Tag: Travel Blog

ART, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Museums, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

The Witte Museum – San Antonio

Jane Sadek
South Texas Christmas Tree, The Witte Museum, San Antonio TX
Nothing says South Texas Christmas like an Antler Tree.

TRAVEL THERE: THE WITTE MUSEUM IN SAN ANTONIO

The South Texas Heritage Center sets the Witte apart from any run-of-the-mill science and natural history museum. 

Our first stop in San Antonio was The Witte Museum. I’d never visited it before, even though I’ve been to San Antonio many times.  Most of my other trips have been overnight, two days as the most, and I prefer art museums over all others, especially one like The Witte, which used to be billed as a science and natural history museum.  I’m not into stuffed animals and models of the solar system.

A New Description Captures My Attention

The Witte no longer calls itself a science and natural history museum.  Now they are “San Antonio’s premiere museum of South Texas history, culture, and natural science.”  That sounds a whole lot more like something I want to see.  They’ve also just finished a “South Texas Heritage Center”with a special exhibitions called “Porfirio Salinas: Capturing South Texas on Canvas.”  That certainly peaked my interest.

Bill, bless his heart, goes to these places because I want to, but I thought he might enjoy a special exhibition called CSI.  However, it was 3PM when we arrived, only two hours before closing, so the CSI exhibit was immediately deleted – especially since it required a separate entrance fee.  Just ahead of us a bus tour was arranging itself in the first gallery, so we detoured into another one. OOOPS, stuffed animals!  So I checked the map and exited out a side door.

The South Texas Cultural Center

Once we stepped outside the main building, the South Texas Cultural Center was right in front of us.  Inside, it being December and all, we found an unusual holiday tree just outside the Salinas exhibit.  Come to find out, Salinas was a painter of bluebonnets a la William A. Slaughter.  Every bit as good and with his own style, but his primary subject was bluebonnets, just like the more famous Slaughter.  The exhibition was housed in a small gallery, but Bill had a hard time getting me out of there.

The rest of the first floor was devoted to the Old Time Trail Drivers Association.  There were wonderful old photos, gorgeous saddles, interesting equipment and lots of logbooks and journals, but time was a-wasting and we still had a lot to see.

The Witte Museum, San Antonio TX
Patriotism and Pageantry: Fiesta Honors the Military

Upstairs was a mock-up of a South Texas town with a lot of artifacts strewn among the scenery.  We strolled along and picked up quite a bit of history, but didn’t linger overlong.  Next on my list was the Betty Coates Textile Gallery, because that’s where the Fiesta dresses are.

Back Inside the Main Building

As far as I’m concerned, the textile gallery alone is well worth a visit to The Witte.  One of my favorite things about the Tyler Rose Garden is the Rose Queen gowns museum.  Well, the Betty Coates Textile Gallery is the Tyler museum in miniature, but instead of Rose Queen gowns, gowns from San Antonio’s Fiesta are displayed.  Just like a Rose Queen, Fiesta Royalty chooses themes for their coronation finery and the gowns on display were devoted to patriotism.  We got an eyeful of red-white-and-blue glitz and glamour there.

Magic Lanterns, a Special Exhibition

Around the corner we found a special exhibition, focusing on a form of photography most folks don’t even know about, Magic Lanterns.  I happened to take both a photography course and a history of cinema course while I was completing my BA in performance arts, so Magic Lanterns were something I’d been versed in from several points of view.   Magic Lanterns were fancy slide shows at the time photography was still in its infancy.  It was the x-box of it’s day.  I’m just guessing, but I’m betting this was Bill’s favorite part of the museum.

We whirled through the rest of the museum so quickly that I can’t give you a coherent report.  Here’s the bottom line: The Witte is no longer a building full of dead animals.  A lot more is happening.  Put it on your itinerary next time you go to San Antonio. You’ll be glad you did.

So where are we headed next?  La Mansion del Rio!  Don’t miss it.

Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Texas’ Natural Bridge Caverns

Jane Sadek
Natural Bridge Caverns, San Antonio TX
The Cavern’s Natural Bridge

TRAVEL THERE: JUMPING OFF INTO NOTHING AT NATURAL BRIDGE CAVERNS

Natural Bridge Caverns is an attraction in Central Texas with much more than a hole in the ground to explore.

Rambling around the southern half of the Lone Star State we found ourselves just around the corner from Natural Bridges Cavern. Having seen Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, we sort of thought we’d done the cavern thing, but I had a coupon, so we decided to check it out.

Cavern Tour vs. Zip-line

Truth be told, I checked it out online ahead of time and when I discovered they had zip-lining, then Mr. Bill developed an uncanny interest in the attraction.  However, it appeared he wasn’t as interested in going down into the cavern as he was gliding above it. As we pulled into the parking lot, I handed him our coupon to the cavern.  He stuck it in his pocket and asked where the zip-line was.

Gearing-up for Zip-lining

Canopy Challenge, Natural Bridge Caverns, San Antonio TX

Now I’d seen zip-lining before and I thought it looked pretty fun.  When Bill asked me if I would do it, I told him, “Sure.”We got directions to the zip-line area, forked over our credit card and geared up. At this point, I was actually excited.  I still thought this was going to be fun.  Then it was time to hook my gear up to their gear.  “Who’s going first?” they asked.  Bill and I looked at one another and shrugged.  Then they asked who was the most afraid.  Suddenly, that was me, so they hooked me in.

We started up the huge stairwell.  I’d become somewhat apprehensive, but I was still all in.  Then we got to the first landing, which required that I walk around an unobstructed edge with nothing to hold onto except the zipling gear which was hooked up to a cable.  I’m a little acrophobic and that little phobia grew with every inch I sidled around that edge.  Still, I wanted to go, so I started climbing the next flight of stairs.  The problem was, my lungs didn’t go with me.  By the time I got to the top I had no interest in zip-lining, but I could have done with some mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

The Walk-of-Shame

Apparently, I’m not the first victim of this malady.  The lady at the top gently encouraged me to get into position, but I knew that wasn’t happening.  When she also figured out that it wasn’t happening, she maneuvered my gear out of the way and started getting Bill lined up to take off.

I watched Bill step onto the platform and with a gentle push, he was gone.  In seconds it was over and I had to take the walk-of-shame back down the stairwell.  The problem was, I still had to make it around the edge of the first platform.  Don’t tell anyone, but I thought I’d die before it was over. I didn’t, but tell that to my pounding heart.

At the bottom they removed my gear and sent me back to the ticket booth.  I had been a chicken.  Stepping off into nothing was just not something I could do.  Bill loved it and he loves me, so he didn’t give me too much of a tough time.

We wandered back to the cavern desk and the next tour was forty minutes away.  We decided to save the cavern for another day – you know, the one where we come back and eat at The Gristmill in Gruene?  On to San Antonio!  Come back next week and see what we visited first!

 

DESTINATIONS, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Austin’s Amazing Amaya’s

Jane Sadek
Ranchero Deluxe, Amaya's Taco Village, Austin TX
Ranchero Deluxe

TRAVEL THERE: AMAYA’S TACO VILLAGE – AUSTIN TX

On our way out of Austin a few weeks ago, we breakfasted with my cousin and her husband at one of their favorite spots, Amaya’s Taco Village. It’s right on I-35, making it easy off/easy on.

What Decor?  What Atmosphere?

Amaya’s is all about the food, because there isn’t anything else.  Oh, there’s a spacious parking lot and a very clean building, but you have to bring your atmosphere with you.  The walls are beige with basic orange peel texturing and the floor in linoleum.  The tables are Formica.  Most of the dishes are of either white or beige melamine.  The flatware was really flat (you know what I’m talking about).  In other words, we wouldn’t have been there if my cousin hadn’t taken us.

But my oh my oh my, are we ever glad my cousin took us.  I ordered the Ranchero Deluxe.  I knew I could eat the eggs and some carne guisada.  I even planned to take a few bites of the chorizo con huevo.  Yum, yum, yum.  My cousin and her husband got huevos this and that, but Mr. Bill was not feeling very brave.  He ordered the Pancake Plate.

