It Was A Double Headed Kind Of Day

Seldom do I do two contrasting thing in one day, but today was an absolute kind of day to do such things. By nine this morning, I had turned off the computer after checking the mail; gave a quick check on my agent, checked on the coffee pot, then packed a sandwich and snack, drinks, cold packs for the cooler and was out the door by 9:30.

The trip was to make the Belt Line Road north segment of the east west beltway. It's one of Dallas' first beltways and makes a complete circle around the Dallas-Metroplex. It also runs tandem with the old Cotton Belt Train that will be running from Plano to the rail station at DFW--the third train to serve the terminals at DFW. There was so many changes to things that I include in the Urban scene that it was 11 before I landed at DFW's Founder Plaza. Actually, it's been a spell since I was last there. Even there, so much had changed. That's why those wagon wheel spokes are so important to circuit drive on a regular basis. But, it's not always that easy with Doctors, Dentist, Eye Doctor blah blah blah---blah blah blah. And, it does run up the mileage. With the cost of gas, it cuts into everything overall as prices are soaring almost faster than you can turn around. Even with all that, I still could not cover everything. I had wanted to make the cut at MacArthur and go by the old Cowboys Headquarters in Valley Ranch before they moved to the "Star" in Frisco. I heard that it has now been bulldozed. I had wanted to see yes or not,

While there, I also got a chance to shoot the new flowers that grace the grounds there at Founders. Spoke with a gentlemen who just signed on his new house in the Metroplex this morning. His wife was in the car and didn't get out. They are moving here from Boston. His one son lives on Grapevine Lake and his other son," is a pilot for United Airlines", he said. He mentioned that he had painting in the Pentagon. It was a bit funny that the two of us knew one person that we shared as a friend. I find that totally amazing. As they say in the land of Disney, "It's a small world after all."

I ate my snack first today and then headed out chomping down on home made ice chips that I had packed in the cooler. Lately, this chomping on ice has become a past time bigger than chewing gum for some people So, taking Airfield Drive around to the south entrance, I decided to take Valley View to Walnut Hill for most of the journey back into Dallas but instead of taking Walnut Hill into Los Colinas, I took Northgate that comes into Northwest Highway just west of Love Field. I had the sunroof open and I had been shadowed at DFW by a 787 landing on the 18s and I got shadowed by a Southwest at Love. When I say shadowed, I mean shadowed as the entire planes shadow come over you at the same speed that they are landing (somewhere around 137MPH plus or minus a few miles per hour). From there,  took Northwest east to Inwood to the Lover's Lane United Methodist Church on the corner as I wanted to then take Park Lane a bit farther west going east than I usually travel. Why? Well, if you have ever been to Ashville, North Carolina and visited the Biltmore, there are many homes like that there. Some of the lots have been filled with Ronnie Houses that try to look like the massive blocks of stone that form the walls of the estates that I mention. Frankly, architecturally, they don't come close.

Then, from there, it was a direct shot to Flag Pole Hill where I parked and found a picnic table under some big trees with lots of shade and being on the top of FPH, the breezes were gentle but felt so good on the skin. In short, it was a pleasant,perfect comfort kind of lunch as I overlooked the traffic coming and going through FPH. White Rock Creek flows toward the lake just west of where I was having my lunch. By 4:30, I was home. It did take me a bit to recoup my strength but all-in-all, it was a delightful day.

15 hours in the air ends with the "painting of the runway". That is the smoke coming up from the runway as the rubber is burned off the tire and deposited onto the runway as a black rubber stripe. It has to be cleaned off the runway by a night crew several times during the course of a specific time frame.

A very complex flower bloom, but one of utter beauty, too. 

One of the picnic table canopies at Flounders Plaza at DFW. The only clouds in the sky were there high-thing whisp right above the airfield.

Humor Can Be Found Anywhere

Founder's Plaza at DFW

Airbus A-319 flown by Virgin American on final to 13R at Love Field in a strong cross wind.

One of the last MD-11s UPS still flies. That's a lot of package deliveries there, bubba!

Wind today at DFW was steady at 29 MPH Gusting to 40 MPH. A wind advisory went into effect at 10 A.M. CST. At about 6 A.M. this morning, with a setting full moon, the flow of Gulf moisture was streaming by the moon. It was awesome.

We set another  record today, too. 80-degrees at the 2:54 P.M. update at the National Weather Service at DFW, our official reporting station. Even the feathered birds were having a difficult time navigating. Yet, one overly friendly grackle got me to laugh.

The angle of the sun this time of year in mid morning to a bit after noon the glare on the planes is not the best. Plus, I hate changing settings this time of year, too. Even with memory Fn settings. By the time I got to Love Field, the winds had not let up much (Gust to 35 MPH) but the light was much more favorable.