A weekend well spent in Dallas, TX. Family fun time at the Perot museum and Deep Ellum on Saturday, then a solemn Sunday morning spent at the Dealey Plaza. The Perot museum was a multi-floor STEM focused museum. Hunger drove a quicker pace through the final mechanical engineering floor, so if we revisit, we will start from the bottom up on a full stomach.

I recommend visiting Deep Ellum in the daylight hours, it turns into a party area at night, with bar culture that spills into the streets. We ate Tacos, and attempted to ride the bus back to our hotel – but after waiting at the stop, and watching our bus speed past us without a glance in our direction, we chose to walk. Parking in downtown Dallas is reminiscent to any major city, where paying to park at every location can eat into your travel budget in the most frustrating way. I once paid $30 to park for two hours in a parking garage in Los Angeles, never again. When we travel, we walk, or we try to use public transportation to avoid tons of parking fees and sketchy parking situations. Downtown Dallas is more walkable in some areas than others, so just plan accordingly.

The JFK Assassination site and Sixth Floor museum visit was an austere examination of a painful moment in American history. Though a dark and tragic entry point to the life and legacy of JFK, the assassination site experience solidified for us the lasting impact of his work, and provided a meaningful place for reflection on the highs and lows of American potential. Our propensity for both good and evil is expressed to both extremes, often. Explaining this to children in a way that emphasizes the good can be a challenge, but we work hard to highlight the instances of love we see in every bad situation. When witnessing tragedy, it’s prudent to “find the helpers,” as Mr. Rogers says.

We look forward to visiting Dallas again soon, but perhaps Houston should be our next travel destination — I’ll take any travel tips you have for the biggest city in TX!