Review - Texas - McKinney - Heard Muesum

Dinosaurs Live, the animatronics dinosaurs outdoor walking trail, has re-opened at the Heard Museum located in McKinney, Texas within short driving distance of Dallas. The exhibit will end February 15, 2021.

 

The Science Museum located on the main level (2nd floor) inside the visitor center is available year-round as is the children's Pioneer Village western-themed playground and the Animals of the World exhibits just past that area.

 

 

In front of the museum you can explore some natural plants and photo-op statues (be careful as some can get hot in full sun).

 

 

 

On the lower level you will find restrooms, party/conference rooms and a few animal exhibits, such as this turtle.

Normal hours are 9-5pm CST Tuesday through Saturday and 1-5pm CST Sundays; closed Mondays. You can purchase tickets in advanced online.

 

The trail has been expanded this year to allow for social-distancing. You can also find photo-op statues along the way. There's even one dinosaur that spits water (you will see the large puddle).

 

 

 

Occasionally you can find deer hiding in the trees.

Review - Texas - Dallas - Dallas Arboretum - The Art of the Pumpkin

The annual pumpkin display opened up at the Dallas Arboretum. This year the theme is "The Art of the Pumpkin" and they have a pumpkin patch area where you can actually purchase pumpkins.

The Dallas Aboretum limits the amount of guests that can enter every day so you need to pre-order your tickets online: Dallas Arboretum.org. Be sure to add parking ($10). Members must order their passes/parking ahead of time as well. Look for the "Art of the Pumpkin" ticket option.

Masks are required throughout your visit. By 10am on Sunday, it felt crowded despite the limited guest allowance. Get ready to wait a little bit in lines to take pictures in front of the pumpkin-decorated houses or inside the Cinderella Coach.

The sidewalk heading to the pumpkin displays was lined with pumpkins.

 

 

Some of the pumpkin displays:

 

 

 

Here is the hay maze:

More pumpkin displays. Be sure to bring your own water bottles since the water fountains are not available right now. Since the ground is pokey with wooden mulch bits, you might want to use a towel or blanket for young ones.

 

 

Review - Texas - Dallas - Dallas Zoo Fall Updates

This past weekend my family re-visited the Dallas Zoo to check out the latest updates after their re-opening (following months of Covid closure)

The Dallas Zoo is still requiring time-specific reservations via their website even if you have a Dallas Zoo membership. If you have a reciprocal membership from another zoo, you will need to reach out to the staff to see how to make your reservations as there is no obvious method on their website. Phone number 469.554.7501 or email Info@DallasZoo.com. Be sure to add your parking.

One thing I noticed about this visit was the number of guests was a lot higher than last time; perhaps because it was a warm sunny day. We arrived at opening time 9am and when we left at 11am, the parking lot was already full and staff was directing cars to park on the grassy portion of the hillside.

You are still required to wear a mask (and I highly suggest you keep it on during your entire visit).

The gift shop now allows (a limited number) guests inside although there are several kiosks on the outside (and near the exit).

The carousel and the giraffe feedings were now open ($5 per person). The monorail train that goes around the zoo is closed with no plans to reopen any time soon.

The Herpetarium (Repitle House) was open to guests and a very helpful guide was inside answering questions. Social distancing or other safety measures were not practiced inside this building.

The Cheetah Encounter in ZooNorth has been changed to "Animals in Action" which features other animals and a keeper. Cheetahs have been moved to a nearby enclosure. Other animal presentations can be seen at the Wild Encounters Stage near the monorail area.

The Serengeti Grill offers outdoor seating and the lion viewing areas during our visit were closed off to guests. Kona Ice truck is only available during the week (Monday through Friday). Sweet Treats and Dippin' Dots snack booths are open Saturdays and Sundays.

The newborn lion cubs weren't out for visiting yet. Hopefully next time we go!

Travel - US - States - Viking Festivals

My family loves to attend culturally-based festivals and next year I plan to check out these Viking-themed festivals. Like Scottish or Irish festivals, we anticipate finding people dressed in Viking attire, adult beverages, Scandinavian or Swedish foods, and family-friendly activities. Most of the 2020 events have been/were cancelled due to Covid, but 2021 looks promising so start planning now. Please check the festival for specific dates, as dates may change without notice.

