Perfect Combination of Old and New @ Old Town Coppell

Dallas is the quintessential modern city: glass skyscrapers, multi-level highways, new housing and commercial areas. A breather from this scene is a must to survive the high-paced life in Metro Dallas. This is where Coppell City comes in. Coppell serves as a respite from this hectic, stress-inducing environment.

Trina (L) and Tyler (R) chose to live in Coppell for its old town feel.

Coppell has an old town feel which is very conducive to family living. This is why, Trina, my daughter and her husband, Tyler, chose to live in Coppell. The heart of Coppell is Old Town located in the City's historic district (http://www.coppelltx.gov/about-coppell/old-town-coppell). 

Old Town Coppell is the original town site. Present-day Old Town is home to a walkable community where residential houses, restaurants, and businesses are continuously being built.

Coppell Farmers Market. A popular jaunt in Old Town is the Farmers Market (above). Open on weekends, produce are fresh, on-season, and grown and prepared by locals. (http://coppellfarmersmarket.org/about/).

Photo source: http://www.coppelltx.gov/about-coppell/old-town-coppell

Main Street Interactive Fountain. Interactive fountains are popular in Dallas. Old Town is no exception. The interactive fountain is found near the pavilion which houses the Farmers Market and playground (above).  Tierra enjoyed the fountain during one of our trips to Old Town.

Concert on the Lawn/Old Town Events. To relax and unwind, residents find time to participate in Old Town events. One of which was a Concert on the Lawn during Old Town's anniversary. We were there to enjoy the concert and relax after a busy work week (above).

Sculpture. The sculptures add to a unique art feel to Old Town. One of this is the ‘Moon River’ by Michell O’Michael found near the pavilion (above). http://starlocalmedia.com/coppellgazette/coppell-arts-council-hosting-evening-art-stroll/article_5f2d43a4-05ca-11e7-b687-3329f3024776.html

Restaurants. Where there are people gathered and so are foods. Among the many restaurants in the area, we tried Dodie's (http://www.dodiesreef.com/best-super-bowl-party-coppell-dodies-old-town/) the first time we visited Old Town. Dodie's offers authentic Cajun food from New Orleans. As authentic as it sounds, I ordered Jambalaya. We also ordered Crawfish Etouffee and Pasta Monica.

Jambalaya.

Jambalaya is a dish of Louisiana origin of Spanish and French (especially Provençal) influence. It consists of meat and vegetables mixed with rice (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jambalaya).  

Crawfish Etouffee

Etouffée or etouffee is a dish found in both Cajun and Creole cuisine typically served with shellfish over rice. The dish employs a technique known as smothering, a popular method of cooking in the Cajun areas of southwest Louisiana. Wikipedia.

Pasta Monica.

Pasta Monica is a Louisiana food tradition. Ingredients include pasta (often rotini),

crawfish tail meat, onion, garlic, creole seasoning, cream, wine, salt, pepper, and butter. Parsley can be used as a garnish (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crawfish_Monica).

Beignets.

For dessert, we ordered Beignets (ben-yays) or French donuts, which were too sweet for my diabetes.

A visit to the neighborhood of Old Town Coppell brings neighbors closer to each other. This is why families who want to relax and feel oneness with the community attend the different events planned by the city council in Old Town.

7 Great Ways to Enjoy Fort Worth Stockyards

In the midst of the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) modern glass high rises and multi-level highways are cowboys, cattle drives, railroads, guns, and more. This is the Texas Fort Worth Stockyards (TFWS). The TFWS is the epitome of the Old West. A visit to modern Texas is not complete without a visit to the historic stockyards.

The Fort Worth Herd. Since we arrived around 11:00 am, the first thing that we did was wait for the "Fort Worth Herd which is the world's only twice cattle drive (11:30 am and 4:00 pm daily). The herd (below) is composed of 15 Texas longhorns - one for each decade of Fort Worth's 150-year history,  http://stockyardsstation.com/attractions/the-fort-worth-herd/ ". 

For the best view of the herd, we stood in front of the Texas Hall of Fame, right beside the Stockyards Visitors Center (below).

L: Adventurouspinay and Tierra in front of the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame
R: Tyler, Trina and Tierra in front of the Stockyards Visitors Center

Moving along the East Exchange Avenue, we chanced upon this horse carriage that can accommodate visitors who want a tour of this historic district without the hustle of walking (below).

Railroad Station. Further along was the Texas Pacific Railroad station (below). This has been responsible for making Fort Worth a major shipping point for livestock, since 1876.  http://stockyardsstation.com/about/history/

Lunch. A little bit of walking and we were ready for lunch at Riscky's Steakhouse. According to their web site, Riscky's offers the best bbq this side of anywhere. https://risckys.com/risckys-bbq/ . There were two branches of Riscky's, but we chose the one near the railroad station. Since it was my birth month, Tyler indulged me with the best that Texas could offer: what else but Steak. I ordered the Flat Iron Steak (below). It came with baked potato, salad, bread, cheese and dips/sauces. Trina ordered Riscky's Famous Pork Ribs and Tyler ordered Riscky's Famous Sliced Beef Brisket .Their orders came with home made potato salad, seasoned red beans, fresh coleslaw, Riscky's famous bbq sauce and other sides.

Of course, what made this meal enjoyable and fun was Tierra, greeting everybody in the restaurant, including the guests and staff, with her shrieks and giggles (below).

Shopping. What we missed by going straight to lunch was the shootout, held in the railroad station right after the cattle drive. Anyway, since we were at the shopping area, we went inside some of the stores for souvenir shopping. Trina bought Leo and me a souvenir shirt, each (below).

 Rides. There were a few horse rides for kids. So, Tierra had fun riding these with her Dad, Tyler.

Western music. It was still early, so after shopping, we walked along the road and found this band belting some Western country songs, which, we enjoyed.

Merry-go-round. There was a live merry-go-round, too. Live horses were driving kids around this pen (below). Tierra may want to ride one when she's a bit bigger.

Some of the original structures were still around, and we took time to admire them. 

When in Texas, enjoy a visit to one of Texas' pride, in the "Cowtown", the Historic Fort Worth Stockyards .