The Pancake Plate, Amaya's Taco Village, Austin TX
The Pancake Plate

When they delivered the food to us, they seemed to put about a million dishes on the table.  There was queso with carne, salsas of every description, tortillas and on and on and on.

I tucked into the eggs first and they’d gotten them perfect.  I order my eggs hard, because I don’t like the runny stuff, but I really don’t want hard yellow disks in the center of my whites.  The guy in the kitchen knew that somehow.  Nothing ran, but the yolk had just gelled the very second he took them off the gill.  Then there was the carne guisada.  Tender beef in a perfectly spiced sauce.  Nothing to take the top of your head off, just delicious.  I even had a few bites of the chorizo.  If I’d had any room, I might have eaten more, because they were good, but I was full.  The refried beans and potatoes looked tasty, but they didn’t seem to mesh with my South Beach Diet.

Bill seemed to forget that he’s on the South Beach Diet with me.  Yes, that’s a piece of sausage peeking out from under that huge pancake and that’s real syrup he poured on there.  Way to support me, Pancake Man.

With a hearty breakfast under our belts it was time to head further south.  We discovered the wonderful little town of Gruene, so come back next week so I can tell you all about it.

DESTINATIONS, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Austin’s Cover 3

Jane Sadek
From the Austin Chronicle
From the Austin Chronicle

TRAVEL THERE: DINNER AND A FUNDRAISER AT COVER 3

Next on my South Texas Ramble was Austin. Now there are lots of reasons to go to Austin, but this time my primary objective was spending time with one of my favorite cousins.  However, while I was there, she was busy.  She’s an Altrusan and they had a fund raiser that evening.  Being a long time fan of Altrusa International, I was thrilled to participate.  The event was sort of a happy hour at Cover 3, an Austin hotspot.

We were able to visit with my cousin for a little while before she scurried away to set things up.  We arrived later with her husband.  Let me tell you, Cover 3 is very popular.  It was early on a Tuesday night, but you’d have thought we arrived at 7:30 on a Saturday evening.

It’s a Busy Place

Cover 3 is a sports bar and restaurant.  The buzz was roaring when we arrived and the big screens were beaming action into the crowd.  We asked after the Altrusans and were directed upstairs.  WOW – how do you spell success?  Every available couch and chair was full and making out way through the crowd was a challenge.  In one corner folks were chatting up The Daytripper  and in the other they were checking out the raffle baskets.  We dutifully bought a handful of raffle tickets and looked for a place to have some dinner.  My cousin had worried the proceeds of the event wouldn’t cover the minimum for booking the space.  I think her worries were groundless.  We gave up and found a table downstairs.

I’ve recently become a South Beach Dieter and this vacation was a trial run of what life is like on the diet.  I quickly noticed the things I can eat are usually on the more expensive parts of the menu, but they’re also among the most delicious.  Hubby had shrimp tacos and my cousin’s husband a burger.  I ordered Sauteed Gulf Snapper with Fresh Blue Crab.  Everyone else was very happy with their choices, but I’ve got to tell you, I was BEYOND happy.  If this is dieting, then I can live with it.  Since the menu didn’t say anything about the huge mound of mashed potatoes which would accompany my entree, I didn’t know I needed to select another side, but Bill was thrilled to clean those non-SBD potatoes off my dish and the huge entree completely satisfied any vestige of hunger I might have developed.  I confess, I was jealous of the beers they were drinking, but I was a good girl and stuck with my water.

After the meal, we made our way back upstairs for the big finale, the raffling of the baskets.  Everyone who won was happy with their haul, but I was not among the winners.  We made our way to my cousin’s home and visited a little more before hitting the sack.  It was a lot colder when we woke up the next morning.  The Polar Express was on its way.

Come by next week and I’ll tell you about an amazing place to have breakfast in Austin.

