Western Tour: Part the First

So, as we are sometimes wont to do this time of year, my husband and I took off to visit spring in the southwest.  This year, we decided to take some extra time and see some of the western national parks, something we've been wanting to do for a while, and just hadn't gotten a round tuit.

But as we so often do, we started in Dallas, at the North Texas Irish Festival.  I can't recommend this festival highly enough- flights to Dallas are inexpensive, the hotel rates are reasonable, and the festival tickets are a bargain- for the price of a single concert you get an entire weekend of music on multiple stages.    For example:

While this piece isn't especially Irish, this is an example of the caliber of musician we saw- we've seen this couple a number of times over the years, and they are never less than brilliant.  They play in both the Celtic and swing styles- this is an original piece Chris composed in swing style.

(Okay, if you're thinking this looks hard?  You're wrong.  Professional musicians think this is really really hard.  For the rest of us it's inhumanly insanely impossible.)

Aside from that, we strolled around Fort Worth, ate Mexican food, caught up with musical friends we only see at the festival and generally had a great time.  Fort Worth was sunny and warm, and we took in the water park there:

As well as strolling along the river.  We also discovered this:

Yes, it's the Tim Curry Criminal Justice Center

According to the internet it was named after a longtime district attorney, and not the actor.

The Monday after the festival, we embarked for Las Vegas, eager to see its greatest attractions!   Remembering that we're geeks, can you guess?  If you thought Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam, you'd be absolutely correct!