BOU AVENUE
Dallas To Austin
Zosia Zgolak and I arrived in Dallas, Texas on the afternoon of 3 April 2024 and checked into a comfortable hotel for the night.  The main purpose of our stay in the city was to attend the Dallas Stars-Edmonton Oilers hockey game that evening at American Airlines Center.  The arena was not too far from our hotel, and we were able to enjoy a pleasant walk to the game.  The atmosphere in the arena was incredible, and although the Oilers laid a goose egg and lost 5-0 to the superior Stars, we both still enjoyed the experience.  Best of all, we got a free refill on our big bag of popcorn and would end up snacking on it for days to come!
Appropriately, you gotta go through a metal detector just like airport security! Zosia and Sonny stand outside one of the entrances to American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
Up in the air? American Airlines is understandably visible throughout the entire arena concourse.
Love playing the spoiler! Zosia looks a little out of place in front of this Dallas Stars shrine.

Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
Na zdrowie!

Sonny and Zosia settle into their seats with some refreshments.
It's show time! The rink turns emerald as the hometown Dallas Stars take to the ice.

Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
The Oilers hit a few goal posts early and eventually made too many defensive mistakes. Partway through the third period, the game is already pretty much over with the Dallas Stars holding a commanding 5-0 lead over the Edmonton Oilers.
On the morning of 4 April 2024, Zosia and I checked out of our hotel and drove to Dealey Plaza near downtown Dallas.  Dealey Plaza is, of course, the infamous location where US President John F. Kennedy (JFK) was assassinated on 22 November 1963.  We found a reasonable place to park (32.77731, -96.81281) and then toured the plaza on foot as well as some other notable attractions in the Dallas Downtown Historic District.  We spent a little more than an hour in the area before departing and driving out of the city.
If you wanted to shoot at a moving target on the road, where would be the better sniper location, the 6th floor of a building or a fence near the road? Hmm... At Dealey Plaza, Sonny hides behind a rebuilt fence on the infamous grassy knoll where many believe there was a second shooter when JFK was assassinated.
Car coming!!! Behind Zosia are some tourists risking their lives on busy Elm Street to get photos of themselves standing on the very spot where JFK was fatally shot.  Reunion Tower is also visible in the background.
Sure... Zosia points to the sixth floor window of the former Texas School Book Depository from where Lee Harvey Oswald allegedly fired the shots that killed JFK.
Giddy up! Sonny stands under The Pegasus, an art installation which used to sit atop the Magnolia Hotel--at one time the tallest building in Dallas.  The Pegasus currently sits in front of the Omni Dallas Hotel. 

Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
Quite the contrast in architecture! Zosia reads an interpretive sign at the John F. Kennedy Memorial which was designed by architect, Philip Johnson.  The box-like design is that of a cenotaph or empty tomb.  The more opulent structure in the background is the old Dallas County Courthouse.
Our next stop was the city of Waco where Zosia and I played a round of disc golf at Brazos Park East.  This is a pro tour course with lots of length on the open Front 9 (including one intimidating water hazard which we skipped) and very demanding technical lines on the wooded Back 9.  The course is quite beyond our current skill level, but we still enjoyed tossing our discs in a beautiful setting under a bluebird sky.
Feels like summer here! Zosia fires a disc at Brazos Park East disc golf course in Waco, Texas.
Yep, not worth losing a disc here! For fear of losing his disc in the water, Sonny decides to play to an alternate target on Hole 6.  The actual basket is across the pond at left.
For my Bogey 5...doh! Sonny makes an easy tap-in on Hole 8 with some interesting bluffs in the background across Brazos River.
From Waco, Zosia and I drove to Austin where we rendezvoused with our friends, Joad Clément and Marjerie Salisse, who had just arrived on a flight from Calgary for the upcoming total solar eclipse over Texas.  Together, we enjoyed a delicious dinner at Freebirds World Burrito restaurant which is similar to other Mexican grills like Costa Vida or Cafe Rio.  After dinner, we walked to the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge to join the throngs of people waiting for the nightly emergence of bats just after sunset.  The bridge is apparently home to the world's largest urban bat colony, and although I was initially skeptical about seeing any bats at all, they swarmed out as predicted much to the delight of everyone there.  When the show was over, we went for some ice cream (thank you, Joad and Marjerie, for treating us) before walking back to our cars and parting ways.
One of the best meals on our trip! Sonny holds up an in-house brand of hot sauce--"Death Sauce"--at Freebirds World Burrito restaurant in Austin, Texas.

Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
The place was crowded with people! Sonny, Zosia, Joad and Marjerie wait for the sunset under Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge.

Where's Batman?

Above Colorado River, swarms of bats can be seen in the sky in the distance (left of centre) as well as emerging from the bridge.  Watch a video of this moment here.

 

Hard to capture the bats in a photo! A few blurry bats can be seen below the bridge deck in this view looking west.
Merci beaucoup, Marjerie et Joad! Sonny, Marjerie and Joad enjoy some ice cream to round out the day.