Hometown Glory

Dallas-Fort Worth takes top honors among best U.S. holiday travel destinations

Dallas ranked as the No. 9 top warm-weather destination, according to WalletHub.

With temperatures around the country finally starting to cool, many people are planning winter vacations for someplace warm. And perhaps we should expect an influx of visitors in Texas, because four Lone Star locales rank among the country's top warm-weather destinations, according to WalletHub.

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington is best in Texas; it comes in at No. 9 on the list, just ahead of Austin-Round Rock at No. 10. Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land isn't too far behind at No. 12, while San Antonio-New Braunfels ranks No. 22.

WalletHub based its rankings on 26 key metrics in five different categories, including travel costs and hassles, local costs, attractions, weather conditions, and activities. The Dallas-Fort Worth area ranked highly because it came in at second for travel, seventh for local costs, 16th for attractions, and eighth for activities. Activities, we should note, includes things like number of restaurants, music venues, coffee shops, and food festivals. Yep, DFW has a few of those.

The top warm-weather U.S. destination is Las Vegas. San Diego, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Tucson round out the top five.

In case you were wondering how an area that is known to have its fair share of freezing temperatures qualifies as "warm weather," WalletHub based it on the area's December temperatures averaging out to more than 57 degrees over a 50-year period. So if it happens to dip down into the 30s or 40s or we have another Icepocalypse during peak December travel times, blame it on science, man.

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Museum News

Dallas Museum of Art delays weekend opening due to undisclosed threat

Photo courtesy of Dallas Museum of Art

The DMA gets a late start on Sunday.

The Dallas Museum of Art is opening later than usual on Sunday, following an undisclosed threat that was made against the facility.

The Museum, which usually opens at 11 am on Sundays, will open at 2 pm instead.

At 9:44 am, the Museum announced that the building and the garage would be closed until further notice, and advised patrons to avoid the area, with a tweet that said IMPORTANT MESSAGE.

"Please do not visit the DMA at this time, and check back here for updates," it said. "We apologize for any inconvenience and look forward to seeing you soon."

No details were given at that time, other than the fact that the Museum had received a threat "against the building and the garage."

By 12:27 pm, the Museum followed with an update that the Dallas Police Department had checked out the situation and given the all clear.

"Thank you for your understanding and patience," their post said. "Earlier this morning, we received notification of a threat against our facilities. We notified the Dallas Police Department and shut down operations until DPD could ensure the safety of our patrons, staff, and community. We are happy to report DPD has since issued an all-clear and we will be reopening to the public at 2 pm."

"As always, the safety of our guests and staff is our top priority," they continued. "While we hate to see threats like this occur, we are thankful for the brave men and women of DPD and DMA staff who stepped into action on behalf of our community. Our staff is now onsite and looks forward to welcoming you soon!"

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