The Destination
I had intended to avoid America this year, but a work opportunity required spending a week near Dallas – Fort Worth airport which I could preface with a weekend of sightseeing in a new state.
DFW turns out to be a significant distance from its namesake cities, particularly if you’re jet-lagged and relying on public transport, so I searched the metro area for a more convenient base. I initially looked east, hoping to find somewhere on the DART light rail line towards Dallas, but that would require a hefty backtrack to position myself for my commute. Better, then, to head west. Fort Worth, like Dallas, would be a significant overshoot, but halfway between the airport and the office I found a possible answer: the small city of Grapevine. This ticked a number of boxes: it was just ten minutes by TEXRail from the terminal; hotels were more affordable; it seemed to be of walkable size; and its main tourist attraction – a vintage railroad – obviously caught my eye.
Without much more thought – this whole trip being thrown together on short notice – I booked a couple of nights accommodation and a “Planes and Trains” tour package, imagining I would fill the rest of my time with excursions to the bigger cities. Grapevine, however, turned out to be charming, offering the small-town America aesthetic that I’ve enjoyed in both my own travels and media depictions. In the end I skipped Dallas entirely, and visited Fort Worth only briefly, for an evening event later in the week. Although obviously not a destination warranting a trip of its own, if I were to find myself passing through DFW again I’d happily return to Grapevine for a break of journey.
The Flights
Duty bookings operate on a similar standby basis to personal non-rev trips, but with a greatly improved onload priority. Or, at least, that’s the theory… Needing to be in a certain place at a certain time, and with DFW only served by one BA flight per day, my chances at a spot in business class looked bad. I couldn’t even waitlist – in any cabin – for the Saturday or Sunday departures, and Friday’s came down to the wire, my seat confirmed only when online check-in opened. That confirmation was however for up front, and since the route is operated by A350s, I’d be in Club Suite, which I’d only flown once before.
Both the aircraft and the seat are excellent: I felt genuinely relaxed throughout the ten hour journey. BA’s club catering waxes and wanes, but I was also incredibly well fed on this occasion. Paper menus hadn’t been loaded, so I can’t give the usual flowery descriptions, but I enjoyed carrot and coriander soup, mushroom and spinach stuffed chicken, and special Red Nose Day themed raspberry and chocolate mousse as my main meal. That was supplemented by a pre-dinner snack, mid-flight treats from the galley, and a light meal before arrival.
Such luxuries made my fate on the return leg all the harder to bear… I haven’t endured long haul in economy since January 2012, and I’ve been strictly business with BA since 2013. Both streaks came to an uncomfortable end with this oversold flight – and if one more passenger had shown up, I’d have been bumped to the next day! My most recent World Traveller experience was a comparatively short hop across the pond from Boston: Dallas is half as far again, and I’d wager the seats on a modern A350 are packed in more tightly than they were on a 747. I did at least get an aisle seat, 33C, and the legroom situation didn’t seem terrible at boarding. Unfortunately the occupant of 32C spent every possible moment at max recline, an arrangement which reduced the seat pitch to less than my knees would fit into.
Sleep, then, proved impossible on this overnight service. By the time we arrived at LHR I’d been awake a full 24 hours, and thus was in no mood for the 45 minutes I spent awaiting luggage which had been sent to the wrong belt. Whilst that would have delayed me equally if I’d travelled in club, the difference is that I’d have been tackling the new day well-rested instead of already exhausted. A good reminder of why I avoid the cheap seats – I hope I can start another 14 year streak of doing so!
The Tourist Attractions
As mentioned, I’d booked the Grapevine Vintage Railroad “Planes and Trains” tour in advance. This was a great deal – the included excursion on the GVRR turning out to be the full 90 minute Bear Creek Short Line itinerary, upgraded to Ambassador class seating. Having recently travelled through the Scottish Highlands by train, this was never going to compete in terms of trackside views – the selling point is the historic carriages, recreating a 1920’s ambience. But I did enjoy the distinctly American scenes that rolled past as we made our way through suburban Texas: yellow school buses, a baseball game, palm trees for sale – on clearance, McMansions, a drive-through Starbucks, water towers, dopplering bells of level crossings. But you could also sample all that with a $2 ride on Texrail…
The aviation aspects of the tour began with the observation deck in the 150ft tower of Grapevine Main (itself an architectural treat, styled after 19th century stations). This had great views of the airport, although we couldn’t linger long, as our guide considered the mid-20s temperatures far too cold! A closer look at the action was available at Founders’ Plaza, easily the best plane-spotting facility I’ve encountered. DFW is the third busiest airport in the world by take-offs and landings, so there’s plenty of activity, and loudspeakers have been set up to share the ATC chatter.
Our tour group travelled between the two sites by minibus, which gave me a first look at the historic downtown north of the stations; I returned to explore at my preferred pace (that is, walking) the next day. I had originally intended to venture out from Grapevine to Fort Worth for a rodeo show on Sunday; work logistics conspired against that, but I did make it to the ‘Cowtown Coliseum’ later in the week for a pro bull riding competition! More on that, plus my camera phone snaps from both the guided tour and my own wanderings, can be found in my polarsteps logs of the trip.
The Accommodation
The Spark by Hilton Grapevine DFW North was significantly more affordable than hotels within the airport perimeter (or closer to Dallas), but I’m unsure how much of that was location and how much the brand. The only Sparks in the UK are in Romford and Luton, which should have clued me in to its market positioning as one of Hilton’s more basic offerings – but for $150 per night I had imagined something better!
The room itself was fine – plenty of space, two comfortable beds, and although the air conditioner was wall mounted rather than built in, it did a perfectly good job of mitigating the Texan heat. But the – admittedly, free – breakfast was an exercise in cost-cutting, from the limited food choices (bagels, cereal, fruit) to the paper plates and cups and shrink-wrapped plastic cutlery.
The Meal
If you do stay at the Spark, I’d recommend upgrading your breakfast experience by heading to the Lone Star Cafe, about a five minute walk away and serving up a wide ranging menu of diner-style favourites.
For any visitor to Grapevine I’d recommend Harvest Hall, which occupies much of the public space of the Grapevine Main complex and is billed as a “European-style food hall”. I’m not entirely sure what that’s supposed to mean, especially as most of the kitchens were offering American or Asian fare. But I so enjoyed an enormous portion of orange chicken that I returned for a second on my way to the airport. The hall itself is an impressive space, and surprisingly quiet – I was able to loiter long after I’d finished my meal.