PhD Girl’s Daily Vlog

Spent my weekend escaping Dallas for a day trip to Fort Worth—and it was the perfect mix of cozy fall vibes and cowboy charm! First stop: Fort Worth Botanic Garden 🍂. The autumn foliage was chef’s kiss—golden maple leaves, rust-colored oak trees, and crisp air that smelled like fallen leaves and sunshine. I wandered the winding paths for hours, stopping to take photos of the flower beds (even in fall, some blooms were still holding on!) and sit on a bench to watch squirrels scamper around. It’s the kind of place where you can slow down, breathe, and forget about to-do lists for a little while. Total autumn perfection. In the afternoon, I headed to Fort Worth Stockyards 🤠—the iconic cowboy town I’d been hearing so much about! The streets are lined with wooden boardwalks, saloon-style shops, and neon signs advertising Western wear. I popped into a few stores selling handcrafted cowboy hats and boots… and promptly gasped at the prices—way out of my student budget! 😱 But window-shopping was still fun—admiring the intricate stitching on the boots and the fancy feather decorations on the hats. No trip to the Stockyards is complete without Texas BBQ 🍖, so I grabbed a brisket sandwich at a local spot. The meat was smoky, tender, and slathered in tangy sauce—exactly what I needed after walking around all day. So good! The only bummer? The famous longhorn cattle drive was canceled due to a virus outbreak 🦠. I was totally looking forward to watching cowboys lead the massive herd down the street! Instead, I peeked into a nearby farm house to see some old cowboy gear and photos—small consolation, but still cool. All in all, it was a lovely day trip—chill, scenic, and full of small joys. Fort Worth has my heart for weekend escapes! #US #Dallas #Texas