Gaylord Texan

The kids and I decided to celebrate Father's Day a little differently this year. Instead of treating Scott to tangible gifts, we decided to kidnap him for the weekend so that he could enjoy special time with his family instead. I instigated the idea but Amelia and John were 100% excited about it. They actually wanted to blindfold Scott for the car ride but I convinced them that having the destination be a surprise was sufficient.

Saturday morning the kids presented Scott with a handmade note that informed him that he was being taken to a special place for the weekend. The note did not provide any details, other than the fact that he should pack an overnight bag, including a swimsuit. We left the house around 12:30 and stopped for lunch at Fuel City for what some say are the best tacos in Dallas.

Yes, we ordered cheap tacos from a window (see line of people above) in a gas station (next to a jail) in south Dallas and watched the 18-wheelers fill up at the pump while we ate out of styrofoam containers. Talk about a classy way to begin Scott's father's day weekend! And yes, the tacos were delicious. Bonus was that the kids liked them too and didn't complain at all about the unusual choice.

The next stop was the Gaylord Texan, a huge convention center hotel located near DFW airport about a 20 minute drive from Fuel City. I had planned for us to stay overnight at the Gaylord as the big father's day surprise.

While the hotel itself is very nice, the big attraction (for us, anyway) was the large waterpark on site for guests staying at the property. 

The park had a huge shallow pool, splash fountains everywhere, a large slide, a lazy river, and a zipline. There were hundreds of lounge chairs scattered along the water's edge and waiters to bring you all the food and beverages you wanted to enjoy. This was like a small luxury tropical resort situated in the heart of Texas! With temperatures in the low 90s (not bad for Texas in June) and lots of sunshine, this was perfect for us. We spent three hours Saturday afternoon and about five hours on Sunday enjoying this beautiful waterpark. Because the park is only open to hotel guests, it never got very crowded and we could pretty much walk onto all the attractions.

Below Amelia is on the zipline.

John enjoyed playing water basketball.

There was lots of laughter in the lazy river, easily the children's favorite part of the waterpark!

After lots of fun in the sun during the afternoon, on Saturday evening we spent some time exploring the large atrium inside the hotel. There were several "street" performers out in the lobby area. Below is a huge cowboy, and behind him you can see the replica of the Alamo that was part of the wall of the hotel building.

The gold man below was sitting quietly on a bench. It took us a few minutes before we realized that he was a real person!

 The man nodded in gratitude when John gave him a tip.

Below is a mosaic to remember the Alamo as a decoration on the floor.

And a large model train set with artwork depicting the Texas state flag. There were dozens of specially painted Texas stars across the lobby, each with a story about the artist.

And what Wilson family photo wouldn't be complete without a reference to a Miami sports team? Yes,  to complicate the otherwise awesome photo of Scott, John, and Amelia with lovely smiles on their faces, we also get to enjoy a Miami "U" symbol.

Overall this was a great and relaxing family weekend, and a super fun way to celebrate Scott and Father's Day!