Travel: Postcard from Irving, Texas

Sometimes the destination is the suburbs.

One such suburb is Irving, Texas. Once a bedroom community in Dallas, it has become a destination in itself.

Apart from Irving’s stereotypical strip mall, box stores and residential areas are Las Colinas.

The masterplanned community of the 1970s was built around artificial Lake Carolyn and a series of canals. Essentially, this is downtown, a big city in the middle of the suburbs.

Previously, the area of ​​office buildings (some of eight Fortune 500 companies have global headquarters in Irving) has evolved over the years, adding apartments, hotels and solid food scenes. Another big draw is Toyota Music Factory, a world-class entertainment venue locked in an open-air amphitheater. Previous concerts featured gospel and Christian performers, including Kirk Franklin.

But the real gem of Irving’s crown is the waterfront created by lakes and canals, especially during the hot Texas summers.

Part of the waterfront streetscape gave me a vague sense of the Mediterranean, especially when I saw the Marian procession organized by the annual DFW Italian Festival. It was like being in a town in Italy or Spain on the Day of Benefactors. In addition to the sense of place, there is a real Venetian gondola that takes away the water. (The gondola rides seemed particularly popular among couples at sunset.)

Depending on your perspective, the drive is a little far away, the claim of fame and infamousness.

Lee Harvey Oswald, the assassin of John F. Kennedy Jr., spent the night before killing the president at Ruth Payne’s house on November 22, 1963. A modest postwar home, Paines House, survives as a museum. Both original and replica furniture were carefully restored when it was introduced in 1963. Guided tours are extremely beneficial for those new to Kennedy’s assassination.

Irving has something easy to do on weekends, but it’s easy to go to Dallas for the First Baptist Dallas museum, pastored by Robert Jeffress, or for Sunday services (Ancient Church) / Anglican Church) . The two churches are one of Dallas’ main destination churches.

If you’re going

I stayed at the Westin, just off the Toyota Music Factory, a luxury hotel directly at the Irving Convention Center. Another hotel is Omni, with a resort-style outdoor pool.

Commentator and intelligent Jordan Pietersen will be in Irving on December 11th as part of his “We Wrestling with God” tour. Tickets will continue to be available from Toyota Music Factory box office revenue.

Tours of the Luis Spain House must be booked in advance through the Irving Archives and the museum.

Recommended restaurants in Las Colinas include Monaco, Pacific Table, Hugo’s Invitado and two Mule Cantinas.

I picked up a car rental at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. As Uber was widely available, it was not necessary at all. The airport itself is about 10 minutes from Las Colinas and is partially within the city limits of Irving.

Dennis Lennox writes a travel column for Christian Post