Saturday Trip to Dallas Downtown

By Wayne and Jason

- Left West Irving station at 12:09 pm (Eastbound to Union Station)

-Short walk from Station to site of JFK shooting passing old Dallas courthouse.

- No need to pay $10 to experience the JFK memorial. Go on a Saturday to be entertained by conspiracy theorists on the streets. They want to sell you their magazines or newspapers, but if you have patience, you can learn a lot through just listening to their well-rehearsed speeches. Visit the bookstore at the back of the museum. Great photos and informative books plus a short video to view.

- A live web cam is in the southeast window on the sixth floor of the former Texas School Book Depository in Dallas, where an assassin is alleged to have fired the shots that killed President John F. Kennedy. Wayne called parents in South Africa for them to view live shots > http://www.earthcam.com/jfk/

- Walked to Reunion Tower through Union Station. $2 up to observation floor – see 360 degree few of Dallas.

- Walked around Hyatt Hotel (Connected to Reunion Tower)

- 2:22 pm train back to West Irving Station

Top 10 Cities

1. Florence
2. Rome
3. Bangkok
4. Sydney
5. Chiang Mai, Thailand
6. Cape Town
7. Buenos Aires
8. New York
9. Beirut
10. San Francisco

Source: www.travelandleisure.com

Weather.com: Top 10 Wine Regions

1. Andalucia - Spain
2. Cape Winelands – South Africa
3. California
4. Hunter Valley - Australia
5. Loire Valley – France
6. Mendoza – Agentina
7. Niagara – Canada
8. Oregon
9. Porto – Portugal
10. Tuscany - Italy

Weather.com: Scenic Drives in the U.S.

1. Blue Ridge Parkway - Appalachian Mountains
2. Hana Highway - Hawaii
3. Highway 1 - California
4. Highway 12 - Southern Utah
5. Going-to-the-Sun Road - Montana
6. Million Dollar Highway - Western Colorado
7. Red Rock Scenic Byway - Sedona
8. Seward Highway - Alaska
9. Sonoma/Napa Valleys - California
10. US Route 1 – New England

Weather.com: Top 10 Summer Destinations

1. Capri
2. The Hamptons
3. Greek Islands
4. London
5. Montreal
6. National Parks
7. New England
8. Russia
9. Scandinavia
10. Upper Peninsula, Michigan

Day Trip to Fort Worth, Texas

I’ve been in Dallas for 7 years but have never taken the TRE to downtown Fort Worth… until today.

My day looked like this…

- Parked at West Irving Station
- Purchased day pass ($4.50 for use on all DFW trains and buses)
- 10:24 AM train to Fort Worth
- Arrived at ITC station at 11 AM
- Bus 2 to Museum of Science and History (Great place for kids)
- Watched 45 minute IMAX presentation
- Planetarium presentation
- Lunch at museum (Bring packed lunch next time)
- Brisk walk through Cowgirl Museum (Recommended you have female companionship ;-)
- Bus 2 to Sundance Square
- Awesome Barnes and Nobles in Sundance Square – perused “The Travel Book” by Lonely Planet. Great book that gives a short synopsis of every country. Wonderful photos!
- Walked back to main train station (Collected train and bus schedules for my next trip)
- Arrived back in Irving at 5:20 PM

The day brought back great memories of my time in China. Public transportation became a way of life in China. You don’t have to worry about gas prices, speeding tickets, and the cost of car insurance. The American (South African) way is to always be behind the wheel of a car – to feel in control. Driving may get you there a little faster, but think of the things you can do while riding a train or bus - catch up on the Economist, read a good book, and safely flip through your list of daily podcasts.

Go public next time – I dare you!

Day 12 to end of South African trip

(NEW photos posted. To view photos… click on the flickr.com photo badge to the right. Flickr.com will open in a new browser window. On the flickr.com website, click on the “View as slideshow” link besides the two small thumbnails on the right.)
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After our wonderful week along the Garden Route, we returned to home base - East London. Activities in East London included:

- More beach trips
- More dives into the swimming pool
- Boat ride along East London coastline
- Church service at Wayne’s South African home church. Wayne was asked to speak to the congregation about his current studies, and future plans
- Dinner at the most hospitable people in the world – The Parkins – they are amazing people
- A visit to Wayne’s 99 year great-aunt
- Shopping for things to take back to Dallas. Shopping list included: healthy red bush tea, spices, deodorant (better variety in SA), biltong (dried meat), and a bottle of famous South African wine
- Plenty of tea-times

After a few days back in East London we traveled to a scenic seaside village – Morgan’s Bay. We stayed in a double story house with a wonderful sea view. Activities included lots of braai’s (BBQ’s), beach walks, cliff climbing, and horseback riding.

We had a wonderful time in South Africa. It truly is one of the most beautiful places on earth. It was difficult for Wayne to leave home this time. He says that saying farewell is getting harder every time he leaves South Africa. He is hoping to move back to South Africa within the next few years. It was also difficult leaving sunny South Africa knowing that cold days lay ahead in Dallas.

Day 7 thru 11: Garden Route

The garden route is undoubtedly the most scenic stretch of the South African coastline (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden_Route).

Our home base was George. We stayed with good CFNI friends, Rudi and Kyla.

Day visits included: Knysna, Mossel Bay and Plettenberg Bay.

Day 6: Wayne gets electrocuted

After a wonderful church service at Glen Eden Church, we all headed to Mpongo Park Game Reserve for a lunch buffet. After lunch we walked around looking at some animals. Wayne was taking photos of a lion through a fence when all of sudden he started screaming and shaking. He mistakenly set his arm down on an electric fence. After about 3 minutes of rolling on the grass, he finally got up. Wayne now has a nice red line on his arm. He scared us for a minute, but he is OK. Its amazing how much energy he had after the shock.

Day 5 in South Africa

Mother made mushroom cheese omelette’s for breakfast.
Misty did some shopping (New bag, jewellery, shoes)
Wayne mowed the lawn in the afternoon while Misty took a nap.
Had dinner with old friends from youth group – Hayden & Sam