Dallas

As most of our compatriots weren't going to be arriving until late in the day, we decided to do as much sightseeing as we could between our 10 a.m. touchdown and dinnertime. We actually managed to fit in quite a lot, starting with the Fort Worth Water Gardens. I learned about them because they were a filming location for a favorite sci-fi film from the 1970s - "Logan's Run". Because they're almost completely below ground level, the Gardens are practically invisible from the street. We found a parking space right where my phone mapping program said they were located - we got out of the car, went up a few steps to a raised plaza and then descended a long staircase into an amazing, hidden oasis.

The Gardens consist of four environments, a terraced hill, a quiet pool, a fountain pool, and an immense waterfall pool. This last was the area featured in the movie. We started with the quiet pool, a serene expanse of water fringed by trees. Before descending into the waterfall area we had a flashback to our trip to Vancouver a few years ago. Suddenly we were aware that everyone around us was really super gay. A little investigation revealed that we were in Fort Worth on Pride Weekend and that the parade was going past on a street adjacent to the park at that very moment. We walked over to where we could see the parade and cheered and clapped for the floats and marchers as they went by. One of the marchers threw us koozies for the "Urban Cowboy", a local gay bar. I was chuffed to see several United Church of Christ congregations represented.

The end of the parade went by and we resumed our exploration of the Water Gardens. The waterfall or "Action" pool is truly amazing. It's really an immense amphitheatre with water cascading down several sides into an irregularly shaped pool at the bottom. Visitors can teeter their way down raised step platforms and walk around stepping-stone-like plinths at water level.

After enjoying the amazing scene and the sound of splashing water for a few minutes, we made our way back up the scary steps to the plaza and got tacos from one of the many food trucks. We ate our lunch in the shade of some tree overlooking the fountain pool.

After leaving the Water Gardens, we made our way over to the west side of Fort Worth and the Kimbell Museum of Art. In doing research for the trip, I found out that the Kimbell Museum building was designed by American architect Louis Kahn and is regarded as one of the most important achievements in 20th Century American architecture. The building consists of sixteen cylindrical concrete vaults which rest on square concrete columns at their corners. Two of the vaults are open and form the courtyard entryway - the others are walled up and form the galleries themselves. The walls of the galleries don't extend all the way up to the edges of the vaults, leaving an open strip that admits outside light along the interior surface of the vault - it's a lovely effect.

We explored the galleries in the Kahn pavilion. There were some wonderful sculptures in the gallery just inside the entrance - an ancient Cycladic figure, an Egyptian sculpture, a bust by Modigliani. In some of the other rooms we saw some works by Turner, Corot, Caillebot, and Miro. After a while, we made our way across the courtyard to the museum's newer building, the pavilion by architect Renzo Piano, who designed the Shard London Bridge. In my researches, I'd learned that that's where we would find the only Michelangelo painting in the Americas - "The Temptation of Saint Anthony. When I first saw the painting online, I thought it was a Bosch, what with all the wacky demons flying around. It turns out to be what's considered the first surviving painting by Michelangelo who painted it while a teenager after a composition by another artist. The image I include was nicked from Wikipedia - I was nervous about photographing the original (I couldn't say why - non-flash photos were permitted throughout the museum). The painting was surprisingly small, given its level of detail. I'm grateful for the high-resolution photo on Wikipedia - I wouldn't otherwise have been able to make out the details.

We managed to see most of the permanent collection althought we didn't have time enough for the African art gallery. There were some very nice pieces in the Asian art gallery - some amazing Khmer and Indian sculptures. We debated staying longer but decided to try and pack in a few more sights and left the museum to drive back over to Dallas.

Mitch and Emma's hospitality was overwhelming. Vacating their own bedroom, each visiting couple had their own bedroom with a separate bathroom. On the morning of the game, we awoke to find a feast of doughnuts, kolaches, and coffee awaiting us. A van had been rented to ferry us to and from the game, with two friends, Nikki and Tierney, enlisted to drive. Friends Caitlin and Paul brought a Texas barbecue feast for the tailgate, which also featured a tent and games of bags.

After collecting Caitlin and Paul from their home just southwest of the downtown, Tierney turned the van towards the huge sports complex between the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth. The ATT Stadium, known locally as the "Death Star" loomed above the horizon while we were still miles away.

