While we have been to the West End and Sixth Floor, we have never really toured downtown Dallas. So we go for it! We take a self-guided walking tour during our first full day in Dallas. We begin on the infamous grassy knoll, just outside the Texas School Book Depository, then end with an audio tour of the Sixth Floor (where Lee Harvey Oswald hid, waited and watched, before firing from a corner window to assassinate John F. Kennedy on the street below). In between, we see Union Station, Reunion Tower, Pioneer Plaza (with the world's largest bronze sculpture grouping--70 longhorns on a cattle drive), the I.M. Pei-designed City Hall, the original Neiman Marcus store (where we sample the famous bar cookie), the Majestic Theater, Thanksgiving Square (with its gorgeous stained-glass windows), the Old Red Courthouse, Dealey Plaza and the JFK Memorial. We grab a late lunch in the West End, at the Corner Bakery, where we linger until we have room for dessert!
We have never attended an NBA game, but this is about to change. We arrive at the American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas at 6:00 pm (two hours early) for the Dallas Mavericks vs. Washington Wizards game. This gives us plenty of time to explore and snack! Very happily, the Mavs end a significant losing streak by defeating the Wizards by double digits. Even though Dirk Nowitzki gets into foul trouble and plays little in the second half, he accrues 27 points. He is an amazing shot! Jason Kidd fails to score... Nevertheless, this has been a great day!!
