Fort Worth: Activity and Nightlife Edition

I will start by saying that this list could be endless based off of the number of suggested activities Maddie and the Shibley clan had for me during my short four days. But I'll stick to the things I actually did and leave a list of to dos at the end for my next trip, which I'm sure will be very soon.

This ain't my first rodeo.. 

...but it actually was! Even though I had just barely missed the huge month-long rodeo in Fort Worth, that didn't stop Maddie from finding one at the Stockyards Championship Rodeo. It certainly was an experience, and featured typical rodeo events including bull riding, team roping and barrel racing.

Before our Yolk breakfast on Monday we wandered around Sundance Square.

And after our huge breakfast, we traveled less than a mile to the Fort Worth Water Gardens.

The next activity on the agenda included my two new pals, Charlie and Indie, and a lovely trail along the Trinity River in Clear Fork. The trail entrance we used was right outside of Press Cafe. If I lived in the area, this would be my running spot.

Now, I was told that THE thing to do in Fort Worth is to go to Billy Bob's - I even heard people on the plane talking about it. So we enjoyed our Saturday night in the Stockyards again at the World's Largest Honky Tonk.

I had no idea what a Honky Tonk was going into it. According to Google it's...

"A cheap or disreputable bar, club, or dance hall, typically where country music is played" 

But let me tell you, Billy Bobs was neither cheap (but only $16) nor disreputable. Inside the huge establishment there were bars at every turn, pool tables galore, a giant concert venue where Granger Smith was performing, and even a bull riding ring where, you guessed it, they had live bull riding. It was impressive.

That night we also enjoyed a couple low key bars including White Elephant Saloon , which had some great live music and a wonderful elephant wall.

On Monday I was able to check another item off my bucket list, Top Golf. We went to the location in Fort Worth (there's one in Dallas too) and spent an hour hitting some balls around. A gamified driving range, what's not to like?

Our last stop was at the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens, a free activity that had some neat walking paths. I'm sure it's extra luscious in the warmer months, but it was still an enjoyable experience.

You know you've really enjoyed a city when you leave with a list of more places to see, and Fort Worth was no exception. For my next Fort Worth trip(s) I want to go to...

• Fossil Rim: a drive-through wildlife park where you can feed the giraffes from your car.
• Waco, TX: a city featured on the HGTV show Fixer Upper. Though I'm told it isn't as exciting as it's made out to be on the show.
• The Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo: the big rodeo! This is a huge event and they're even building an even bigger arena just for this purpose.

Click here for a map of my Fort Worth and Dallas spots.