ART, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Museums, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

South Texas Christmas Ramble

Jane Sadek

Dr. Pepper Museum

TRAVEL THERE: SOUTH TEXAS CHRISTMAS RAMBLE – WACO, AUSTIN, SAN ANTONIO & GALVESTON

Did you miss me last week?  I missed being here, but not too much, because I was out having fun.  For years I’ve wanted to visit San Antonio while the luminaries glowed on the Riverwalk.  I finally headed that way and tacked Galveston’s Dickens on the Strand at the end of the trip.  I didn’t know the North Pole would be traveling with us.

Rambling South

Having declared this a ramble, we did take it slow.  Last Tuesday morning went like almost any morning at our house, except that my bags were packed and sitting next to the door.  After my morning ride on the stationary bike, I made some breakfast and then headed for a bath. Meanwhile, my husband, the investor, checked on the market and made sure his trades were all properly lined up.  About 10:30 we hit the road.

Waxahachie Drive Tour

First stop, Waxahachie.  We were a few days early for the Gingerbread Tour of Homes, but thought we might take a sneak peek at some of the old Victorians all dressed up for Christmas.  I’d found a copy of the tour map online and started putting Bill through his paces.  He was very obedient, but by the fifth house we realized the effort wasn’t worth it.  It’s the second time I’ve tried to do this and after this second fail we hightailed it back to I-35.

A Detour for the Love of Dr. Pepper

I had a wish list for Waco which included the Lee Lockwood Library, but they’re closed on Tuesdays, so we went to the Dr. Pepper Museum.  This pilgrimage had been lurking for a while on my “to do” list, but the other times I’d tried to drop by failed for one reason or another.

I'm a Pepper. Are you a Pepper, too?
I’m a Pepper. Are you a Pepper, too?

Now, if there ever was a Pepper, it’s me, so I was looking forward to the museum big time, but erase all thoughts of the CocaCola Museum in Atlanta out of your mind.  Dr. Pepper doesn’t even come in a close second.  Even a Pepper like me has to admit it.  That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go.  Just pare down your expectations a bit.

The building housing the museum is where the beverage was originally served and then bottled.  Since we were there on a mid-week afternoon in early December, we didn’t exactly have to fight any crowds.  We paid our $8 per person (choke choke) admission and started poking around the place.

Long before Dr. Pepper was a soda fountain drink, Morrison’s Old Corner Drug Store was well known as the largest drug store in Texas.  Cowpokes and railroad tracks converged in Waco creating a clientele for emporium’s soda fountain, but old Morrison, didn’t create Dr Pepper.  One of his employees did.  For a while, even though the drink was popular at the soda fountain, no one thought of bottling it.  For one thing, soda fountains were all the rage and for another, bottling was an expensive process.

20131203_132848A la Madame Tussard’s, a wax replica of the man that did invent Dr Pepper greeted you in the original soda fountain area.  He told you the history of Morrison’s Drug Store and that odd little beverage invented there.  He also explained why the artisan wells in Waco made the bottling of Dr Pepper a possibility.

The reason I choked on the price of admission is because the majority of the museum is just a warehouse for Dr. Pepper ad media.  Strolling through the first two floors is, for the most part, a review of the Dr Pepper marketing campaigns.  Yes, there’s the original soda fountain and a room set up like the original bottling facility, but that’s pretty much all there is that has historical meaning for anyone except an ad executive.  The third floor is devoted to Foots Clements.  He’s a one time delivery truck driver who made his way through the ranks and then led the company for many years.

Remember this campaign? Have you ever actually drank it hot?
Remember this campaign? Have you ever actually drank it hot?

Several displays reminded me that 7Up is part of the Dr Pepper family, but what I found odd was that almost half of one floor was devoted to root beer.  Root beer?  I could never find the link between root beer and my favorite soda, but I did learn a few things about the whole frosty mug thing.

There’s a gift shop full of Dr Pepper t-shirts and commemorative bottles and then there’s a snack bar, where you can get a free sample of Dr Pepper products mixed the old soda fountain way.  I’d have preferred a can.  The sample didn’t taste quite right – but I bet when they started bottling Dr Pepper most people said they preferred what they were used to at the soda fountain.

