Hey you all.
Thanks to Jayne's good memory and Dion (he made it a hit) for today's post title.
Thanks to Jayne's good memory and Dion (he made it a hit) for today's post title.
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| Dallas has an interesting mix of architectural styles |
We wandered around Dallas in the afternoon after we'd recovered from the flight. It was hot and humid, much like summer in Sydney although much less crowded. We walked down to the Texas Schoolbook Depository Building, around the grassy knoll and checked out some of the other sights. We then purchased our city passes for a whirlwind two day tour of Dallas before heading up to New York.
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| The Texas Schoolbook Depository Building |
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| Jayne on the grassy knoll |
Then it was back to the Adolphus to re-hydrate, sorry, water only at this point. We also began the daily task of wondering where we will eat tonight. That's when I discovered the giant eye in Main Street. I have no idea (see what I did there?) what its purpose is in life - apart from scaring a few people.
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| Are you looking at me? |
Finally, we showered! Yes! So relaxing that post-shower I dozed off while trying to find something interesting to watch on TV. I lost interest at channel 30.
Downstairs for a pre-dinner drink. The Adolphus really is old-world, there is lots of patterned, floral carpet off-set by oak panels everywhere you look. Their French restaurant has won all the awards, but we weren't in the mood for that level of dining. We opted for the 'bar and grill'. Curiously, when we walked past it this afternoon Jayne remarked, "How Texan can you get? They have a cactus and the skull of a cow in the window." It's like the Lone Star chain when they operated, but without the peanuts. They also have the head of a bull and a goat on the various walls. Justine our 'server' (interesting term they use over here) talked us through the menu and explained the mystery that was/is Chicken-fried steak. Basically, it is a steak that has been crumbed and fried chicken style, you know, herbs and spices. Not bad at all, but I couldn't eat it every night. We laughed when they asked did we want dessert. Just roll us into the elevator and put us to bed.
And that was close to what happened. I was getting a headstart on the blog and catching up with Facebook and Jayne was ... well asleep, as I found out when I asked a question. Given we live in an inner city suburb in Sydney on a major road near a fire station, traffic noise is not something that concerns us, but it would be a problem if you were staying here and weren't used to that level of backgound noise. The buses, the motorbikes and (I assume) the workmen who are renovating the The Adolphus kept me regularly disturbed throughout the night. The truck noise began around 5am, which was OK, I was just waiting for the sun. I was still waiting at 7am. Sunrise was 7:16am and sunset today will be 7:21pm.
Breakfast. Hmmmm. Need to find a cafe soon. This morning we had a warmed pastry each, what I assume was powdered orange juice (hands up if you remember Tang? Chalk up that impressive development to NASA) and tea. There will be no coffee until New York - where I am reliably informed they know how to make a real coffee.
To fill in some time we went for a walk pre-tour, a combined 2-in-1 tour that covered the JFK trail as well as general information about Dallas. The tour itself lasted 90 minutes and was complete with tour guide and video presentations that were shown on the screen in the mini-bus. (For my fellow MacKillop pilgrims the guide wasn't a patch on Eddie).
The Dallas tour was interesting enough, if a little limited. In terms of religion they have the 2nd biggest population of Catholics in the country, second only to New York. We also passed the 'new' First Baptist Church, reputed to be worth around $150million. That's a lot of happy clappy plate passing. The real focus was JFK and LHO (Lee Harvey Oswald - funny how one gets initials and the other always gets the full three names) and all roads lead to them.
There is actually an X marks the spot on the road where JFK was shot. The shadow in the picture is from a flagpole in the park opposite the grassy knoll. The fixation with JFK in Dallas is palpable, but then I guess it is the reason a lot of people visit. Except Australians, we visit because it is a direct flight from home. Sydney to Dallas, the longest single flight in the world, so we were told by our tour guide.
Of all the places we visited, of all the talk of the assassination, of the repeated images of JFK being shot, the most obvious milking of a buck was the "Oswald Rooming House Museum". 'Museum' is a term I wouldn't associate with this place; yes LHO stayed there for 6 weeks prior to the assassination, but museum is such a grand word that conjures images of pristine artefacts carefully assembled and lovingly nutured. Walking into here is like watching a car accident, you just can't help yourself. The owner is the granddaughter of the lady who took LHO in as a boarder. She seems lovely and very genuine, but it was all just a little bit creepy, it's like worshipping the devil. LHO was one of 18 men lodging at this house at the time, with shared bathroom facilities - just saying. His room was an enclosed porch space, or as we used to say in Australia, a verandah sleep-out.
The lounge room and LHO's bedroom, which is off the living area, are allegedly as was, as far as furniture is concerned. It's like time has stopped and with it the cleaning. The carpet looks like it hasn't been cleaned since November 22, 1963. Apparently there are renovations going on - to create a B & B. I don't get the concept. Why would you want to tell friends that you stayed at the place LHO slept the night before he assassinated a president? The owner was more than happy to have people pose on the bed ... tacky, tacky, tacky.
