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    Irving Staycation

    From gondolas to great tunes: 6 wonderful ways to escape in Irving

    Cheryl Ng Collett
    Aug 25, 2015 | 9:27 am

    If you don’t have too much time or the money for airfares and other expenses associated with a getaway, a staycation in Irving might just be your ticket to pool time, art, history, music, and even a gondola ride.

    Here are six surprising things about Irving that make it a great spot for a vacation.

    The Resort
    Life is indulgent at the Four Seasons Resort and Club Dallas in Las Colinas. The only caveat to staying in such lavish digs may be that you may never want to leave. The 400-acre, five-star property features four pools (including one designated just for families), a luxury spa, and a golf course that's home to the AT&T Byron Nelson PGA Tournament.

    The hotel is steeped in golf tradition, honoring Byron Nelson champions past and present with memorabilia throughout the property. Be one of the first in Texas to snag a ride on a Golfboard, a cross between a surf board and a golf cart, letting golfers carve up the award-winning TPC fairways at speeds of up to 10 miles an hour.

    The hotel’s service is impeccable, with the staff anticipating all your first-world needs. A supervised kids club with activities like golf and tennis clinics, art workshops, calf roping, and games gives parents a little break to slip off to the spa or just float lazily in the resort pool.

    Of Water Views and Gondolas
    If you fancy the thought of being away from landlocked Dallas, the Omni Mandalay at Las Colinas may be your answer. The hotel, with its 421 rooms and suites, sits on the edge of Lake Carolyn, offering guests a taste of life by the water with activities like paddle boating and pedal boats. There’s a heated lakeside swimming pool, waterfront dining, and a spa.

    To woo the one you love, Gondola Adventures offers the unique opportunity to ply the placid waters of Lago de Claire in an authentic Venetian gondola, complete with a singing gondolier. Choose from several packages, which include breakfast, dinner, or a dessert and champagne spread. Note that the other ride location at Lake Carolyn is currently not in operation until further notice.

    History Buffs
    On an unassuming street in a working-class neighborhood in Irving stands a nondescript, two-bedroom home. It’s nondescript until you learn about two fateful families, the Paines and the Oswalds, who were flung into extraordinary infamy on November 22, 1963, the day of John F. Kennedy’s assassination.

    This house belonged to Ruth Paine, a close friend of Marina Oswald, wife of Lee Harvey Oswald. At the time of JFK’s assassination, the Oswald family was living at the Paines’ home. Oswald himself lived in Oak Cliff, to be close to his job at the Texas School Book Depository in downtown Dallas, and visited his family on weekends.

    However, on the night before the assassination, Oswald made a surprise visit to his family in Irving. The Ruth Paine House Museum tour spans two locations and begins at the visitor center off site, near the Irving City Hall. The small visitor center displays personal letters and artifacts of the families, plus the televised interviews of Ruth Paine.

    A docent then buses you to the actual house, which has now been brought to life with a meticulous restoration. Kevin Kendro, Irving City Archivist, gives the tour and is an essential part of the experience with his detailed retelling of this tragic story. Reservations must be made in advance at the Ruth Paine House Museum.

    Music Lovers
    Brand-new to historic downtown Irving, the Texas Musicians Museum (TMM) offers an up-close encounter with memorabilia from music icons of the Lone Star State. There are stage outfits, awards, instruments, personal letters, and music contracts from hundreds of musicians. Exhibits from artists like Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, Destiny’s Child, Willie Nelson, Janis Joplin and Waylon Jennings represent multiple musical genres.

    The 18,000-square-foot space includes an adjacent music garden, where concerts are held regularly. Book a docent-led tour to appreciate the largest public display of Texas music history in the world and hear all the juicy backstories.

    American Art Gem
    For American art aficionados, there’s a hidden treasure inside the National Scouting Museum: more than 60 Norman Rockwell original illustrations used in calendars, handbooks, posters, and magazines. The little-known exhibit pays homage to Rockwell’s role in shaping the image of the Boys Scouts of America and chronicles the group’s history with thousands of artifacts.

    Hope that you’re lucky enough to catch 87-year-old Jim Dunkley giving a docent tour. Dunkley, a scout veteran since 1940 who counts scouting as his lifelong passion, is living history himself. There’s also a movie theater featuring an animatronic Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scout movement, and an interactive area where children can try their hand at a shooting gallery, race derby cars at the pinewood track, and explore canoeing and spelunking.

    Nostalgia
    Inside the tough, hard exterior of bike icon Rick Fairless (of Strokers fame) is a man with a heart for Irving. The longtime Irving resident and his wife, Susan, couldn’t bear the thought of Big State Fountain and Grill closing after more than 65 years. The classic ’50s diner had been the center of so many Fairless family meals that the couple decided to buy the business to keep the tradition alive for future generations.

    It’s truly a small-town experience, where the staff know your name — and your children’s too. Burgers are made fresh, fries come out hot and crisp, and Texas toast is a staple. Hand-spun malt shakes are also crowd favorites.

    Completing the throwback experience is an old-fashioned jukebox that plays your favorite diner tunes for free, compliments of a family that loves Irving.

    A singing gondolier.

    Gondolier
      
    Photo courtesy of Itty Bitty Foodies
    A singing gondolier.
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    Down Under News

    American and Qantas step up winter flights from DFW to Australia

    Teresa Gubbins
    May 9, 2025 | 9:22 am
    American Airlines Qantas
    American Airlines
    Awww look, the two planes are hanging out.

    American Airlines and Qantas are enhancing service on flights from DFW to Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne. Qantas will increase operations to daily services between Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) and Melbourne, Australia (MEL), starting December 3 through the end of January 2026.

    Qantas will also operate all of its services between Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) and Sydney, Australia (SYD) on its A380 aircraft from January.

    “American is proud to partner with Qantas to increase travel options for customers to Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne this winter,” says American’s Vice Chair and Chief Strategy Officer Steve Johnson in a statement.

    It's the fourth consecutive year that American and Qantas formed a Joint Business partnership to expanding connectivity between the U.S. and Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific. After launching service between DFW and MEL in 2022, daily service operated by Qantas in December and January between these two hubs will allow for one-stop connections from across the U.S. to Melbourne. Ohhh, one-stop but not nonstop.

    They'll also bring back American Airlines flights from DFW to Brisbane, a popular winter flight that was introduced in 2024. Service will start on October 25.

    American recently introduced its newly designed Boeing 787-9 aircraft featuring 51 Flagship Suite seats and 32 Premium Economy seats, available on all flights between DFW and BNE. Customers can purchase a Flagship Suite experience on this route now.

    American and Qantas offer networks connecting North America with Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific from these key gateways: DFW, Los Angeles (LAX), New York (JFK), San Francisco (SFO), and Vancouver, Canada (YVR), with connections to more than 200 other airports across North America.

    The four major gateways in Australia and New Zealand are Auckland (AKL), Brisbane (BNE), Melbourne (MEL), and Sydney (SYD) with connections to nearly 70 destinations.

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