Sixth Floor Museum

Located at 411 Elm Street in downtown Dallas, in the old Texas School Book Depository building, the Sixth Floor Museum is dedicated to the assassination of the U.S.’s 35^th President, John F. Kennedy. It only makes sense; the location is the site of the drama that unfolded nearly 50 years ago.

Honestly, I probably never would have visited the museum if not for my visiting brother’s request to do so. My regards to him; it turned out to be an excellent experience.

Texas School Book Depository.
The window on the far right on the sixth floor
is the window from which Oswald took his shots.

I’ve never been much of a JFK buff. All I’ve ever really known about the assassination is the little bits I could recall from my high school history class. Because of this, I went in to the museum with a pretty open mind, ready to learn.

The museum set-up is not one of my favorites. It’s mostly wall displays with pictures and text. There are a few other displays as well, such as a large-scale model of the area on the day of the assassination, and a recreation of the sniper’s nest. The cost of admission ($16 for adults; less for children, students, and seniors) gets you a free audio set that you carry with you. The audio, narrated by a reporter who was on-scene the day of the assassination, provides you with extra information.

Part of Dealey Plaza, across the street from the museum.
Many of the assassination witnesses stood in Dealey Plaza.

Although I was initially put-off by the set-up (I find self-guided museum tours to be isolating), I thought the museum was great. It provided a lot of information that I hadn’t previously known. It also made the assassination make more sense in terms of the details. Seeing it all in person – the window Oswald took his shots from, how close it was to the President’s vehicle, where the witnesses were standing, etc. – simply brought it all together for me. Once faced with the evidence, the conspiracy theories began to sound silly to me.

The "grassy knoll."

However, the museum doesn’t shy away from exploring the conspiracy theories, and I admired that as well. It helped to put everything in perspective.

I don’t think I’d ever go again. A second run would probably prove boring. But I do think it’s good for at least one visit and I would recommend it to anyone. It was thoughtful, informative, and surprisingly moving. Faced with the grief of a nation that had lost a popular leader, I found myself teary-eyed more than once.

If you're planning a trip to Dallas, you might want to add this stop to your list.

Bachman Lake

It was a beautiful day yesterday and I wanted to go for a walk/hike, but I didn't want to go anywhere I'd been before. So I pulled out the Dallas Parks & Rec. list of parks and perused it, eventually deciding on a park with a 5K path around a lake, Bachman Lake. The decision was made partly based on its relatively close proximity to my home and partly on the fact that there's a lake.

Below is the widest shot of the lake I was able to get with my crappy phone camera.

Bachman Lake

Reeds along the lake. Kind of pretty, I thought.

Most of the walk is a paved path that goes all the way around the lake. There is a small off-shoot (some of it paved, some not) that I believe is actually the Bachman Greenbelt. It is this off-shoot that I thought was the best part of the whole walk. Here's a picture of it:

Really, the picture hardly does it justice. This path is absolutely beautiful, idyllic and serene. I felt like I was in a fairytale.

There are a lot of turtles.

Turtles sunning themselves on a log.

There were turtles sunning themselves on this half-
submerged pipe too, but they slipped into the water
when I appeared.

There are also a lot of wildflowers.

In fact, there's a lot to enjoy about Bachman Lake, but I have to say that the park kind of has a dual personality. It's located along the busy Northwest Highway, where it's impossible to escape the traffic noise except for on the Greenbelt.

It's also located next to what I believe is a Southwest repair hangar. At least, that's my best guess, since I saw an awful lot of Southwest airplanes landing and taking off, and the park is nowhere near the airport.

Lastly, there's also a water treatment plant on the lake. The buildings themselves, red brick and retro, aren't bad to look at, but you have to detour around the plant for a portion of the trail before you can get back to the lake, which kind of put a damper on my enthusiasm.

Even so, the park has a couple of playgrounds and what I believe is a community center. I saw people fishing. I also saw people kayaking - at the west end of the lake, there's an actual rowing club. And let's not forget the trees:

It smelled heavenly under these pines.

Look at those roots. Wow!

All in all, I enjoyed myself. It was a great walk. I would go back again, but it's definitely not my first choice for a place to go to get back to nature.

