Part of what tempers my feelings about all the driving on this trip is the chill, perambulating pace of our days. No pressure to be any particular place at any particular time, no packed itinerary of things to do. We head out for coffee, we visit a museum, we linger, we have a siesta back at the hotel. Not too bad. It makes for less tension, especially when I miss an exit on the highway.
This morning we encountered what I think is called the Near Southside neighborhood (unless that’s just its gentrifying realtor name?) when we visited Crude Coffee, and returned to this part of town several times throughout the day because it rules. The coffee shop itself was cozy, gorgeous, and served excellent drinks from a variety of roasters. Great pastries, too. While enjoying our caffeine we decided, due to the high winds, to check out some museums.
One of the true highlights of the day was the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame. Inventive exhibition spaces showed off a wealth of artifacts and information, and my favorite by far was about the escaramuza charra, or Mexican traditional side-saddle riders. These women, in Mexico and the US, perform incredibly skilled riding while wearing intricately detailed (and heavy) dresses. The craft on display in both the attire and riding were a sight to behold.
Within this section of the museum, however, was essentially a sub-exhibit of Constance Jaeggi’s Escaramuza, the Poetics of Home. Large and beautiful prints of Jaeggi’s photographs shared space on the walls with poetry by Angelina Sáenz and Ire’ne Lara Silva, providing contemporary context for this traditional practice. Astonishing work, seriously.
Oh yeah, and because it was next door and we have young kids, we killed some time at an underwhelming science museum. At least they had a few dinosaur skeletons :-P
We returned to the Near Southside for a killer lunch (and some decent beers) at Funky Picnic Brewery before crossing the street for even more coffee at Roots Coffeehouse. Another charming cafe, some decent coffee, and time to make a decision to visit the Botanical Gardens.
Except we hadn’t accounted for a flower show that had the whole place absolutely saturated with visitors. We bailed out, called an audible, and headed for the Kimbell Art Museum so Valerie (and all of us, really) could check out the buildings designed by Louis Kahn and Renzo Piano. Turns out the permanent exhibits in each building are free to the public! The kids—particularly the 10-year-old—didn’t have the patience for a stroll through the halls, but we did happen upon two works by Mondrian immediately inside the first gallery! Sweet!
On our way around the buildings I noticed a large steel structure across the street beside the Modern Art Museum. Turns out it was, as I suspected, a work by the late (recently, as of this posting) Richard Serra: his 2002 work “Vortex”.
We were all able to walk within the multi-story sculpture and the kids loved playing with the acoustics. We returned to the hotel for a short break while I researched dinner. Guess what? We returned to Near Southside for some amazing tacos at Buena Vida. The tortillas, the fillings, garnishes, salsas, everything. I ate my son’s abandoned rice just so I could use it as a salsa delivery vehicle. Follow it up with some decent ice cream at Morgan’s and that’s another day for you. And a pretty great one at that.