I-35

So much has happened since my last post.  This has been my first period of time at the computer to post though.  My apologies.  I'll attempt to keep this as 'to the point' as possible.

Wednesday was spent exploring Dallas.  I went out on my own to explore.  As I'm sure most you know, Dallas is where President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 by Lee Harvey Oswald (supposedly).  I spent most of the day at the Sixth Floor Museum where Oswald shot Kennedy.  The museum was informative and a bit unsettling.  I learned a lot, though, about the history and legacy of JFK.  The rest of the day, I ventured in and out of a variety of free art museums, strolled through the parks and took a trolley ride around town. 

That night, Alyssa, Colin and I went for Tex-Mex where I ordered Enchiladas en Mole.  Excellent.  Afterward, we listened to live music at The Grange and tried some fun drinks at The Black Swan. 

The next day was hellish.  I had intentions on leaving for San Antonio but accidently left my keys in Colin's car from the previous night.  That meant that I spent the entire afternoon taking Dallas/Fort Worth public transportation to Colin's work and back.  I made it San Antonio four hours later than I wanted.

Since I've been in San Antonio, the Castle family has shown a tremendous amount of hospitality.  Caitlin took me around San Antonio on Friday.  We visited The Alamo, took a boat tour on the San Antonio river, had guacamole and prickly pear margaritas on the river walk, visited some nice gardens and had a Mexican Coke.  We did all of Caitlin's favorite things!  Friday evening, we saw an amazaing flemenco music/dance performance at a small restaurant.  I'd never seen flemenco before.  The dancers were great and the music was incredible. 

On Saturday, we drove to Austin to visit, Ashley (mentioned in my NYC post).  She happened to be in Texas as well, so we made a point to catch up.  The day was spend strolling through Austin's shops and food joints.  Specialties include a cole slaw with fried shrimp filled tortilla and a massive donut topped with brownies, hot fudge and ice cream.

The Barton Springs are a natural spring in Austin where people go to cool off and swim.  Because Caitlin and I didn't have our bathing suits, we dipped our feet in.  Ashley and Dan were able to enjoy the full pleasures of the cool water.  Austin is a unique city in that it has a different atmosphere and feel to it.  There is a large hipster community that was very present at the springs.

Last night, we grabbed barbecue with friends of Caitlin and had a few drinks before coming back to San Antonio.  I did get to see the capital building before leaving, though.  An enormous and beautiful structure.

Today, I'm on my way to Killeen to visit Pat.  Tomorrow I journey deep in to Big Bend National Park with Maria.  I'll fill you in soon on those adventures.