Day 8 - Back to Dallas

I’m so grateful of that we did decide to make progress up north last night because Scott woke up with a lot of sinus pressure.  He was insistent that he was good to travel. But about an hour into the ride, he asked if I could drive.  We pulled into our hotel in downtown Dallas around 11:30 AM much earlier than a standard check-in time but the front desk clerk pulled some strings and had housekeeping clean our room right away, so we only had about an hour wait.

He settled Scott on a couch in the air conditioned lobby and the kids and I walked to a nearby sandwich shop to grab lunch.  We have a JFK Assassination tour today at 1:15pm which unfortunately can’t be rescheduled.  So the kids and I left Scott on the couch and headed out - just a few blocks to meet the tour guide at the JFK Memorial.  (The room was ready within a half hour so he didn’t have long to wait)

The tour was fantastic. Richard is a photo journalist who has studied the JFK assasination for years.  His van is equipped with a speaker system and tvs so he not only drives and narrates the tour but also runs the multimedia including diagrams, videos and original photos from the various investigations.

It was 2.5 hrs and we visited Deally Plaza, the grassy knoll,  the book depository, the home Oswald lived at the time of the shooting, the theater he was found in, the jail and city building where Oswald was later killed, and the spot where JD Tippit, local policeman, was shot as well. 

 

Left - Deally Plaza, where the parade for JFK was ending.

Right - Book Depository where Oswald work. The shots came from the far right window on the 6th floor. 

After the shooting, Oswald returned to his home to change his clothes and get his revolver. This home was originally a Rooming House that held 17 men. The women who owned it passed it down to her granddaughter who still lives here. She has restored it to its 1960s condition and remembers Oswald helping her with her homework as a child.  She is adamant that Oswald is innocent.

Oswald was separated from his wife at the time and had this room to himself. Here is his bed along with the coat he wore following the assassination.

After he left his home, he walked up the street several blocks and eventually shot a local policeman in the street. An X marks the spot on the road where the officer fell. Here is the memorial left on the side of the road.

Then Oswald walked down the street, hiding his coat behind a gas station and popping in to stores to avoid the increasing police presence.  Eventually he slipped into the Texas Theater which is where the police caught up to him.

The tour was so informative and explored Oswald’s life prior to the shooting, the habits and events that led up to Ruby shooting Oswald, as well as the full week of the Kennedy campaign plus the geopolitical climate post Cuban missile crisis and Vietnam.  

The tour ended at the museum in the book depository but Richard ordered out tickets for tomorrow so Scott can join us.  He dropped us off at our hotel and we headed up to our room.

Our room was amazing!  It was a 2-room suite with spacious bedrooms as well as a large living room, dining room and kitchen.  

Scott needed another hour of so of rest, so the kids and I welcomed some down time.  The tour was phenomenal but was like drinking from a fire hose.  We decided to stay in for dinner and order from Uber.

We had steaks and all the sides in our dining room and then relaxed a while catching up on some shows we’ve missed.  Scott headed back to bed around 8 pm so the kids and I just snuggled up on the couch and relaxed.

Hoping Scott is feeling better tomorrow.  

Today’s high: 72, overcast with a few sprinkles (quite cold outside)

Day 4 - Exploring San Francisco

We were tired and decided to take it easy this morning.  We got up around 8:45 am and then headed down to breakfast in the lobby.  It was a pretty good selection so we ate well.

We had a few options for touring the city today: big open-aired bus, GoCars, or bike.  Tyler chose the electric bike option so we walked a few blocks west to find their office.  We had planned on riding over the Golden Gate Bridge and taking the ferry back… the entire trip would last only a few hours.  But the sales man highly recommended a tour guide (that happened to be leaving just then) so we decided to do that instead.  Mark was an incredible guide - very funny and knowledgeable - he’s lived here his entire life and knows fun facts about everything.  

There were 7 of us with Mark on the tour when we started but along the way, the three from France left us because of the language difficulty.  

We stopped at the site of the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition… and marvelled at the incredible architecture.

We also visited the Lucasfilm / Letterman Digital Arts Center (think StarWars) and took some fun photos where some of our favorite movies are made.

