- The "Daytripper" is made possible by Rudy's, real Texas barbecue.

Shipping nationwide at rudys.com.

Karbach Brewing Company from Houston, Texas, makers of Karbach Lager, a beer that is proudly partnered with Don't Mess with Texas, please dispose responsibly.

Visit Georgetown, where big ideas meet small town charm.

Georgetown, the most beautiful town square in Texas.

Texas Farm Bureau Insurance, protection and peace of mind for Texans since 1952.

Don Hewlett Chevrolet Buick in Georgetown.

Making Texas road trips possible for over 50 years.

Don Hewlett Chevrolet Buick, Texas True.

Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages, Texas' local bottler providing the Lone Star state with a variety of Coca-Cola products.

(adventurous music) - The DFW burbs can feel endless, faceless, and a bit plain.

We're headed to a town that's anything but.

We'll chow on a ribeye sandwich from an old butcher shop and visit the food court to end all food courts.

We'll swing through the trees like a bunch of apes and find time to visit the most famous TV ranch in Texas, as we swim across our state, all before getting mixed up bowling with a football.

'Cause Ain't nothing plain about Plano!

With a very unplain sign.

(car honks) Can someone help me down?

(upbeat banjo music) If you map the DFW metroplex about 20 miles due north of Big D, you'll find the smaller P, but not that small.

In fact, Plano is one of the top 10 biggest cities in Texas and growing.

However, despite its urban heirs, it's still got the heart of a small town.

So, here we are in historic Downtown Plano.

Did you know there was a historic Downtown Plano, 'cause most people don't.

They simply lump this town in as another sort of faceless DFW suburb, which is a total shame, because this town is anything but plain.

Oh, you know I had to do it.

Sorry.

Yeah, we're gonna use that joke as often as possible.

Trivia.

How many cities make up the DFW Metroplex?

Dallas, Fort Worth, everything in the middle, everything on the fringes.

- 50 or 60?

- Anyone else?

- I was gonna say like 15, 20.

- 18, I feel like 18.

- Way higher.

Higher than any of y'all have guessed.

- 200, over 200.

- 200.

- No way!

- 200 incorporated cities.

It's huge.

- DFW is Dallas-Fort Worth.

- Plus a whole lot of other stuff.

- Lubbock, Amarillo.

(Chet laughs) - Not that far, but big.

DFW can be so much to chew that towns like Plano get lost in the mix, and we're here to rectify that.

And speaking of chewing, well, it's time for us to chew on a timeless piece of Plano's history.

Hear ye, hear ye, all men that desireth beef buttered bunned and bountiful, proceedeth thou to Ye' Ole Butcher Shop.

(cow moos) This old school establishment has been a family affair for 50 years.

Locals pack in for their massive burgers and exotic meat specials, like Buck Burger Tuesdays and Wild Hog Thursdays.

This is owner Jeff Sparks, who's been running the shop with his family since 1986, and who set us up with a meaty appetizer.

Country charcuterie right there, huh?

- There we go, there we go - Oh, we make a smoked sausage mild.

We make a hot link.

Jalapeno cheese sausage.

- Oh, that's great.

The deer on the wall.

You got the meat hanging hooks over here.

Y'all are a real deal butcher shop, huh?

- We've been here a long time, yeah.

- So when did your son and daughter get involved with the business?

- Somebody wrote me a letter says, isn't your son off of young to be working here?

He was like eight years old, I had him back there patting out some patties.

But Gaylin, whenever Covid hit, I said, well, come on over here and start helping us.

Now she makes her pies and cakes.

We're definitely saving room for that.

But at its core, this place is all about meat, steak, sausage, pig, elk, Turkey.

But it all started with the buffalo.

- Started doing the bison burger whenever Dallas Cowboys started playing Buffalo Bills.

- Back in the nineties?

Yes.

- Those were good years for Cowboys fans.

- No, they weren't good years for Cowboys fans.

- Some of the meats are so exotic, I've never seen 'em.

There's this guy back over here, the vegan.

- He was a vegan, I tell you.

He was about 250 pounds.

- Wow.

Wow.

Veggie burgers all sold out, - Right.

- Oh, that's a bummer.

Are you getting a new shipment in maybe?

- No, probably not.

- Probably not.

Oh, that's awesome, Jeff, what should I get today?

- Ribeye.

- Ribeye sandwich?

- Yeah.

- One of their daily specials.

And it's time to visit Josh at the grill.

So there's a full ribeye on a sandwich?

- Yes, sir.

