Dallas, TX (USA)

We've been wanting to see the Tutankhamun Exhibition at the Dallas Museum of Art for several months and we finally got our chance today. We left the house around 1100 and made it over to Dallas (with some bad traffic on the I-820 again) in just over an hour. We had no problem finding a place to park, but when we started to walk it was clear we should have brought an umbrella! No problem with lines, but we found out that the exhibition was using a queue system - and he would have to wait for four hours to get in to see Tut. Oh well, the ticket price included a tour of the rest of the museum. We had a great time visiting all of the displays - art from all over the world. There were paintings by Monet, Etruscan sculpture and lots of gold. There were even some mummies - a hit with the kids. We actually saw almost everything - and there were no lines. It was clear, however, that the Tut exhibit was going to be just like Disney World. All day long we heard the crowds and saw the lines throughout the building. At least someone thought of putting the queue under a covered tent (came in handy when the huge thunderstorm began)! We spent about an hour in a "kid's zone" - where we made golden crowns for our visit to the "Boy King." Around 1530 we made it in the queue and waited for about half an hour before they let us into the exhibit. I had seen the Exhibition when it toured the States in the 1970s - and I remembered the golden mask. Unfortunately (and they didn't tell us until we were inside), that impressive piece didn't come with the exhibit this time. In fact, most of the artifacts in the display were 18th Dynasty BEFORE Tut. The lines were terrible - no organization inside the display. If we had waited to see each item, we would have spent three to four hours waiting. Instead, I got the kids to sneak into the crowds around an artifact and get their fill of Ancient Egypt. I do think they were truly impressed, especially when we got to the final rooms of the exhibit. There were actual necklaces, chairs and other funerary items from Tut's tomb there - and lots of video to show the items that weren't on the tour. I am glad we visited the DMA - it was definitely worth the trip - but I was a little disappointed about what the Tut Exhibit contained. Oh well - the kids will remember it! They'll even remember the run back to the car in the pouring rain... On the way back to Fort Worth, we were in a huge thunderstorm. I turned on the radio and we heard about softball size hail and the fact that the Dallas Cowboys practice facility (nearby) had COLLAPSED!!! Eventually, things calmed down again - that is North Texas in the Spring! We had made plans to eat at the Saltgrass Steakhouse (see JUL 2008) and we were able to do that, despite the weather. Everyone enjoyed that a lot! Kids were in good spirits, talking all about what they had seen. We need to visit Dallas again for some more culture!