3 Days: Fort Worth, Texas

Ever since the coronavirus pandemic started and plane travel suddenly became way too scary, I’ve been brainstorming ways I could still travel, but remain safe and Covid free. Eventually I realized that this year would be a great time to work on my driving skills and explore my home state of Texas. Even though I’ve lived in Texas for the majority of my life, aside from Houston, Austin, and Dallas and most recently Big Bend National Park, I’ve never bothered to explore anything else when Texas really has a lot to offer. While there may not be enough in each town for a 1-2 week vacation, these places are perfect for weekend trips. I’ve truly missed being a weekend vacationer, which is something I always did when I lived on the East Coast, so to get back to that makes me feel like I’m returning to my travel roots. Before travel became a fancy Instagram activity, it was just an activity for the adventurous and the curious. I started researching everything about Texas (and learned a lot!) and planned out a few trips to areas I’ve never been to. First stop, Fort Worth!

Side Note- I did not go to the Fort Worth Stockyards this time because I knew it would be too crowded and social distancing would be hard to achieve. Plus, I’ve already been there once on a high school orchestra trip and remembered that watching cattle run around wasn’t that exciting. This trip was more about exploring what other activities Fort Worth has to offer.

Magnolia Ave

Our first stop of the day was grabbing coffee at the popular coffee shop, Craftworks. They’re currently offering the mint julep latte, which I first tasted in San Francisco, and is an amazing cup of caffeine. Since we were on Magnolia Ave bright and early, many of the boutique shops and trendy food spots (like Melt Ice Cream) was still closed, but it was still nice walking around and window shopping without the usual crowd of people. I also stopped in the Stir Crazy Baked Goods dessert shop and picked up 2 delicious mini pies. The pies are tiny in size, but packed with tons of flavor.

Fort Worth Botanic Garden

One of the main highlights of our trip, the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens is filled with serene pathways, beautifully cultivated flower gardens, plenty of benches, and lots of information on horticulture. I wasn’t sure what to expect because New York had two amazing botanical gardens, but the Fort Worth one holds its own. There is a gorgeous Japanese garden in the back that has bamboos and Asian inspired architecture and unique walkways- that was my favorite area of the Garden! I also thoroughly enjoyed the forest boardwalk and the wide open spaces where people could relax and read. Definitely wear some comfortable walking shoes and arrive early because the Garden did get crowded as we were leaving and a peaceful Garden is a much better experience.

Hatsuyaki Hand Roll Bar

Located only about a 5 minute drive from the Botanic Gardens in a small shopping plaza, Hatsuyaki is a highly rated hand roll and omakase sushi bar. We were still a little uncomfortable with indoor dining, especially because sushi bars are always a tight fit so we pre-ordered our handrolls to go in advance (orders take about 30 minutes to be ready). Hatsuyaki has several set menu options available- we chose the 5 hand roll set for $20 because it included the lobster which is my favorite. All sets pretty much include scallop, crab, and salmon. If you’re looking for a filling, but not too heavy lunch option, I highly recommend sushi here!

National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame

Texas afternoons are usually too hot for it to be bearable to be outside so I knew I wanted to spend it indoors at the many museums Fort Worth offers. I had a hard time deciding between the Kimbell Museum of Art (which is free) and the National Cowgirl Museum. Eventually, we went with the latter because it was something unique to Fort Worth, while art museums are in every city. How often can you learn about the American cowgirl? The two story museum has exhibits on the history of cowgirls in America and shines a spotlight on several famous American cowgirls. I remember reading about Annie Oakley in fourth grade so it was interesting getting to learn more about her and her time as part of the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show and seeing her original shooting rifle. The best part was hearing that everyone’s favorite Toy Story character, Jessie, had recently been inducted into the Hall of Fame!

Texas Christian University

I’ve always been fascinated by the different universities around our country and love visiting them whenever I can. Texas Christian University is a small private university in Fort Worth that is known for its purple horned frog mascot and its luxurious campus. Can you believe they have several beach volleyball courts just for student use? Although, I’m a proud UT Austin alum (go Longorns!), I have to admit seeing the TCU campus did make me a little green with envy.

