Mothers Of Preschoolers
International
Convention
September 22nd, 23rd and 24th
Dallas, Texas
Once again Tessa got to stay with my parents and Brian
got the house to himself for several days as
I headed off to Dallas for the 2005
MOPS International Convention. I did a much better
job this year on the
flights. I wasn't nearly as nervous about getting on the plane although
there
was an air of tension the entire trip because we were not sure what path
Hurricane Rita would take.
Would we get stuck in Dallas because of high
winds and rain? Should we make plans to leave early
or stay an extra day?
Turns out we had nothing to worry about and Dallas didn't see a drop
of rain the
whole time. Rita turned east and missed us completely.
I didn't take nearly as many pictures this year as I did last
year in Nashville. I'm not sure if it's
because I'd already been to
convention or if I just didn't put myself in as many places for possible photo
opportunities.
Like the Gaylord Opryland in Nashville, the Gaylord Texan is all done in a
regional theme.
Everything in the hotel screamed TEXAS! From the sound of country
music filtering through the atrium
to the huge yellow Texas star at the top of the glass dome. It was,
not surprisingly, most dramatic at night.
This is the center of the main atrium. The tile circle surrounded by the
flags is directly under the star.
A beautiful little river ran through the atrium and under bridges.
You could either walk on the main level up above or stroll along the path
by the riverbank.
Here is the River Walk section- based on the river walk in San Antonio.
You can just make out some of the fish in the river. They were huge!
The breakfast buffet at this restaurant was $21 per person with prices
going up for lunch and
dinner. We dined elsewhere.
This pretty little waterfall was tucked in a corner just outside the indoor
pool.
I thought it was pretty and serene. Anyone want to build me one in
my backyard?
Our room was over on the Hill Country side of the hotel.
Our balcony is just behind the windmill on the 3rd floor.
It was kind of nice being over in this other section.
No music playing outside and less people walking past.
This was taken just a few steps away from the one above. The windmill and
our room are just to the left. Walking out onto our balcony we
looked down onto this tree.
Since the hotel was just built last year, I was trying to imagine the
workers
getting this full grown tree into position.
The outdoor pool at night. We never found time to go for a swim but it was
close to our
room and I passed it many times as I took the outdoor path through the
vineyard to
and from the convention center. The heat kept most people inside
which made this path quiet
and mostly deserted. Easier than fighting the crowds and the grape arbors
were pretty.
This may seem like a strange thing to take a picture of but I thought this huge
metal cowboy hat
over the Starbucks stand was cute. We spent a lot of time at the
mall because their food court had
lots of cheap options for meals. My only complaint was that
everything you ordered in Texas
had jalapeņo peppers in it! Even the teriyaki bowl at Panda Express
was almost too
hot to eat! My dad would have loved it. :)
Here's Janice in front of the stuffed Texas longhorn. We had to pass right
by this guy to get to our room and
often had to stand and wait while people had their picture taken in front
of him.
I went to Dallas with 7 of the most wonderful women you could ever know.
We had a blast.
Here's Janice, Trudy and Gramma Kay at the Zone 3 luncheon. We sat
at a table
with 3 gals from University Place who wanted to steal Gramma Kay for their
group. We told them no way!
Here are Shirley, Kristi, Cara and Tracy at the same luncheon.
During one of the General Sessions. 5,000 women all singing at once
is quite moving and powerful.
Here we are! Standing: Kristi, Trudy, Janice, Kay and Tracy
Kneeling: Cara, Me, Shirley
Next year the convention will be back in Nashville. I hope to be there!
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To my photos from Nashville 2004