- That's a ridiculous idea.

- It is.

(Chet laughs) - Got here this morning, cut 'em to 12 ounces, gonna put 'em on the smoker for about an hour.

Then we bring 'em in here and sear 'em on each side, and put 'em on a bun.

- Oh my gosh.

Never in my life have I seen a ribeye on a griddle with pickles, tomatoes on it.

- Hey, we're in Plano, we gotta be different.

Set it on a plate.

That's the dream.

- This is the world's most ridiculous rib eye.

- That's good prime Angus beef right there.

- Oh, it's so juicy, man.

And you've smoked it, so it's got the flavor of the sear and the smoke.

I mean, I'm so confused, because I've always been a steak purist, and this one's got mustard lettuce, pickles, tomatoes on it.

It's delicious.

- I know it.

- I came in here wanting one of your signature bison burgers.

- Let's get one.

- Let's do it up.

- This is kinda what we're known for.

It's leaner, juicier, healthier for you.

Iron, iron.

- So, this is health food?

- Well, I mean, you know, it's on the border.

- Hey, I'll believe it, because I want to.

He put a special sticker on here just for me.

I am buff.

(Chet laughs) Hey, it's buffalo.

I mean, it's as good as a salad.

Everything's working.

The cheddar cheese, the fresh veggies, the buttery deliciousness of the brioche bun.

This thing is amazing.

I love the fact that you can be in a busy city and still find this sort of small town charm tucked away in Downtown Plano.

And no better way to polish off some bison than with a little something sweet.

Deep fried banana pudding pie.

One of their signature flavors.

Oh my gosh.

Holy moly.

Hear ye, hear ye, I'm stuffed.

Now, just to be clear, Plano isn't Dallas.

Well, that is unless you're talking about the TV show that changed history.

(TV static) (upbeat intro music) Okay, we are not in the TV show that changed history.

This is the South Fork Ranch, the iconic home of TV's Ewing family that everybody thought was in Dallas.

For the uninformed, Dallas was a primetime TV drama that set the world on fire.

It followed the chaos of the Ewing family, bonded by blood but torn by money and greed.

It debuted in 1978 and ran for 14 seasons airing in over 90 countries.

Folks went crazy for Dallas.

Little did they know they were actually fanning over Plano.

This is tour guide, Krisha Bucket.

This is incredible, like we're on a movie set.

- Yes, absolutely.

People that come here and they just walk in and they start crying, because it's something that they have wanted to see their entire lives.

That's just a really cool thing to see their dream come true walking in here.

- Yeah, I was young, but I remember Dallas dominating pop culture.

I didn't know who JR was as a little kid, but I remember being worried about who shot him.

- There's a Bobby's room.

There's a Sue Ellen and Jr's bedroom upstairs.

- Can we go see JR's bedroom?

- Absolutely, let's go upstairs.

- Oh, JR Ewing, the show's main character.

A scheming power hungry man that folks loved to hate.

Oh gosh.

Big king size bed right in the middle of it, and the champagne at the bedside.

- And you actually can spend the night here at mansion, sleep right here.

- No kidding.

- In this big bed.

- It's just so opulent.

It feels like- - You're stepping back in time.

- Exactly, exactly.

Check out this bathroom with carpet.

I hate to admit it, but JR had taste.

To you, JR.

All right, you're not drinking.

Do I look rich?

I'm hoping I look rich.

- Oh, you look rich.

- It's hard to believe based on the classy decor, but the interior of this house was only used a few times for TV.

It was that unmistakable white exterior that made this place famous, and the fact that it felt so far out in the Texas country.

Plano is all around us, but when the TV show was here, this was out there in the country, - Right, we were really far out.

There was a two lane little road out here in the front.

And they filmed all of the exterior shots on the ranch, so the driveway, the pool, was kind of TV magic whenever they did this.

It was Olympic size on the show, remember?

- So wait, how did they do that?

- So what they would do is they would put the harnesses on the actors as they would swim.

- Okay.

- They would pull them back and swim and pull them back, so it looked like a really- - They were swimming endlessly.

TV, we have our tricks.

Now hundreds still visit every day to see when and how that movie magic happened.

So, this is not something necessarily that's just sort of fading into obscurity?

- No, not really.

I think we're still here to stay for a while.

- Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I mean, as long as Dallas is there, the Dallas TV show's gonna be here too.

- Exactly, exactly.

- And those that wanna feel like a real member of the family, well, they offer trail rides.

- So you can come to South Work and be a cowboy for a day.

