A Glimpse of the Lone Star State

Picture Taken by Jen at Texas Info Center 10-30-09

Texas was quite the journey.  It took us a little over an hour and a half to get out of OKC due to the traffic that was backed up.  Once we got by Norman though it was smooth sailing into Texas.  We decided to stop at the first rest area/information center in order to get our traditional picture when entering a new state.  The Texas sign at the actual border is right off the road with no where to really pull off the road safely so this photo will have to suffice.  It was a grueling trip going down because of the lack of light outside and the traffic so once we arrived in Waco we were exhausted.  Our friends never made it to Dallas and actually were snowed in at the Denver airport so we had to attend the game by ourselves.

The next day was game day and we headed to the stadium early so that we could have a chance at getting our extra tickets sold.  We went over to where the Nebraska group seemed to be tailgating and met a nice couple from Dallas that bought our extra two tickets.  It was nice to be able to sell them to some Nebraska fans and get our face value back for the tickets.  We continued over to the North Texas Nebraskans area for a little pre-game fun.  It was interesting to see because the mood in Lincoln the last two weeks was a far cry from the attitude all the Texas Nebraska fans had.

~North Texas Nebraskans Pre-game Party 10-31-09

They were upbeat and a lot of fun, not to mention that they donated 100 tickets to soldiers so that they could attend the game and get away from all the military stuff for a few hours.  It was a pretty awesome gesture considering it cost around $4,000 just for the tickets and they had food, drinks, t-shirts, and transportation for them as well.  After hanging around there for a bit we decided to head to the stadium.  It was way too early to head there, but I get a little excited about my team plus I don’t like to fight huge crowds rushing to their seat at the last minute.

~ Pre-game warm ups were in full swing  10-31-09

At kickoff, there were almost more Nebraska fans than there were Baylor fans.  It sort of made me actually feel sorry for Baylor a bit.  The Baylor side was probably half full and the Nebraska sections were filled with red.

~ The Nebraska side at Kickoff  10-31-09

After the game, which we won 20-10, we headed back toward Dallas for some food and a museum stop.  I really thought Jen might like to see Dealey Plaza, the Grassy Knoll, and the Texas School Book Depository.  It is a really important part of American history and the museum is really well done.  I went there when I went to San Antonio when I was a freshman in college, but really did not appreciate it as much as I did this time.  It is quite the somber place to go and visit and some of the pictures are captivating.  Probably one of the best things about the visit to the museum was the fact that we took our time and listened to the audio guide.  It was pretty amazing.  I wish you could take photos on the inside, but much like St. Mark’s in Venice, we respected their wishes not to take photos even if most other people do not.  Here are a few pictures from the outside of the building and the area around it.

~ Old Red Museum that sits across from Dealey Plaza  10-31-09

~ Texas School Book Depository from across Dealey Plaza 10-31-09

~ Dealey Plaza from Southeast corner  10-31-09

~ Grassy Knoll  10-31-09

~ The X marks the spot of the fatal shot to JFK  10-31-09

After touring the museum as well as the outside we went to Hard Rock Cafe and had a very nice dinner.  It was quite good actually.  Then we headed to the gift shop and I got my customary shot glass from each place that we visit and then we were off back to OKC.

It was a wonderful trip full of fun and education.  I realize that we only touched on Texas considering it is the second largest U.S. state, but hopefully we will be back and get to see a bit more of this huge great state.  For now though it is getting crossed off because as you can see in the map, I have only completed 3% of my goal.  Many, many more places to go…