I was caught up in riots in Dallas over the weekend

It was supposed to be a relaxing weekend away from the constraints of locked-down New Jersey, but it was anything but calm.

After a dinner out with my daughter and her best friend in Texas, we went to bed around 11 Friday night. We woke up to frantic texts from my daughter's friend that were from 2 to 3:30 a.m. that we didn't hear. She was in a severe panic over mobs of rioters on her street, with the sounds of flash bombs and broken glass with tear gas in the air.

Luckily, her apartment was on the sixth floor, but right in the heart of downtown Dallas, where all the action was. They broke all the glass on the first floor and even broke the security doors that lead to the apartments.

Needless to say, we brought her to my daughter's place a few blocks away, but in an area where the police had set up a perimeter to stem the spread of the violence. It started again Saturday afternoon and long into the night, with the sounds of police helicopters overheard and the distant sounds of sirens and flash band grenades. We've all seen the images on our news feeds, social media and TV, but when you're in it or next to it, the feeling is intensified dramatically.

Like most major cities, there were parts of Dallas where life went on as usual. The Dallas Police Department, Irving Police Department and Texas State Police did an incredible job with what they had to deal with. In one of the neighborhoods where windows were smashed, people came by to various businesses to offer to help and clean up. One mom brought her daughter into a barber shop where the 10-year-old girl offered them $20 to help with their expenses.

There are far more good people with good hearts than there are those who would do harm, no matter what the issue. They just don't make it on TV as often as we'd hope. It's not click-worthy or a ratings bonanza.

Here's some of what we saw this weekend in Dallas, Texas.