The historical part of the museum
The historical part of the museum

Should you go to the Dr Pepper Museum?  Well, that depends.  Are you a Pepper?  If you’re a devoted drinker of the brand, then you will enjoy it.  Are you a Baby Boomer?  Then you’d probably enjoy the walk down the advertising memory lane. Are you majoring in marketing at one of our American universities or colleges.  Then maybe you’d learn a few things.  Otherwise, like my  husband, you’d probably prefer to spend your time elsewhere.

DESTINATIONS, DFW Metroplex, International, Road Trips, Shopping, TRAVEL

Shopping in the Good Old Days

Jane Sadek

TRAVEL HERE/TRAVEL THERE: SHOPPING IN DALLAS IN THE GOOD OLD DAYS

I hate to say it, but today’s mall rats don’t know from shopping. Drop me in any mall from sea to shining sea and what do you have? The same hundred-odd stores and fast food outlets they have in every other mall in America.  (YAWN!)

My Memories of Shopping in Dallas

I live in Dallas where shopping centers were invented. (Well, not really, but kinda.)  Forget Mall of the Americas, I shop at NorthPark!  In days of yore, NorthPark only had three anchor stores:  Neiman’s, Titches and J.C.Penney’s.  and the other stores? Margo’s La Mode, Chandler’s Shoes, Continental Coiffures, The Carriage Shop…those were the days.  We didn’t have a food court.  We had El Fenix.  Things have changed since then, but I’m still loving me some Northpark.

Back in the good old days, department stores had departments.  I don’t mean you went to the men’s floor and then wandered from designer department to designer department to find a pair of navy slacks for your dad’s birthday.  I mean you went to the men’s pants department and wandered through islands, seas and oceans of men’s pants.  In fact, the pants department would be divided up into types of pants, so by looking on only two or three fixtures, you’d be able to tell whether they had any dressy navy blue pants in your dad’s size or not.

Shopping in Paris

I foresaw the disappearance of departments, as I knew them, before it actually happened.  In the eighties I visited Paris.  My trip was in December and the city was aglow with twinkling lights and snow.  Galeries Lafayette, all decked out for the Christmas season, was astounding.  I wandered around the store to my hearts content.  As I made my way around the upper floors for my second or third time, I began to realize what was bugging me.  I couldn’t find the blouse department.

See, as a twenty something career girl I didn’t have a lot of money, but I envisioned shrugging off my blazer at work one day and hearing someone say, “What a gorgeous blouse!”  At that point I could have answered, “Oh, I picked it up in Paris.”

But Galleries Lafayette didn’t have a blouse department.  They had blouses from many, many designers, but they were all spread out.  I couldn’t just go to the blouse department, check out the markdowns in my size and see if I could afford any.  To find out if there was a blouse in the store I could afford, I would have had to wander around all the different designer’s boutiques and handle the merchandise.  The perfectly coiffed French-speaking clerks were entirely too intimidating.  I went downstairs and bought a Christmas ornament instead.

Designer Departments Take Over

Back in Dallas I was only able to enjoy the blouse department for a little while longer – the designer departments were on their way.  Now, if I want to go to the men’s department and see all the navy dress pants in one fail swoop, then I’m headed to either Walmart or Target.  (BTW, I love Target, but that’s beside the point.)

I miss the old style department store.  To begin with they had a sort of local flavor and were targeted more specifically to local needs.  I also think that you were more likely to come up with an individualized look in a store where things were not pre-coordinated for you.  I mean you don’t have to go all matchy-matchy to look pulled together.

Nowadays, things are entirely too homogenized.  Sure Nordstrom’s has great service and a great selection of merchandise.  I love Bistro N.  But I still miss Titche-Goettinger.  And I miss the blouse department, too.  How about you?

ART, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, DFW Metroplex, Museums, Shopping, TRAVEL

Remembering Dallas Department Stores

Jane Sadek

TRAVEL HERE: REMEMBERING DALLAS DEPARTMENT STORES

Frequent visitors to my blog know I’m crazy for Neiman Marcus.  It’s a touchstone for my beloved Dallas.  I might be shopping in Atlanta’s NM, but I still feel right at home.  I’m devoted to Neiman’s because it’s the only thing left from my childhood shopping experiences.  Titche-Goettinger, Colbert-Volk and Sanger Harris all bit the dust.

