A Colony Called Dalworthington

On our way to Pantego we briefly passed through Dalworthington Gardens. This pretty little 

Dalworthington Gardens City Hall

community was a surprise, because I had thought it disappeared years ago with the growth of Arlington. There are no restaurants in this community, but it’s so near Arlington that this creates no issue if you get a bit peckish when you’re out exploring. The name, Dalworthington came from conjoining parts of the names of Dallas, Fort Worth, and Arlington. The lot sizes in this suburb are quite large and harken back to the Great Depression. At that time people were being encouraged to supplement their food supply and increase their standard of living by combining part-time industrial employment with nearby subsistence farming.

Playing in Pantego

Driving through Arlington, Texas not too long ago we spotted a once-favorite restaurant that

Pantego water tower

we thought had gone out of business. A bit of internet research led to the happy discovery that the restaurant was, indeed, one we had previously frequented but it wasn’t really in Arlington; it is located in Pantego. This tiny town is completely surrounded by other cities, with Arlington being the largest. We planned a trip back to enjoy lunch and I began doing some research about Pantego.

Blending into Bedford

We drive through Bedford fairly frequently running errands, seeing family, and avoiding the

Horsemint

traffic on Texas Highway 183. On several of those occasions I’d noticed a cute little sign for Bizzi’s Bistro; we always said we’d stop for lunch ‘next time’. Well, ‘next time’ finally came. But before I tell you about our lunch, I have to tell you about the city of Bedford. This town is part of the Hurst-Euless-Bedford ‘metro-mess’ and is generally referred to in the context of H-E-B. One of my favorite stories about this area comes from a teacher friend. She had just graduated from a large university in central Texas and was looking for a job. Of course she went to a placement councilor who helped her in that search. This was at a time when teaching positions, even those for science, were few and far between; so her councilor was elated when a position opened in the North Texas area. However, my friend was a bit dumbfounded when presented with an interview that sent her to HEB; she thought she was interviewing with a food store. And although HEB may, indeed, remind you of grocery shopping, it is actually a rather attractive place to work.

Running a Bluff in Bluff Dale

Parties are even more fun at a winery, and the Bluff Dale Vineyards is just were we went to

View from the patio of Bluff Dale Vineyards

celebrate the birthday of a dear friend.  The vineyards were opened in 2004 by David and Teresa Hays. This is a lovely setting to taste their unique blending of Texas-raised grapes that are used in their award willing wines. Although the temperature threatened to reach the century mark, we were comfortably cool sitting on the patio listening to a band and sipping wine. The little town of Bluff Dale, just down the road, sits very near the North Paluxy River in northeastern Erath County. Originally known as Bluff Springs by pioneers who settled here, Bluff Dale became the town name with the establishment of a post office in 1877. In the late 1880s two events occurred that spurred the growth of the tiny town, and both had to do with the railroad.