We had a bit of a storm here in Dallas back in February. First it snowed, and then we got near-zero temperatures that overwhelmed the state’s power system.
Half of our apartment building lost power for 3 or 4 days. Our unit had a couple hours of power each day before plunging back into darkness for 12+ hours. Several of our neighbors were sleeping in their cars to stay warm. We also had a moment where a fire alarm forced everyone into the pitch-black hallways and outside into the cold.
I love that the new buildings in the gayborhood come standard with dog spas and dog parks. However, getting people to pick-up after their pets seems to be a problem everywhere.
Our building’s dog park is filthy enough that we don’t play fetch with Ingrid for fear of her plowing into the poop piles. The fencing is also spotty enough that it is far too easy to lose a ball, which I learned the hard way.
A dog spa is not something I think about when apartment hunting, but it always turns out to be one of the amenities that I use the most. I love being able to wash and dry the dogs without completely destroying my own bath or clogging the drain for weeks on end.
Ingrid the labradoodle got a bath this past weekend — there’s something strange about Dallas that causes her to smell way worse than when we lived in Washington DC, so I wash her almost on a weekly basis now. (I am not sure if that’s a lot or not).
Ingrid the Labradoodle getting a shower in our Dallas apartment building.
Ingrid the Labradoodle getting a shower in our Dallas apartment building.
Ingrid the Labradoodle getting a shower in our Dallas apartment building.
Ingrid doesn’t mind the water at all, particularly because she always get treats as part of the process. However, drying is another matter — she’s terrified of the dryer and prefers to air dry on a walk. This usually works out until we run across mud patches. Then there’s a risk that the bath process starts over again. 🏃
The nice thing about the cooler temperatures is that we can actually take the dogs on longer walks without Ingrid completely overheating.
These are some shots from a recent walk to Victory Park, which is about as far as we could walk from Oak Lawn before the heat gets to the dogs (and us!) Now that the temperatures are closer to 80, the rest of the downtown Dallas area becomes a possibility.
The next challenge is ending work early enough to take long evening walks before it gets dark. We haven’t figured that out quite yet, but it’s on the to-do list this week.
Ingrid and Gunter in Victory Park, Dallas.
Ingrid the labradoodle in Victory Park, Dallas.
Ingrid the labradoodle in Victory Park, Dallas.
Like many other cities, Instagram-ready murals have proliferated around Dallas. This “ride it like you stole it” mural is in the Design District, specifically in an open lot called the “Design District Playground” that has several other rotating murals and exhibits.
I think this mural is awesome, but I am not sure about the sketchy tin man water tower in the background. 🥫
Out of all of the potentially scary things in the gayborhood, I did not expect that my labradoodle would be terrified by a faded Disney princess beach ball.
Ingrid has not growled and snarled at something so fiercely since that awful camouflage car in Washington DC.
It look her almost five minutes to muster enough courage to inspect the ball. I was thoroughly amused.
However, a truly terrifying thing happened about two minutes later as we started walking toward Cedar Springs Road — we startled a flock of pigeons feasting on one of the many piles of cat food in the neighborhood. The pigeons all flew toward us and almost clipped my head!
Ingrid was far less pressed by the birds than the ball, so maybe this was just karma for me laughing at her. 🔮
We’ve had a gallery wall in almost every apartment since our last stint in Dallas, and this time around it is no different.
The latest iteration of the gallery wall has a hodgepodge of new wall art, vintage album covers, diplomas, and even a family photo or two.
The dogs don’t seem to mind it, so I guess it’s a success?
Dallas sidewalks are notoriously bad — either filled with junk, deteriorating, or, filled with plants apparently.
Sidewalks in Oak Lawn in Dallas.
Sidewalks in Oak Lawn in Dallas.
It’s by the far the most pleasant nuisance in the neighborhood. And, not many people walk in this area so it probably doesn’t bother many people.
I always remind my friends that Dallas is a major American city and not the rural, oil-rig dotted cow town from TV, but there is randomly a “ranch” of sorts right outside of downtown.
The “Fuel City Ranch” is attached to a gas station with a 24/7 street taco stand on the banks of the Trinity River. The small ranch has longhorn cattle, a donkey, and a zebra.
The zebra and longhorns were thoroughly disinterested in us (probably because it’s 100 degrees), but the donkey came over in hopes of getting some illicit snacks. He was disappointed.
Ingrid the labradoodle was surprisingly not freaked out by Mr. Donkey (unlike the Deep Ellum sculptures). The donkey sniffed Ingrid, double-checked for treats, and then trotted off.
Ingrid the labradoodle at the Fuel City Ranch in Dallas, Texas.
Zebras and Longhorns at the Fuel City Ranch in Dallas Texas.
Tacos from the Fuel City gas station outside of downtown Dallas.
At least the tacos were good. 🌮
You can visit Fuel City Ranch at 801 S Riverfront Blvd, Dallas, TX 75207.
It’s official — the labradoodle is terrified of the bird sculptures in Deep Ellum. I think it’s something about the curved reflective surface.
After some barking and growling, she eventually got over it, but it was hilarious.
Ingrid the labradoodle and a creepy bird sculpture in Deep Ellum, Dallas.
Almost exactly three years after leaving Dallas to earn my Georgetown Tax LL.M. degree in Washington, D.C., I was headed back to Texas.
The pandemic triggered an exodus from the District among my social network. Despite the ubiquitous “diversity and inclusion” marketing among D.C. employers, LGBT and brown people are still the first ones to get fired when there’s economic uncertainty. Many of my friends working in politics, nonprofits, and the service industry got the chop pretty early. They abandoned their apartments and moved back to their hometowns at the beginning of the summer.
Then a larger group of people started trickling out of the District as months ticked by and leases came up for renewal. With fully-virtual office environments and most amenities shuttered, why pay a premium to live in the District?
It’s been a very rainy summer in Washington D.C., and sometimes we get caught in the showers.
I spotted another mural by Lisa Marie while walking in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington D.C.
There are plenty of ferocious pitbulls guarding various places in Ivy City. The local convenience store is surrounded by a yard with two particularly aggressive pits that recently charged after my dogs on one of our morning walks.
Gunter (the Chiweenie) held his ground, and they actually became friends of sorts.
There’s a new Black Lives Matter mural along my dog walk route. This mural is in an alley near the corner of Mt. Olivet and Holbrook Street NE.
My labradoodle and I established a new routine over the past few months.
The rooftop dog park is one of the best things about my apartment building.
The District’s stay-home order has done more than normalize telecommuting and transform buying cleaning supplies into a scavenger hunt. It also creates an incentive for me to frequent different businesses in Northeast D.C. for pickup and delivery.
My new favorite spots are typically within a 45 minute one-way walk from my apartment. This is the ideal distance for weekday dog walks before and after work. (This is also coincidentally the maximum safe distance from apartment toilet since most places are closed).
In addition to taking selfies in front of the monuments, one of the most photographed spots in Washington D.C., is Blagden Alley — a collection of intersecting alleyways that are covered in murals. Blagden Alley has a La Colombe coffee roasters, several bars, restaurants and art galleries, among other things.
The mural that I’m in front of is called “LOVE” by Lisa Marie Thalhammer — it’s the word “love” written in rainbow colors across four different garage doors. Apparently she has several other pieces around the city, which I’ll have to track down one of these days.
One of the best things about living in Ivy City is that I am only blocks from the U.S. National Arboretum. It’s basically a massive park that houses the original columns from the U.S. Capitol building.
The arboretum is an excellent place to walk the dogs and has become one of my go-to weekend spots lately.