I am sitting in the lobby of the Embassy Suites "Outdoor World" hotel, located near the Dallas airport, and in the middle of nowhere, save for a gigantic Bass Pro shop next door. We are here for a convention of Meghan’s school network, and why a bunch of young fun-loving teachers decided to hold their convention next to a hunting and fishing supply store I am not entirely sure. For once, I get to play the role of "tag along spouse," and set to planning my weekend in earnest.

Excited to have a day to myself in Dallas, I arranged a couple of meetings and visits to favorite restaurants. Living up to the old saying about the best laid plans, ours began to unravel once we heard it was snowing in Dallas. Our departing flight from Charlotte was several hours late, pushing our slated 7PM arrival in Dallas to an actual 9PM; not too bad for a snowed in airport that was not used to dealing with the white stuff.

After a few false starts, we located the hotel where we were promptly told there was no room at the inn, and we were being sent to the "Great Wolf Lodge." I have a policy about never staying at a chain with "Inn" in the name, but Lodges were uncharted territory. We rolled into the drive and were greeted with a strange combination of the Mohegan Sun casino, and a gigantic greenhouse-looking structure. With a bit more investigation, I discovered the greenhouse was actually an indoor water park!

We walked to our room in a state of general confusion, especially once Meghan presented me with my room key. Rather than the traditional key card, the room key was a yellow wristband, much like one you would get at a nightclub. The plot thickened when we saw "Kids Club" bodily noted on the door to our room. The "Kids Club" featured ended up consisting of a large log cabin-like structure in the middle of the room, with three bunk beds and appropriately cheesy wolf and bear decor. Our window overlooked the outdoor portion of the water park, now accented with snow.

At this point, we needed a drink. We located the only open bar and restaurant, and were told by the hostess "There’s a wait." The hostess and I stared each other down, me waiting for the rest of the sentence, the "Would you like me to add you to the list?" and her doing a fine impression of the carved wooden bear next to her. Noting the slew of open barstools, and figuring close proximity to the booze was a benefit at this point, we bellied up to the bar.

The waitress asked Meghan for ID, which as usual she had left in the room. On returning, she expressed confusion over Meghan’s South Carolina ID, explaining that they usually don’t accept out of state ID but she would make an exception. As if the water park and bunk beds were not enough, this was a "hotel" within spitting distance of an international airport that assumed no one from another state would ever arrive.

Beers finally came, as well as surprisingly good food, well appreciated after the long day. Adjourning to our log cabin, we hoped for a better, or at least less confusing day!

Categories: Travel
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