State:	City - Festival:	Website:	Dates or Cancelled?
California	Vista - Viking Festival	https://vistavikingfestival.com/	September
Colorado	Breckenridge - Ullr Fest	https://gobreck.com/event/ullr-fest-2/	December 9 - 19, 2020
Maryland	Laplata - Vikings Con	https://vikingscon.com/	November 7-8, 2020
Minnesota	Moorehead - Scandinavian Hjemkomst and Midwest Viking Festival	https://www.hcscconline.org/shmvf2019.html	June
New York	Greenwich - The Great Northern Thyng	https://glennlinn.eastkingdom.org/tgnt1.htm	July
North Dakota	Minot - Norsk Hostfest	https://hostfest.com/	September 30th - October 2nd, 2021
Ohio	Burton - Ohio Viking Festival	https://vikingfestohio.com/	June 25-27th, 2021
Oklahoma	Heavener - Runestone Festival	https://www.runestonefest.org/	October
Texas	Paige - Texas Viking Festival	http://www.texasvikingfestival.com	December 14-15 and 21-22, 2020
Virginia	Manassas - Viking Fest	https://www.facebook.com/manassasvikingfest/about	May 8, 2021

Travel - US - States - Scottish Festivals and Highland Games

My family loves to attend culturally-based festivals and some of our favorites are the Scottish festivals. You can usually find people dressed in kilts and clan tartans plus bagpipes, dancing, adult beverages, food, and family-friendly activities. Most of the 2020 events have been/were cancelled due to Covid, but 2021 looks promising so start planning now. Please check the festival for specific dates, as dates may change without notice.

