Fun Weekend

I went to Dallas last weekend for work. Of course, my work as the Director of Marketing and Member Relations at a country club is fun, for the most part, so it was a very enjoyable trip.

My friend and coworker, Betsy, and I had planned to leave late in the afternoon on Friday, so we could be in the Big D for a 6:30 pm meeting. The purpose of the trip was to check out a spa hotel that I'm considering utilizing for a member getaway in April. The past couple of years I've taken a group of ladies to the Alluvian Hotel and Spa in Greenwood, Mississippi. The hotel and spa are beautiful, but there was not much to do in the town itself. So I decided to go bigger and try Dallas.

I found a lovely little jewel in the downtown area, and booked a room for this past weekend. Betsy and I intended to drive to Dallas, but my boss asked me at the last minute if I could do him a favor and drive home a car that he had left parked there. I told him I would and then he said, "Good, then I'm gonna fly you there."

So the original plan changed, and Betsy and I flew on a private plane at 8:30 Friday morning to Dallas. I hate to fly, and it was really windy on the descent into the Dallas area, but it was such a quick trip that I didn't have time to worry about the turbulence. Before we realized it, our feet were firmly planted on the ground, and it was only 10:00 am. We took a taxi to the building where the car was parked, and we both nearly fell out laughing. It was a brand new Mercedes Benz. Our boss had not only flown us to Dallas, but had now given us a Mercedes to drive around for the weekend. Crazy, huh? Sometimes I really love my life.

We had a great time... did lots of shopping, had very good meetings with the hotel and spa directors, and ate well. As a matter of fact, our first destination after retrieving the car was the Cheesecake Factory, which if you know me, you know is my favorite restaurant EVER... lemon herb roasted chicken with garlic mashed potatoes and carmelized veggies, followed by a scrumptuous piece of cheesecake with strawberry topping. Yummy! Another fabulous little food surprise we discovered were the hotel's blueberry gingersnap pancakes. Betsy and I ate them two straight mornings, and re-named them "crack cakes." They were unbelievably good.

Since I wanted to capture the entire experience that my group of ladies would have in April, I decided it was my duty to also get a massage! I opted for the "jet setter massage," which was a combination of medium tissue work and hot stones. I love hot stones. One of my biggest irritations when receiving a massage is that I get cold easily. That was not a problem here. The massage table was heated, the sheets on the table were probably a million thread count, and the parts of my body that Leilani (the massage therapist) wasn't working on were covered with hot, smooth black rocks. It was the ultimate relaxing experience. Simply fantastic.


Betsy and I topped the trip off with tickets to a Maverick's game. We had great seats, and it was an incredible game. Dirk Nowitzski scored 44 points to lead the Mavs to a 115-114 overtime win over the Chicago Bulls. Nowitzski had trouble in the first half, missing 9 of his first 10 shots, but he came on strong in the second half when they needed him. Another guy who really impressed the heck out of me was Jose Barea. This guy was all over the place. He's listed in the program as being 6 feet tall, but he sure didn't look it compared to all the other giants on the court. His small stature didn't stop him from doing damage, though... he finished with 20 points, most from the outside.

At any rate, it was a fun little getaway. And the drive home wasn't bad either in that fancy car. I finally got to see how the other half lives!