DART RIDER INSIDER
Take a Hometown VacationRecord gas prices putting the brakes on your summer road trip? You don't have to "vacate" the city to have a great vacation. There's lots to discover and plenty of memories to make right here at home. Family FunExciting and educational cultural and entertainment venues, great restaurants, outdoor recreation, small-town antique shops, big-city malls, and lots more – DART delivers you to it all.Time-travel to small-town Texas with a ride to Downtown Plano Station. Enjoy a concert in the park by the Plano Community Band, grab an old-fashioned burger at Kelly's Eastside or wiener schnitzel at Jorg's Cafe Vienna and shop for unusual gifts, antiques and collectibles on 15th Street. Before you jump back on DART, visit the Interurban Railway Station Museum and see how trains traveled the same tracks a century ago.  Take a plunge down under with Leafy Seadragons from Australia and exotic creatures from around the globe at the Dallas World Aquarium at West End Station. Hike through South America's Orinoco River rainforest, and dive without getting wet into a 22,000-gallon aquarium teeming with reef life. Grab your two-wheeler and explore the scenery and wildlife at White Rock Lake Park. At 1,873 acres, it's more than twice as big as New York's Central Park. Ride DART's bike-friendly trains to White Rock Station and you're ready for a 10-mile tour around the lake.  For shopping it doesn't get better than NorthPark Center at Park Lane Station. Teens can gear up at Hollister and Abercrombie, while parents get in style at Armani and Coach. His and her baubles await at Cartier and Tiffany's, and Sharper Image and Apple have the latest tech toys. Up and down the mile-long mall you'll find art by Warhol, Stella and Oldenburg from the renowned Nasher Collection.Intimate GetawaysSip a hand-made margarita garnished with chili pepper slices while you watch your order of New Zealand Tai Snapper cooked to perfection on the big screens at Scene Restaurant and Lounge at Akard Station. Stay downtown after dinner for a casual concert in the Arts District – Jazz Under the Stars on Thursday nights at the Dallas Museum of Art, or a Saturday Night in the City Garden Concert at the Nasher Sculpture Center. Feast on Spicy Tuna and Rainbow Rolls at Reikyu Sushi & Bar at Mockingbird Station, then follow the fountain steps for the latest indie flick at Angelika. Got a taste for off-Broadway farce? It's just across the street at the Pocket Sandwich Theater. Slip into legendary Trader Vic's after the show for a signature Mai Tai.Sink into the cozy intimacy of the Charlie Palmer restaurant at the Joule Hotel on downtown Dallas' Main Street. Two blocks from Akard Station, the celebrity chef's newest four-star kitchen offers such specialties as whole white trout stuffed with a chorizo-wild mushroom-potato hash. But the New York sirloin may be the perfect match for Palmer's Manhattan-style décor set in the 1920s-era Dallas National Bank Building.  Jazz up your Sunday with brunch at Brooklyn Jazz Café at Cedars Station, where the perfect complement to live music is the Miles Quiche or Dizzy Omelet. From there, it's a short ride through downtown Dallas to West Village at Cityplace Station for an afternoon of leisurely shopping and an Iced Brownie and Italian coffee at Village Burger Bar.The great thing about an in-town vacation is it can last all summer long. Visit www.DART.org/travelagent and let DART be your guide. |
 My DART Summer VacationTell us about your DART Summer Vacation at neighborsgo.com.  Here's the best part: Every two weeks, we'll pick a winner and he/she will receive a set of four weekly DART passes. In addition, stories and photos may appear in print editions of neighborsgo, the weekly community newspaper published by The Dallas Morning News in 18 editions covering 39 communities. View more information and the official rules here. |
