I'm actually pretty proud of myself. This morning, I got my breakfast made, eaten and dishes loaded in the D-washer, poured my travel cup full of hot coffee and out the door I went. It was just after 8am. I made a quick pass at the lake and remembered and were reminded again, that I had promised myself that I would not go to the lake on Saturdays and Sundays. As I was en route from home, there were two rows of bicycle riders decked out in their little Lance pants going north 2-by-2. There were 15 rows 2-by-2s or close enough counting while in traffic. That was my first clue that I needed to stay away from the lake.
The second clue was when I actually came down the ramp into the park and while I had to stop for the stop sign, here came bikers, runners and then more little Lance pants. And, while "we" are to treat them the sames as if they were cars, they hardly ever stop for the stop signs (which are are required to do. It's even posted on the parks information boards around the park). That was it. I turned around and headed toward Deep Ellum. I love to see people using the parks. Especially, in an urban environment of a few million people, it's "the great escape". I have long supported parks and the work that the parks and recreation division do. Just imagine what it would be like without those parks in that same urban environment. But, with use comes regulations and the bikers have taken over. Forty-two million bucks in bike and hike trails and they still insist on riding on the road. In fact, the info board and on line addressed that point: if they get to a point in their sport that they feel compressed, they should seek other avenues for their riding and training. Ha! They will never feel compressed--they have egos so inflated that compression isn't in the cards. And when City Councilmen are approached, they write it off as if nothing happens. It takes---sorry to say---another few to be killed before council does anything. There has been deaths already.
While, en route to Deep Ellum, it hit me that I had not walked the Lower Greenville area on foot since the new improvements were made. So, coming up on the area, I made a trip down upper Greenville, Middle Greenville in the "M" streets section and then on down to Lower Greenville. While Middle of the "M" streets section does have sidewalk cafes, it's the Lower Greenville section that has both the cafes, character and a more mixed crowd of the millennium's (22-35) and my generation of baby boomers (53-71).
I parked (which is totally awesome to be able to park in Lower Greenville on any day or hour). Walking up each side, then crossing over and walking back down the other side, it was comfortable and I got to see a lot of the old architecture, the old haunts that have been remade and what I think of as Character--that if it was removed, it just would never be the same.
From Lower Greenville, I drove all the way down Ross Avenue into downtown and over the Houston street bridge where the new Dallas Streetcar line runs from outside Union Station into Oak Cliff's Bishop Arts District. There was parking along the park side of Houston at Zang and I parked and walked back across the old Houston bridge to see the view of downtown Dallas and the twin arches of the Margaret McDermott bridge over the Trinity and the Margaret Hunt Hill bridge up stream
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| This is the way it should be done. Come out of the apartment or house, get on your Vespa/Moped and meander on down to the cafe where you can eat breakfast on the sidewalk and watch the people, check your e-mail and text your friends or girl or mate that, "all is well" |
a mile plus from the McDermott. The view was really good in the morning sun. I came back down Commerce Street into the three tunnels taking Main street back toward Lower Greenville through Deep Ellum. Much to my surprise, I saw not one of the horse drawn carriages, but two! As far as I know, it must be an expansion from the carriage company that runs the downtown livery because Deep Ellum has not been on may radar that I'm aware, until now. So that was a new addition that should pan out well for the visiting public that want to tour Dallas.
As I got back into the car, the heat and humidity had hit. The sunroof stayed shut and the windows went back up as the AC got activated. Betsy is kind of like an old horse in that regard. She knows when I get tired and kind of just heads in the direction of home like an autopilot.
Since there are really more than I can post today, and some interesting ones, this will probably be a multi post this week as the heat starts toward the 96 degree mark by Friday. Although, our normal for this time of year is about 92. It's just to early to be that close to 96-degrees---come on September!!
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