Now With More Pictures

We stayed at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine this past weekend. The Gaylord Texan is a large hotel which houses a 4.5 acre atrium. The atrium features small scale replicas of the Alamo, the San Antonio River Walk and a 9-story oil derrick. Throughout the atrium winding around the landmarks, lush gardens abound. We had a fifth floor room with a balcony overlooking the atrium. I took the picture from our balcony the first night.

The local model train group built an exhibit in the atrium which includes The Hogwarts Express train, the Polar Express train, a bullet train, an old fashioned steam train,a very realistic subway train and a couple of others, too. Right next to that, a large scale platform in the shape of a guitar hosts another group of model trains. In the center of the promenade up on a bridge in the shape of a figure eight, another model train runs periodically. They must like their trains in Grapevine!

Our first (well, only really) day we spent mostly at the beautiful outdoor pool-- not quite olympic sized, but adequate for getting in some laps -- with a line of man-made waterfalls that spill into the pool the entire length. Mostly sun worshipers dominated the space and my little fam felt a tad out of place. The indoor pool seemed basically deserted. Odd; usually it's the other way around -- lot's of family splashing in the outdoor pool while the indoor is occupied by the serious swimmers and adults who want to 'see and be seen'.

Most of our recreation consisted of walking the indoor grounds, and with 4+ acres that was plenty of exercise, lemme tell ya! The hotel literature says they keep that atrium at a steady 72 degrees, so the walking was pleasant, comfortable and free of the clammy sweat induced by walking the (equally beautiful but steamy) outdoor grounds. Outside, the hotel boasts it's own vineyard, honoring Thomas Volney Munson, the Denison, TX expert on viticulture who -- no joke -- saved the European wine industry in the early 1900's by exporting three ship-loads of native Texas rootstock. For this service, Munson was awarded the Legion of Honor, Chevalier du Merite Agricole.

Not bad for an 'Merican, eh? And a Texan to boot.