Lady’s Guide to a Long Layover in Dallas, Texas

I’ve never been to Texas. Despite having traveled all over the world, I’ve only been to around half the US states. It’s a little embarrassing. So when I booked my trip to Chile I chose flights that would give me a long layover in Dallas, Texas. Here’s how it went.

Long Layover in Dallas

Dallas had always conjured up several images in my mind: big cowboy hats, big hair, and big oil. Sure, they were stereotypes, but there was just something so uniquely Texan about Dallas it almost felt like a foreign country.

In fact, everyone I’d ever met from Dallas had been so fiercely proud of their state many of them identified as Texan more than American. I was excited to travel to a place that inspired so much pride in its people.

I didn’t know much about the city when I booked my 8-hour-long layover in Dallas, but I was excited to visit.

It wouldn’t be enough time to see everything, but I was going to have 1 day in Dallas on the way home, so I knew it would be a good start.

How to Get from DFW Airport to Dallas

I asked several friends who were from there what the best way to get from the airport to the downtown was. They all responded with the same answer: rent a car.

I don’t like driving, so I decided to skip the car idea. Instead I found a convenient—if not quite seamless—way of getting into Dallas. Two airport shuttles later, I arrived at the Trinity Railway Express.

The train would take me right into downtown Dallas in less than 30 minutes. There I could connect to an extensive light rail system. Not bad for someone who doesn’t like driving.

As my train sped through the suburbs and made its way towards the skyscrapers for my long layover in Dallas, I was a bit surprised that—despite being back in my own country—the city didn’t remind me much of home.

I’m not sure if it was the prominence of the Texas flag or my fellow passengers’ copious use of the word y’all, but something about Texas felt different.

Maybe instead of checking it off my list of states to visit, I should have checked it off my list of countries to visit. Texans are always (jokingly?) threatening to secede from the union, after all.

How to Spend a Long Layover in Dallas

Speaking of union, when I arrived at Union Station I knew exactly how I wanted to spend my long layover in Dallas.

With only a few hours in the city, my goals were threefold: buy a pair of flip flops to replace the ones that wore out on my recent trip to Sri Lanka, get a book to read on the plane, and eat good Mexican food.

I took the recommendation of a friend and headed up to West Village, an outdoor shopping center in Dallas.

Among the usual chain stores were clothing boutiques, bars, and most importantly, Tex Mex restaurants. It was exactly what I needed for my long layover in Dallas.

Upon arrival, I window shopped and looked for my needed footwear, which I found on sale.

Afterwards I perused the selection of novels at a bookstore and eventually settled on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Tender Is the Night. I took it with me to my final destination in the shopping center: Taco Diner.

There were several Tex Mex restaurants to choose from, but Taco Diner’s name had me convinced that it most closely represented what I wanted to eat: tacos al pastor.

I settled into an outdoor table, grateful for the warm February sun, and ordered myself some food.

After eating an entire basket of chips and salsa, I dove into my chicken-and-pineapple tacos al pastor and my frozen margarita.

They had a slightly different flavor from the ones I was used to back home in California, and again I felt like I was visiting a new country as opposed to a new state.

Once I finished my meal, I lingered in the sunshine for as long as my long layover in Dallas would permit, listening to the happy hour crowd chat away with the foreign accent that’s also known as the Texas drawl.

After paying the bill, I hopped on the light rail and made my way back to DFW airport. Once there, I cleared security and walked over to the airline lounge. I was excited to see what it had to offer.

Among the food, beverages, televisions, comfy chairs, and other amenities, I was relieved to find that there were showers.

I took advantage of the opportunity to wash the 10-hour flight and 8-hour layover off my skin, then settled in for a drink and some WiFi as I waited for my flight to Santiago.

As I sat in the lounge, I overheard proud Texans talking about the Texas businesses that were sending them all over the world.

Friendly to a fault, they were giving advice to their fellow passengers about what to do and where to go when they arrived at their destinations.

I can’t remember the last time I saw complete strangers being so generous. It was very Texan.

When my long layover in Dallas ended and my flight took off, I looked out the window over the sprawling suburbs. Once again I saw the Texas flags waving in the distance and had a renewed feeling of foreign familiarity.

I suppose I’ll have to count Texas as a state for official purposes, but I’ll always think of it as a country for unofficial ones. I don’t think the Lone Star State will mind.

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