Dallas/Fort Worth Remembered

Read an article the other day about the increasing size of Dallas/Fort Worth Airport in the US. It handles 58 million passengers a year, and it appears that it might overtake LAX in passenger numbers as it contimues to expand, with a new terminal being planned.

We travelled to Dallas a few years ago and remember the airport well. The train connection to Dallas which we had read about in our travel guide didn't actually exist. And if you haven't already arranged for a hotel shuttle to pick you up, the only option is to get a taxi. A lesson in checking these things out thoroughly.

The city of Dallas has few attractions - its main claim to fame being where JFK was assassinated in 1963 - something remembered by us baby boomers.

School Book Depository building on Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas

The School Book Depository building where Lee Harvey Oswald fired the fatal shots (if you don't believe in conspiracy theories!) now houses the Sixth Floor Museum. It covers events leading up to the assassination and second by second photos of JFK's last moments - a bit unsettling when you know the outcome.

The museum also addresses the official enquiry as well as the various conspiracy theories.

Outside at Dealey Plaza, crosses are painted on the road where the two shots hit Kennedy - a slightly gruesome touch. And of course there is the infamous "grassy knoll"!

We couldn't find the Conspiracy Museum - maybe closed? But did spend some time at the Kennedy Memorial - a simple monument but quite moving in a way.

Fort Worth is well worth a visit, even if you only go to the Stockyards National Historic District. The city was the major centre of livestock trading in the days of the "west" and this area is now home to small museums and shops selling anything to do with cowboys and the west. It is the place to buy a pair of cowboy boots!

Longhorn drive at the Stockyards, Fort Worth, Texas

Every day they drive a herd of longhorns down the main street, accompanied by settlers in their wagons and wearing period clothes. It is a lot of fun and those horns are sooo..... wide!

Later we  discovered there is a train to Dallas/FortWorth but it stops outside the airport boundary. After arriving passengers then have to wait for a shuttle bus to take them to the airport, where they then need to catch the bus that goes to their terminal - a lengthy process.

Loved the area though - well worth a visit - and, yes, everything does seem to be bigger in Texas!

Getting back to passengers - do you know the busiest airport in the world by passenger numbers?

Bet you didn't say Atlanta, with 92 million!! Some-one please let me know why!!


Light travelling!

Marie