I really didn't DO that much during my few days in Dallas.
At least not the "FUN" touristy stuff...
I met up with a few different friends in the Dallas area, and managed to take exactly ZERO pictures of my meetings with them... crazy, huh!
Dallas Highlights
My first task in Dallas was to go to the BMW Motorcycle Dealer and get my 6K service. I can hardly believe Belle and I have gone 6,000 MILES! In Shreveport, I noticed my odometer was all 6's, so I had to pull over and take this picture...
One touristy thing I did do in Dallas was to visit the Stockyards in Fort Worth.
The Stockyards, while not as flashy as Six Flags Over Texas Amusement Park, is more "Texas" and more unique.
I walked around for a couple of hours and then enjoyed this fantastic Ribeye Steak Dinner at Cattlemen's.
I also bought a keepsake for myself. The first one so far on this trip. A nice bolo tie.
I have always liked bolo ties! I think this one will dress up my plain touring clothes for those special occasions when I want to add a little bling! I'm not typically a very BLING-Y person, but I thought a bolo tie would be a nice addition to my traveling wardrobe.
NOTES ON THE JOURNEY
If you read my post about
The Whys and Wherefores of my Motorcycle Tour, you know that I've just started a new season in my life.
I'm living on the road, on my motorcycle, traveling from place to place to see the United States and maybe come to a new understanding of who I am, what life is about and how I fit in to it all.
And, for the most part, I could not tell you how I'm doing from day to day.
Today is one of the days I can tell you...
Sort of.
* * *
What I really enjoyed most in Dallas were the people I spent time with.
It was so good to spend some time with friends. And talk. And laugh. And talk. If there's one thing I miss about normal life, staying in one place (where my friends are), it's this kind of fellowship. Conversation. Connecting with people in person and sharing in the joy, laughter, concern and empathy of whatever we're going through. Just sharing our lives.
I felt deeply renewed by these encounters!
I had "fun" in Orlando - and New Orleans, for that matter - but both places left me feeling bored and empty and like "there has to be more."
One thing about being in either of these places: there is so much to do, that you don't have to spend much time alone with your thoughts, unless you really WANT to. And you don't have to spend much time talking to real people about real life. You just move from one line to the next line and stand in line to experience the next thrill.
By the time I was headed to New Orleans, I was already tired of being A TOURIST. And when I arrived, I had a problem parking and getting checked in, and I got mad. Really mad. I was so flaming angry that I yelled at a hotel employee in the hallway.
She asked me how my stay was going... so I told her! But I should not have lost my temper like I did. I was in tears by the end of my tirade. And I sulked in my room until dinner time.
I was fairly cranky the whole time I was in New Orleans, and I was pretty glad to get out of there after staying 4 nights in a hotel I hated. As I rode away I began thinking about why I was in such a snit.
Certainly, the sugar and starch I ate played its role in giving me a bad attitude (and making me feel like a hungover slug!). But I actually got angry and put on my cranky hat BEFORE I'd had any New Orleans indulgences. So, what's up with that?
As I continued driving through Louisiana toward Dallas, I started to wonder what in the world I'm doing on this road trip.
What am I really hoping to find?
Am I really expecting any answers or insights that I could not find living in one place?
I wanted to write and I'm not writing. I wanted to ponder life and I'm not pondering. I'm just going through the motions. It is really taking A LONG TIME to get where I want to be (mentally, I mean)...
Then I got to Dallas, and met up with some people I really care about. And we talked. And we shared food together. And our lives intersected in a meaningful way.
My friends, the happenings of their lives, their abundances and shortages, their concerns... still linger in my heart.
And life seems to be right side up again.
The day I left Dallas, I posted this status in Facebook:
TODAY, only today, have I truly started to feel like I'm on a real adventure... I woke up this morning excited and expectant, believing more deeply than ever that I'm on the right path, and that my journey is worth everything it cost me to get here.
One final thought
My sister, best friend, and nearly constant companion, died 197 days ago. That's six and a half months. During those six months, I have found it difficult to get too excited about anything, because everything pales in the shadow of the huge hole in my heart.
If you have lost a loved one, you know...
Dinner will be late.
OK.
I ruined your favorite sweater.
Whatever.
The water heater broke.
No big deal.
The basement is flooding.
It can be fixed.
The car was totalled.
It can be replaced.
I don't care.
Nothing touches the pain...
I have been numb for six months. Emotionally paralyzed.
In New Orleans, I got mad about something. Something fairly minor. Something that time and money could easily fix.
In Dallas I felt deep empathy for another human being. And the space in my heart in which I carry love and friendship started to grow again.
So, that's how I'm doing. My frozen, broken, paralyzed heart is starting to defrost, mend and grow.
Big THANK YOUs to my friends in the Dallas area: Pete, Cher, Robert, Sonia, Donnie and Becky! Your friendship has been a healing balm to me.
How is my journey is going?
In the right direction...
I couldn't resist posting another picture of my bike...
lovin it on 2 wheels
ramona denton
More pictures of my motorcycle tour are in my Facebook photo album(s):
U.S. Motorcycle Tour
These are public links. You should not need to join Facebook to view them.
