Part 94 - Dallas, Texas

I'm so horny ... horny, horny, horny

My next foray into the USA took me to Texas, or the "Lone Star State" as absolutely nobody seems to call it. 

My wheels and my crib

Public transport is a bit thin on the ground in Texas, so I'd booked a car for my nine day trip. After waiting in line for about three and a half days (slight exaggeration), instead of my chosen "small economical car", I was presented with the much larger, faster, uneconomical, and let's face it, more fun, Dodge Charger - coincidentally the same kind of motor they gave me last time I hired a car in the States. 

I don't think America knows what a small hatchback is

For my accommodation in Dallas / Fort Worth, I opted to spin the AirBnB wheel and see what weird and wonderful people would be letting me into their house. First up was Jem, a flight attendant (I made myself sound like a right dinosaur when I used the term "air hostess") from Kenya. She was very hospitable, although didn't really agree with her policy of never taking down her Christmas tree because she loved Christmas so much. 

Bah humbug

The Wild West 

Fort Worth Stockyards is an historical district that is apparently an accurate representation of the Old Wild West, although I'm guessing that the original Wild West had rather fewer tourists milling about, drink in hand and big hat on head. 

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em

It was an enjoyable place to wander around. There were lots of bars and restaurants ...

Genuinely not sure if the parking charges apply to the horses or to cars 

They even had a place to grill your hookers

They also had two cattle drives every day, where cowboys drive some longhorn cattle through the streets, presumably ending up on someone's dinner plate. 

Instead of a steak, for dinner I was a recommended a Mexican restaurant by the name of Joe T Garcia's. I ordered the fajitas, and as lovely as they were, I'd probably still be eating them now if I tried to finish all the food they put in front of me. 

Not even room for a wafer thin mint after this lot

The Assassination of JFK

As a kid, I was fascinated about the shooting of JFK and all the conspiracy theories surrounding it. One of the main reasons for coming to Texas was to visit Dallas, the city where he was assassinated. Dallas is also the name of the soap opera in which JR was shot. Don't confuse the two!

Like everything from when you're younger, it's actually a lot smaller than I envisaged. On the road itself, they've marked the spots where the bullets hit the President with big sensitive Xs. The Texas Book Depository, from where Lee Harvey Oswald fired the shots, has now been turned into a museum.

The grassy knoll, the alleged site of a second gunman

The Texas School Book Depository

The 6th floor, where Lee Harvey Oswald fired the shots

The view looking over the presidential motorcade (50 years later)

The museum was very well done, and did touch on some of the conspiracy theories. The latest consensus is that Lee Harvey Oswald probably was the only gunman - although there is a long list of organisations who might have backed him, including the Mafia, Cuba, the CIA, and both left and right wing activists. Not much else to say, but a fascinating day out. 

Obligatory parkrun post 

Finally, they have precisely three parkruns in the state of Texas, and I planned to do two of them. The first was the very exciting sounding Bear Creek Green Belt parkrun (number of bears I witnessed: 0). I received probably my warmest welcome in 190+ parkruns. In fact, they were so welcoming they even "interviewed" me for their Facebook page. I'll post the link once it's unleashed to the world.

Me, Fiona (from Paisley), and Dick (from Texas). Not sure where the blue halo came from.

Next up, Waco and Austin.