Galveston - Dallas/Fort Worth

Tuesday as we drove out of Galveston we snapped a few pictures of these beach houses that had names

We passed this aerial lift bridge as we crossed from Galveston Island, to mainland Texas and it was moving!

We were almost to Huntsville when we passed this HUGE statue of Sam Houston on the side of the freeway

Thursday we went to the George W. Bush Presidential Center.  All the other presidential libraries in Texas are closed, as they are run by the National Archives.  I'm wondering if this museum was still open (the library part was closed) because it is part of the Southern Methodist University campus?

Did you know Laura Bush was a librarian and teacher?

They had out a nice selection of books

S couldn't resist sitting next to the cat (statue) to read!

One of the first galleries you enter after the introductory movie is about 9/11

Steel from the World Trade Center rubble

The TV screens behind the steel, 6 screens, had a brief video clip/timeline of each flight that crashed and when the two towers came down

It was interesting to come to this museum because 1) this is the first one we've visited of a living president, 2) I have memories of his time in office, 3) some big things happened from the very beginning including the Florida recount, 9/11, and Hurricane Katrina

There was a replica of what the Oval Office looked like when Bush was in office

A presidential seal is on the ceiling!

The displays on Hurricane Katrina were really well done

Here's a list of all the libraries/museums, if you ever want to start marking them off your bucket list

Friday we went to find an ancestor in a family cemetery.

Then we went to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. There is one in D.C., this one was built in the early 1990s and they print money there 24/7/365! No cameras allowed, it's REALLY strict, so this was the photo we got!

We went to the Fort Worth stockyards next.  It's mostly a tourist area, restaurants, hotels, museums, etc. now.  The atmosphere was quite electric, there's lots of amazing old architecture and saddled up animals everywhere. You could pay for wagon rides or for just $5, you could sit on a saddled up Texas longhorn and get a photo!

Fort Worth takes its "Cowtown" history seriously!

Twice a day, they have a cattle drive down the main street

This is the street they drive the cattle down right under that sign

There were also these "Trail of Fame" stars along the sidewalks

We then headed into downtown Fort Worth to the Water Gardens

Can you see the rainbow???

There is water running down the sides of this water garden and it is below street level, surrounded by trees, it's really rather quiet in spite of being in the middle of downtown

This pool is HUGE, loud, and kinda gives you vertigo as you walk down into it

A general photo of the pool, looking down from the top. There is some serious waterfall noise.  You walk down the steps, water rushing past/under the steps, it gives you the sense that you're not on steady, solid ground!

This is what it looks like, size-wise when people are down there. That's two adults on the right, S and J on the left

Saturday we all went to the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza in Dallas. This was the Texas School Book Depository, the building that the shots were fired from on JFK's motorcade

This was the corner window the gun aimed from, set up similar to how law enforcement found it on November 23, 1963

You could look out the windows next to the book boxes to see the route the motorcade took and the viewpoint of the shooter

The intersection on the top left, past the fountain, is where the motorcade turned down Houston Street to drive towards the building.  The motorcade then turned left past the fountain and proceeded down Elm Street.  Elm Street is actually marked with X's in three spots where they can best ascertain that the car was when the different shots were fired

SO many interesting exhibits in the museum, one of which was that Zapruder (who filmed the famous footage that you've probably seen) was not the only photographer on the scene! There were over a dozen people that took photos that, combined with the film, helped law enforcement put together what had happened

The most striking thing in the museum was the footage of the funeral proceedings. I had seen photos of JFK Jr. saluting his father's coffin as it went past in the funeral cortege, but to see actual footage of Jacqueline Kennedy during the viewing and funeral was just heartbreaking.  She was composed, but you could just see the stark grief all over her face.

We went outside after, to see a plaque and also walk up on the infamous Grassy Knoll

And to get a better look at the building.  The 2nd floor from the top, the window on the far right was the window that was shot from

Before we left downtown Dallas, we drove past the John F. Kennedy Memorial Plaza where there was a cenotaph art piece that was meant to symbolize an "open tomb".

Afterwards, we went and found the Chinatown in Richardson, Texas for a yummy lunch except S was NOT having it and only ended up eating the fortune cookie at the end of the meal

Today we attended the Lantana Ward, Lewisville Texas Stake.

We went outside to see the lunar eclipse/blood moon and got some pretty cool photos!