The Stars At Night

I just spent the last three weeks in Dallas. I wasn't looking forward to it at all before I went- I thought that three weeks in the same city would drive me crazy, but it was completely the opposite. I was so surprised at how much I enjoyed it. My hotel was great- it was a new "concept" hotel by W, called the Aloft. Each room was literally a loft, and they were funky and comfortable.

I had a car in Dallas, which made a world of difference. I actually felt like I had some freedom. Usually I only go places I can walk to on tour. But in Dallas, I was able to go out and check out different areas of the city. There is an area called Deep Ellum that was pretty cool- dive bars and hipsters. I bought a GPS when I got there, and by the end of the run, I rarely needed it anymore. Let me tell you- I knew exactly how to get to the mall and Target. And I think I went to them about ten times. Yet, I'm still not done Christmas shopping. How is that possible?

I didn't do too many touristy (is that a word?) things while there, but I did go check out the Sixth Floor Museum. It's in the building that JFK was shot from, and the museum talks about his life, his 1,000 days in office, the day he died, and all of the questions that are still out there. I'm sure that I learned about most of this in school, but I guess I have just forgotten over time. For example, I had NO idea that Lee Harvey Oswald was shot and killed just days after. How did I not know that? That poor family- you want to talk about bad luck.

I also had this past Sunday night off, and our company manager was nice enough to hook us up with comp tickets to see South Pacific, which was also in town. It was so nice to go to a theatre and not have to work! However, not a fan of the show. I might or might not have fallen asleep. Twice.

As a general rule, we never have shows on Mondays. Usually we travel, but because we were in Dallas for so long, we had a Golden Day. And I went horseback riding! I hadn't been in years. Five of us met two dudes with horses in a park parking lot near Ft. Worth, and we took off for two hours. It had been freezing for the last few weeks, so we totally lucked out when it was 70 degrees that day. My horse was named Luke, and he was the man. He liked to fall behind and then trot to catch up, which was a little painful. I couldn't walk so well the next day, but seeing the beautiful lake and riding back during sunset was totally worth it.

I was kind of sad to leave Dallas- it was a good home for a few weeks, and it didn't break the bank either. My month in Texas is over, and now it's time to enjoy Boston, Miami, and a little vacation, before hitting Alabama in January.