Dallas Dart

(To our moms, don't freak out...we lived.) 

Raise your hand if you have ever used the Dallas Dart system? No? No one? 

That's right. No one uses the Dallas Dart system. Let me tell you why I thought it was a good idea and why no one uses it. 

We stayed at the Hyatt attached to Reunion Tower in Dallas. Very nice hotel, downtown, easy access to the interstate. While I was researching our trip we planned on going to Fair Park on the 4th. For those of you that don't know, Fair Park is where the Texas State Fair is. They open the park for the 4th and have a giant firework show. Neat. 

Well, the hotel has a tunnel that leads to Union Station which is the hub for the subway system. It would have been awesome not to have to deal with parking at the park. We assumed it would be very crowded. 

We fed BC, got all of the kids ready and loaded and started our trek to the Dart station. I stopped by the concierge desk and got a map from them and everything. Not a typical move for me but hey, I just wanted to double check.  

After struggling to find the down button on the elevator (it's hidden for a reason) we wondered why the tunnel was COMPLETELY empty. As in, no one was in this tunnel but us. 

We finally made it to the platform and there was a dad with his two sons. They looked normal and then there were some homeless people that were mumbling to themselves. We have traveled in several big cities and this is not a big deal to us. 

The ticketing screen was all scratched and we couldn't read it. A really nice man (that we thought worked for Dart) came up to us and helped us with the ticketing box. Very helpful and chatty. 

Here comes the twist.  He turned out to be a homeless veteran and helps people with the rail system in order to get tips. We thanked him for his service and gave him a $20 bill because that's all we had. He told us that God would put a blanket of protection around us and the girls. (I'm pretty sure he did!) Again, so nice but a little strange. 

We wait 15 minutes for the next train, hop on to a dirty rail car with a few scattered passengers and go one stop to switch trains. We probably rode a total of 5 blocks. 

When we stepped off the train, we joined a gnarly crew on the platform. We stuck out like a sore thumb. A man that I like to refer to as "One Eyed Charlie" had his eye locked on us. While I'm standing there I google "Dallas Dart" and an article about a mysterious death TWO days ago is the first thing that pops up. I'm sure my eyes were popping out of my head and I looked crazed but I looked at Andrew and he knew. We calmly walked down the platform, passing a drug deal, and basically sprinted all the way back to the hotel threatening Addie that if she tried to get out of the stroller she would get in serious trouble. 

Never once did we see a police man in this whole span of time. It was the 4th, maybe they were all at the Park? I'm not sure but they need to be on those rail cars. 

It took all of me not to go all crazy mom on the concierge when we got back to the hotel. (I at least waited a day.) But we got in our car and fled to Highland Park. More on that later. 

Our kids should turn out well rounded right?!