Road Trip to Mississippi: Days Six and Seven

Day Six: Stayed an extra day in Dallas

Day Seven: drove from Dallas, TX to Shreveport, LA

The extra day in Dallas was wonderful. It was great not having to wake up early (although I did anyway) and we could just chill without having to worry about getting on the road. And I bet Lenny liked it, too. We left the air conditioning off in the hotel and plugged his heater in, so he got nice and toasty. It's great having an animal that can stay in a parked car without having to worry about the heat. I might not like the heat, but Lenny likes it enough for the both of us!

Dallas is a GIGANTIC city. Instead of it being like Seattle, where everything is condensed into downtown and then there are suburbs, Dallas is really spread out. There is a distinct downtown, but there are numerous business complexes that are as far away as even 10 miles. It is very confusing for newcomers, who don't understand the layout, to navigate.

Anyways, we went to downtown Dallas and walked around Dealey Plaza. I'm sure all of you know this, but that is the spot in Texas where President Kennedy was assassinated as he drove down Elm Street. They even have an "X" in the middle of the lane where his car was located at the time of the shooting. On our way out of the city, we even drove over it. It's very humbling, driving over the very spot that would be the last place JFK ever saw. The Old Red Museum, which is the old courthouse, is pretty cool to look at, too. And Dallas' answer to the Space Needle? Pretty freaking ugly.

After the trip downtown, we drove to Fort Worth. Everyone talks about Dallas and Fort Worth as being the same city: they are not. At all. First off, they are about 30 miles apart, with multiple little towns in between. Second, the culture is completely different. Dallas is a lot like Seattle: Starbucks everywhere and "yuppies" (this word coming from an actual Texan). Fort Worth is much smaller, where the businessmen where jeans, a sport coat, a Stetson, and cowboy boots to work as their business attire. And everyone has pickup trucks. In my opinion, Fort Worth is much more like what you picture Texas to be like. They also have the Stockyards, a very old part of town that they have built up for tourists. There is a daily cattle drive through the Stockyards, too. Granted, this is staged, but there are cowboys in this state that actual still partake in real cattle drives, so it's kind of cool to watch them do this. It looks straight out of a John Wayne movie. If you are familiar with Leavenworth, WA, picture that, but about 3 times as big, and everything Western instead of Bavarian.

The heat was not cool, however. It was ninety seven degrees and I do not do well with heat. I drank about 3 bottles of water within 2 hours, and if you know me at all, you know I only drink coffee that fast. Anyways, I was exhausted by the day's end, but fortunately was only slightly sunburned and did not have a migraine. I'm sure one is coming, though. Matt felt fine until we got to the car, then got an extreme headache. We ate lunch at around 12 and didn't feel like eating until 9 that night. This heat will take some getting used to.

Today (Sunday), we left Dallas behind and arrived in Louisiana. Texas gets "purdier and purdier" the farther east you go. If I could get used to the heat, I don't think I would mind living in this area. So far, everyone is really nice, albeit sometimes extremely hard to understand, but I'm sure I will get used to it. I experienced my first time at a Cracker Barrel. The food was delicious southern comfort food, but I'm not used to fried food AT ALL, so hopefully I get used to it really fast.

Matt and I will be in our new town tomorrow! We can't move into the house until the next day, but on base hotels have a kitchen, so I think we'll eat in. We are both getting rather sick of eating out. Once we get into our new home and my dishes and cookware get in, we won't eat out for a VERY long time.

Tomorrow's travels: Shreveport, LA to Columbus, MS, the last day!