SOUTH

YOUTH-GONE-WILD DAY

You booked your best babysitter for this one, because today is about recapturing your youth.

You are embarking on the ultimate daycation denouement — all it took to get here was clear skies, a daring spirit and $500-$700. Epic Helicopters operates out of nearby Addison Airport. You custom plan your Dallas landmark tour or romantic sunset tour or aerial fireworks watching, available on certain summer nights. You can even pipe your own music through the helicopter speakers. Talk about ending on a high note. [END]

You

DON YOUR OLD Trippin’ Daisy T-shirt and Dr. Martens, and you bring your favorite flannel in case the air conditioning at the brewery becomes uncomfortable. (What? You’re still hip. Just older and better prepared these days.) The first tribute to your carefree youth? Sleeping late. Leisurely sip your coffee. Heck, watch the third hour of the Today Show, a broadcast the Daily Beast recently called “a tense mess the atmosphere weird the conversation a barrage of inanity and interruptions.” It’s fascinating, you think. Like a car crash. You zoom 20 minutes south of the Lake Highlands nest for your Deep Ellum-ish daycation. Your first destination is lunch it’s about the time Deep Ellum wakes up. The neighborhood’s restaurants routinely make local and national headlines, so your choices are exciting and abundant. But how long are you willing to wait in line?

AS LONG AS IT TAKES! THE LONGER THE LINE, THE SWEETER THE REWARD. GO TO #1.

LESS THAN HALF AN HOUR. GO TO #2.

One

You arrive at legendary Pecan Lodge at 2702 Main well before its 11 a.m. opening, because the line forms early. You enjoy chatting with an eclectic group of fellow lunchers as you wait — it’s all part of the charm. You thought you knew what to order, but by the time you reach the counter you are struggling — the brisket, the handmade smoked sausage or the “hot mess,” which combines barbacoa, chipotle cream cheese, sea salt-crusted sweet potatoes, butter and green onions? Oh heck, you just throw caution to the wind and scarf down the whole lot of it, with all apologies to those at the back of the line, who might go without because of your gluttonous ways. A cold beer on the spacious patio washes away all traces of shame. “Now,” you think to yourself, “I should walk off some of those delicious calories, but how?”

STROLLING ART GALLERIES. GO TO #3.

SHOPPING. GO TO #4.

Two

So much to do, so much to eat! Maybe you’ll have the Chinese noodles at Monkey King Noodle Co Or a gooey grilled cheese at Uncle Uber’s Or fresh seafood at Deep Sushi Or chicken fried steak at All Good Café You wind up choosing the Chicago-style dogs at Luscher’s Red Hots — after all, owner Brian Luscher is your Lake Highlands neighbor. Next, how to best walk off those meaty calories?

STROLL NEARBY ART GALLERIES. GO TO #3.

SHOP. GO TO #4.

Three

The power of the Dallas Arts District often overshadows the small, indie galleries that showcase emerging or lesser-known artists. A quick hit list includes: The Kettle Art Gallery at 2650-B Main, 500X Gallery at 500 Exposition, Barry Whistler Gallery at 2909 Canton, and Kirk Hopper Fine Art at 3008 Commerce — and that is just the few you can cram into this arts-and-entertainment packed day. They say the best art comforts the disturbed and disturbs the comfortable. The abstract prints and ingenious installations along your gallery tour have you teetering on the fence between comfortable and borderline basket case. Selfmedication arguably is in order — is stimulation or relaxation your indulgence of choice?

CHILL OUT WITH A COOL BREW. GO TO #7.

PEP UP WITH COFFEE. GO TO #8.

Four

No vacation is complete without the procurement of knick-knacks, clothing and accessories. Daycations deserve gratuitous memorabilia too! You snag one-of-a-kind souvenirs at In Accord, a fair-trade gift shop at 2719 Main stocked with handmade goodies from local artists. You score a used book and limited edition stamps at Deep Ellum Postal & Grocer at 3100 Main (it’s part post office, part thrift store). And you hunt treasures at Lula B’s Antique Mall at 2639 Main. Are you hungry now, or in the mood for further exploration?

I ATE A WHOLE COW FOR LUNCH. LET’S EXPAND MY MIND, NOT MY GUT. GO TO #3 OR #5.

I COULD GO FOR A SNACK AND A CAFFEINE BOOST. GO TO #8.

