Posted on 02/01/2013 2:42:49 PM PST by morphing libertarian
After a year of medical problems and working too many hours, taking short vacation. Dallas and San Antonio. Soliciting freeper tips and hot spots for senior tourist who can still walk.
Thanx new and interesting for me
Flying to Dallas. Will hit dealey plaza and head south
Stents replacements after ten years
Best wishes
Thank
Will ping back as many as I can
For myself, being raised in the State, I've always been at least part Texan, even as I've spent my entire adult life out West (that's beyond Ft.Worth, for those in Rio Linda, and in the know enough to figure it out 8^)) Family going back a few generations, them most all being born in this State, other than my own father being born in Salinas. His own mother and father Texas born (Bowie area) as was both my older sister (in Dallas) and younger brother. Mother's family from Celina.
The stadium is quite a sight. The Ranger's ballpark is pretty fancy, too. It was built long after I'd left, years ago now. Last Ranger game I watched in person was in the old "Turnpike Stadium"(?) which had been at first a triple-A park, hosting the Dallas-Ft.Worth Spurs (Turnpike Spurs)which was a farm team for the White Sox, I think.
I remember back when Arlington was attractive as a bedroom community due to it's low residential tax rates. Or so it was told to me to be so, when I was just a tadpole.
That mayor I mentioned was instrumental in having a railroad spur developed along what is now 360, and bringing in Six Flags...then later, the Rangers, too(?). Anyway, it was explained to me the commercial tax base was broad in the early 60's. The town grew fast, then just kept on growing. After a while, there were so many new schools, fire stations to take care of, roads to maintain (lots of steets in this town are not in good shape) that relatives who stayed, told me in the late `1980's, through the 90's the City was about broke, all but bankrupt. I have no idea the fiscal condition today, but it seems to be functioning, for the most part.
The Crash at Crush.
In 1896 two trains were crashed together by the Katy Railroad in a publicity stunt. Location is between Waco and West. All that remains is a Historical Marker sign on the east side of I-35. Still an interesting story.
http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/llc01
And a little Texas music:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=333d34NoN28
I’m down with the music thanx
Hubby is in San Antonio a couple of times a year and he always stops in at Casa Rio. He says it is good food and nice atmosphere.
John T. Floore’s Country Store, where Willie Nelson used to play when he was starting. It has an air of authenticity to it.They serve lunch there most days I think. You can look it up on line. The history of it is interesting and it is mentioned in Texas songs. When Downtown San Antonio. be sure to go to the hotel bar where T.R. and the rough riders used to hang out. (The name of it escapes me at the moment).
Thanx
Thanx. This thread is better than any travel agent
Yes it is. I am a recent transplant to Texas and have been wanting to see some of Tx that I have not been to. I made notes of 13 mentions on this thread that are of interest to my wife and I, and will use it to plan our next get-a-way.
Thanx
Can we call you Tex, yet?
I’ve got a few and don’t know how much I can do in shirt time.
Food is a priority of course.
An evening at the Grist Mill in New Braunfels (Gruene) is also great fun. Plan on an intimate dinner with just a few thousand others and drop by the oldest dance hall in Texas. Remember, "y'all" is singular, "y'alls" is plural.
nortex: I like ya, but you’ve got some very odd ideas about how Downtown Dallas is these days. You thought there was going to be massive rioting there when the Mavs won the NBA championship and there just wasn’t - as I’d predicted.
As someone who is out in downtown after dark on a regular basis for work and social reasons, I can tell you that the idea that the place getting overrun with goons is quite outdated. True, the more southerly parts of downtown aren’t as safe as they could be but there has been a wave of gentrification and HUUUGE enforcement efforts from Dallas PD that have overtaken the area in the last decade-plus. You can now travel from the West End to Deep Ellum as safely as in Fort Worth or most other well-policed American cities. Dallas has been making enormous strides on making downtown a cultural and residential center as it is in Fort Worth - CCW has had a large role to play in that. Redevelopment of old buildings into residences and retail businesses is the order of the day there. No huge mobs of thugs, illegals, etc., in downtown anymore. Homeless is still a problem, but that’s the case in most cities.
However - as things go, most of the attractions in Dallas for the older set only operate during the day. Younger persons like myself are what the nighttime attractions cater to - nightclubs, bars, concert venues, what used to be called discotheques. I would suggest visiting downtown Dallas during the day - not because of safety issues any more, but simply because you probably wouldn’t be interested in anything that goes on there after dark.
Oh yeah and plenty of Czech stuff over East of SA.
Czestochowa is the oldest Polish settlement in the US. I think the Pope John stopped in to visit there on his trip to SA.
All that remains of the small town is the beautiful church and directly across the street a tin shed dance hall with a springy floor built specially for Polish dancing and polkas.
So many things to see in Texas; so little time.
What sorts of things were you looking to do in Dallas, anyway?
The best burgers in Dallas (and perhaps the whole state) are made at Del’s Charcoal Burgers in Richardson (a suburb). Place is straight out of the 1960s - small shop, guns on the walls, still has the Formica counter and menu from the 60s. Even more unusual, they have a perfect health department score. Video at site: http://www.delsburgers.com/
The world’s only flying B-29 bomber lives in Addison at the Cavanaugh Flight Museum. If you go there and ask nicely, sometimes they will let you look at it and crawl around inside it. They also have warbird rides when the weather is good, must be scheduled in advance: http://www.cavanaughflightmuseum.com/index.php/navwbflights/navrides
Plenty of stuff downtown to see aside from Dealy Plaza - the Old Red Courthouse, Old City Park, Reunion Tower (which has a rotating restaurant on top), half the buildings used in the Robocop movie...
Spktyr:
Indeed, I think you're right and have nailed it just as you were correct on the lack of rioting when the Mavericks claimed the NBA crown, which I thought was inevitable.
It's likely a generational difference to a large extent. Younger people, such as yourself, are more agile -- and dare I use this word, in its best sense -- tolerant of we older folks see as bizarre. Our agreements are probably in the range of the 90th+ percentile but I know we veer off into quite different paths when it comes to things like music. And you'd probably be comfortable in a club setting, with its modern music and "adult beverages" whereas I wouldn't as a non-drinker with tastes along the lines of the Happy Goodman Family and the Gaithers. I guess it really boils down to the old saw, "if it's too loud, you're too old..." :-)
Thanks for the response and for a reality check from the younger side. Plus, if you had to deal with a thug, you'd plug 'em in no time, while I'd still be fumbling with the gun and getting my glasses adjusted to even see the miscreant!
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