September 2005
I went back to Dallas for a work trip. Actually I was working in Plano Texas, but I got a hotel in Dallas. It was fun. I got to do some driving around and exploring in the evening. It turns out that my hotel was actually pretty close to Dallas - Love Field airport. I'll have to keep that in mind for my next visit in early 2006 (work-related) as I really hate DFW. Again, I enjoyed Dallas immensely. If I didn't love Atlanta so much I wouldn't mind living in Dallas. (there are only 3 cities that I say that about ... Orlando, Dallas and of course my home of Atlanta. I rule out California as too expensive)
During this visit I was also able to visit my cousin Dana who lives about 40 miles south of Dallas. Texas, in a way similar to the state of Georgia gets VERY rural outside of it's major cities. Apparently it's not oncoming to have directions to your home include "turn off the paved road". It was really nice to see family ... especially when I hadn't seen Dana in nearly 8 or 9 years.
June 2003
I was finally able to visit Dallas in June of 2003. I had a scheduled customer conference which took me to Dallas for about 24 hours. It was a very short trip and as such I was unable to see much of the city. I stayed at a hotel very close to the Galleria Mall. My meetings were at the Westin Hotel which is attached to the Galleria. During my trip, I did manage to find some time to drive around Dallas a bit. (Ok, I was lost ... it happens. <GRIN>) Even in my short trip I found Dallas MUCH more to my liking than Houston. I hope to return to Dallas in the future and enjoy a more relaxed visit.
--
A business trip with my former employer sent me on my first trip to Texas. Since I am a Dallas Cowboy's fan I felt somewhat relieved to finally step foot in the state. (Even if I never made it to Dallas).
My trip took me to Houston in 1997. The night I landed Houston had just been hit with a fairly severe ice-storm. Ice and cold are very rare for the southern Texas climate. Power had been out for three days in certain parts of the city. The people that were not used to ice decided that it was a better idea to stop in the middle of the road (much to my surprise as I was forced to drive around all of these people.)
Houston did not impress me. It was flat, nothing to see. Pollution seemed fairly typical, if not somewhat worse than most of the heavy industrial cities that I have visited. All in all I had finally found a place that I liked LESS than NJ.
My only regret is that I did not get the opportunity to visit the NASA facilities.