Sharing Hobby With My Aunt, Dallas, TX

George W Bush Presidential Center is on Southern Methodist University campus in Dallas, Texas. Lots of parking spaces since we were there about 1/2 hour after it opened. The building is on ground level with two big squares on each side with a center hall that has a ceiling that is second story tall and windows.

The highlight here is the Situation Room. Yes, the actual Situation Room from the White House dating from Presidents Kennedy to Obama. Obama had it all replaced so they could upgrade with computers, tech, etc. Here were the walls, floor, ceiling, table, TV, seal, chairs – and you could actually sit on the chairs, walk around, nothing in this room off limits. Very cool. The entire center had videos captioned…except for a film of the Situation Room at the White House that a docent showed after a talk. When everyone left, I nicely mentioned that they should caption the film that shows the Situation Room and people talking about it. Oh, he went pale! I said he was so sorry, he forgot to turn it on. The center had good info and pictures informing a bit about Midland, Texas, and his family and then politics. 

There was information about “hanging chads” from Florida’s election and even a little container (like you get when you pan for gold). The next area was 9/11. In the middle of the room are two twisted beams from World Trade Center. Around the base are these words, “ These Acts Shattered Steel, But They Cannot Dent The Steel Of American Resolve.”

George W Bush Replica Oval Office, You Can Walk Around In There And Take Your Own Pictures.

Across the hallway is an exhibit of sports. It was fun to see Bush throw out the pitch at NY and what his thoughts were. It was right after 9/11. A baseball player told him to throw the pitch from the mound and if he bounced it, “they will boo you.” HA He threw a perfect strike. 

Along The Wall Is Where George & Laura Bush Will Be Buried, George W Bush Presidential Center, Dallas, TX 03/26

It was 1:30 p.m. when we were done and we went to Cafe 43 (he is the 43rd president). I had read this is a nice sit down restaurant and it was very lovely. I could picture Laura Bush decorating, picking the food, and making sure service was top notch. It was. Kevin had Reuben and I had chicken enchiladas. From there, we had to pay for our parking which was expensive. I don’t know why you have to pay for parking because we had to pay $26.00 per ticket for the center. Anyway, Kevin couldn’t reach the pay button so he opened the truck door. Then it was so close he couldn’t open and close his door tightly so he pulled up a bit to have the room. I didn’t notice this and all of a sudden, wack! I thought the gate had come down on the back of the truck. No, he was just closing his door. LOL Whew. 

From there we headed to Half Price Books. This came up when I was searching for things to do. My iPhone maps showed a symbol and then had us go out and around to the bookstore. I guessed it was a parade. As I looked at the route, yes, it was going around a St Patrick’s Day parade, it said. So cool and up to date! This bookstore is the flagship store. Big, old, neat. We walked around for over an hour. He got several books. I got some blank note cards and an old Peter Rabbit book for my friend. She is decorating her guest room in Peter Rabbit. That will be a fun surprise for her.

White Caps, 50 MPH Gusts, East Fork Park Campground, Wylie, TX 03/26

The wind! It is horrible! Sustained winds in the 30s mph with gusts to 50 mph. Gigantic white caps on the lake. I asked my aunt if these winds are normal for this time of year and she said yes. We met up with my aunt and uncle at the church on Sunday. Their sweet friend interpreted the sermon and announcements for me, since I am deaf. She is a special lady and she told my aunt she was very excited to do this. She told me she hadn’t signed since I was here last time (in 2023). I said I need to come more often so she can sign and she said yes!

After a delicious meal with my uncle and aunt at Mimi’s Cafe, Kevin and I headed home (footnote 1). We decided to stop at Costco on the way. The wind was still so strong and while we were inside it took the power out. Kevin saw an employee run, literally run, to the emergency door next to the bathrooms. She told him she had to stand there so no one would try to steal something and walk right out. She said something cute about, well, they must have forgotten to pay the power bill. 🙂 All the people inside could finish shopping; they had two registers that would work. We saw the line and decided to leave. At the front of the store the workers were stopping people from going in and as we pulled out I saw they had closed the big garage door.

The highlight for the next day was seeing some dear friends. He was a pastor at our church when I was very young. Their love for each other is an example to all who see and know them. They are going through very difficult times with one’s health but the love and support they give each other is a blessing. We always enjoy our time with them.

Yard Flag & Wall Hanging I Made While Quilting With My Aunt, Dallas, TX 03/26

On Tuesday – Thursday my aunt, some of her friends, and I did our hobby together… Quilting! OH, I was so looking forward to this. Kevin dropped me off at The Best Little Retreat Center In Texas, where I had sewn with my aunt back in 2023, for one day. At this center there are L-shaped  “pods” put together with tables. You have a table in front for your sewing machine and then a table to the side so you can put your iron mat, cutting board, or whatever. I felt so great here, really, like a peaceful home. Other sewing groups were there, as well. One group came each day with matching t-shirts with quilting sayings and changed each day. I thought that was darling. Tuesday and Wednesday nights I stayed the night at my uncle and aunt’s house. Nice and close. She had a quilt on the bed and then an afghan and another quilt at the end of the bed. Made me nice and comfy toasty. I thoroughly enjoyed myself at the retreat center, with my new friends, and with my precious aunt.

Date night…we usually don’t have a planned date night because we feel that every time we are together is like a date. Kevin will often mention even just going to Walmart he loves being with me. So sweet. But tonight was a tease. Friday night should be a night on the town, right? HAHA Well, we went to the laundromat! Yep. Romantic. LOL The reason is, even though I have a washer and a dryer in HOWE (footnote 2), we don’t have sewer hook ups here at the corps of engineers campground. Plus, we won’t have it at the corps of engineers campground in Little Rock for the next two weeks, either. I don’t do laundry in HOWE when we don’t have a sewer hook up because I am afraid it will fill up the holding tank. So, we went to one in Wylie. The place was very clean with lots of machines. 

Then we decided to go to HEB grocery store. We were hungry but wasn’t planning on eating out. I put in an address and Kevin said he was surprised it was only 17 minutes away and not 30, like we thought. We pulled in and surprise…I took him to El Norte Mexican restaurant. This is where I ate with my aunt and the gals on Tuesday. He had a pork Montana. It was pork shoulder on the bone standing up. It was delicious! I had the same sour cream chicken enchilada and oversized crunchy taco. It is huge. Rated: Fun Place To Surprise Kevin and Definitely Come Here Again.

*The blog posts are taken from my daily travel journal. Would you believe – it takes me a 1/2 day every week to whittle down a week’s worth of journal so it won’t be too long for the post each week. HAHA Thank you for reading!

1. “Home” is where we park it. Home is our 2022 Alliance Avenue, 36 ft, 5th wheel.

2. “HOWE” is what we named our Alliance Avenue 36-ft 5th wheel. See: Home On WhEels and we pronounce it Howie. We live and travel in it full-time around the country. HOWE has stayed at least one night in all 48 continuous U.S. states.