- That's pretty amazing.

Especially for people who aren't from Texas.

- Absolutely.

- Coming from all over the world.

Are you gonna ride with me?

- Absolutely, I'd love to.

- All right, let's go.

This is awesome.

We got this, okay buddy?

All right, so my horse is Bert, me and Bert riding the open range, sort of, in the middle of Plano.

Whoa.

Hey, what are y'all doing on my ranch?

Y'all know you can't walk around here running with cameras without asking permission from the head honcho cowboy.

I'm the guy on the horse.

No!

- You told me to be here.

- You watch yourself, son.

You grew up seeing that house thinking it was the biggest mansion on the planet.

By today's standards, it's just kind of a country home, but still iconic.

Bert, we still got a little bit of trail riding left to do.

Let's go, boy.

What's most incredible to me out of all of it, is the fact that a single TV show could unite the world into one shared experience.

And maybe if the Ewings had understood unity, they would've stopped trying to kill each other.

I was proud to be your Ernie today.

You know, I thought we had something special.

I'm just another tourist, aren't I?

Good horse.

Thanks for the ride.

It's hard to be more Texan than the South Fork, but our next stop is up for the challenge.

This is the Texas Pool envisioned by Dallas Oil man, Herbert Hunt, and opened in 1961 as the centerpiece to a new development that at the time was in the middle of nowhere.

It's now a designated historic landmark that has helped countless Texans fend off the mean summer heat.

And today, it's empty because, well, it's winter.

However, it's the perfect chance for me to accomplish a dream of mine since youth.

I'm gonna swim across Texas on a single breath.

- [First Commentator] Chet looks like he's in top form, Bill.

- [Second Commentator] Yeah, we'll see if the burger was a good choice though, Susan.

- God bless Texas.

- [First Commentator] And he's under starting in Beaumont, but El Paso bound seems to be swimming at a good pace.

- [Second Commentator] Yeah, but he's way off course.

Looks like he's stuck in DFW traffic.

- [First Commentator] He's gonna have to take a breath.

- [Second Commentator] So am I, Susan.

Oh, 'cause he's going for it.

Although he's headed to the panhandle.

- [First Commentator] Yeah, if anyone tells you Lubbock's on the way to El Paso, they aren't from Texas.

- [Second Commentator] So true, Susan, - [First Commentator] He's still on his first breath rounding his way through Midland.

- [Second Commentator] But seems confused.

El Paso never seemed so far away.

- [First Commentator] He might make it, Bill.

- [Second Commentator] Oh wow, a Texas sized feat for the Day Tripper.

- I made it!

I made it!

(water splashes) - [First Commentator] Oh yeah, we're gonna need a lifeguard, Bill.

- So Chet, you've been to pretty much every county in Texas at this point, right?

- Close.

- Do you feel like you kind of know your way around?

- I mean, a bit.

- How did you get stuck in Dallas-Fort Worth when you were swimming across Texas?

(Chet laughs) - Okay.

- You weren't taking the straight route?

- There weren't as many street signs there.

- It was a straight shot.

- Yeah but there was a lot going on in that pool.

- You had goggles.

- It was a long trip, guys, in very frigid water, okay?

Okay, okay, they can have their laughs, but at our next stop, we're really gonna get into some monkey business.

In the jungles of Plano, high in the branches of Oak Point Preserve, you'll find the wild Day Tripper monkeys getting ready to go ape.

Observe them observing safety precautions.

Brilliant creatures.

Sort of.

Their alpha leader, Hartley, is teaching the newer monkeys her ways and how to earn their silverbacks.

Now, observe the Day Tripper monkey as he takes his first steps.

I'm not scared of heights, but every now and then you get in these places, and you're like, I think I'm good.

Just keeping my eyes straight ahead.

Little do they know, the challenges that lay ahead.

I've done a lot of zip line courses.

This is something totally different.

- Absolutely.

We're also a ropes course.

It's a jungle gym 50 feet up in the air, right?

Adult jungle gym.

You go through the course and the ropes and there's different obstacles, whether that's a shaky bridge or ropes that you hang onto.

And then at the end of every single one, you get rewarded with a zip line at the end.

- Okay.

It's blowing my mind that we're still in Plano.

We're in the middle of one of the biggest metropolitan areas in the world.

And you like you're, I mean, just off the grid.

- Yeah.

I mean, that's something that I love so much about it.

Just a couple of trees over from us is a family of hawks.

Every tree that we have, we take utmost care of it and make sure it's super healthy.