Oak Point Park and Nature Preserve

I'm a little reluctant to post about Oak Point Park & Nature Preserve in Plano because I love it so much. I went there yesterday for an absolutely glorious 2-hour walk/hike. While I was, by no means, the only person there, it was surprisingly uncrowded. So I don't know that it's smart to give away the secret of this little gem, but I suppose it's the right thing to do. If you live in DFW or are visiting, you should definitely check out this park.

This sign is at the entrance on Los Rios Blvd.

I was amused by this encouraging piece of "graffiti"
on the path leading down to the lake.

If you enter the park at Los Rios Blvd., as I did, the curving paved path leads you down to a lovely little lake. There is a paved walking/biking path that leads around the lake. According to the map at the beginning of the trail, the loop covers .88 miles.

You can branch off from the lake loop to follow the paved path that leads around the equestrian field. That's right, in addition to hiking/biking/roller skating, you can ride a horse there, if you're so inclined. There are also several "off road" (read: unpaved) trails, including one that leads across an open meadow. The trees below mark the start of that trail.

I think these were pretty much the only trees
at the park that weren't in bloom.

I chose instead to follow an unpaved trail that followed Rowlett Creek. I was given several opportunities to deviate from the Rowlett Creek Trail, but chose to stick with it, since I fully intend to go back to the park at another date & can explore more of the trails then.

Rowlett Creek

More Rowlett Creek

While I'd seen a handful of people on the paved paths, during my trip along the Rowlett Creek Trail I came across only two other people (a couple). It was both very beautiful and very peaceful.

I was bemused to find a rope swing (pictured above), as I doubt the creek ever runs deep enough to allow for safe jumping.

Here's a shot of the creek by the rope swing.
See, not deep enough for jumping.

I tried to get close enough to the creek to touch at the spot pictured above, but the rocks were too slippery. Oh well.

Apparently, I didn't do a very good job of reading the map at the park entrance because the Rowlett Creek Trail eventually dumped me out onto Jupiter Road, about a mile from the park entrance. I could have gone back the way I came, but it seemed longer, so I walked back along the road (which had sidewalk most of the way). I didn't mind, though, and actually returned to the park to complete the path around the lake before going home.

I can't say enough good things about this park. It was a great way to spend a fantastic morning.

Bookworm Bash 2012

Yesterday I went with a friend to Addison's Bookworm Bash, a two-day book sale. The proceeds benefitted Senior Adult Services, a non-profit that assists senior citizens and those who work in the caregiving field.

I was a little concerned because we were hitting the sale on the second day. I thought the pickings might be slim. Luckily, the sale was very well run. The tables were fully stocked with books and other media of all subjects. They were also well-organized, so it was easy to find the section you were looking for and browse for books to your personal taste.

We had a great time. My friend came away with two full bags. Afterward, we explored the quiet little corner of Addison (around Circle Park) where the sale was held. It's a really nice area that reminded me a lot of the Pearl District in Portland. This sale seems to occur every year in Addison. I'm already looking forward to next year's sale!

Below are pictures of the five books I bought for just $6.00:

This is urban fantasy. Could be fun. Could suck.

I liked the movie of This Boy's Life.

Reminds me of Mad Men. Should be good.

Non-fiction from my favorite time period of history. Sold.

See caption for The Lost City of Z.

South Padre Island

I recently took a trip to South Padre Island. For those of you not in the know, South Padre is a tiny island at the very tip of southern Texas, in the Gulf of Mexico. It’s narrow but long, tropical and balmy, a popular destination for family vacations throughout much of the year and for college students during Spring Break.

Gulf of Mexico

I took a handful of pictures on the trip, although not enough to bother posting them for friends to see on FB. So I thought I’d post a few of them here.

Laguna Madre Bay

I had intended to take more but I found that South Padre isn’t exactly picturesque. That isn’t to say that I didn’t have a good time, because I did. I just don’t think it’s especially pretty there. The island is highly developed, full of hotels and condos and restaurants and tacky souvenir shops. It’s also full of people. Perhaps I was spoiled by Maui; I was expecting less concrete, more jungle.

Laguna Madre Bay, looking back at the island

At any rate, the trip was fun, very laid back and relaxing. I went to the beach every day for long walks in the surf. It might have been romantic if I hadn’t been alone, haha. Fortunately, I found it conducive to overcoming writer’s block. I had a lot of great ideas walking along the South Padre beaches. I have to wonder if I might have taken better advantage of Maui when I lived there, if I’d only known that the beach had magical writer-enhancing properties.

