Last Days In Dallas, Texas

                                Saturday 5/18/2013

On our next to last day in Dallas, we decided to go to the Dallas Farmers Market that runs 7 days a week, located close to the downtown area.

The city has been trying to revitalize this area for residence who want to live downtown.

The Dallas Farmers Market is located at 1010 South Pearl Expressway. This part of the farmers market is a nursery with flowers and vegetables plants for sale.

The part of the farmers market that is inside this building, you will find hand craft foods, like oils, and vinegar, chocolates, relishes, candies, and so on. You will also find food vendors, and crafts like quilts and etc.

We headed for the vegetable stands.

You can park free in the vegetable market shed. We didn't know this, but parked outside the market on a side road , but still for  free.

All the vendors had sliced fruits on plates to sample. Joe asked why I wasn't enjoying the free samples. I told him I saw a fly on one and that did it for me!

The one sample that I did try cut  personally for me by a vendor was really juicy. Unfortunately there were no organic fruits or vegetables.

We did buy a grass fed brisket, and Joe bought some tomatoes. We left the market and headed for Whole Foods.

As we went under the mass of interstates, we saw artwork making this area feel more like a park.

A lot of the cement pylons had trees painted on them. Larger cement slabs had painted murals.

A Welcome from the Police Department!

All the paintings did make the gloomy underneath interstate area look much more inviting!

We managed to get to the farmers market and Whole Foods with no problems because I had printed off 8 pages of maps to find our way, without getting on the interstates. Ever since we have been traveling in our big rig, I hate city driving in our Honda. I feel so small, like a bug just waiting to get squashed!
 The next day we went to the Bobtown Road Baptist Church just up the road from our campground. We had met another Full time couple, Eva and Bill, who had invited us to church with them. We keep meeting other RVers who invite us to church. I think God is trying to tell us something, like " OK, you have been on vacation for 4 1/2 years now. It's time to get back to a routine of worship in the Lord's House".

George W Bush Presidential Library And Museum, Dallas, Texas - Part 2

                                     Friday 5/17/2013

As we went through the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum, I used the I-Pad we were given and took some pictures, while going back to the recording after taking them. I like all the exhibits that state what President Bush said or stood for while in office.

I bet the President got these cowboy boots at Leddy's Boots in Fort Worth.

There were movies of 911 terrorist attack that President Bush had to deal with.

This is the site where United Airline Flight 93 went down in Stonycreek Township, PA., killing 44 people including the 4 hijackers.

Some of the wreckage left from the attack.

Most people, including myself, hate war! But I agree with the Bush doctrine. If you don't confront evil it just spreads! And like 911, if you don't confront it overseas, it will come to our shores and live among us!

If we don't help others get the Blessing of Freedom that we possess, we will lose our freedom to the other side, the terrorist.

It looks like we have been doing our work of helping others get Freedom.

Only the Bush and the Adam family have had a father and son to become the president in USA history.

Bush presenting Captain Ed Freeman a Medal of Honor for his bravery in the Vietnam War. During the battle, he flew through gunfire numerous times, bringing supplies to a trapped American battalions and flying dozens of wounded soldiers to safety. I posted this exhibit, because my maiden name is Freeman, and wondered if Captain Freeman was somehow related to me.

Joe still trying to be the President, posing in the Oval Office.

First Lady Laura Bush and their two Scottish Terriers, Barney and Bernard.

President And Mrs. Bush Have Taken Unprecedented Action In The Fight Against Global HIV/AIDS, With PEPFAR Supporting Lifesaving Antiretroviral Treatment For More Than 2.1 Million People
You can see from the map that Africa has the biggest population of AIDS patients.

I wanted to go to the Bush Library and Museum because even though I have voted since  I became of age to vote, the election of George W. Bush had become very important to me. He is the first candidate that I spent the time to read a book about his life before I voted. It was the first election that I was passionate about what he stood for. His election was a turning point in my life, from voting because it was my right to voting because I felt very strongly about current issues. To me President Bush was one of the greatest Presidents America has ever had!

President Bush helping the war amputee veteran, Major Daniel Gade up a hill on his bicycle at the 2012 Warrior 100.

To me, President Bush was and still is exceptional.