State:	City - Festival:	Website:	Dates or Cancelled?
Alabama	Dothan - Southeast Alabama Highland Games	https://wiregrasshighlandgames.com/	September
Alaska	Palmer - Alaska Scottish Highland Games	https://alaskanscottish.org/	June
Arizona	Flagstaff - Arizona Highland Celtic Festival	http://www.nachs.info/festival.shtml	July
Arizona	Phoenix - Scottish Games	http://phoenixscottishgames.com/	March
Arizona	Tucson - Celtic Festival and Scottish Highland Games	http://www.tucsoncelticfestival.org/	November
California	Dixon - Highland Games	http://www.scotsindixon.org/	TBD
California	Fremont - Tartan Day	http://www.eastbayscots.org/	April
California	Monterey - Scottish Games and Celtic Festival	http://www.montereyscotgames.com/	August
California	Pleasonton - Scottish Highland Gathering and Game	https://thescottishgames.com/	July
California	San Diego - SD Highland Games	https://sdhighlandgames.org/	June
California	Sonora - Celtic Faire	http://calaverascelticfaire.com/	March
California	Ventura - Seaside Highland Games	https://www.seasidehighlandgames.org/	October
California	Woodland - Celtic Games	https://woodlandcelticgames.org/	January
Colorado	Colorado Springs - Pikes Peak Celtic Festival	https://pikespeakcelticfestival.com/	June
Colorado	Cortez - Celtic Fair	https://cortezcelticfair.com/	June
Colorado	Durango - Celtic Festival	www.durangocelticfestival.com	March
Colorado	Edgewater - Scottish Games	http://www.scottishgames.org/	August
Colorado	Elizabeth - Celtic Festival	https://www.elizabethcelticfest.org/	July
Colorado	Longmont - Tartan Day	http://www.coloradotartanday.com/	April
Florida	Green Cove Springs - Northeast Florida Scottish Highland Games	https://www.neflgames.com/	February
Florida	Dunedin - Highland Games and Festival	http://dunedinhighlandgames.com/	November 21 – 22, 2020
Florida	Ormond Beach - Celtic Festival	http://ormondbeachcelticfestival.com/	TBD
Florida	Plantation - South East Florida Highland Games	https://sassf.org/events/festivalfestival.html	March
Florida	Sarasota - Highland Games	https://www.sarasotahighlandgames.com/	February
Florida	St Augustine - Celtic Music and Heritage Festival	http://www.celticstaugustine.com/	March
Florida	Winter Springs - Central Florida Scottish Highland Gamees	http://www.flascot.com/	TBD
Georgia	Balirsville - Scottish Festival	https://blairsvillescottishfestival.com/	June
Georgia	Savannah - Scottish Games	https://www.savannahscottishgames.com/	May
Georgia	Stone Mountain - Highland Games and Scottish Festival	http://www.smhg.org/	October
Indiana	Columbus - Scottish Festival	http://scottishfestival.org/	September
Indiana	Indianapolis - Scottish Highland Games and Festival	https://indyscotgamesandfest.com/	October
Iowa	Davenport - Celtic Highland Games of the Quad Cities	http://celtichighlandgames.org/	September
Illinois	Hamilton Lakes - Scottish Festival and Highland Games	https://www.chicagoscots.org/	August
Kansas	Wichita - Great Plains Renaissance and Scottish Festival	https://www.greatplainsrenfest.com/	April
Kentucky	Glasgow - Highland Games	https://www.glasgowhighlandgames.com/	June
Louisiana	Lafayette - Celtic Bayou Festival	http://www.celticbayoufest.com/	March
Louisiana	Minden - Scottish Tartan Festival	https://scottishsociety.wixsite.com/tartan-festival	April
Maine	Belfast - Main Celtic Celebration	http://www.mainecelticcelebration.com/	July
Maryland	Elkton - Fair Hill Scottish Games	http://fairhillscottishgames.org/	May
Maryland	Prince Frederick - Southern Maryland Celtic Festival	https://www.cssm.org/events/festival/	April
Maryland	Friendsville - Garrett County Celtic Festival	http://gccelticfestival.com/	June
Massachusettes	Florence - Glasglow Lands Scottish Festival	https://www.glasgowlands.org/	July
Michigan	Alma - Highland Festival	http://www.almahighlandfestival.com/	May
Michigan	Detroit - Saint Andrew's Society of Detroit - Highland Games	https://highlandgames.com/	August
Michigan	Saline - Celtic Festival	https://www.salineceltic.org/	July
Michigan	Sparta - Celtic Festival	https://www.spartacelticfest.org/	August
Mississppi	Jackson - CelticFest	celticfestms.org/wp/	March
Mississippi	Gulfport - Celtic Music Festival and Scottish Highland Games	https://www.mshighlandsandislands.org/	November
Minnesota	Eagan - Minnesota Scottish Fair and Highland Games	http://www.mnscottishfair.org/	July
Montana	Hamilton - Bitterroot Celtic Games and Gathering	http://www.bcgg.org/	August
Nevada	Reno - Northern Nevada Celtic Celebration	http://www.renoceltic.org/	May
Nevada	Las Vegas - Highland Games	http://www.lasvegascelticsociety.org/	April
New Hampshire	Lincoln - New Hampshire Highland Games	https://nhscot.org/	September
New Jersey	Bordentown - Kilt Fest NJ	https://www.kiltfestusa.com/	October
New Mexico	Aztec - Highland Games and Celtic Festival	https://www.aztechighlandgames.com/	October
New York	Fort Ticonderoga - Scots Day	https://www.fortticonderoga.org/	June
New York	Lockport - Niagara Celtic Heritage Festival and Highland Games	http://www.niagaraceltic.com/	September
New York	Syracuse - Central New York Scottish Games	https://cnyscottishgames.org/	August
New York	Long Island - Scottish Festival and Games	http://www.liscots.org/festival_and_games.htm	August
New York	Shortsville - Finger Lakes Celtic Festival	http://www.flceltic.org/	May
North Carolina	Linville - Grandfather Mountain Highland Games	http://www.gmhg.org/	July
North Carolina	Laurinburg - Scotland County Highway Games	http://www.carolina-highlandgames.com/	October
North Carolina	Huntersville - Loch Norman Highland Games	http://lochnorman.com/	April
Ohio	Wellington - Ohio Scottish Games and Celtic Festival	https://www.ohioscottishgames.com/	June
Oklahoma	Edmund - United Scot Clans Oklahoma Scottish Heritage Festival	https://unitedscotsok.com/	Postponed to October for 2020
Oklahoma	Tulsa - OK Scot Fest	https://okscotfest.com/	September
Oregon	Albany - Scottish Festival and Highland Games	https://www.facebook.com/events/timber-linn-park/albany-scottish-festival-highland-games/3688575747827011/	May
Oregon	Eugene - Scottish Festival	http://www.eugenescottishfestival.com/index.html	May
Pennsylvania	Ligonier - Highland Games	http://www.ligonierhighlandgames.org/	September
Pennsylvania	Quarreyville - Covenanter Scottish Festival and Highland Games	https://www.covenanterscottishfestival.com/	September
Pennsylvania	Bethlehem - Celtic Classic Highland Games and Festival	https://www.celticfest.org/	September
Pennsylvania	Mannheim - PA Renaissance Faire	http://www.parenfaire.com/	September
Pennsylvania	East Stroudsburg - Shawnee Celtic Festival	https://www.shawneemt.com/events/cancelled-shawnee-celtic-festival	September
South Carolina	Greenville - Scottish Games	www.gallabrae.com	May
South Carolina	Cayce - Tartan Day South	https://tartandaysouth.com/	April
South Dakota	Aberdeen - Celtic Fair and Games	https://nesdcelticfaire.com/	September
Tennessee	Maryville - Smoky Mountain Scottish Festival and Games	http://smokymountaingames.org/about/	May
Tennessee	Brownsville - West Tennessee Annual Celtic Fest	http://www.celticsocietyofwtn.org/cswtpg4.html	October
Texas	Midland - West Texas Celtic Fair	https://westtexascelticfair.com/	March
Texas	Helotes - The San Antonio Highland Games	https://www.sahga.org/	April
Texas	Houston - Houston Highland Games and Celtic Festival	https://houstonhighlandgames.com/	TBD
Texas	Decatur - Texas Scottish Festival and Highland Games	https://www.texasscots.com/	April
Texas	Salado - Scottish Gathering and Highland Games	https://saladomuseum.org/scottish-gathering-and-highland-games/	November
Texas	Sherman - Scottish Festival and Highland Games	https://www.shermancelticfest.com/	March
Texas	Ingram - Kerr County Celtic Festival	http://www.kerrcountyceltic.com/	October
Utah	Highland - Highland Fling	https://www.highlandcity.org/169/Highland-Fling	July
Utah	Moab - Scots on the Rocks Celtic Fest	https://www.scotsontherocksmoab.org/	November
Utah	Payson - Scottish Festival	http://www.paysonscottishfestival.org/	July
Utah	Salt Lake City - Utah Scottish Festival	http://utahscots.org/	June
Utah	St George - Red Stone Highland Games	https://www.redstonehighlandgames.com/	October
Virginia	Radford - Radford Highlanders Festival	https://www.radford.edu/content/festival/home.html	October
Virginia	Richmond - Central Virginia Celtic Festival and Highland Games	http://vacelticfestival.com/	October
Washington	Prosser - Scottish Fest and Highland Games	https://www.prosserscottishfest.org/	June
Washington	Seattle - Scottish Highland Games	http://www.sshga.org/	TBD
Washington	Tacoma - Highland Games	https://www.tacomagames.org/	July
Wisconsin	Milwaukee - Highland Games	http://milwaukeehighlandgames.org/	June
West Virginia	Parkersburg - Scottish and Celtic Heritage Festival	https://sites.google.com/site/scottishcelticheritagefestival/	April
Wyoming	Cheyenne - Celtic Festival	https://www.facebook.com/CelticFestival/	June
Wyoming	Evanston - Celtic Festival	http://theartsinc.com/celtic-festival	March

Travel - US - States - Irish Festivals

My family loves to attend culturally-based festivals and some of our favorites are the Irish festivals. You can usually find people dressed in Irish-style attire or in St Patrick's Day costumes plus music, dancing, adult beverages, food, and family-friendly activities. Most of the 2020 events have been/were cancelled due to Covid, but 2021 looks promising so start planning now. Please check the festival for specific dates, as dates may change without notice.

State:	City - Festival:	Website:	Dates:
Arizona	Fountain Hills - Fountain Hills St Patrick's Day Celebration	https://www.experiencefountainhills.org/p/events/irishfest	March
Arizona	Phoenix - Phoenix St Patrick's Day Irish Faire	https://stpatricksdayphoenix.org/	March
Arizona	Sedona - Sedona St Patrick's Day	https://www.sedona.net/st-patricks-day	March
Arizona	Tuscon - St Patrick's Day Parade	https://www.tucsonstpatricksday.com/	March 14, 2021
California	Irvine - The Irish Fair	https://www.theirishfair.org/	TBD
California	San Diego - San Diego St Patrick's Day Festival	http://www.stpatsparade.org/	March
California	San Francisco - Crossroads: Irish American Festival	http://www.irishamericancrossroads.org/	March
Connecticut	North Haven - Connecticut Irish Festival	https://ctirishfestival.com/	October 17-18, 2020
Florida	Cape Choral - Cape Choral Irish Festival	http://capecoralirishfest.com/	March
Florida	Jacksonville - Jacksonville Irish Festival	https://www.visitjacksonville.com/events/holidays/st-patricks-day/	March
Florida	Miami - South Florida Emerald Society St Patrick Festival	https://emeraldsocietysfl.com/	mid-March
Florida	West Palm Beach - Irish Fest (March)	https://downtownwpb.com/things-to-do/st-patricks-day/	March
Georgia	Savannah - Savannah Irish Festival	https://www.savannahirish.org/	February
Illinois	Carbondale - Southern Illinois Irish Festival	http://www.iluvlocalplaces.com/stories-directory/177-southern-illinois-irish-festival	October 5-6, 2020
Illinois	Chicago - Chicago Gaelic Park Irish Festival	https://chicagogaelicparkirishfest.org/	May
Illinois	Manhattan - Manhattan Irish Festival	http://www.manhattanirishfest.com/	March
Illinois	Peoria - St Patrick's of Peoria	https://stpatpeoria.com/events/	March
Kentucky	Louisville - St Patrick's Day Parade	https://www.louisvilleirish.com/annual-events/st-patricks-parade/	March
Maryland	Corwnsville - Annapolis Irish Festival	https://www.annapolisirishfestival.com/	July
Massachusettes	Boston - Boston Celtic Music Festival	https://www.passim.org/live-music/events/boston-celtic-music-festival/	January
Michigan	Clare - Clare Irish Fest	https://www.claremichigan.com/irish-festival/	March
Minnesota	St Paul - Young Irish Musicians Weekend	http://www.centerforirishmusic.org/events/mim/	June
Minnesota	St Paul - Irish Fair	https://irishfair.com/	August
Minnesota	St Paul - St Patrick's Day Celebration	http://www.irishmusicanddanceassociation.org/stpatricksday.html	March
Missouri	Weston - Weston Irish Fest	https://westonirish.com/weston-irish-festival/	TBD
Montana	Libby - Libby Irish Fair	http://www.libbychamber.org/event/libby-irish-fair-2/	March
Nebraska	Greeley - Irish Fest	https://greeleyirishfestival.com/	September
New Jersey	Smithville - Smithville Irish Fest	https://www.smithvilleirishfestivalnj.org/	October
New York	Brooklyn - Great Irish Festival of NY	https://www.iabsny.com/events/gifny	TBD
New York	East Durham - East Durham Irish Festival	https://eastdurhamirishfestival.com/	May
Ohio	Cuyahoga Falls - Riverfront Irish Festival	www.riverfrontirishfest.org	June
Ohio	Toledo - Toledo St Patricks Day Festival	https://www.visittoledo.org/events/st-patricks-day-celebration/	March
Pennsylvania	York County - Penn-Mar Irish Festival	https://pennmaririshfestival.com/	June
Texas	Austin - Austin Celtic Fest	https://www.austincelticfestival.com/	November
Texas	Dallas - North Texas Irish Festival	https://www.ntif.org/	March
Texas	Tyler - Tyler Celtic Fest	https://www.facebook.com/tylercelticfest/	May
Virginia	Alexandria - Ballyshaners St Patrick's Day Parade	https://www.ballyshaners.org/	March
Virginia	Churchill - The Irish Festival	http://www.churchhillirishfestival.com/	March
Wisconsin	Lacrosse - Irish Fest	https://www.irishfestlacrosse.org/	August
Wisconsin	Milwaukee - Irish Fest	https://irishfest.com/Milwaukee-Irish-Fest	August

