Recapping Our Trip to Dallas: Mavericks, JFK, & Magnolia Silos

Matt Spillar

6 years ago

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This post will be a quick recap of our trip to Dallas last month. As I’ve written about previously, last year I started getting into travel rewards, which is earning points and airline miles through credit card signup bonuses. Our first big win was signing up for two Southwest credit cards, earning us the Southwest Companion Pass. The Companion Pass lets the pass holder bring a companion for free on ANY Southwest flight they take. You can read more about how we earned it and the benefits to it here.

Since we have the Companion Pass until the end of 2018, our goal for the year was to utilize it as much as possible. Travel is important to us and we make it a priority to explore new places together. One of the destinations we both had identified was Dallas.

I’ve been a fan of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team for over 16 years, but never seen a home game. Also, my wife is a fan of Chip and Joanna Gaines, from the HGTV show Fixer Upper. The Gaines built a destination in Waco, Texas (about a 1.5 hour drive from Dallas) called Magnolia Market. It has silos, a store, bakery, garden, restaurant, and more.

Now to recap our experience visiting the city and the costs that went into this trip.

Day 1

We flew out Saturday morning and arrived in the late afternoon. After checking into our Airbnb we headed to the Bishop Arts District. There were small family owned shops and live acoustic music. We had an amazing Texas BBQ dinner of brisket and pork ribs, then got some locally brewed ciders.

Day 2

In the morning we explored the Sixth Floor Museum, where President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. The museum was very well done and informative about his presidency, the assassination, the aftermath, and the conspiracy theories surrounding it. It was surreal to see the window where the sniper was perched, and the white X marks on the street of where the shots connected.

After finishing at the museum, we headed to White Rock Lake and rode bikes around the park.

That evening we headed to the Dallas Mavericks game, which was a thrill for me. It was a close game throughout and the stadium had an infectious atmosphere.

Day 3

We had rented a car for the weekend mainly for this reason. We checked out of our Airbnb and drove down to Waco for a day trip to visit the Magnolia Silos, which was designed by Joanna Gaines from the popular HGTV show Fixer Upper. My wife is a big fan of hers, and she loved getting to experience it. It was a beautiful place to spend the afternoon and the weather was perfect!

Cost Breakdown

Flights: $22 – We used Rapid Rewards points along with the Southwest Companion Pass to book these flights, meaning it only cost us $11 in taxes for each ticket!

Airbnb: $224.72 – We love using Airbnb when we travel.For this trip we stayed in half of a duplex, a few minutes away from downtown. Great price, central location, and very nice space!

Use my exclusive link to receive $40 off your first stay!

Basketball Tickets: $165 – We got our tickets for the Mavericks game on SeatGeek. Use my promo code SGSPILLS for $20 off your first purchase! For more info about SeatGeek, check out my writeup here.

Entertainment: $91.30 – This includes tickets to the museum, renting the bikes, and some souvenirs from Magnolia Market.

Food/Drinks: $137.01 – Includes all meals, drinks, coffee, dessert.

Rental Car/Gas: $143.27

Total: $783.30

This all comes out of our “Travel Fund” that we set aside savings for each month.

Final Thoughts

Overall we had a great time exploring a new city! Dallas is a unique city with a lot to see. The BBQ was amazing, and we both got to check an experience off our bucket list! We’d definitely like to go back to Texas and visit additional cities, including Austin and Houston, at some point in the near future.

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