My, How Things Have Changed

The transformation of the crisp turquoise-and-white-striped Titche-Goettinger bag into Dillard’s boring beige plastic thing was a disappointing retail slide for me.  My mom went to work for Titches back in the 60’s.  Along the way they merged with a San Antonio department store called Joske’s.  I didn’t think Joske’s had near the eclat of Titche’s.  For a few years, though they belonged to the same team, they each kept their own identity.  Finally, the Joske’s name won out, but at least it was still a Texas name.

Then along came Dillard’s, an Arkansas company, and bought out Joske’s.  I’d like to be able to say that I haven’t walked into the store since, but my mom retired with a 25% lifetime discount, so I’d be lying.  However, I would be telling the truth if I told you I missed that department store with the turquoise-and-white-striped shopping bags.

For all those decades my mom worked at Titches/Joske’s/Dillard’s her main competition was Sanger-Harris, but it was a friendly competition.  If we could buy it a mom’s store we would, but I had plenty of Sanger’s labels in my closet – especially stuff I’d bought at Red Apple days.  The prices were so low you felt like they were paying you to carry merchandise home.  Joske’s had EOM (end of month) markdowns that were often as drastic, but Red Apple Days just sounded like a lot more fun.

I had a grudging admiration for Sanger-Harris after Titche’s became Joske’s.  I wouldn’t have mentioned it to mother, but I thought they were winning the retail war.  Their stores seemed more upscale and their shopping bags were prettier.  I especially liked the exterior of the stores.  When you went to a mall Sanger’s always stood out, because they had gorgeous mosaic murals on the exterior.  You didn’t have to be able to read to know you’d arrived.

Sadly, Sanger Harris eventually went the same route as Titches.  First, they merged with a Houston retailer named Foley’s and ended up changing their name.  Then Macy’s bought them out, and not too many years ago, at that.  I remember visiting the Macy’s in Temple with my Aunt Edie shortly after the change-over.  We agreed we liked Sanger Harris better.

DMA to Remember, Too

With all these pleasant Sanger-Harris memories it is no wonder that I’m excited about a new exhibit on it’s way to the Dallas Museum of Art.  According to the latest issue of the museum’s member’s magazine, back in the 50’s a young VP of A. Harris & Company (which later merged with Sanger Brothers) commissioned an artist to create a series of paintings of Dallas.  The paintings were exhibited at the DMA a couple of times in the fifties, but they haven’t been in Dallas since.  Now they are coming back and will be presented with photos of my city taken at the time of the paintings.

Art, shopping and Dallas!  That’s like three of my favorite things in the world!  Why do you think I enjoyed the Jean Paul Gautier exhibit so much?  Anyway, mark your calender for May 20th, because George Groz’s Impressions of Dallas is coming to the DMA.  The name of the exhibit is “Flower of the Prairie” and you’ll be able to see it until August 19.  And  Macy’s, since you’ve gone to the trouble to sponsor this exhibition, all is forgiven.  I’ll come spend some money there soon.

ART, Decorative Arts, DESTINATIONS, DFW Metroplex, Road Trips, Shopping, TRAVEL

Remembering Neiman Marcus Fortnights

Jane Sadek
My Fortnight Christmas Ornaments

TRAVEL HERE: NEIMAN MARCUS FORTNIGHTS

So you think Black Friday is a shopping experience?  To me, it’s just a feeding frenzy.  If Sam Walton has been successful at anything, it has been getting us to focus on price.  I sort of liked the world better before Walmart.

The World Before Walmart

In those days price was certainly a factor, but it wasn’t the only factor.  Designer names were guideposts, not a decoration plastered across the seat of a pair of sweat pants.  Developing your own style was more important than being in style.  In other words, going shopping was about more than consuming.

