Amtrak to Dallas with Kay

My friend Kay has been through a lot lately, so I asked her if she'd like to get away for a couple nights. I suggested taking Amtrak from Temple to Dallas, and she agreed. I booked a hotel just across the street from the Dallas Union Station, and made round-trip train reservations - departing on Wednesday, October 1, and returning on Friday, October 3. We hoped we could find nearby restaurants and places of interest that were in walking distance. Neither of us had ridden Amtrak before, so it was an adventure for both of us.

I knew the Amtrak Station was in the same building as the Temple Railroad and Heritage Museum, which I had visited before, but didn't know exactly where the ticket office  entrance was. So the day before our departure I drove downtown, parked my car, and started walking to the building to check things out. And that's when I tripped on a curb and fell on my face . . . yes, AGAIN. This time wasn't as traumatic as before, but I really whacked my chin. I got myself up off of the concrete and, relentlessly pushed on to find the Amtrak ticketing area before driving back home to ice my chin. The ice, by the way, didn't do the job, as my chin has turned "purpler" and "purpler" with each passing day. 

Refusing to yield to the embarrassment of a battered face, Kay and I were chauffeured to the Amtrak station the next morning by Dan. We boarded our train, which departed nearly an hour late. Our tickets were for upper level seating, which gave us a pretty nice view of the mostly farming country between Temple and Dallas. Our seats were wonderful -- roomy and comfortable. 

We were prepared for a long ride. Amtrak advertises the trip duration as 4 hours (it takes 2 hours to drive by car), but delays inevitably cause the train ride to be longer. For us, the first delay came just north of McGregor, when the engineer had to make an emergency stop so as not to hit a car-hauler truck that was stuck on the tracks. We had to sit for quite a while, until the truck could be removed and our emergency brakes re-set. We were all grateful for the engineer's skill which kept the train from hitting the truck! 

Our second delay occurred in Fort Worth, where we had to wait for another train to arrive so one of its cars could be added to the end of our train. Then we were on our way to Dallas. We arrived at Union Station sometime after 5:00. 

After we checked into our hotel and rested briefly, we walked four or five blocks to a restaurant we had found on-line, called Texas Spice. It was a great meal. Our eyes were bigger than our stomachs, though. We ordered a dessert - bread pudding - to split between us. Neither of us could finish our half, and we both knew we shouldn't have indulged in dessert. Our full stomachs made walking back to the hotel a much harder task than our walk to the restaurant.

Here's a photo Kay took of me on that walk. This was some kind of office building, and it had a number of these giant skeletons in anticipation, we supposed, for Halloween.

We were happy to be back at our hotel, the Holiday Inn Express Dallas Downtown, before sunset. We, being small-town gals in our 70s, wouldn't have been comfortable on the streets of downtown Dallas, near the train station, after dark. We were happy to play a game of Bananagram and enjoy the view out our window (photo below). The hotel itself was in a building built in 1925. The room was tiny, but very clean. There were two double beds, so was comfortable for sleeping, and the bathroom was lovely. But two of us trying to move around was a bit like playing Tetris. 

The next morning we rose early, excited to explore downtown Dallas on our only full day. We had already decided to walk the four blocks to the Texas Schoolbook Depository, where the Sixth Floor Museum chronicles the assassination and legacy of President John F. Kennedy. 

Across a large intersection from the museum, we came to Dealey Plaza, named for George B. Dealey, longtime publisher of The Dallas Morning News. In the 1930s, Dealey donated land to create the park which was opened in 1941 and named in his honor. Through the rectangular arches lies a view of the infamous triple underpass.

I've added a label for our hotel onto this photo of a downtown map, which is made of concrete and stands in Dealey Plaza.