And we just wanna be able to preserve nature as best we can, so that our people can come to our courses and enjoy our courses.

- I've got a pretty deep comfort zone, but I got a feeling I'm gonna be well outside of it today.

- Yeah, oh yeah, yeah.

- Okay.

Don't look down, Chet, don't look down.

No hands?

All right.

(Chet yells) This is awesome.

Ah, I touched the hands, I did.

Ehh, DQ'ed.

I thought we were coming to something sort of in the midst of a municipal park, kinda like a elevated play scape, but this is a real deal up here.

(Chet yells) Stuck it.

I'm playing the Indiana Jones theme song in my head right now.

I'm imagining there's a whole river of crocodiles below me.

The Day Tripper monkeys habitat contains over 40 obstacles.

A miracle of conservation in the city.

All right, guys, decision time.

We go left, to the difficult route.

Right, extreme route.

There are no layups on the Day Tripper.

Extreme.

Have you ever felt that life was a little unstable?

Like the ground that you're standing on wasn't solid and at any moment you could fall through it?

I've been told that if you pay an upgrade fee, they release a group of rabies monkeys into the trees, just to sort of pursue you the whole time.

A little extra element of fun, you know?

Go ape, ha.

- Woo!

That's it.

I'm glad I did my stretches this morning.

It appears our monkeys will not just survive, but thrive here in the wilds of Plano.

I think we have officially earned our silverback.

(grunts like a gorilla) I think life is better in fingerless gloves.

Like you can do more things, at any moment you're ready for a street fight.

- Okay.

- Or to turn up a boombox.

- Or to look like a fool.

- What?

What?

- Does that say Fisher Price?

- It says "Go Ape."

We were just there.

- Oh, oh.

- Where's your gloves?

I'm surprised you're not wearing them.

- Real men wear no gloves.

- I left mine behind.

- Either way, the gloves are about to come off, as we head to dinner at the mother of all food courts, Legacy Hall.

Now, it may be in the middle of one of the boujiest shopping districts in all of DFW, but inside you'll find multiple floors of authentic cuisine, that's anything but pretentious.

Oh, yes.

I love this place, because it is like an indoor food truck park.

And I am hungry.

There are over 20 different restaurants and bars, plus a live music venue.

But I'm gonna need some help deciding what to have for dinner from owner Randy Dewitt.

- We're not just a food hall here, we brew our own beer.

- Cheers to that.

Thank you.

Hey, will you show me around?

- I can't wait, let's do it.

So, what are you hungry for?

Anything you could want, we probably have it.

- Well, let's grab an appetizer.

What do you recommend?

- Well, I love barbecue.

- Oh yeah, I'm not gonna complain about that.

I'm a sucker for smoke.

This is Dry Rub, craft barbecue that ain't afraid of a little queso.

This is awesome.

I mean, I remember the shopping mall food courts of my youth.

This is a totally different thing.

- That's why we call it a food hall.

Our big idea is to give the little guy, the startups, the chef with a new idea, a playground where they can come in and do something different and unique.

All of our operators that have food stalls here are local independent operators.

There's no chains here.

- Randy is a cereal restaurateur, who understands well the struggle of the little guy.

- If it catches on and it wants to grow and leave this food hall, that's awesome.

It's almost like we're an incubator for new restaurant concepts.

- You gotta get really good at sort of watching birds fly out of the nest and go and do their thing.

- Yeah, but it's fun.

It's like a little bit like being a parent and watching your children grow up.

- And some of these have, while others are just beginning to hatch.

Now we started this meal right, but it's time for the main course.

Oh my gosh, this is harder than I thought.

We have Asian food, like ramen.

We got pizza and Italian right here.

Look at those pies.

Oh, but that right there, duck fat fried chicken, that's where I'm starting.

This is Roots Chicken Shack, started by Top Chef alum, Tiffany Derry.

I like this.

We're fixing to cook and you're fixing to chow.

That's a Texas word right there, fixing to.

Oh my gosh.

One is like the crispiest fried chicken ever, but the batter itself is straight magic.

Woo, so good.

I think they call that southern love.

We got a lot of ground to cover.

Moving on.

And what goes well with fried chicken?

Lobster, obviously.

Time to Dock Local.

All right.

We don't see this in Texas very often.

Connecticut lobster roll, lobster bisque.

Tastes so decadent.

I think this is the first time on Day Tripper, I can't talk 'cause I got a mouthful of lobster.

Ooh, dessert.

We've gone Southern, New England, now on to Belgium.

Al le Press Waffle Co.