Wonderful, Wonderful Fortnight

A perfect example of this was Neiman Marcus Fortnight.  During a two week period in the fall, Neiman’s would transform their Dallas stores into reasonable facsimiles of some exciting destination.  The straw ornaments above are from Bavaria and were purchased in 1983 during  the German Fortnight.  D Magazine gives you the details of Fortnight, but I want to convey the experience.

For a middle-class kid living in Dallas in the Sixties, Fortnight was a window to the wider world.  On a special evening, Mom would dress us up in the our best.  The minute Dad got home from work he’d load us in the car and take us to Neiman’s flagship store in downtown Dallas – but it didn’t seem like a store at all.  In fact, once I entered Neiman’s, I felt as if I’d stepped off a plane into a faraway place.

Granted, back in those days I’d never been on a plane, but I thought what was happening to me then must be just like arriving at a long awaited destination.  See, Mom didn’t just dress us up and make us go shopping with her for the evening, she carefully primed us for the experience.  All year we played a guessing game about what country Neiman’s might focus on for Fortnight.  If the evening news mentioned a place we’d never heard of, we discussed why or why not it might be a good country for Neiman’s.  As we studied our history and geography lessons, Mom would ask, “If this country were featured in a Neiman Marcus Fortnight, what products do you think would be stocked in the gourmet food department?”

In additon, Mother took us shopping at Neiman’s all year long, so we’d know the latest in fashion and appreciate quality.  Then we’d go to Titche’s and buy our wardrobes with Mom’s employee discount.  But a splashy ad in the Dallas Morning News Neiman’s would announce our Fortnight destination and I’d be giddy for weeks until our annual Fortnight visit was scheduled.

During Fortnight, we’d wander through the retail wonderland all agog.  The ultimate treat was dinner at one of the NM cafes tricked out like the featured locale and serving their traditional fare.  Along with many items from the featured country for sale, each floor of Neiman’s hosted special exhibits and demonstrations.  We’d watch traditionally garbed dancers perform exotic dances.  We’d see animals, artisans and actresses.   Our family added very little to Neiman Marcus’s bottom line during this annual pilgrimage, but Fortnight was such a retail success, in spite of folks like us, that many stores attempted copy cat experiences.  Yes, shopping was fun back in those days.

During the years I was busy going to school and living the disco scene, Neiman’s sort of fell off my radar.  Then I became an official consumer with a credit rating.  A Neiman Marcus charge card provided a plastic invitation to another world.  Among the most important privileges offered was postal delivery of the famous Neiman Marcus Christmas Catalog with its legendary His and Hers gifts of opulence.  Trust me, nothing on the internet can replace that catalog.  The recipient of a gift, in the store’s  traditional shiny red Christmas box with the gold Neiman Marcus logo, expected no additional wrapping paper and bows.  Adulthood arrived when I received my own Neiman Marcus credit card.

I have to confess I did not inherit my parent’s frugality.  I found it impossible to merely visit Fortnight and buy nothing but dinner.  I went to the store as often as I could during those special two weeks to buy myself and others as many little treats as I thought I could get away with.  Being at Fortnight was one of those particularly Dallas experiences, like visiting the Great State Fair of Texas or seeing the Christmas decorations on Beverly Drive.

Now Neiman Marcus has stores all over the world and they belong to some big corporation – not Mr. Nieman and Mr. Marcus.  Most middle class kids in Dallas have flown somewhere before they reach their sixth birthday.  Someone took Fortnight out of the Neiman Marcus budget, but I miss it.

I still have my Neiman Marcus credit card and it gets plenty of use.  Neiman’s is my luxury store of choice.  Having lunch at Neiman’s is one of my favorite indulgences.  I will always love giving gifts wrapped in nothing but a Neiman’s logo.  Nowadays I shop at Neiman’s and buy my wardrobe at the Allen Outlet Mall, because even though Mom retired with her discount intact, department store shopping isn’t as much fun as it used to be.  Drat that Mr. Walton.

Update:  This is by far the most popular post on my blog, so even though I have created Miscellaneous Jane for the purpose of offloading things from this blog, this post stays.