As we passed by Dealey Plaza, a man approached us and began giving us a very informative discourse on all aspects of the Kennedy assassination. We knew it was a pitch for money, but we let him continue for 20 minutes or so. I began to feel lightheaded , so sat down on a nearby bench. (This is something I've been dealing with for some time - lightheadedness after standing still for any length of time. I believe it's from my blood pressure dropping too low. I promise to see the doctor about it, soon.) Even then our pitchman continued on. As he wound down, he offered to take our picture, using my phone, and we took him up on that. Finally, he offered to sell us a multi-page newsprint tabloid, and we felt it was a good time to hand him some money and move on. 

Standing across the street from the Plaza is the old, red brick Texas Schoolbook Depository. If you look carefully at the picture below, you will see one - only one - window that is half-way open (sixth floor on the corner). That is a chilling reminder of that day, November 22, 1963, when Lee Harvey Oswald sat behind that open window and aimed his rifle at President Kennedy's motorcade.

By the time we had crossed the street and made it to the entrance of the museum, my lightheadedness had worsened, and I was afraid that I would pass out if I didn't sit down. We sat outside the entrance, in the shade of a tree. It was about 10:00 AM, so wasn't too hot yet. We eventually went inside, where I bought a bottle of water. I insisted we go ahead and explore the museum, so we bought our tickets and rode the elevator to the sixth floor. I ended up having to find some seating, once again, while Kay took in the displays. But, after about 20 minutes I was feeling just fine, so was able to take in an abbreviated tour of the museum. 

I found this 3-D model (1/4 inch = 1 foot) of Dealey Plaza fascinating. It was used by the FBI as they drew conclusions about the shots fired that day. Some of those conclusions were later proven incorrect. The model was later provided to the Warren Commission for use in their inquiries. The cords stretching from the open window are meant to indicate bullet paths.

The amateur-photographer inside me was drawn to this display of the cameras used by the bystanders and the photos that they captured. Only one person, Abraham Zapruder, filmed the entire assassination. His camera and well-known images are shown in the second photo below.

Here is the sniper's nest, with its open window, as seen from inside. The area is enclosed in glass walls, keeping museum visitors out.

Preserved here is the place setting that was set and waiting for President Kennedy at the Dallas Trade Mart, where a luncheon was to be held after the motorcade.

The seventh floor of the museum is reserved for temporary exhibitions. What was featured while we visited was an exhibit called "A Child's Eyes: November 22, 1963." It houses original crayon illustrations from a class of first-graders in 1963, from Prescott, Arizona, showing how young children perceived the historic moment. The photos below are a few of the displays.

When Kay and I left the museum, we strolled around a bit, taking in a few other sights.

This is known as The Old Courthouse. We could see it from our hotel room and wanted to go inside, but discovered it is locked up tight and no longer in use.

This Mobil Oil Pegasus sign used to sit atop the Magnolia Building (since 1934). It was removed due to damage, and a replica was installed. This one, the original, was restored and now stands on a 22-foot oil derrick across from a restaurant where we ate dinner.

This log cabin sits near the Courthouse, commemorating the pioneers of Dallas County.

A lovely city park. We stopped here and rested a bit, watching the dancing water fountains.

The two photos above are of the John F Kennedy Memorial. It's a concrete "box" with a black granite slab in the center, bearing the president's name in gold. 

Just across from our hotel was Reunion Tower. It opened in 1978, is 561 feet tall, and is topped with a geodesic dome of aluminum struts and LED lights.

Our trip home, on Friday, was fraught with many Amtrak delays. Our Dallas departure was delayed, to begin with. Then we spent unscheduled time sitting in Fort Worth and, finally, were stalled on the tracks near McGregor, because of a leak in an air hose. That was another delay of 40 minutes or so while parts arrived and repairs were made. The problem with those emergency stops is that the air conditioning is turned off, which is miserable on a Texas mid-afternoon. The seating, though it looked the same as on our first train, did not ride the same at all - very uncomfortable. We both decided we were glad to have had an Amtrak experience, but we'd gotten it out of our system. Probably no future ones.

I'll always treasure the three days Kay and I spent together. She is such a special friend, and we had lots of time to talk, laugh, explore, eat and play games. I'll be ready for another get-away with her whenever she's up for it.