Six

Stepping into the Black Swan Saloon feels like a hug from Eddie Vedder, kisses on the cheek from Siouxsie and all of her banshees. Framed Toadies and Rev. Horton Heat posters line clean, shellacked walls. Vintage Pac Man and Donkey Kong screens occupy tabletops above shiny hardwood floors, near a stylishly curved bar. But the product here is all grown up — Bloody Marys and spirits made with fresh mixes and fruits from nearby Dallas Farmers Market and signature cocktails such as the Four-Leaf Clover or weirdly wonderful fourpepper tequila infusions. If the choices become overwhelming, start with old favorites like Shiner and Dos XX or one among a rotation of seasonal brews. If this did not get you in the mood for further exploration of revitalized Deep Ellum, nothing will, so how do you envision today’s finale?

DANCING AND DRINKING UNTIL THE WEE HOURS. GO TO #9.

LOUD, LIVE MUSIC. GO TO #10.

HINT: IF YOU NEED A PICK-ME-UP, SWING BY #8 FIRST.

Seven

For a $12-$15 admission ticket, you receive a souvenir pint glass and three beers at Deep Ellum Brewing Co Tours and tastings are noon-3 p.m. Saturdays — you missed that window, so you hang out on the patio and sip craft brews, play board games and snack at one of the many food trucks parked outside. Should the day end here?

YES, TIME TO STOP PRETENDING I’M 21. IT’S PAST MY BEDTIME. [END] thought groovy mind trips belonged to children of the 1960s. today’s visit to the Museum of Geometric and MADI Art at 3109 Carlisle expands your whole inner universe. The MADI movement cannot be put in a box. It is a way of thinking. It is color and playful complexity. It is free-form poetry, theater, performance, books, music and bold manifestations. OK, those manifestations — of which the museum showcases some 800 — consist of geometric shapes and, yes, boxes, but utterly delightful boxes that frequently spill rebelliously out of their conventional frames. The whole refreshing thing about MADI is that the pieces are what they are, and you need not read into them. “MADI artists refuse to make the object representative, but rather focus on the object and the colors themselves,” notes the museum owner. “One does not have to look for meaning behind the art. Just enjoy each piece for itself.” Oh, and it is free. (But you are so uplifted that you leave a $5 donation.) The museum has the distinction of being the only permanent one in America dedicated exclusively to MADI art. Anyway, getting your mind blown makes you thirsty. You need a place with icy cold beverages in an interesting setting — do you go old school/modern twist with a basic brewery, or for craft cocktails served in a whimsical setting, summoning memories of glory days?

I CAN GO ALL NIGHT LONG. GO TO # 9 OR #10.

COULD NOT AFFORD THEM IN THE 90S, I’LL TAKE A CHANCE FANCY COCKTAILS. GO TO #6.

I LIKE BEER. GO TO #7.

Eight

After consuming an espresso and a sweet snack at the spacious and friendly Murray Street Coffee Shop at 103 Murray, you are totally recharged. So what’s your idea of the best way to cap off

Ten

this daylong adventure?

DANCING AND DRINKING UNTIL THE WEE HOURS. GO TO #9.

LIVE, LOUD ROCK AND ROLL. GO TO #10.

Nine

You absolutely tear it up on the dance floor at Adair’s Saloon at 2624 Commerce, a Deep Ellum honkytonk with live music every night. You don’t divulge your secret, which is that you previously snuck in a few blues and swing dancing classes, taught Tuesdays and Wednesdays by Dallas Swing Society at nearby Sons of Hermann Hall, at 3414 Elm.

[END]

Trees on Elm Street and The Bomb Factory on Canton — whose stages supported the likes of Kurt Cobain and Radiohead before they were household names — were elemental to Dallas’ music scene in the 1990s. Thanks to one Lake Highlands couple, the venues are thriving today, and that thrills your live-musicloving soul. Clint and Whitney Barlow re-opened Trees a few years ago, and more recently, The Bomb Factory, where grand opening week hosted Erykah Badu and The Toadies. It’s June, so you catch rapper Tyler, The Creator at The Bomb Factory on the 5th or D’angelo — the R&B singer whose first album in 14 years, Black Messiah, has garnered a massive amount of buzz — on the 16th or blues/boogie/soul singer Benjamin Booker at Trees on the 9th. Or all of the above — because this daycation is like the 90s movie Groundhog Day, you live it over and over all summer with slight variations each time. [END]

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