Thursday Tidbits

Posted on November 12, 2015 under Thursday Tidbits with 3 comments

The Grassy Knoll – Dealey Plaza Dallas, Texas

Peter MacDonald Photo

I hardly know where to start.

A long road trip is so interesting with all the twists and turns in the road…literally and figuratively. You need to go with the attitude to expect the unexpected. This latest sojourn with my son, Peter has provided this and much more.

After a week of sun and sand in Florida, we have been wending our way to Victoria through the United States. I have been keeping copious notes of all three of our trips and could easily recommend routes, hotels and especially great places to eat. We have had some fantastic authentic meals including Cajun, Mexican and Texan BBQ.

It is also neat passing place names that were popularized in songs. We had lunch the other day in Tucumcari, New Mexico. If you were ( are ) a fan of the band “Little Feat” you will instantly recognize this as a place name in the song “Willin’” And of course, many of you weighed in on Facebook the other day when I posted the name of Winslow, Arizona. We were going to stop and take a picture “ standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona” but there was only one exit and were by it before we could blink.

So, here I sit in the lobby of the Maswick Lodge at the Grand Canyon tapping out these words at 4:45 a.m. on Wednesday. The triple time zone change plus the clocks going back last weekend, have me on the move at 4:00 every morning. Not sure my traveling companion is amused when I’m clunking around getting dressed and getting out the door to give him a few hours of extra sleep.

There is little doubt that the highlights of the trip will be the stop in Dallas and our visit to the Grand Canyon.

We arrived in Dallas on Sunday evening. The Cowboys were playing football in Dallas that evening which was a godsend as the traffic was almost non existent coming into the city. My plan was to get up early Monday morning and go to Dealey Plaza to see where JFK was killed, do a tour and then hit the road. We had a late dinner Sunday evening and took a cab ( Uber. Now that was an experience! ) to the site of the assassination. Although it was dark, the area was well lit and Peter snapped a very interesting picture of me standing on the exact spot on the road where the president was killed. Also in the frame are the “grassy knoll” and the Texas School Book Depository. The experience was surreal and I have written a major piece that I will be publishing in the days to come.

The Grand Canyon. If it’s not one of the “seven wonders of the modern world” it should be. But before you can see it, you have to get there. We ran into a rather serious snow squall about an hour away from the Canyon which nearly spoiled our day. I have detailed this entire adventure in a story called “A Grand Illusion” which will be published soon.

Most interesting sign on the trip so far? Just outside Amarillo, Texas we stopped at one of the many rest stops along the way. Exiting the car we noticed several signs warning us of rattlesnakes. We didn’t linger very long!

If all goes as planned, we’ll arrive in Victoria late on Friday.

Have a great day.

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