After pulling into a parking space at the edge of a lot just south of the arena, all hands set to the task of setting up our little encampment. Up went the tent, the food tables, the camp chairs, and the bags game. Cooler lids opened and beers were passed 'round. As I am wont to do, I immediately started snapping pics. Throughout the tailgate, helicopters were landing and taking off just beyond the nearby houses next to the stadium, presumably bringing the uber-rich to their private club boxes.

The barbecue brought by Paul and Caitlin was flippin' amazing - brisket, sausages, ribs, mac and cheese - fantastic! I had (as usual) FAR more than my fair share. Many games of bags were played while people chatted and drank under the tent and out in the parking lot. More helicopters came and went. Occasionally a knot of Packer fans wandered past and many "Go Pack, Go" exchanges were made.

Eventually, it was time, and by some tacet signal, everyone began packing up - the food was sealed up, the cooler lids closed, the tent and chairs stowed, the van loaded, and goodbyes were said to our faithful chauffeuses, Nikki and Tierney. We began making our way toward the Stadium.

Mitch was, by default, our sponge-ball-on-the-supermarket-cart-pole leader. With his prodigious height and brilliant yellow Clay Matthews jersey, he was very easy to follow through the dense crowd on our walk to the stadium entrance. As we rounded the east end of the complex, we arrived at the plaza in front of the main entrance where an unusual sight met our eyes: an immense convex mirror balancing on edge in a reflecting pool. Like the "Cloud Gate" in Chicago's Millennium Park, the mirror reflected passersby in the plaza. Fascinated, Paul and I walked over and explored the views of the stadium facade, the plaza, and our own reflections. Inspection revealed that the opposite, upward facing side of the mirror was concave, which led one to speculate whether birds flying through the focal point at the right (or wrong) time of day would be instantly incinerated.

The security measures at the entrance were reassuring, Las Vegas being an all-too-recent memory. We passed through metal detectors and noted that no bags were permitted. The standing area for which we'd purchased tickets was right inside the entrance - overwhelmed by the crowd, I immediately took refuge inside an immense girder until Paul pulled me out. To actually see the field one would have had to negotiate a ten-deep mass of people piled up against the railing - I contented myself with watching the game on the huge monitor suspended over the middle of the gridiron.

During the first half, the vibe was reasonably bonhomous. I participated in a few good-natured exchanges with Cowboys fans. Paul and I went out onto the plaza a little before halftime to get ahead of the concessions crowd. We found places to sit on the pavement near the reflecting pool and Paul went off in search of drinks. He returned with weapons-grade Jack-and-cokes which we enjoyed while watching the progress of the game on one of the huge outdoor monitors.

Back inside, we rejoined our compatriots and watched the exciting end of the game. At this point, I need to provide a little background on a rather annoying Packer fan who stood near us for most of the game. He was a youngish type wearing a foam cheese cowboy hat which I dubbed the "Stilton Stetson". I suspect he was a little the worse for drink because he kept leaning on other spectators and, at one point, tried to climb Mitch, who swatted him off before he got very high. Toward the end of the fourth quarter, the Packers pulled ahead with a touchdown. Not long afterwards, the Cowboys pulled ahead with one of their own and, as there were only twenty or so seconds left, everyone present thought that it would be a Dallas victory. As the stadium erupted in Cowboy-inspired cheering, an object fell on me which proved, after inspection, to be a fragment of foam cheese. Looking around, I saw that similar fragments were falling in the vicinity. I then saw that the Stilton Stetson had been snatched from the in-his-cups Packer fan, torn to shreds, and hurled into the air.

The Cowboys' fans exultation didn't last long - the Packers managed, in the last few seconds, to get one more touchdown and nosed ahead. After a round of high-fives and cheers I suddenly became uncomfortably aware of the fact that we were fans of the victorious away team in a stadium filled with 90,000-odd, pissed off Dallas fans. A discreet withdrawal was called for - we rendezvoused in the plaza outside and began to make our way back to the parking lot. Apart from a spirited exchange between Mitch and a Cowboys' fan in one of the parking areas (involving, if memory serves, the colorful term "c***sucker"), we made it back to where we'd parked without incident. The van was not among those present, however - Mitch soon raised Tierney on his cell phone and we walked a few hundred yards to where Nikki and Tierney were waiting on a nearby access road.

So ended my first attendance at a professional football game. Between heavy traffic in the vicinity of the stadium and a stop at a food emporium with the improbable name of "Whattaburger" it took over an hour to get back to Mitch and Emma's house. Everyone was thoroughly exhausted and, by tacet agreement, we all retired almost at once.