From there we drove around Dallas following the trail left by LHO, down the street where he murdered Police Officer Tippet, on to the cinema where he was eventually captured. The most interesting facet of this part of town was the proliferation of pawn shops and wedding shops. Not sure what won the competition, but OMG the wedding dresses! Sadly, it's not an area I would venture on my own, so there are no photos of the dresses and there were too many favourites to mention. But the lime green tuille number ... a gypsy special.
After the tour we walked down to the JFK museum (check out JKF.org). The entire musuem is housed on the 6th floor of the (former) Texas Schoolbook Depository Building. No photos and all 'cell' phones must be on silent. When we bought the tickets I asked how long it takes people to work through the exhibits, "about an hour on average" came the response. I looked at Jayne, I've done this sort of thing with her before and she is certainly not average, "allow 2 hours" I said - and I was on the money.
And that was close to what happened. I was getting a headstart on the blog and catching up with Facebook and Jayne was ... well asleep, as I found out when I asked a question. Given we live in an inner city suburb in Sydney on a major road near a fire station, traffic noise is not something that concerns us, but it would be a problem if you were staying here and weren't used to that level of backgound noise. The buses, the motorbikes and (I assume) the workmen who are renovating the The Adolphus kept me regularly disturbed throughout the night. The truck noise began around 5am, which was OK, I was just waiting for the sun. I was still waiting at 7am. Sunrise was 7:16am and sunset today will be 7:21pm.
Breakfast. Hmmmm. Need to find a cafe soon. This morning we had a warmed pastry each, what I assume was powdered orange juice (hands up if you remember Tang? Chalk up that impressive development to NASA) and tea. There will be no coffee until New York - where I am reliably informed they know how to make a real coffee.
To fill in some time we went for a walk pre-tour, a combined 2-in-1 tour that covered the JFK trail as well as general information about Dallas. The tour itself lasted 90 minutes and was complete with tour guide and video presentations that were shown on the screen in the mini-bus. (For my fellow MacKillop pilgrims the guide wasn't a patch on Eddie).
The Dallas tour was interesting enough, if a little limited. In terms of religion they have the 2nd biggest population of Catholics in the country, second only to New York. We also passed the 'new' First Baptist Church, reputed to be worth around $150million. That's a lot of happy clappy plate passing. The real focus was JFK and LHO (Lee Harvey Oswald - funny how one gets initials and the other always gets the full three names) and all roads lead to them.
There is actually an X marks the spot on the road where JFK was shot. The shadow in the picture is from a flagpole in the park opposite the grassy knoll. The fixation with JFK in Dallas is palpable, but then I guess it is the reason a lot of people visit. Except Australians, we visit because it is a direct flight from home. Sydney to Dallas, the longest single flight in the world, so we were told by our tour guide.
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| X marks the spot |
The lounge room and LHO's bedroom, which is off the living area, are allegedly as was, as far as furniture is concerned. It's like time has stopped and with it the cleaning. The carpet looks like it hasn't been cleaned since November 22, 1963. Apparently there are renovations going on - to create a B & B. I don't get the concept. Why would you want to tell friends that you stayed at the place LHO slept the night before he assassinated a president? The owner was more than happy to have people pose on the bed ... tacky, tacky, tacky.
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| Umm ... you have no idea |
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| From the Reunion Tower, cars where the shots hit home |
The audio guide is something I would recommend. For the second time in my life I was offered a guide in English or American. We both opted for the American version, you all, so I'm not sure how the English one differs. Maybe Hugh Grant does the voice over. The museum is a collection of things we all know already. No, wait, maybe that comment applies only to people of our generation who are wedded to a JFK tragic. There were curiousity moments, but I don't recall any real 'aha' moments. And they do acknowledge the conspiracy theories. Personally, I think aliens were responsible with the help of Harold Holt - why not? That's as plausible as any other theory.
Clearly we hadn't walked enough today so we set a course for the Reunion Tower. It looks like, well, a giant ... um ... microphone of God, the elevator driver called it on the way up. I just thought it looked like a golf ball on a tee? No? OK, it's a giant phallus. Alright, it's a dick, there I said it. The view is spectacular, of course. It provides a real perspective on Dallas. Everything is so new. There is so much skyscraper reflective glass and open space. It looks like there are two Dallases, an old one and the new version that is no more than 20 years old.
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| Reunion Tower |
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| The tower from a distance |
Despite all the tall buildings there seem to be very few people. The pavements are generally uncrowded, but the two highlights spots: the Greyhound bus station - think Centrelink if you are Australian and the Donut Place - same again, apparently donuts for breakfast is a good concept.
The final photo is for you Dave.
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| I guess Murdoch doesn't own the Dallas Morning News |
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