meanwhile, back at the ranch...

walking through exhibits in a museum is tiring, people.  utterly exhausting.  but that didn't stop us from continuing our one-day-in-dallas extravaganza.  oh, no.  our next stop was here:

the galleria was quite a schwanky spot.  reminds me a lot of south coast plaza here at home.  there were all sorts of fun shops in there, and even this:

i practically had to hold the bean back from jumping right over the rail to get to that ice rink.  heh.  instead, we headed off in search of food, which we found at townhouse kitchen + bar.

animal tots.  tater tots topped with pulled pork, cheese curds, grainy mustard, stout gravy, and a fried egg.  heaven.  i seriously need more cheese curds in my life.

i went with a bacon-crusted burger with bleu cheese and butter lettuce on a brioche.  it was really, really good.

we didn't really have room in our bags to take home a bunch of stuff, so we didn't linger in any of the shops.  but on the way back, after dropping about a dozen and a half hints, the hub indulged my need to visit the home of the ewing family.

look!  my boots are on the sacred grounds of southfork ranch!

while the bean was less than impressed, she did like looking at the longhorns that were kickin' it on the grass.

although it was past closing time, the hub drove up to the gift shop anyway, in the hopes that i could still sneak in for a souvenir or two.  MIL hopped out of the car and gave me the thumbs-up, which made me really, really happy.

so bummed that i was too late for this:

the cast of dallas, then:

and now.

the teen managed to get a great shot of ewing mansion.

the nice lady at the register was bubbly and more than happy to share all of her dallas-related gossip.  i found out that we'd missed the last bit of filming by just a few days, and had to decline her offer of a coupon for a discounted tour.  so sad.  but next time...

dinner that night was at la hacienda ranch.

eating in texas always makes me extra grateful for the plethora of choices we have in soCA.  i do love BBQ now and then, but man - i would cry if i couldn't have really good dim sum or authentic mexican food whenever i got the craving for it.  that tex-mex bullshit is nasty, yo.  enchiladas covered in chili?  a blank stare when we ask for regular ol' red ranchero sauce or carne asada tacos?  yuck.  although we do have the owner of this place to thank for the original frozen margarita machine:

back at home, after the ILs and the bean were safely tucked into bed, the teen and i attacked what was left of the cheesecake.  we may have given the hub ONE bite.

it was a lovely way to cap off our dallas day.