Through May 11 - Dallas Roars! is four weekends of fun and festivities with animal friends at the Dallas Zoo. Enjoy live music and entertainment for children and families, including fun activities at the Lacerte Family Children's Zoo. Information: www.dallasroars.com

Through May 18 - The J.M.W. Turner Exhibition will be the largest and most comprehensive retrospective ever presented in the United States of the career of J. M. W. Turner (1775-1851), one of the greatest landscape painters in the history of art. The exhibition of approximately 140 works, divided almost evenly between oils and works on paper, will include masterworks representing his extensive range of subjects - seascapes, topographical views, historical events, mythology, modern life, and scenes from his own fertile imagination. Many of these works have never been shown in the United States. The exhibition will also survey Turner's mastery of watercolor from highly innovative and experimental sketches and studies to large-scale finished works. The exhibit is at the Dallas Museum of Art, 1717 N. Harwood St. Information: www.dallasmuseumofart.org.

Through May 18 - Martin Puryear is the focus of a major exhibition of the sculpture of the acclaimed American artist organized by The Museum of Modern Art, New York, and on display at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, 3200 Darnell St. The retrospective features some 45 sculptures that trace the development of Puryear's artistic career over the last 30 years. Information: 866-824-5566 or themodern.org.

Through May 29 - AT&T presents Thursday Night Live at the Dallas Museum of Art. Included in the lineup is Jazz in the Atrium every Thursday night from 6 to 8 p.m. General admission is free. Information: 214-922-1200 or dallasmuseumofart.org.

Apr. 5 - May 26, 2008 - Scarborough Renaissance Festival® (Waxahachie, TX)
www.scarboroughrenfest.com

May 1 - 4, 2008 - MayFest (Fort Worth, TX)
Mayfest is celebrating its 36th year as Fort Worth’s premier community festival. www.mayfest.org

May 2 & 4, 2008 - Dallas Fine Mineral Show (Dallas, TX)
www.DallasFineMineralShow.com 

May 2 & 3, 2008 - Relay For Life® of Arlington (Arlington, TX)
The American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life is an overnight community celebration where groups of friends, families, neighbors and coworkers form teams to walk or run around a track, to raise spirits, awareness and funds to fight cancer through American Cancer Society research, education, advocacy and patient & family services.www.events.cancer.org/rflarlingtontx 

May 3, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Ride DART to the State Farm 2008 Asian Festival at Dallas City Hall Plaza, 1500 Marilla St. Presented by the Greater Dallas Asian American Chamber of Commerce and The Crow Collection of Asian Art, this year's festival takes place on Saturday, May 3, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will be many local dance and music groups performing traditional routines, food booths with various authentic Asian cuisines available for sampling and much more. Admission is free. Information: www.gdaacc.com or 972-241-8250.

May 3 & 4, 2008 - SAM’S CLUB MS 150 Bike Tour (Frisco to Fort Worth, TX)
www.ms150.org

May 3, 2008 - 19th Annual Cardboard Boat Regatta (Arlington, TX)
19th annual Cardboard Boat Regatta  www.riverlegacy.org 

May 3, 2008 - Reflections by Plano Civic Chorus (Plano, TX)
www.planocivicchorus.org

May 3, 2008 - Cinco de Mayo Festival (Lewisville, TX)
www.cityoflewisville.com 

May 3, 2008 - 7th Annual Fala Day (Arlington, TX)
Our Annual Fala Day is an outdoor event for Scotties and their families. www.northtexasscottierescue.com

May 3, 2008 - Annual Cinco de Mayo (Denton, TX)
Denton’s 20th annual Cinco de Mayo Celebration  www.dentoncinco.org

May 3 & 4, 2008 - Cottonwood Art Festival (Richardson, TX)
www.cottonwoodartfestival.com

May 10, 11, 2008 - 25th anniversary of Home Tour (Fort Worth, TX)
www.historicfairmount.com

May 9, 10, 11, 2008 - Mineola League of the Arts Fine Arts Show
www.mlota.org

May 9 & 10, 2008 - Wild About Flower Mound (Flower Mound, TX)
www.flower-mound.com/wild

May 10 - Dallas Desperados vs Grand Rapids Ramage  at the AAC

May 11, 2008 - Dorothy Shaw Bell Choir Annual Spring Concert (Fort Worth, TX)
www.dorothyshawbellchoir.org

May 11 - The Blackland Prairie Festival celebrates Plano's past and present with family fun, live entertainment, arts and food in the historic downtown area. Wander 15th Street and enjoy costumed performers, exhibits and demonstrations of candle dipping, quilting, soap making, blacksmithing and pottery making. There's also carriage rides, a petting zoo, antiques and vintage automobiles. Admission is free from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Information: blacklandprairiefestival.org.

