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Weekend Adventure in Fort Worth

Downtown Ft. Worth

Well this post is not entirely related to Japan. To be honest, it's just really a "dry run" of sorts for when I'm actually in Japan. However, it is getting me to be thinking about renaming the blog to Frank and Josh's adventures or something like that. Anyways, I was invited to attend the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce 44th Annual American Salute Gala. It's the chamber's way of giving back to the armed forces. It was held downtown at the Omni Fort Worth.

I asked Josh if he wanted to tag along (he said yes, of course) and we thinking how tough the drive back would be. Then, I remember I had some credit card rewards left on my Capital One Venture Card. So we looked it up and sure enough, there was a room at the Omni. I had more than enough points for it, so we said let's do a stay-cation in Ft. Worth. We've always talked about and we were glad we could do it.

DFW Healthy Heart Walk

So our adventure begins Saturday morning. We attended the Healthy Heart Walk at DFW Airport. Our department really did an amazing job showing up and sticking to our theme of "super heroes".

My wonderful coworkers and their families - a great team!

I think what I loved most of all, was seeing everyone bring out their families. There is something about little kids and their cuteness and innocence that makes you want to just hang with them. Until they start crying, or going potty, or doing other things that only parents should do. It was just really awesome.

We also had some cool giveaways there, including some free smoothies from Jamba Juice. They were very delicious, especially as we were hungry.

So we walked just a little under half a mile around the Airport headquarters. Along the way we had several cheerleaders. Lots of children that were racing their parents (lots of parents that were glad to let their kids win too). After the walk, we got to play around in some of our airport's security equipment. Our police's corvette was on display, as well as, our armored vehicle. I am not sure how that armored vehicle can move, those are the heaviest doors I have every felt! Glad it keeps our first responders safe. Also, all of the kids seem really enjoy it as well.

This kid had a lot of fun - I was so jealous!

Fort Worth Botanical Garden Herb Fest

Once we were done hanging out with our coworkers, we started our staycation by heading into Fort Worth. We went to the botanical garden first, our hotel wasn't ready yet. We originally wanted to see the Japanese Gardens (see, there was a connection!) but we got sucked into the herbal fest. I was really amazed to see all the different uses of herbs. It was mostly for cooking, but there are certain plants that naturally keep mosquitos away, and if you plant them, or hang them in your patio, you'll be mosquito free all summer (or in Texas all year long).

We also listened to a tea expert speak on the origins of tea, and the many healthy benefits from tea. For example, tea often helps block cancer cells and speeds up your metabolism. Depending on the kind of tea you use, you can find it healing and soothing. Many monks use tea to focus on their meditation.

I was really interested in it. I have a really bad memory (just ask anyone) so I am looking to see if maybe there is a tea that helps your mind. Conveniently enough, green tea helps you focus which will (hopefully) lead to better memory retention. So I'm hoping to start drinking more that. I know in Japan green tea is very popular, so I'm sure I'll find some good brews over there (ah another Japan reference!).

Omni Fort Worth Hotel & Chamber Gala

After the garden we proceed to our hotel. As I mentioned above, we stayed at the Omni Fort Worth. I've stayed at the Omni in Dallas once, however, I was working a convention and was only in my room for the whole 3 hours of sleep I had each night and to take a 3 minute shower. So I was really looking forward to the room here.

Upon arriving, we were warmly greeted by the front desk staff. Everything was all set for us, it was the easiest and quickest check-in process I ever had. No signing of 10 different documents. Only had to show my ID, and my credit card for incidentals, and boom our keys were assigned.

We were able to get a premium queen room. It had two queen beds, an amazingly large bathroom, and a view of the City. The beds were incredibly comfortable. We would've slept nice but a big storm rolled through and we were on the 10th floor so yeah, we felt the thunder and really saw the lightning.

View of the 3rd floor terrace from our window

Two queen size beds - super comfy!

What I really enjoyed about the room though was the amenities offered. A keurig machine inside, free bottles of water (yes, free, in a hotel!), and shampoo, conditioner, and body lotion. Which was great because we forgot all that.

The Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber Gala was held in the ballroom that evening we stayed. It was a wonderful event. The tribute given to our men and women serving in the military was beautiful. The live auction portion was really fun! I did not bid any money, I don't make that much yet! The prizes were amazing though (like a clay shoot competition with Mayor Betsy Price). A portion of the proceeds went to help families who have lost a child who was in the military.

As the Gala moved into the dance portion, we went downstairs to the Omni's wine bar called "Wine Thief" I had a glass of merlot, though I can't remember the brand or year! I do remember it was from Washington state. Their wine thief bar is really a nice, quiet place to relax. If I had a longer stay, I could definitely see myself relaxing and watching the crowd pass by on their sidewalk patio. The staff were very nice, and super attentive.

The Omni gave us a late check out, so we slept in. However, the early morning storm disrupted our sleep so we slept in even more, and thus we ended up eating some Starbucks for breakfast (btw- a full Starbucks in the lobby is a big help!) and then heading back home.

We had a great time in Fort Worth. Something I didn't mention was that we did a quick walk around Sundance Square and some shopping at H&M. I could go on and on about urban design and how Fort Worth did it right, but I'll save that for another post.

Also, if this was too long to read- check out my video! Thanks for reading everyone, stay tuned for another post - we have less than two months to Japan!

It's Almost Time!

Well, it's almost here. In less than two months, we will be in Japan. So excited for the trip to get here and I am happy for it.

Just a few quick notes on the blog - it may be quiet while I am gone, but feel free to follow me on Social Media to get some sneak peaks of what we are doing after.

Once I return and am at my computer, than you bet I'm going to upload everything! However, I'm going to be a tease. I will upload everything in segments, so I won't overwhelm you all every day :)

Going to Japan has got me thinking of how fortunate I am and how much of a big dream this is for me. It's very strange actually living out your dreams. I had always said I wanted to be a world traveler - after July I can say that for sure!

It's got me thinking about my next couple of trips, so I'm hoping to expand the blog and bring those trips to you as well!

Also, I've realized that I life quiet an active life. I am always on the go, doing things, trying new restaurants, and having a good time. Not sure if showing you my home adventures would be exciting, but I've been thinking of doing that to show folks how life in Dallas can be like.

There is so much to do and see here in Dallas. It's often a big misconception- and it's much more than cowboy hats and boots! If you're looking for a cowboy experience, head to Fort Worth. They're literally the City of Cowboys and Culture - I guarantee you'll have a good time there.

Speaking of, Josh and I are doing a staycation in Fort Worth this weekend so keep an eye out for that! It'll be a test run of how quickly I can upload to this blog. So be sure to follow on social media. On Twitter I'm @frankazoid88 and on Snap Chat I'm frankster06

I'll be post more Japan related stuff soon, keep an eye out for that!

Sneak Peek of our hotel this weekend