Texas sunflowers

So I hope you enjoy these pics. And if you get the chance, take a nice long walk today. You might just come up with the next great American novel while you’re at it.

Out and About: Zilker Park

Zilker Metropolitan Park

2100 Barton Springs Road

Zilker Park is often billed as Austin's most popular park and I can see why. It's totally awesome! We've been there twice now and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves each time. At 351 acres, there is quite a lot of park to explore.

The first time we went, the first weekend after our first full week here, we visited the Botanical Garden, which boasts a host of smaller gardens such as: the prehistoric garden, the rose garden, the Oriental garden, and much more! The Oriental garden in particular was gorgeous. Here's a picture:

We happened to be there on a gorgeous day and there was just something very magical about the botanical gardens. I'm sure we'll definitely be back. Hopefully we get to see the roses in bloom next time!

More recently, we went to the off-leash dog area near Rock Island to let our dog run around for a bit. Later, we put him back on the leash and took a stroll down part of the walking path that runs along Barton Springs and Lady Bird Lake. It was another gorgeous day. Here's a picture of downtown Austin as viewed from across Lady Bird Lake:

The one and only bad thing I have to say about this particular day is that the trail was VERY crowded. But I suppose that's to be expected at Austin's most popular park!

There's still a lot of Zilker Park that we haven't seen: the Austin Science & Nature Center, the Dino Pit, and the Umlauf Sculpture Garden, just to name a few. Nor have we completed the walk along the springs/river. And then there's the canoe rentals!

Needless to say, we'll be returning to Zilker Park again and again.

Out and About: Blanton Art Museum

Blanton Art Museum at the University of Texas

200 E MLK Blvd, Austin

Much to my delight, Blanton Museum of Art is FREE every Thursday. Come on, how awesome is that? In my experience, most museums have a free day once a month or so, but once a week? Very cool. Additionally, if you park in the garage across Brazos street and take your ticket inside to get validated, you pay only $3 for parking.

A lovely afternoon spent at the art museum for only $3? Sign me up! (As an aside, on the third Thurs. of every month, they extend their hours, so if you are a regular 9-5 working stiff, you still have the opportunity to take advantage of their free day.)

When the husband and I went last Thursday, the whole second floor was open for our enjoyment. The museum has a contemporary/modern wing and a classical wing. I must admit that neither of us are big fans of modern art. We're both of the opinion that if it looks like a 3-year-old did it, it's not really art.

However, I was very pleasantly surprised by their modern art section. While there was some of the type of art mentioned above, there was far more modern stuff that was actually very interesting. I particularly enjoyed a large, mixed-media piece that represented a small portion of the galaxy. There was also a phenomenal piece from an African artist made up of small strips of flattened beer cans. It was like a gigantic metal wave on the wall. Cool stuff.

I was sadly a touch disappointed by the classical wing. This was probably largely due to personal preference, though. Much of the art in the classical wing was portraiture from the 18th & 19th centuries, in particular with Christian religious themes. There's only so much of that I can look at without getting a trifle bored. I prefer landscapes and still-lifes.

This wing did also include several rooms of wonderful ink drawings, however. I was also delighted by a small section of Greek pottery. And I think my favorite display may have been the one of Greek coins that depicted each of their famous leaders.

Overall, we had a fantastic time. I could definitely see myself going back several times a year. I highly recommend it!

Out and About: Spider House

In a new city. I thought it might be fun to post some reflections on all the cool new places I'm checking out.

Last night I went out to a YA event hosted at my local UU church. After the event, a few of us went out for a drink at:

Spider House Patio Bar & Cafe

2908 Fruth Street

I really liked Spider House a lot. You can get a stiff drink there, in addition to coffee. They also have food (I noticed some vegan options). There is both indoor and outdoor seating. I enjoyed the overhead music - good beat, and not so loud that you couldn't talk to your table mates. The staff was very friendly and attentive.

I had their Coco Mocha, which was seriously delicious. I didn't ask if my table mates enjoyed their drinks, but I didn't see any full cups or glasses at the end of the night. The crowd was low key; most looked to be in their 20s or 30s. We stayed for 2 hours, had a fun conversation. All in all, it was a good night.

I highly recommend Spider House!