Then it was time to head over the Golden Gate Bridge.  We stopped at the top of the bridge for some photos and then decided to leave the other two guests because they were heading back for something they left behind.  So we continued on just the two of us and Mark. 

The view from the bridge was incredible.  The Bay Area really is just gorgeous!

We stopped for lunch in Sausalito and then Mark offered for us to skip the ferry and join him on a ride back across the bridge.  We had less than an hour to get back, return our bikes, and get to the ferry dock for our next tour of Alcatraz but Mark was confident we could do it… I had some doubts but decided to go for it.  I used my watch to record the stats and distances.  From our lunch spot up to the start of the bridge is a pretty long hill.  It took us 13 minutes and we ascended almost 300 ft - the length of a football field!  We rode much faster on the return trip and it was a blast!  The staff was super excited that we made it back so quickly! 

We called an Uber and said goodbyes to Mark (I’d highly recommend his tour with Blazin’ Saddles bikes or with Dylan’s on bus if you are ever in the area)  In all, we spent 5.25 hrs with him and enjoyed every minute!  (However, I’m quite certain my back side could be sore for days)

Then we went straight to the Ferry dock for our evening tour of Alcatraz. The Uber driver dropped us exactly 1 minute before we were scheduled to arrive.  I love when God works out the details so perfectly.  We had a short rest on the 10 minute ferry ride and then began the walking tour of the Rock.

The evening tour is a special event to raise funds for the National Park.  It offers a longer boat ride around the island, the usual audio-tour through the cell house and then additional lectures on various topics associated with Alcatraz.  We stuck around to listen to the story of Bill Baker, one of the inmates and then headed outside for a lecture on an infamous escape attempt.  So cool to hear their stories!

After the sun went down, it was FREEZING.  (We were dressed for a bike ride in the sun not for standing still in the dark.)  The last talk wrapped up at 6:30 which was time for our departing ferry.  We rested again and warmed up, making a plan for dinner, on the ferry ride home.  Then it was a 15 min walk to get back to our hotel.  

We had Uber deliver Applebees for supper and tried to watch some shows.  I was so tired - as soon as I started to warm up, I fell fast asleep.  Tyler ended up tucking me in and just turning off the lights.

It was a very fun day today.  We learned a lot!

Day at Sea - Day 7

We found out late last night that we were drawn for the lottery to take the Behind the Scenes tour of the ship.  So we had to be up early to get breakfast and meet with the other guests.  There were 14 of us in total and we toured the crew areas of the ship for 3 3/4 hours.  It was incredible!  I wasn't allowed to take my own pictures... but got a few from the photographer that accompanied us!

Above is the group in the bridge with the Captain.  Below we are in the front of the boat, where they house the chains for the anchors.

We saw the medical center, morgue, laundry, anchor room, galley, provisions, photo lab, print shop, engine control room and then got time with the captain in the bridge.  It was so worth the time and very neat to see what it takes to keep the boat underway and running so smoothly for guests.

Afterwards we grabbed a quick lunch and hurried to the spa for another treatment.  Scott had a bamboo massage and I did a skin treatment and body massage.  We met in the thermal spa and relaxed a while more.

Then we decided to get a spot in the Sanctuary for the remainder of the afternoon.  But as we got to the top deck, we heard thunder.  Very soon after, the captain announced that we would meet a decent storm in the next 5 minutes... and like clockwork, it hit.

We went into a restaurant for a quick snack and felt the ship roll hard to the starboard side.  The captain came on the overhead speakers again to reassure everyone that we were ok... that we had run into a squall and had just experienced a gust of 40 knots.

We headed back to our stateroom to watch a movie and relax before getting ready for dinner.  We went to the onboard steak house instead of our dining room and absolutely LOVED it.  The weather cleared for a short time, so we grabbed a coffee and hot chocolate and took one last walk on the deck.  It was a beautiful evening!

We headed back to our suite and got packed up.  Bags needed to be in the hall by 11:00 pm.  Sadly, this is the latest we've stayed up all week! :)

The captain announced that the storms would last most of the remainder of our trip getting worse as we approached Texas overnight.  Expecting gusts up to 50 knots... glad we slept through that portion of the storm!