Dallas... a real juxtaposition from LA.
Picked up the hire car. The Mustang has always wanted to drive a Cadillac and guess what they gave us...
I haven't the heart to tell her it's a rebadged glammed up Honda SUV.
I've been having trouble with the amount of processing used in the food. Hoping it will get better when we can start cooking for ourselves. The Mustang however is on a binge. This 'cocktail' is Jameson whisky, Baileys, Butterscotch Schnapps and root beer. Who needs medication...
The dessert is called monkey bread. It's basically sugar with more sugar... topped with sugar and cream
Glammed up for the Dallas symphony...
...and she drove the car into downtown for the first time in traffic. Driving on the right is very different and it's amazing how much you do automatically. The Mustang has asked that I don't give directions by saying right or left but by pointing which way to turn. Apparently she's doesn't remember which is which once she get behind the wheel of her Cadillac.
Dallas is very modern and clean city. The only old buildings we saw are well preserved around the Dealy Plaza area...
The Red Museum. We only went into the foyer as we had only paid for an hours' parking. It looked amazing inside but we know what would happen if we paid the admission, and we had to get the money shots...
The view from the grassy knoll,,,
and this sign is text from the speech JFK didn't get to make..
"We in this country, in this generation, are - by destiny rather than choice - the watchmen on the walls of world freedom. We ask, therefore, that we may be worthy of our power and responsibility, that we may exercise our strength with wisdom and restraint, and that we may achieve in our time and for all time the ancient vision of 'peace on earth, good will toward men'."
As Barbara our train purser said "It's a shame we haven't had a decent president since..."
But you can hire a golf cart with horns for a tour over the 'X' marked on the road where he was shot...
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No siren needed.
Spent a day shopping getting all the camping gear ready. Ended up buying a roof rack and pod for the gear...
I'm sure the hire company won't notice. Maybe a tow bar for a dinghy before we finish...
To finish off our spree the Mustang got herself some protection from the bears...
$60 with ammo from Walmart and just walk out with it. No holster as we won't be in Texas that long...
Finally a home cooked meal...
Fried chicken with all the fixin's in a sleazy roadside motel... Aaaah, living the dream.
On to the Dallas Arboretum. I just gave the Mustang the camera. There are about a hundred photos of flowers and plants from our two-hour visit. A lot of Japanese maples, Japanese box hedges, and Japanese figs. I wonder if they named them before or after Pearl Harbour...
Cape Myrtle walkway
Look! Squirrel!
BOF in colour
Look! Squirrel!
One of hundreds...
School photo pose
Monet sculpture painting one of his masterpieces ... "Paint me like one of your French girls"
Look! Squirrel!
Lucky he's dead. Geek idol.
Telling him the secret to E=mc2
Another of hundreds
Look! Squirrel's bum!
On to small town 'Murica for an overnight stay. Finally drove through some countryside. The Mustang has started a new strategy for our travelling game. I reckon she is unilaterally using pre-emptive "Hay!".
Gun Barrel City's finest. He's got the latest model Mad Max cruiser.
The Mustang surprised me by taking me into the Gun Barrel City Pawn Shop. I thought it had different spelling. She bought me a guitar from Cletus. He works behind the counter here.
Just to prove it called Gun Barrel City. Great coat of arms above city hall..
We stayed here for a couple of days while waiting for some rain to blow over so went in a few restaurants. The Mustang got carded by a teenager at the supermarket!
"You've got to be kidding me right "
"No Ma'am....."
I'll let you fill in the rest. She also had to...
leave her gun in her handbag.
Finally got to our first camp. Couldn't get into Purdis Creek Park as we had planned so we drove south to Fairfield State Park in Texas...
Tent up and campfire going...
A walk around the lake to check out the lie of the land. Saw our first white tail deer in the wild and there are lots of those rare Cardinals the Mustang was telling me about. Found a couple of likely fishing spots and told the ranger about this guy we found stuck in a dumpster....
Rocky raccoon ... oh the humiliation.
