On May 10th, I worked my way back to Texas. I was going to meet with someone about a web site project. Since I was going to Dallas anyway, I also planned to see the museum and site of the JFK assassination.
As I worked my way south, I basically retraced my first visit to Texas. I-35 splits when it gets to Dallas and Fort Worth. I-35W services Fort Worth and I-35E services Dallas. Prior to the split, there really is not a lot to see at least along the interstate.
In Fort Worth, I had an interesting dinner. There is a chain restaurant in the area called Ghengis Grill, the Mongolian Stir Fry. You get a bowl and can fill it up with any combination of meat, vegetables, and spices. You can try to squeeze in as much as you want. You get two sauce choices. Then you hand everything to a cook and they put the items on a designated spot on a cooking area. They combine it with your choice of two starches. I chose noodles and rice. You get a number and once it's finished, a server brings it to you in a larger bowl. It was good. It was EXTREMELY hot (and I don't mean by temperature) because I went a bit overboard with the spices. At times, it seemed like there was no real taste and instead was just "heat" from spices. With the noodles and rice, it was more food than I could really handle, but I didn't want to waste it either. At the end, the server asked if I was "ready for another bowl" as in dessert. I was too stuffed to even consider that (and of course, I'm avoiding desserts in general anyway).
I stayed in Irving, TX, at an airport hotel. This is a small city nestled between Dallas and Fort Worth. The GPS was obnoxious. Although I was on interstate like roads, it showed me off the road in nowheresville. Finally, I took an exit ramp and tried to do a new search for the hotel. Once I was on local roads, it got me there through some hoops.
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The next day, after my meeting, I went into Dallas to see the Sixth Floor Museum. This is the building where Lee Harvey Oswald fired shots. The area where he is alleged to have fired shots at President Kennedy's motorcade is sealed in glass complete with boxes laid out as the scene had been photographed in 1963.
The museum had a few panels and videos from Kennedy's campaign, inauguration, brief presidency, etc. But, much of the museum was obviously devoted to the tragedy that happened on November 22, 1963. Exhibits included still photos from amateur video of the shooting, the press reaction, the investigations, the aftermath, Johnson's inauguration, the worldwide tributes, etc. The experience was very sad and moving.
After finishing up at the museum, I went to visit the actual site of the tragedy. It's a road that is still driven on by hundreds of cars per day. There are two x's to mark the spot where Kennedy's vehicle was located when he was murdered.
As I went to take pictures of the building outside, a man talked me into buying a newspaper about the events. As I went to take more pictures, another man approached me to provide a "tour" of the area. While I'll admit he gave me some interesting facts and showed me the spot where the amateur video had been taken. He had me stand on the spot where the person had filmed it and offered to take my picture. Warning bells went off because somehow I figured he'd run off with my camera. I decided I really didn't need a picture of myself standing there. The man continued by showing me another spot where it is alleged that another gunman fired at Kennedy's motorcade. He then went into various discussions about coverups. I could have done without this as it was already covered by the museum. The guy was an expert swindler and ultimately got a tip out of me, plus talked me into buying a book I didn't need or want. He claimed it was for children with cancer and that he'd win a trip if he sold a certain amount. I was so exhausted that I didn't see through this (despite having avoided letting him steal my camera).
After the man got his money and left me, a homeless woman approached me to tell me I had been cheated. She took me to see another man (who later claimed he was there to see the tragedy happen with his own eyes) who said the books cost $5 instead of $10. They insisted I call 911 and report this. (I truly felt that $5 was a bit too trivial to be bothering 911 about. I had to treat it as a lesson learned.) Apparently, another person from Minnesota had been cheated by this man and was too afraid to call. I was told that it would not stop unless someone stepped up. They claimed the man had no affiliation with any group helping children with cancer and he was not going to get a trip. So, I made the call. A police officer on a bicycle showed up. He went with me to the corner where the man was standing. The man insisted they were $10. He was working with a younger man who looked like a thug gang member. The thug quickly and angrily handed me $10 and took the book out of my hands saying "Here, take your little money back!" The police officer asked if I was satisfied with that. I was getting a little nervous about potentially making some enemies and explained to the officer that I had an out of state car and had a long drive ahead of me. I was envisioning getting in my car and being followed by gang members. The officer told me there was nothing to worry about. Plus, there was security in the parking lot for the museum.
I stayed around the area for a little while, getting pictures and chatting on the cell phone. The homeless woman spoke with me a bit more. The other man (the one connected with the homeless woman) explained that he is the only one hanging out there who actually witnessed the tragedy. He then showed me a fencepost painted red where he claims another gunshot came from. This location is much closer to the scene than the window where Oswald allegedly fired his shots.
As I went back to the parking lot, I noticed my concern about an out of state plate was meaningless. There were other cars with out of state plates. As a tourist attraction, of course there would be.
My next destination was Wichita, KS to see my friends for a couple of extra days. It was over six hours to drive up there. In talking with my mother, it appears that thanks be to God I had just avoided a massive tornado in Norman, Oklahoma a couple of days before.
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Having now seen a site related to JFK and previously seen a site related to Ronald Reagan, I'm cutting down the number of presidential sites that I have yet to see. There are only nine former presidents who have sites available (library, historical home, etc.) that I have not seen at this point. What is really pathetic is that Ulysses Grant is one of them. He died in a cottage which is a NY state park fairly close to where I live. (His actual home is located in western Illinois and is open for tours in the summer.) I can go to places like Missouri to see Truman's home or California to see Reagan's library yet I have not bothered to see something less than thirty minutes from home.
I was leaving just before rush hour traffic. However, at a certain point, I-35E came to a halt. People were actually driving off the interstate onto grass and getting onto a local road. Police cars were winding their way through, driving up the shoulder. After several minutes, as traffic moved along, I noticed a tractor trailer taking up two lanes. I wondered what this was about as there didn't seem to be anything wrong with it. Driving past the tractor trailer, I saw the problem. A pickup truck was on its side, with the entire cab smashed. The driver was likely dead.
The drive through the rest of Texas was uneventful. As I got into Oklahoma, parts of I-35 were down to one lane due to construction, bringing things to a halt several times. This was after 7pm, so it wasn't rush hour.
There had been predictions for severe weather in Wichita and further south. At most I hit a few patches of rain, and not much at that. I was exhausted by the time I pulled into my friend's driveway, after driving for over six hours.
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