Until you've had one of these, you have not had an actual Belgian waffle.

This is on another level.

Doughie, with these big chunks of sugar.

I don't care how much you've eaten, there's always room for one of these at the end of a meal.

- Daniel.

Oh, what'd you get?

- Waffle.

What'd you have?

- Bourbon vanilla ice cream.

- Oh, hey man, thank you.

- Chet, you have a problem.

- Huh?

- Nothing.

Nothing.

- I love having friends who share.

And what better way to share in the end of an awesome day than by sharing a game of bowling.

Yeah, football plus bowling, and Fowling Warehouse has 70,000 square feet of it.

This is local owner, Sam Hubbard, to explain what, when, why, and how this sport came to be.

All right, dude.

So, who came up with this?

- There was a guy in Michigan, his name is Chut, funny enough.

- Chut, I like that name.

- It's close.

- Yeah.

- They were tailgating.

They were actually bowling and a football came along, knocked over the pins, and they said, there is something to this.

- The rules are pretty straightforward.

The first team to knock down the other team's pins, wins.

But then there's this thing called the bonk.

- So I could hit this red pin on my first throw, - But only that one, right?

- Only that one.

That's called a bonk.

- All right.

- That's a instant win.

You get to blow the bonk horn.

- Game over.

- Game over.

Seems next to impossible.

Does this actually happen?

- At least once a day.

Yeah.

- Well, let's play a little game.

Run down there.

- Yeah, absolutely.

- Well, time to get schooled by the expert.

Can I catch the ball?

- Yeah.

If it goes behind that yellow line.

- Behind the yellow line.

- Behind the yellow line, you can stop it.

- Absolutely.

Gonna hit some pins at some point?

I mean.

- Shut it, I'm just getting warmed up guys.

Just gimme a moment.

Oh.

Oh, that felt good.

- Now just aim for the front of the board.

There you go.

- Oh, I'll take it.

One pin wonder right here.

- Come on.

- Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Settle down.

All right.

Maybe the hat was throwing off my balance.

That's gotta be it.

- There you go.

Again.

You're a regular Dak Brass guy.

- Yeah.

(laughs) - Come on, come on.

- Nice.

- Come on.

- Oh!

Now we're getting somewhere.

Is this the sport sensation sweeping the nation?

Maybe soon, because who doesn't love a little friendly competition?

This is catastrophic.

If I could juggle, I'd be back here juggling.

Yes, all forms of distraction are allowed.

Oh no!

- Woo!

Aikman!

(Chet yells) - Y'all are next.

All that trash talk from the sidelines, it ends now.

Oh, it's a show down now.

That's why I put you on the team.

Well, maybe, maybe not.

You know wasn't fair, we didn't give y'all a warmup.

Now we need a bonk here.

It's bonk time, baby.

Oh, bonk!

Okay.

All right, Casey.

Oh!

Oh!

Laser accuracy.

You got this.

- Whoa!

- Hey!

No, no, no.

Penalty, penalty.

- Come on.

Oh no, not Daniel.

Oh.

- All right.

We'll see about this.

Oh!

No.

- See what you cost us.

Get your head in the game!

Man, this sport is incredibly fun.

I think corn hole better be put on notice.

Woo!

Oh.

- Recall.

- Hey.

- Recall.

- Line 'em up.

Do it again.

Rematch.

In fact, I'd happily take a rematch with this entire day.

From the incredible food to historic homes, to high adventure and all the crazy kooky chaos in between.

Who knew that so much could be right here hiding in plain sight?

Or is it Plano sight?

Huh, not again, I'm sorry.

Well, that trip was anything but plain.

Oh, I didn't technically bonk, but I kind of gotta know.

Is the gear loaded?

- I don't think you should do that.

- Let's go.

(horn blares) (Daniel laughs) - The "Daytripper" is made possible by Rudy's, real Texas barbecue.

Shipping nationwide at rudys.com.

Karbach Brewing Company from Houston, Texas, makers of Karbach Lager, a beer that is proudly partnered with Don't Mess with Texas, please dispose responsibly.

Visit Georgetown, where big ideas meet small town charm.

Georgetown, the most beautiful town square in Texas.

Texas Farm Bureau Insurance, protection and peace of mind for Texans since 1952.

Don Hewlett Chevrolet Buick in Georgetown.

Making Texas road trips possible for over 50 years.

Don Hewlett Chevrolet Buick, Texas True.

Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages, Texas' local bottler providing the Lone Star state with a variety of Coca-Cola products.