My wife pointed to the enormous atrium beneath our balcony. “Look, that’s sweet,” she said, tapping my shoulder. “They’re holding hands.”
“Of course they are,” I said, eyeing the large wedding party below. “They’re getting married.”
She slapped my stomach, annoyed. She was pointing to another couple, walking along one of the Gaylord Texan’s many atrium paths, all of which lead to different hotel rooms or restaurants or sports bars or wine bars or stores or koi ponds or families or vacationers or jugglers or cowboys covered in gold. We’d spent two days with extended family in the Gaylord, and we’d seen just about everything one can see, from severely over-served grooms to a mass of sunburned flesh at the saltwater pool to gorgeous sunsets over the lake. But as we were preparing to leave, my wife realized the most surprising thing we’d witnessed were the scores of lovers holding hands and strolling. Even the married ones.
She decided it was something in the weird cruise-like, vacation atmosphere, where you feel as though you’re suspended from reality and you’re able to see your loved one clearly, without distraction. I suggested it was the rekindled joy one feels after spending a night dancing at a middvle-aged party blast known as Glass Cactus. We agreed to disagree.
EAT:
At Ama Lur, the haute-cuisine delight helmed by chef David Woodward. The pork chops are divine; the wine sublime.
DRINK:
At Glass Cactus. When I say it’s like Knox Street Pub for 40-year-olds, I mean that as a compliment. Party like it’s 1999.
PLAY:
On your rented Jet Skis and check out Lake Grapevine, which you also have a great view of from many rooms (and the Glass Cactus patio).
TAKE:
An early-morning run along the sidewalk that lines the entrance toward the hotel itself. Few cars interrupt your view of the sun off the still lake.
INFO:
Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center
gaylordhotels.com/gaylordtexan
1501 Gaylord Trail; Grapevine, TX 76051
Phone: 817-778-1000; Ama Lur: 817-778-2215