While waiting at the bus stop, I took a picture of our tickets with the museum in the foreground. If you like museums, and are in Dallas, this museum is a good place to visit. There is so much more in the museum than what I showed. I just pictured a very small portion, that I felt were important aspects of our 43rd President.

We took the short 10 minute ride back across the Interstate to the train station area. Before catching the train, we went back down to the Mockingbird shopping area. I was very thirsty, so we went to Starbucks for something refreshing. There are many neat shops in this area and I would have liked to check out a few, but it was getting late and I knew Joe was ready to get back home for "Miller Time"!

After getting an ice green tea, we took the elevator down to the train station, and waited for our ride home.

Our wait for the Blue line was very short. There are several lines that run throughout the Fort Worth and Dallas area. If you want to take the train to Fort Worth, it cost another $5 for each person, but it is still well worth the price.

As we drove through Rowlett on our way home, we made a stop at the Mckenna Place.

This is a view from the backside of the place from the parking lot.

We had drove pass this place a couple of times, and wondered what it was.

Check out the dragon on the roof of this place.

I found a sign that said it was a graphic design company. It was after 5PM, so the business was closed.

George W Bush Presidential Library And Museum, Dallas, Texas - Part 1

                                Friday 5/17/2013

On this day we drove our Honda northeast to the suburb of Rowlett. In this picture, we were crossing Lake Ray Hubbard to get to Rowlett. In the distance we could see I-30 that dissects Lake Ray Hubbard. 

Rowlett has a population of 56,199, and gained international notoriety in 1996 when a local resident Darlie Routier was convicted of murdering her two children while they slept. She is currently on death row waiting execution by lethal injection.

We had driven to Rowlett a few days prior to find out how long it would take us to drive there and to figure out the procedure of purchasing tickets to take the train (Darts system) into Dallas.

The drive to the train took only about 10 minutes. The Rowlett station is at the end of the line for that route. After missing the train by one minute, we sat on the bench to wait for the next one. Luckily the next train arrived 5 minutes later, and left the station, 5 minutes after that. Parking at the station is free. As we went along the route, we picked more riders.

We got off at the Mockingbird Station which took about 25 minutes on the train. We took an elevator from the station up to the street wondering where we would catch the bus to our next destination. This station is in the Highland and University Park area. I heard a women on the elevator tell another person that she was a professor, so I figured she would know where to catch the bus.  I quickly asked her where we would find the bus to the George W Bush Presidential Library and Museum. She gave us the needed information and I then asked her where we could find some lunch.

As we wondered in the direction that the professor guided us, we found the Mockingbird Taproom.

We walked into the restaurant and checked out the menu, before decided to eat there.

I ordered a chicken and a brisket taco and Joe ordered two brisket taco's. They were delicious! For dessert we ordered the bacon donuts holes with ice cream. Yum!

Joe noticed this sign on the wall as we ate.

Another sign in the Taproom.

After lunch we walked up the stairs and over to the bus stop and caught bus route # 743 to the library.

The George W Bush Library opened just about 2 weeks prior to our visit, so it was very busy with visitors that day.

The internet and visitor center told us that advance tickets were needed, so we had purchase tickets for a 2:30 PM visit at $16 a person.

The parking at the museum charges $7. Our fare to ride the train and bus to the museum was $10 for both of us, and it was much more relaxing. The $3 extra dollars was well worth it!

We didn't know it, but there was a cafe at the museum named Cafe 43. I am sure it would have been much more expensive than the $6 a piece for our taco's plus our dessert that we paid for at the Taproom.

As you enter the library/museum, you see a wall with the names of million dollar or more contributors.

We saw Gerald J Ford Family Foundation was one of those contributors.

You must go through security, just like if you were boarding a plane. After security, you come to a large auditorium that has a large desk to buy tickets (yes, you can buy tickets at the museum) and to get the free I-Pads that has 90 minutes of  recordings to listen to as you go through the museum. On the outer edges of the auditorium there are windows of gifts given to President Bush and the First Lady, and the American People from different countries.

This Sapphire and diamond jewelry set was presented to Mrs. Laura Bush by King Addullah of Saudi Arabia.

As we began to go into the library/museum., I took a picture of the auditorium ceiling. The four walls just below the ceiling turns into a movie of pictures of our Great America.
To be continued: