Dallas, Texas, America - Day 1

After last night’s drama, it was a very early (3:00) start to the day. We had to get up to catch the direct shuttle bus to the airport and be there by 4:00 for our flight at 7:00 (to Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) just like before), last night in the rush of it all I forgot to mention that my mum’s iPhone 6s was stolen to add on to it all, what a great night. Anyway, back to today, we soon found out that the visas that we saw were approved last night were our old visas so when we got to the airport we had to try and check if our new ones had been approved with the right passport numbers. The airport in Cancun has absolutely no wi-fi whatsoever which of course hindered us, we asked for assistance and still had the same “get assistance from manager” or whatever message popping up when we tried to check-in via the kiosk. This ended with us going to one of the main desks for help. The lady at the desk told us that our bags were already checked-in and that our documents “seemed” to be ok, not very reassuring. 

We made our way through the basic security checkpoints still unsure whether we were willing to get on the flight. The choice of whether to go on the flight was challenging for the following reasons: A; We were not sure whether or not our ESTA Visas had been approved, B; This would be a problem because if you don’t have the Visas upon arrival into the United States you can and will be deported, C; This would be a problem because if you get deported you aren’t allowed to re-enter America ever again, D; This, aside from the obvious problem of leisure travel, would be a problem as my mum was planning to go later in the year and I have a school trip to Florida next year to visit the launch centre (space centre type activities) for physics. As you can see we had a major decision to make, either risk not having an ESTA Visa and get deported never to return again with the flipside being we make it, legally, and visit Dallas and Houston or play it safe and fly home from Mexico City or something like that. We took the risk. 

After a very early and nerve racking flight into the lone star state we got in line for the APC (Automated Passport Control) Kiosks running as the border control and ended up being denied without reason. As a result of this failure we got in line for the “in person” check done the old-fashioned way, after waiting a relatively short time it was our turn to get checked. We stood up to the window/desk where the officer asked for our fingerprints and a photo of us to check we were who we say we were (this is all usual for those who don’t know), we had a quick, chatty and very anxious conversation with the officer before *stamp* *stamp* we were approved. Turns out the ESTA passed! 

We quickly hurried through all the other customs and immigration checkpoints with wide smiles on our faces and it was out the doors we went into the warm, welcoming arms of Texas! From the airport, it was out to our hotel, The Westin Galleria, before heading out to the main attraction Dealey Plaza. Dealey Plaza for those who don’t know is where the 35^th President of the United States, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, was assassinated by (according to the record, without getting to political) Lee Harvey Oswald from the 6^th floor of the Texas School Book Depository. We first walked down to where two Xs mark where the President was shot along Elm St., we took some photos and then walked up the grassy knoll to the pedestal on which Abraham Zapruder recorded the most famous taping of the incident that happened on November the 22^nd 1963. After investigating where some believe a second gunman stood we moved up to the 6^th Floor Museum which gave information on the campaign of Kennedy and Johnson as well as the assassination and the following funeral. Also inside the museum was where the supposed gunman, Lee Harvey Oswald, was perched with the cardboard boxes placed in what is thought to be the exact same places as that day. Of course, the area is boxed off with glass walls but it was still incredible to be inches away from history. 

After the museum, we walked around the corner to Chipotle for some lunch and headed off to our next tour, a tour of Dallas and important 11.22.63 sites. The tour started off going around the arts district and seeing some important sites intown like the old Dallas Police Department where Lee Harvey Oswald was shot by Jack Ruby. We then went down the same route the motorcade did that fateful day, it was a weird feeling looking back at the window from where the shots were fired and looking across at the grassy knoll and the pedestal from where Abraham Zapruder was perched. From there we made our way to where Oswald was rooming at the time, this is the only tour that lets you do this, we saw his bed and living quarters something insane to think about. We then moved on to where officer J.D. Tippet was shot by Oswald and finally where Oswald was captured in the Texas Theatre. It was a very interesting tour and I found it great to visit all those influential sites in America’s history. 

The rest of the afternoon was spent looking for cowboy/girl hats, which we found, and then shopping in the Galleria (mall) connected to the hotel. For dinner, we went to a very weird Tex-Mex place, I say weird because it was way to sugary and fatty compared to the legitimate Mexican food we had just yesterday. Tomorrow we fly out to Houston in the morning before heading back to New Zealand in the evening, should be a slow but good day. Until then, goodbye.

Joseph Hewson

P.S

Sorry for the lack of photos, due to mum’s phone being stolen it is hard to transfer the photos across, I will update this when we get the photos across, thanks for waiting.