Dallas weekend

I turned 38 a month ago. (I figure why be shy about my age when MySpace makes me display it prominently anyway.) It's not a big year. More like, it's a year that starts to get you used to the idea of 40, so that when 40 arrives, it's no big deal.

We didn't make a big to-do about my birthday. Dave had a business trip in Dallas, so we extended it over the weekend and hung out. He goes to Dallas often, and I'd been there just a few years ago for a romance writers conference, so we made it a lazy weekend.

We tried to have dinner in the West End (near where JFK was shot), but that neighborhood seems to have turned into a bust. Retail is all closed, questionable-looking people wandering around, and the one restaurant we had an appetizer in, the food was just OK.

We ended up getting back in the rental car and having a fabulous dinner at Maguire's Uptown Grille. They served these really cool crab shooters -- little crab balls served in a sake set. (I love the look of sake sets, but don't own one since I don't really enjoy sake.)

Dave really likes Razzoo's Cajun Cafe, so we had dinner there one night, too. (For some reason, Cajun restaurants don't seem to last long in our neighborhood.)

I'd say the highlight of our trip was our excursion to Grapevine -- a historic town with lots of wineries, restaurants, art galleries and shops. We were able to pop into Vetro, a glass blowing studio where they have a nicely set up viewing area. Next door is a bronze sculptor whom we could watch working. We sampled wine at D'Vine Wine of Texas, and ate craw fish at Big Fish Seafood Bar and Grill.

Overall, it was a quick and pleasant trip. Hmmm... Did we do much more than eat and drink?