Day Adventure: Dallas

After crashing in Colorado City, Texas last night, we woke early to finish the drive out to Dallas so that we could enjoy the city before the Ranger’s game that night.  We pulled into town a little after noon, and headed straight for some good ol’ Texan BBQ at Mike Anderson’s BBQ.  Everyone got the brisket sandwich, which was delicious.  The meat was nice and tender and the portions were great.  The BBQ sauce also had a great sweet flavor, which went well on the sandwich.  While the sandwich was delicious, my favorite parts of the meal were the sides.  When you order, you get to choose two sides to accompany your sandwich.  You spoon them onto your plate as you head down the buffet line.  The two best were the garlic and cheddar potatoes and the corn bake.  The mashed potatoes were smooth and balanced, but the cheesy corn bake was definitely where it was at.  It was basically corn bread with a cheese topping, jalapeños, and some other spices.  Needless to say, it was tasty.  And to top the meal off, we got free soft serve at the end.

We left our mark at Mike's

            Once we finished our meal, we went to Dealey Plaza to see where JFK was assassinated.  No more than 90 seconds after we reach the square, a man approaches us and offers to give us a tour of Dealey Plaza.  He looks very reminiscent of a person you could stumble upon in Berkeley, and only in Berkeley.  But in reality he was just your standard local who waits to solicit tours of popular attractions to tourists for tips.  Initially, I was very hesitant to accept.  Being, from Berkeley, we’re all used to telling people, “no thank you”.  However, this gentleman, who went by Sherman, lured us in and we just couldn’t refuse to accept.  Once he knew we were in, he started shouting off tons of facts about both himself and the day JFK was assassinated.  Knowing a decent amount of history about the assassination, I can say that he was knowledgeable on the subject, and could have created at least a two-hour documentary for the History Channel.  Sure some facts were stretches, but we could easily identify them and we would just continue on with the tour.  He brought us to all the hotspots: the grassy knoll, the locations in the street where the bullets entered JFK (both were marked by an “X”), and the book depository.  Needless to say, he told it how he saw it, and that was full of conspiracies.  It wasn’t the most traditional story telling of November 22, 1963, but it sure was full of passion.  It was fun to hear a local tell the tale, the stories behind the conspiracies, and his own take on the day.  It seemed only fitting that we received a tour in an unconventional manner, provided that the JFK assassination is still enshrined in mystery to many people.  At the end of the tour, we tossed him a couple bucks and took some photos of the square.

The Man Himself

     After the tour with Sherman, we headed to the Dallas Arboretum for the rest of the time before the game.  We only had an hour before closing, and we contemplated turning back after seeing the $15 dollar price of admission, but the very nice attendant gave us a discount since we were from out of town.  The discount was enough to convince us to enter, and we were in.  There were tons of really cool gardens spread around a lake and we made the most of our hour.  Taking in as much as we could, given the size of the arboretum.  All in all, a great preface to the ballgame later that night.