A Nation’s Heartbreak

After my run on Sunday we had brunch and then headed to Dallas for sightseeing. The original plan was canceled due to rain (pouring rain!) so we did Plan B.

First stop was to the JFK Memorial. It was a fascinating museum documenting JFK, his fateful trip to Dallas, his assassination and the investigation. I love history and I love museums, so I was happy to go to the museums for the day to avoid the rain.

The photographs were chilling. It was so weird to see how happy John and Jackie were on that day. The Zapruder film stills were haunting.

I wasn’t alive when this happened but I still get emotional when I see footage of it. It’s hard to comprehend what something so massive and devastating was like to experience. I suppose 9/11 was similar in scale with the nation’s group mourning. The old news footage was absolutely haunting to watch. They had the videos of Walter Conkrite announcing the death of the President. Heart-breaking.

It was also strange to be in the actual building where the shooter was, too. We saw the street below and the Grassy Knoll. I posted the photos on Facebook and friends I have that were alive when this happened commented that they recognized that street scene immediately. I imagine it’s forever ingrained in people’s minds.

After that we went to the old courthouse that’s now a museum about Dallas. It was a cool old building.

We’d skipped lunch and instead saw where the rich half of Dallas lives. These houses were nuts!! They were huge, sprawling mansions with manicured lawns.

I guess we were in the area where celebs live–George W.Bush, Mark Cuban and Jerry Jones to name a few. I can see why. These houses were amazing.

Not only do I love art and museums, I love old architecture too. I studied Art History in college and flirted with the idea of that being my major. We headed home to get dressed up for a fancy dinner out!

Dinner was at Al Biernat’s. It was a fancy steakhouse. I really wish my photos had turned out better but I did not want to use the flash in such a nice place. I guess this a hotspot for celebrities in Dallas, but I didn’t see any this visit.

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Funny, I ordered a glass of wine from Washington–Chauteau Ste Michelle. 🙂 Maybe I was a little homesick. Who knows. But the wine was superb, as always. It went perfectly with my dinner.

I ordered the petite filet mignon (8 ounces!). It came with a sweet potato purée and a sauce made with cognac, peppercorn and I think mushroom puree. The sauce was outstanding.

The side dishes were family style so we all shared. I ate 3 asparagus spears and 1 onion ring. Michael had a “wet New York Strip” steak. He said his was fantastic too. I’d assume that Texas knows how to do their meat! We all split one dessert (thank goodness because I was stuffed). It was a key lime pie with a scoop of raspberry sorbet. It was tangy and tart and to die for. So glad we shared!