Somewhere down in Texas

Wednesday 9th July

So Wednesday morning came along and my stay in Orlando Florida had come to an end.

Like I say,  I was quite sad to be leaving as it felt like the end of the trip, I guess because when I had previously flown out of the US it was because I was returning home from holiday.

Not this time however as I was bound for Dallas, Texas!

The morning started with a continental breakfast of which I really stocked up on not knowing when I would next eat again.

I repacked my case which is already starting to feel full and then checked out of my room. Not the best motel I had stayed at but for 2 nights it was ample,  was within walking distance of a bus stop, had free breakfast so was very convenient.

I didn't have to wait long for my shuttle bus (which actually was just a small chevrolet) which took me to the  American Airlines terminal.

It is here I realised how unfamiliar I am with negotiating US airports.  I am familiar with the layout of Gatwick or Heathrow back in the UK but put me in Orlando airport and everything is different. I had to check by bags in via a touch screen program which was quite challenging, even for me.

From there after security I had to get on a monorail to my gate where I had a couple of hours to kill due to getting to the airport early.  So I just relaxed in the area near the gate,  grabbed a burger king.  Ordered a medium meal but of course it came out so big the burger was more like a pancake size.  Almost needed a ladder to be able to drink my mountain Dew!

Soon time passed and I was on the plane and headed for the lone star state. It was a 2.5 hr flight which wasn't too bad,  pretty smooth all the way.  Couldn't believe the size of Dallas Fort Worth airport though. It took us 15 minutes once the plane had landed to get to the gate.

Once off the plane and through baggage claim I had the tricky task of locating Jacob.  Luckily he had made his way over to my terminal and we were able to find each other relatively easily. He has just flown in from Chicago.

We  we stepped outside the heat hit us like opening an oven door, it was 96 degrees Fahrenheit!
We then took a shuttle bus to the hotel which dropped us off safely. The hotel itself is very nice,  a short walk from a train station and very clean with a bar/restaurant on premises.

After a little while planning our day on Thursday we headed down to the restaurant for a meal and a drink before taking a walk down to the train station to find out how we can get around the city, and then chilling out for the rest of the evening back at the hotel.

Thursday 10th July

For today we had planned to visit dealey plaza and the sixth floor museum, made famous of course for the assassination of president John F Kennedy.

To kick start the day we had a good American style buffet breakfast,  Jacob had about 3 of them!

Had everything you could want on offer from waffles to cereals, fruit, cooked  breakfast (which I went for)

After then we took the short walk over to the station where we bought a day pas for a reasonable $5 which allows you access to all of Dallas's downtown areas via train or bus.


It was at one of our stops that we encountered a couple of weirdos looking for some money to buy a train ticket... One which said they needed to get to a psychiatric appointment! A slightly uneasy moment!

Anyway we made it into Downtown fine and headed for a 'seven eleven' convenience store to pick up some water... And also a large soft drink with ice for 69cents. Bargain and a necessity in this heat.

Walked around to dealey plaza,  the site of the Kennedy assassination in November 1963. Took some photos like the proper  tourists we are.  Hard to realise the events that took place that day when you are stood right there. Just 2 crosses on the road mark where the shots were fired.

Took the tour of the sixth floor museum at the old school book depository where (supposedly) the gun shots were fired.

I have done this tour before buy Jacob handnt and was absolutely fascinated by it all.  Even for my second visit,  I still found it a really interesting and worthwhile visit as it give you so much Information  about Kennedy himself,  his presidential reign and of course what happened on that fateful day and in the aftermath.

The audio guide was fantastic allowing you to move through at your own pace.

After exploring a couple of shady parks in Dallas we headed back to the hotel where I got ready for my evening entertainment.

I was headed to the American Airlines arena in Downtown Dallas to watch Queen +Adam Lambert!

Took me longer to cross the road to the train station than the train ride itself I think to get there but arrived safe and sound.

The gig itself was great,  fantastic atmosphere, played all the hits,  the lighging was awesome. Boy can they still play!

Got chatting to some fellow bits who overheard me talking to the lady serving me my chicken and fries at the venue.  they actually lived in Wichita about 2 hours drive north of Dallas.
also got chatting to some other Queen fans sat nearby me,   otherwise of which had seen the band before back in the 70s and 80s. They were very friendly and seemed interested in this trip, the fact that I have seen Queen before AND met Brian May (had to get that in).

Gotta say one of the best gigs I have been to,  sheer awesomeness!

Tomorrow we explore more that Dallas has to offer!