Mandatory sunset pic and the first clear night under the northern stars...
I was looking forward to making an early start and having a go at catching my first bass. Hardly any other campers...some likely looking accessible spots... all looking good.
Saturday Slaughter...
Well we woke up to the sounds of V8 trucks, bass boats, jet skis and ski boats. It seems that the local population had descended on the lake overnight for a kids fishing competition. I went back to bed.
Our neighbor, who was the local bow fishing guide, told us they had over 300 kids fishing at one stage. There were even guys wading the lake with throw nets cleaning out all the Tilapia and crawfish.
One of the neighbour's sons fishing Texas style. He caught three fish this way.
We eventually gave in to peer pressure and set up a rod on the bank away from everyone. 
We had an hour's peace then made the mistake of having a run on the line.
We were then forced to leave as everyone decided to fish over us as we must have been at the secret spot. Think of the north mole when the salmon are running...
South to Houston.... And the Mustang really gets her geek on... The Houston Space Center.
I'll get that...
Houston. We have a problem (Sorry)
The Mustang likes a bit of thrust. TMI?
Lots of thrust and really agricultural engineering. Not much finesse in all of this history. Hard to imagine that they are going to go any further with just using brute force...
T18 Trainers. and in the car a park...
...what every girl needs. A pink corvette.
Further south to Galveston. We were going to stay in the state park on the island but...
Nothing but marsh flies and mozzies. Nice camp grounds when not under water.
Bit blowy on the beach
$6 to walk on the pier so you get this picture.
The money shot. Both feet in the Gulf of Mexico.
We stopped in at the information bureau and the lady sent us down to the historic area with directions to a post office that didn't exist. We tramped the streets for about two hours looking for it so you get these pictures of Old Galveston...
Old Galveston...
Even older Galveston.
Really Old Galveston.
Just to prove we are in the northern hemisphere - notice how the mushrooms grow upside down...
Just like water going down the other way in the sink.
Shroomhenge.
$24 to walk on this old steel Barque...
Yep we went to the tourist trap part of Galveston but we were that stuffed from walking around looking for that post office that we even stopped and paid for a drink and entree at one of those pier restaurants you find everywhere.
Disillusioned we headed north to stay at the worst Motel 6 just over the border in Clear Lake Louisiana. Check out the review the Mustang wrote in Trip Advisor.
Sam Houston Jones State Park was a great way to get a taste of the Louisiana swamps. But it was nice enough in its own way.
No swimming in the Bayou. Only saw the splash as the gators jumped in the water as we approached, so no pics - yet...
This guy has the best cammo .
An afternoon walk in the swamp. I was tempted to push her in and see if I could actually get a picture of a gator for you. Managed to control myself though.
...and finally a cookout by the bayou.
Whisky, pork, vegetables and another whisky to drown out the frogs who after sunset started doing an auditory Mexican wave around the pond we were camped at.
A great park to get a taste of Louisiana but the humidity was getting to us so we decided to head North...
Stopped at a small town on the way to boil the kettle and checked out the local park.
No coins needed, bring your own briquettes.
Easter Island comes to small town Louisiana
Kept heading north and stopped outside Kitaschi National Park where Gerald on his Honda Goldwing made the mistake of stopping and talking to us. He suggested a re-routing for us and you get these pictures of our walk through the forest.
BOF on the butte. Don't know what a butte is? Look it up.
Mustang model pose on another butte. Promise its not the same butte.
Look! Squirrel!
A couple of other interesting stops. We topped up our fishing tackle supplies at Redneck Express. Don't believe us? Here's the photo to prove it...
Apart from taking a photo of every flower and tree that she sees, the Mustang has this thing for cemeteries, especially isolated little ones in the middle of nowhere.
This cemetery had really kitsch decorations. This is what happens to all hunters eventually.
Well, we're back in Texas, on the border of Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Arkansas. Can't make up our minds whether to go search for the Oklahoma bomber or Bill Clinton's cigar next.
