Spring 2017 - Alabama and then Dallas
We started off our 2017 travels with two trips that took us south. The first was a driving trip to see family just outside of Huntsville Alabama. While we were there, we visited the Space and Rocket Museum. The museum is a Smithsonian affiliate and houses one of the biggest collections of space memorabilia. This includes an authentic Saturn V rocket. My wife's sister is retired now but used to work at the Redstone Arsenal. The main offices for NASA are located there now as well as many civilian office buildings.
They also took us to see the Huntsville ice hockey team play. They are actually have a very good season and the game was fun. One interesting note is that it seemed everyone was primarily interested in seeing a good hockey fight and the Alabama football player that was there signing autographs for $20. All the hockey players seemed to hail from Canada and not the south.
We also had lunch at one of the new micro-breweries. Ignore the stereotypes of Alabama, this place was as cool and trendy as they come. It was located in a converted school house and is part of a whole entertainment complex. There is parking for food trucks or electric cars and bicycles for rent. The town of Huntsville as well as Madison (which is basically a suburb) is booming and apparently has been for years. It has become a technology hub and the construction projects are everywhere. The housing market is very strong as well.
A few weeks later, we were off to Dallas Texas. This time we flew and had a great early flight that arrived on time which was 8 AM. We took Uber to our hotel, the Fairmont in downtown Dallas and the luck continued. We were able to check in and settle into our room. In no time, we were off to explore the city and headed toward the west end area in hopes of finding food. We quickly realized we were near Dealy Plaza and decided to tour the JFK memorial. I had been there years ago and there was little to mark the spot but now, the Texas Book Depository sixth floor is a museum that includes a view of what Oswald would have seen. There is a lot of Kennedy presidential history as well as the details of the trip to Texas and everything that happened that infamous day. We ended having lunch at RJ Mexican Cuisine and it was a great pick. We enjoyed quality Mexican food and some great margaritas. While we were eating, I texted my friend from childhood and she drove in to join us. We enjoyed catching up and the beautiful day as we sat out on the patio. From there, we walked around a bit and then headed back to the hotel. We had dinner that night at Lark on the Park.
We had come to Dallas to see my friend and to watch the Women's Final Four featuring Connecticut, Mississippi State, South Carolina and Stanford. The games were to be held at the American Airlines Center. We had two semi-final games to see on that second day so we headed out early to do more sightseeing. We had lunch across from the Omni Hotel at Little Katana Black Ship. The Omni was the location of the Connecticut team and our hotel is where the Standford Cardinals were staying.
We also walked by the site where five Dallas Police officers were killed in 2016. The shooter had fled inside of the El Centro college campus and we walked right by it. There is no marker or Memorial there which surprised me. There is one nearby apparently but we did not see it.
The day of the final game, it rained all day and we decided to stay in our hotel. By game time, it had stopped and what a game we saw. Mississippi State had upset the Connecticut Huskies and ended their 111 game win streak in overtime. So we saw two SEC teams in the final. It was Mississippi State facing a South Carolina team coached by Dawn Staley. Nothing could beat the semi-final game but it was a good match for the first half. But South Carolina went on a tear after that and convincingly defeated the Bulldogs. It seemed they had run out of gas after their historic win against Connecticut.
Our final day in Dallas was spent with my friend. She had gotten us VIP tickets to tour the Dallas Cowboys stadium. The tour was awesome and included the player locker room and the Dallas Cowboy cheerleader locker room. The field and the gigantic TV are amazing. We also drove by the baseball stadium which is right across the street. This is where the Texas Rangers play. After that, we went back to her house and met her husband. We enjoyed a glass of wine on the patio and their gorgeous yard with the golf course views and the pool. They then took us to dinner at a place made famous on Diners, Drive-in and Dives, Dough Pizzeria.
Like Huntsville Alabama, Dallas seems to be booming. There were construction cranes everywhere you looked and a highway system that reflected the modern design of a driving town. Below is a photo I took from the top of Reunion Tower.
They also took us to see the Huntsville ice hockey team play. They are actually have a very good season and the game was fun. One interesting note is that it seemed everyone was primarily interested in seeing a good hockey fight and the Alabama football player that was there signing autographs for $20. All the hockey players seemed to hail from Canada and not the south.
We also had lunch at one of the new micro-breweries. Ignore the stereotypes of Alabama, this place was as cool and trendy as they come. It was located in a converted school house and is part of a whole entertainment complex. There is parking for food trucks or electric cars and bicycles for rent. The town of Huntsville as well as Madison (which is basically a suburb) is booming and apparently has been for years. It has become a technology hub and the construction projects are everywhere. The housing market is very strong as well.
A few weeks later, we were off to Dallas Texas. This time we flew and had a great early flight that arrived on time which was 8 AM. We took Uber to our hotel, the Fairmont in downtown Dallas and the luck continued. We were able to check in and settle into our room. In no time, we were off to explore the city and headed toward the west end area in hopes of finding food. We quickly realized we were near Dealy Plaza and decided to tour the JFK memorial. I had been there years ago and there was little to mark the spot but now, the Texas Book Depository sixth floor is a museum that includes a view of what Oswald would have seen. There is a lot of Kennedy presidential history as well as the details of the trip to Texas and everything that happened that infamous day. We ended having lunch at RJ Mexican Cuisine and it was a great pick. We enjoyed quality Mexican food and some great margaritas. While we were eating, I texted my friend from childhood and she drove in to join us. We enjoyed catching up and the beautiful day as we sat out on the patio. From there, we walked around a bit and then headed back to the hotel. We had dinner that night at Lark on the Park.
We had come to Dallas to see my friend and to watch the Women's Final Four featuring Connecticut, Mississippi State, South Carolina and Stanford. The games were to be held at the American Airlines Center. We had two semi-final games to see on that second day so we headed out early to do more sightseeing. We had lunch across from the Omni Hotel at Little Katana Black Ship. The Omni was the location of the Connecticut team and our hotel is where the Standford Cardinals were staying.
We also walked by the site where five Dallas Police officers were killed in 2016. The shooter had fled inside of the El Centro college campus and we walked right by it. There is no marker or Memorial there which surprised me. There is one nearby apparently but we did not see it.
The day of the final game, it rained all day and we decided to stay in our hotel. By game time, it had stopped and what a game we saw. Mississippi State had upset the Connecticut Huskies and ended their 111 game win streak in overtime. So we saw two SEC teams in the final. It was Mississippi State facing a South Carolina team coached by Dawn Staley. Nothing could beat the semi-final game but it was a good match for the first half. But South Carolina went on a tear after that and convincingly defeated the Bulldogs. It seemed they had run out of gas after their historic win against Connecticut.
Our final day in Dallas was spent with my friend. She had gotten us VIP tickets to tour the Dallas Cowboys stadium. The tour was awesome and included the player locker room and the Dallas Cowboy cheerleader locker room. The field and the gigantic TV are amazing. We also drove by the baseball stadium which is right across the street. This is where the Texas Rangers play. After that, we went back to her house and met her husband. We enjoyed a glass of wine on the patio and their gorgeous yard with the golf course views and the pool. They then took us to dinner at a place made famous on Diners, Drive-in and Dives, Dough Pizzeria.
Like Huntsville Alabama, Dallas seems to be booming. There were construction cranes everywhere you looked and a highway system that reflected the modern design of a driving town. Below is a photo I took from the top of Reunion Tower.
We closed out our amazing trip at a steakhouse that was literally below street level. The entrance was on an island in the middle of a busy intersection. The waterfall was our view from the table and above is the street.
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