Travel - US - States - Which State Fairs are Cancelled due to Covid

Many state fairs around the United States have been cancelled this year thanks to Covid. Some have been modified, virtualized or delayed. Here, I put together a list of all the state fairs by state (for some states which host multiple fairs I selected just one) and whether it's been cancelled or not for 2020:

State:	Website:	Upcoming Dates or Cancelled:
Alabama	https://alnationalfair.org/	Oct 9 - Oct 18, 2020
Alaska	https://www.alaskastatefair.org/site/	N/A
Arizona	https://azstatefair.com/	Cancelled
Arkansas	https://www.arkansasstatefair.com/	Cancelled
California	https://calexpostatefair.com/	Cancelled
Colorado	https://www.coloradostatefair.com/	Aug 28 - Sep 7, 2020
Connecticut	https://www.durhamfair.com/index	Cancelled
Delaware	https://delawarestatefair.com/	N/A
Florida	https://floridastatefair.com/	Feb 11 - Feb 22, 2021
Georgia	https://www.georgiastatefair.org/	Oct 2- Oct 11, 2020
Hawaii	http://ekfernandezshows.com/events/206	N/A
Idaho	https://www.idahofair.com/	Cancelled
Illinois	https://www2.illinois.gov/statefair/Pages/default.aspx	Cancelled
Indiana	https://www.indianastatefair.com	Cancelled
Iowa	https://www.iowastatefair.org/	Cancelled
Kansas	https://www.kansasstatefair.com/	Cancelled
Kentucky	https://kystatefair.org/	Aug 19 - Aug 29, 2021
Louisiana	https://www.statefairoflouisiana.com/	Oct 29 - Nov 8, 2020
Maine	https://www.bangorstatefair.com/	Cancelled
Maryland	http://www.marylandstatefair.com/	Cancelled
Massachusettes	https://www.thebige.com/default.aspx	Cancelled
Michigan	https://www.michiganstatefairllc.com/	Virtual - Sep 3 - Sep 7, 2020
Minnesota	https://www.mnstatefair.org/	Cancelled
Mississippi	https://www.mdac.ms.gov/bureaus-departments/state-fairgrounds/fair/	Oct 7 - Oct 18, 2020
Missouri	https://www.mostatefair.com/	N/A
Montana	http://www.goexpopark.com/montana-state-fair/	N/A
Nebraska	https://www.statefair.org/	Aug 28 - Sep 7, 2020
Nevada	http://www.nevadastatefair.org/	N/A
New Hampshire	https://www.hsfair.org/	Cancelled
New Jersey	http://njfair.com/	Cancelled
New Mexico	https://statefair.exponm.com/	Virtual - Sep 14 - Sep 20, 2020
New York	https://nysfair.ny.gov/	Cancelled
North Carolina	https://www.ncstatefair.org/	Cancelled
North Dakota	https://ndstatefair.com/	Cancelled
Ohio	https://ohiostatefair.com/	Virtual
Oklahoma	https://okstatefair.com/	N/A
Oregon	https://oregonstatefair.org/	N/A
Pennsylvania	N/A	N/A
Rhode Island	https://washingtoncountyfair-ri.com/	N/A
South Carolina	https://www.scstatefair.org/	Modified - Oct 20 - Oct 21, 2020
South Dakota	https://www.sdstatefair.com/	Sep 3 - Sep 7, 2020
Tennessee	https://tnstatefair.org/	Cancelled
Texas	https://www.bigtex.com	Cancelled
Utah	https://www.utahstatefair.com/	Sep 10 - Sep 20, 2020
Vermont	http://www.vermontstatefair.org/	Cancelled
Virginia	https://www.statefairva.org/p/attractions/rides	Cancelled
Washington	https://www.thefair.com/	N/A
West Virginia	http://statefairofwv.com/fair/	Cancelled
Wisconsin	https://wistatefair.com/fair/	Cancelled
Wyoming	https://wystatefair.com/	N/A