Fruitealicious

I wasn’t too excited to try bubble tea in Fort Worth just because in my experience, the tea isn’t as good when the Asian population of the town isn’t that high. However, Fruitealicious was a great surprise! The milk teas were not powdery, the tapioca was cooked just right, and the slushies were very refreshing (yes we did go there twice). It is located on the edge of the TCU campus and has free parking in the neighboring parking garage.

Mash’d

I first heard about Mash’d on one of my favorite food shows, Diners, Drive In’s, and Dives with Guy Fieri, and have had it on my list of food to try in Fort Worth whenever I visited. Sadly, due to the pandemic, we decided not to participate in indoor dining and instead ordered our food to go. I definitely think that there is a difference in quality of food between dining in and taking out because the food just isn’t as fresh when you’ve waited 15 minutes to eat it while you drove back to your house. However, the deep dish meat pizza and mashed potatoes were still amazing! Mash’d is your typical American restaurant with plenty of pizzas, appetizers, pastas, and salads on the menu.

Trinity Trails

We woke up early Sunday morning to experience the Trinity Trails before it got too hot or crowded. Trinity Trails is a collection of over 100 miles of paths across Fort Worth that promote outdoor activities, such as walking or bike riding. Although there are many trail heads, we started at the Trinity Park one so we could explore the Park as well. Trinity Park is a giant green space that has plenty of walking trails as well. Eventually, the trails lead back out to the Trinity River where you can experience the natural beauty of Fort Worth, while enjoying fresh air and people watch. It is also a perfect social distancing activity because there is so much open space that it isn’t hard to stay away from others. My mom and I enjoyed just meandering along the walkways and having a view that included downtown Fort Worth as well as the River.

Gemelle

I discovered this restaurant by the acclaimed chef, Tim Love, on the VisitFortWorth instagram page and it was one of the highlights of our trip. We opted for outdoor dining on the restaurant’s back patio and had the best view of the spacious Gemelle garden complete with cabanas, a bright orange aperol spritz bar, and an herb garden. The icing on the cake was definitely the live music that occurs every Sunday. Along with the slight breeze and the delicious food (highly recommend the pizzas and pasta), everything was just perfect. Gemelle also does contact tracing for guests so upon entry you will be asked to sanitize your hands and list your email address. I felt super safe that the restaurant was taking this added step of precaution (and thankfully I was not contacted about any Covid cases after dining). Tim Love lived up to the hype of his food- I can’t wait to try some more of his food!

Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge

After lunch we headed to the Fort Worth Nature Center to walk off all the carbs we ingested. And boy, we did a lot of hiking here. The trails start out relatively flat but then the sudden elevation gain surprises you and before you know it, you’re drenched in sweat but also at the end of a great workout. Even if the more intense hikes aren’t your speed, there are several other easier trails. There is even one that loops around an island at the end of the Nature Center. The island is surrounded by so many beautiful lily pads, but wear a hat because there isn’t too much shade. Because of Covid, reservations to the Nature Center need to be made in advanced on their website. Entry is $5 per person and has to be paid on the website.

Fort Worth Water Gardens

I knew that the Fort Worth Water Gardens were going to be very touristy, but still wanted to make a stop because it’s basically an icon of Fort Worth. Located in downtown, the Water Gardens include 3 large pools of water and a man made “mountain”. Although due to Covid, the largest pool of water was shut off. The other two included one where you could sit on the edge and soak your feet in the warm waters. We chose not to do that because there were simply too many people in the area and instead decided to walk around and see everything. The Water Gardens take about 10-15 minutes to explore and even though it is free, the street parking around the Gardens does cost money. Bonus tip- come on Sundays when the parking meters don’t charge for parking!

As I continue exploring Texas, I’m always looking for new places to travel on the weekends. Let me know if any Texas weekend getaway ideas!