More on Dallas...

We drove through a lot of very small towns during the 235-mile trip from our driveway to Dallas. During the early-morning drive, we saw scores of vultures... some much larger than the ones we've seen here on our own property. All the road-kill on those highways and back roads make great feasting for those ever-hungry birds. Ugly creatures, those vultures.

There was one property we passed that had an old VW Beetle parked in the front yard. The color of the car was a rusted red, and both the hood and trunk lid were missing, as were the wheels. The car was parked in a huge flowerbed, and the property owner had planted wild daisies and purple vines in the ground under the hood and the trunk.... the result was a perfectly blooming VW Beetle that looked very pretty. I'm sure it made everyone smile as they drove by it.

We saw an old blue barn with white trim in the town of Bedias (established in 1832).  Large white wooden letters on one side of that barn spelled out "Hooker Haven."   Heaven only knows....

In the tiniest-ever town about 70 miles south of Dallas, with one main street that wasn't even long enough to have a stop sign or a stop light, there was a liquor store with a drive-thru window. Honestly, people.... life must be really tough if you can't even get out of your truck to buy a beer.

The skyline of Dallas reminded us of the Houston skyline... two small clusters of buildings that rose up into the clouds... if you're from a tiny town in Texas, those skylines are magnificent. If you come from a city like New York or Chicago, those skylines are somewhat insignificant, but pretty, just the same.

We stayed at a small B&B... the owner had a brown and white dog named Happy. And indeed she was.... a very friendly dog who pulled a chew-toy out of her toy-box just ten seconds after meeting us. Once again, I miss having a dog in this house.

There was a Dunkin Donuts in Dallas..... a nice little surprise. We didn't stop there... we had our breakfasts at the New York-styled Deli that my husband found on the Internet.  I guess we could have brought some donuts home, but we just didn't think of it.

We're still talking about that NY deli ("The Deli News")....... such a good energy in that place, and we could tell that most of their customers were regulars. We did note that the menu prices were New York-style, but at least all the food was great and fresh.

In the town of Wylie, we ate lunch at "Taste Of Home," which is described as a "quaint country eatery" on Ballard Avenue. The cafe is an old house built in the early 1900s.... lots of rooms filled with mirrors and antiques and the food was freshly made and served on pretty plates. Wonderful place to enjoy a meal... tables both inside and outside on their wrap-around porch.

The Dallas Arboretum.... can't believe how beautiful the gardens were.... and the mansion (once belonging to the DeGolyer family) was exquisite beyond belief.  We didn't get to see all of the gardens because we got there in the middle of the afternoon, but we did tour that mansion.  I would love to go back and walk around and see more of the gardens. (I believe they have 66 acres there.)  One of the highlights that we did see--- two huge topiary peacocks with their 'tail feathers' composed of multi-colored flowers spread out on the ground behind the birds. Absolutely breath-taking.

When we left home, I had forgotten to bring the book I was reading ("Bachelor Brothers' Bed & Breakfast.")  How could I have left home without anything to read?!  I told my husband in the car that we would have to find a bookstore once we got to Dallas. Little did I know that we would find the granddaddy of all bookstores.... Half Price Books.  We had Half Price Books in Clear Lake, and there's a Half Price Books in College Station that we go to... but the store in Dallas was huge beyond belief.  And one of the first books I found there was a hardcover copy of "Bachelor Brothers' Bed & Breakfast," which was a great find because the one I had was a softcover.

Happy, happy, happy.... just like that dog in the B&B where we stayed... Happy.