Doin' it in Dallas

Before I get started on this week's blog, I wanted to share this picture. Remember last week I joked about having to "park our horse". Well, this shot was taken as we turned off a main thoroughfare in downtown Arlington.

Our week in Dallas had a definite sports theme to it. It was here that we kicked off our NHL journey. (We hope to see a game at every NHL arena). The Stars welcomed the Ducks into their home and then soundly kicked their Duck butts, winning 3-1.

Next it was on to Arlington and a visit to the Legends of the Game Baseball Museum, which includes artifacts on loan from Cooperstown, and a tour of the home of the Texas Rangers, Ameriquest Field. The tour included a visit to the locker room,

and a chance to sit on the home bench.

Of course, no sports trip to Dallas is complete without checking out the Dallas Cowboys. Tried to get tickets to their home game - HA! They're sold out through the 2008 season. Did get a picture of their new stadium. Projected building cost is now up to $1.2 Billion, yep billions not millions

And of course, we still managed to squeeze in another round of golf. This shot is of the 10th hole at the Chester W. Ditto course in Arlington.

We found an off-lease park for the pups about a five minute drive from our campsite. Not quite like the one at home that wanders around an open field and through a treed area.

This park is wide open and has an entrance that resembles getting into jail, complete with a locked area that the dogs must pass through before getting unleashed, and designated areas for small and large dogs. Well worth all the effort once inside, though as there are always other dogs to run with.

The week was not totally dedicated to sports. We took in a little history with a tour of the Sixth Floor Museum, located in the former Texas School Book Depository. For those non-history buffs, this is the site where Lee Harvey Oswald fired his rifle and assassinated President Kennedy. The exhibit is quite educational and details the life, death and legacy of the 35th President of the United States. A must see when you visit this city! Unfortunately, no pictures are permitted inside the museum.

We also took a little side trip to the town of Grapevine. The town has restored 75 buildings to turn of the 20th century condition. All along Main Street are signs of the old West.

We ended our week by taking in a show at Johnnie High's Country Music Revue on Saturday night. The show has been voted best live country music show for the past four years and features a cast of 20 singers and musicians.

Living it up in Fort Worth

Welcome to Cow Town, USA. There's no doubt in my mind that Fort Worth is worthy of this distinction. All it takes is a trip to the famous Fort Worth Stock Yards!

But first you have to park your "horse"! No advanced technology here. Instead you just fold your money until it fits through a hole about as thick as a US quarter and then you stuff it in, using your keys to make sure it goes in all the way.

First, we took in the sights at the Cowboy Hall of Fame. A little bit of a bust from our perspective as we are not knowledgeable about the rodeo, which was the primary focus of this museum. That being said there were some excellent replicas of the various horse-drawn wagons and carriages used over the years, including a stage coach and a hearse.

Of course, there's nothing like seeing the real thing, and Fort Worth aims to please. So outside we went to witness a live cattle drive complete with trail boss and the famous Texas long-horned steers

We're told no trip to Fort Worth is complete without a trip to Billy Bob's Honky Tonk, the largest honky tonk in Texas, if not the world. Being the good troopers that we are it was off to see for ourselves on Friday night.

And man, is this place big! Sits about 6000+, has a restaurant, dance floor, concert stage, casino, billiards, about eleven "watering holes". Everyone from Willie Nelson to Styx have performed here at one time or another. Music plays continuously so there's always someone on the dance floor. Tracy, you would love it here!

and.....

Yep - a live bull riding arena! Now I realize the pictures are a little dark, but th young man riding the bull below is just 14 years old and he hung on for six seconds! Guess he's going to have quite the future as a rodeo star.

Of course, no week is complete without a round of golf. This week we tried a local municipal course called Lake Arlington. A nice venue with lots of trees and some water and no sand - you got to like that!

We're staying at the Treetops RV Park in Arlington. It's quite nice. Has a swimming pool and air conditioned laundry, which is really nice given that the daytime temperatures are in the high 70s to low 80s. There's a fair number of trees to provide shade but no good area to walk the pups.

The view from the patio ......

and checking e-mail

Going to Oklahoma!

Anticipation ran high during the days preceding our departure! We filled in the time by cleaning the RV, inside

and out

and making minor modifications, sometimes in the smallest of spaces

When all the work was done, we got to relax one more time

before we handed the controls of home base to Will

and we were off

At the end of Day 1, we did what every full-time RVer dreams of doing

No power, no water, no COST!

Our journey south continued on Day 2 as we headed for Missouri. The pups have adjusted well to the traveling, Benji could care less

while Zoe stands guard

Day 3 saw us reach our first designated stop - Oklahoma City! And for the first time since we left home, we found temperatures in the mid to high 70s. Saturday was hot, sunny and extremely windy. In fact, too windy to golf so off we went for a tour of Oklahoma City. In the late 1990s, Oklahoma City dug up one of its streets (California Ave) and replaced it with a manmade canal

The ride was a very pleasant way to spend an hour and provided some insight into the history of Oklahoma City. Along the banks of the canal, bronze statues have been erected commemorating the “Oklahoma Land Run” of 1889. When completed, this monument will stretch longer than a football field.

Following the canal ride, we walked through Bricktown (their version of The Forks). Didn't realize Mickey Mantle and Toby Keith were famous Oklahomans. Finally we ended up at the Oklahoma City National Memorial, a tribute to those who were killed, those who survived and those who were forever changed by the bombing of Apr 1995. Each chair in the photo represents a person who was killed.

On the way back to Bricktown for supper we watched some kids cooling off, Oklahoma style

And then it was on to Toby Keith’s “I Love this Bar and Grill” for supper.

We were told Toby sometimes shows up unannounced as this is his favorite watering hole and he lives in nearby Norman. But no such luck on our part. Instead we had to settle for a fantastic meal and a seat on one of his “tailgate” benches

Sunday was warm and sunny and not quite so windy so we took advantage and visited Tinker AFB for a round of golf. Tomorrow it's off to Dallas-Fort Worth! See you next week.