May 9-11, 2008 - Taste Addison 2007 (Addison, TX)
www.addisontexas.net

May 10-11, 2008 - Annual Mother’s Day Home and Gardens Tour (Dallas, TX)
www.sahd.org

May 16-18, 2008 - 23rd Annual Main Street Days Festival (Grapevine, TX)
www.grapevinetexasusa.com

May 16-18, 2008 - The Wildflower! Arts & Music Festival (Richardson, TX)
www.wildflowerfestival.com 

Mary 17 - Dallas Desperados vs Arizona Rattlers at the AAC

May 17, 2008 - Greater Fort Worth Herb Society Herb Festival (Fort Worth, TX)
www.greaterftworthherbsociety.org  

May 17, 2008 - 27th Annual Azle Lake Run (Azle, TX)
www.azlelakerun.org 

May 17-18, 2008 - 10th Annual Cajun Fest (Grand Prairie, TX)
www.tradersvillage.com 

May 18, 2008 - Pianist, Gustavo Romero to perform with GDYO (Dallas, TX)
www.gdyo.org

May 22-25, 2008 - Crowne Plaza Invitation at Colonial (Fort Worth, TX)
www.pgatour.com

May 23-25, 2008 - ArtFest 2008 (Addison, TX)
www.artfest500.com

May 23-25, 2008 - 41st Annual National Polka Festival (Ennis, TX)
www.nationalpolkafestival.com

Have something you'd like listed here? Email it to: weekendroadtripper@gmail.com

I'm exhausted today. How many of you out there are too? You also stayed up till all hours watching the marathon Stars/ Sharks 7-period game? WHEW!!!!

"Exciting" doesn't even begin to do the game justice. After the last two gut-wrenching losses of Games 4 & 5, RJ & I were as nervous as we could be watching last night's spectacle.

We have our lucky mojos we do for every playoff game- we burn candles, we put up our Stars posters, we wear black for the home games just as if we were there, we make sure our 'rally cats' are sitting in the room with us (I know our two cats just love that but, hey, they've got to pitch in and do their part too).

Those things seemed to be working alright for the first round against the Ducks and Games 1, 2 & 3. Then came the stumbling blocks. I got as superstitious as a ballplayer. I was afraid to make any changes. What had I done differently for 4 & 5?  Aha, I remembered. I dozed off a couple of times during both. How could anyone call me a real fan if I couldn't stay awake. How could I not devote my full attention to them when the boys were trying so hard?

"Turcolicious" Marty

Well, things would be different for Game 6. Lucky for me, I took a nap during the day, not even realizing I would be up till the wee hours ! 8PM. Game time on Fox Sports Southwest with the brilliant team,  Daryl "Razor" Reaugh and Ralph Strangis.  We had our dinner out of the way, all lucky charms activated and were ready. First period came and went. Nothing. Second period and Antti Miettinen scored for Dallas- oh boy, they were really gonna put this game away!  They didn't allow the Sharks to come back with a score! Great!!!  Then, the disappointing first couple of minutes into the third period.... Ryane Clowe tied the game. Here came those big knots in my stomach. I was wringing my hands, pulling at my hair, keeping any eye on the candles- were they still burning? Was everything else still in place?

The minutes, then seconds, were ticking away. I just kept thinking to myself "Please don't let us go into OT- I can't take it"    Well, into overtime they indeed went.  First OT ended..... as Razor says "Oh my, that was larceny..."

Second OT - as grueling as the first. You could see the boys getting tired. I was and I was only watching.

Third OT had a couple of heart-stoppers when the Sharks thought they scored but "King Marty" was sitting on the puck and when they went on the Power Play but my Starry lads defended and Turco held his ground.

Fourth OT started. Razor commented that most all the fans were still there- amazing, since it was well after 1am now. Not only were they still there, the folks on the bottom sections were all standing and had been most of the overtime periods. AAC was rockin', rally towels were being slung, the crowds were chanting "Marty, Marty, Marty"....

Ralph announced that the game had just become the 10th longest in NHL history. I could barely watch but kept telling myself I had to. A true fan will watch to the end, no matter what.

Then, suddenly, a miracle. Shark Brian Campbell was called for tripping. We were going on the Power Play. There had hardly been any penalties in the entire game and this was just the second on all of the OT's. Here was a gift handed to the Stars on a silver platter. This was going to be it....this HAD to be it.....please let this be it.

As fittingly as anything ever could be, the Stars Captain Brendan Morrow slid one past Evgeni Nabokov. The whole place erupted. There was screaming, cheering, laughter, tears, & sighs of relief.... and that was just me Oh, it was perfect - perfect that Brendan had the game winner. He's the Energizer Bunny, he's a Timex watch, he's the little engine that could. After he had those two goals denied in Game 5, it was the icing on the cake that he put the puck in the net for the victory.

Captain Brendan Morrow

The game ended up lasting a total of 5 hours and 14 minutes. 7 periods. Third longest game in Stars history & I read this morning it was the 8th longest in NHL history- obviously the minutes were still ticking away when Ralph told it was the 10th longest.

And I watched it all. I feel so good today! I am enjoying that elation because they face the Red Wings next- first game is Thursday in Detroit and the butterflies in my stomach will soon return.

If only my Mavs could have done this well...........

Stars vs Sharks - Game 6 May 4 (and 5th!), 2008

Saturday was a beautiful day, wasn't it! RJ needed to plan a route downtown for a job site he had to be at bright & early this morning. Afterwards, we headed to Cliff Cafe, one of our favorites and one I've written about before.

Had my usual - the Grilled Cheese sandwich- gruyere, sun-dried tomatoes and basil on sour dough bread, grilled to golden brown and served with french fries & apple cider slaw. The combination of tastes in the sandwich is to die for. A+++

RJ ordered his normal pick too - the Belmont Breakfast - two eggs, pancakes, bacon, sausage, potatoes and an English muffin. Another A+

The food is always consistently great at the Cliff. Service is good with friendly waiters. There's an eclectic crowd that frequents the place and there seem to be lots of regulars.

We noticed a table tent telling about upcoming concert series they'll be offering on Thursday evenings, Barefoot at the Belmont, beginning May 8th with the Doug Burr Band. It looks like a nice way to spend a warm Texas summer night! More info at: http://www.belmontdallas.com/newsletter/may08/

Once we left the Cliff, we figured we could stock up on veggies and went over to the Farmers' Market, another fun stop. It was bustling too. The plant nurseries down there are always crowded and look just beautiful with all the colorful arrays of flowers.

The enclosed pavilion has been recently renovated and is now air-conditioned. It wasn't full by any means on our visit Saturday but several booths, including ones selling furniture, Mexican pottery, a coffee bar and an organic meat stand.

The outdoor sheds were full, with vendors passing out samples of fruits & veggies to the tons of customers. The produce is always the best and you can buy honeys, nuts and dried fruit, dried pastas, herb & vegetable plants, even fresh salmon! Bring cash and your appetite and you are set!

Dallas Farmers' Market, 1010 South Pearl Street
http://www.dallasfarmersmarket.org/

FYI- there's a Mexican restaurant, El Mercado Cocina Mexicana, on the premises too. It's been awhile since we've eaten there but as I recall, it was good stuff & authentic Mexican.

The Eagles Tequila Sunrise

How many of you have ridden the Dart train or the TRE? Even if you don't use either for your work transportation, it's an experience you shouldn't miss.

You can now take the train to points all over the Metroplex. I think most people know you can hop aboard to head to downtown or to the Dallas Zoo but you can also navigate to the Stars games - go, my beloved Stars, go!!!, the Mavs games (well, we'll have to wait until next year for that and don't get me started on that), all the AAC concerts and events, theater events at the WaterTower Theater, Theater Three, the Dallas Summer Musicals at the Fair Park Music Hall, & the Garland Civic Theater.

How about enriching your cultural side at museums? Take the TRE to Fort Worth and head over to the art museums, go to the J. M. W. Turner exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Art, or the exhibits at the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza.

Every Sunday, there are free tours of the European sculptures at the Trammel Crow Center in downtown Dallas. The first Saturday of the month offers no-cost walking tours through the Dallas Arts District.

Dallas Musuem of Art

European Sculpture at the Trammell Crow Center

Want to hear some music? Were you aware of this freebies? Thursday Night Live at the Dallas Museum of Art. Included is Jazz in the Atrium every Thursday from 6-8. There are different performers for the month of May (check it out at www.dallasmuseumofart.org.

It's also easy to ride the Dart down to the Morton Myerson and they have plenty of upcoming concerts.  www.dallassymphony.com

Morton Myerson

Take the Red Line to downtown Plano to see Downtown@Sundown, featuring live music, vendors, food and extended hours for the businesses in that area. It's every second Saturday thru Nov. 8th.

Upcoming festivals in May that you can get to by Dart are:
Cottonwood Art Festival in Richardson, May 3-4
Taste Addison, May 9-11
Wildflower! Richardson's Art & Music Festival, May 16-18

The Dart website is full of information about all the things I've listed here, telling dates, times, how to get there, etc.  plus they have maps, schedules, fare info and tons more. Check it out at www.dart.org.

We've passed the Stone Horse Bistro more times than I can count. It's on Campbell Road close to 75 and we drive that way quite often. Almost every time, we comment that we're going to have to try that place....but with all the choices around here, it's hard to find the time to make it to all of them!

Well, we did visit Stone Horse last Friday night. Now, I am not a sushi aficionado, never have had any and don't know the first thing about it. We saw lots of folks there splitting plates of sushi & other things, and everything we saw coming out to tables looked beautiful.

