We’ve also visited the inside farmer’s market (we’re intending to go on a weekend so that we can also go to the exterior vendors as well, so I’ll leave that for another time) and we happened to find a sushi place that serves real crab instead of imitation. As someone who is allergic to fish (not shellfish,) it can be hard to find sushi places that cater to my allergies. This was one of the highlights of my month so far!
Oh! I almost forgot! We finally discovered Buc ee’s which is a gas station/convenience store bigger than many grocery stores… but that’s practically a blog itself.
What else should we do?
We still have a few weeks left in Dallas as Jeremiah continues physical therapy, but since our home is on wheels, we feel at home no matter where we are. We’re planning on hitting up Fort Worth when the weather improves. What other things are a MUST in Dallas? We’re all ears for recommendations!
(Note: if you have any questions about our experience at MCD innovations, email us! We’re happy to answer any questions.)