But, they do offer steaks too and that's what RJ and I chose. Our waitress recommended we start with the crab cake appetizers- excellent choice. There were two to the plate sitting on a bed of a wonderful Asian slaw. I love crab cakes and these didn't disappoint at all. They were very fresh, plump, and with a nice crunch on the outside.

For our entrées, I went with an 8 oz ribeye and for RJ, the 8 oz filet - both grilled using a custom designed grill that holds imported Korean white oak crystallized charcoal so that the steaks cook at extremely high heat. The flavor was a delicious, smoky charcoal taste and both steaks were extremely juicy. The each came served on a big dollop of wasabi mash potatoes and grilled, mixed vegetables.

A+++ on the entire meal!

Stone Horse is pretty inside. We had been in the building before when it was a deli/bakery and a Mexican restaurant- both quite awhile ago. Now, it's been totally re-done. It's divided in to two areas- one for dining, the other for sushi, where you can watch it being prepared. There's also a big, bar with several stools- and it was full while we were there. Looked like people having drinks and rolls or appetizers. They do offer Happy Hour,late night specials & lunch specials on both drinks and rolls, dumplings, the crab cakes, calamari and more.

Next time we visit, we'll try to expand our horizons We'll go for the rolls or dumplings- maybe just try those or a couple of appetizers and drinks (like non-alcoholic? They have several different kinds of teas that sound interesting too).

Stone Horse Bistro  - the place with the big stone horse statue in front!
348 W. Campbell Rd.
Richardson, TX  75080
(972) 479-9494

Puccini Madame Butterfly finale

We just had to have two trees cut down on our backyard this past week and it got us thinking about what we might want to replace them with - new trees, shrubs, flower gardens..... then we started pondering the heat & what would work in those spots in the yard where the summer sun just blazes down. We did a little research on the internet- began googling things and were pleasantly surprised to find lots of help.

Going green is surely the topic du jour - maybe the topic of the year, decade, or century. In our search, we came upon The North Central Texas Smartscape web site which is set up to guide you how to save money on water bills, buy less fertilizers and pesticides, eliminate plant replacements from drought or watering restrictions and even shows you how to help prevent future water pollution.

They have landscaping design tools, plenty of information on native Texas plants, what works best where, what will survive the Texas summers with little water & efforts, photo galleries showing what other folks have done - and it's all for free!

I'm sure everybody could use a little more cash in their pockets from a smaller water bill and what's it going to hurt to make your home look more attractive at the same time!

Check it out at: http://www.txsmartscape.com/NorthCentralTX/main.asp

Other web sites offerings tons of info on Xeriscaping~

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/xeriscape/xeriscape.html

http://www.landscapetexas.org/irrigation.html

http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/assistance/compost/Xeriscaping.html

Too many things to attend to kept us close to home most of last weekend. We did manage to get up bright & early to go to one of RJ's favorite breakfast spots- Tino's Too in Plano.

The folks at Tino's Too know us and always treat us well. They remember that RJ likes extra hot salsa & peppers and always bring him a nice little plate of sliced, grilled jalapenos with a touch of spices added on. The owner, Raul, never forgets to stop by and chat. Our waiters dote on us and are right there whenever we need a coffee refill.

And the food at Tino's is equally as good. Since we're there mostly at breakfast time, we know that menu pretty well. They have breakfast burrito plates, the usual heuvos rancheros, migas, chilaquiles, American breakfasts, tacos al pastor plates, barbacoa plates and I think you can order off the main menu at any time too.

My Tino's regular is the breakfast burritos stuffed with scrambled eggs, chunks of potatoes & thick, crumbled bacon, served with rice and beans. I love that but I ventured out this past weekend and tried something I've never had before- the Tacos al Pastor, which consisted of four fresh, corn tortilla soft tacos, filled with chunks of very tender, spiced beef, lots of fresh cilantro & chopped onions. A small side of refried beans accompanied.The taste of that tortillas, beef and cilantro was a delight.

RJ had his usual too- a big bowl of menudo. He claims it's amongst the best and he ought to know- he tries it everywhere we go It's not my cup of tea but he says it's always great, never greasy and full of flavor. Normally he'll add in a single barbacoa taco but, darn the luck, they were out of barbacoa Saturday morning.

Even the coffee at Tino's is good. I'm not sure what it is about coffee at Mexican restaurants but it generally tastes great. I'm not even a big coffee drinker but I'll order it when I can at a Mexican restaurant.

We've been to Tino's for lunch and dinner and have always enjoyed anything we've gotten. They do have a full bar and offer rooms for clubs and organizations. Fresh salsa, good chips, Caldo de Res, breakfast on Saturdays & Sundays. Tino's Too since 1976.

2205 K Ave    Plano, TX     (972)881-9226

Elton John I Guess That's Why They Call It Blues