An 11-Hour Stopover At Fort Worth, Dallas

We were en-route to Peru and had to do a short stopover at Fort Worth, Dallas, Texas. The first thing that comes to most people’s mind when they hear the word ‘Texas’, is Cowboys. Well, we have planned to check out The Fort Worth Stockyards to get to know all about its Western heritage, but it’s far and we won’t want to rush through the stockyard and then back to airport. So we chose a more laid back approach since it’s only our first time in Dallas. We decided to visit a museum. Yes, boring you might say? Well that’s what we thought.

The 6th Floor Museum

We were blessed to have really good friends, RJ and Resha to pick us up from Dallas Fort Worth Airport during our transit and drive us around. It was my first time being in the United States and I was excited to see what was in store for me and whether things were really as great as what I saw on TV. First stop was breakfast at iHOP, a fast food franchise that specializes in pancakes. I have never met a more engaging and friendly waiter.

We were enlightened with the fact that almost every waiter in the US behaves the same and expected me, a Singaporean, to be taken aback by their extroverted nature. And yes, that was the nicest pancake I have ever eaten! If iHop decides to branch out to Singapore, I would be a loyal customer.

Next, they drove us around their neighourhood and to their workplace area. I could sum up Dallas as a really big place with loads of empty spaces with excellent roads. We then headed downtown to Dealey Plaza to visit the 6th Floor Museum. The museum got its name because of its location on the 6th Floor on what used to be a book depository from where a sniper, Lee Harvey Oswald, assassinated President John F. Kennedy. We’re unable to share with you photos of the interiors of the museum because no photography was allowed (but you can always Google it. hehe)

The museum was perfectly designed to highlight the history on President JFK’s life. The audio guide, pictures, videos, artifacts and write-ups were excellently choreographed to study JFK in a more engaging and absorbing way compared to just reading from books or the internet. If only schools were to transform history lessons into field trips like this, studying history would be a meaningful joy with a more permanent impact on your memory because it is so easy to appreciate.

The mood was solemn with people focused on reading articles and watching videos. It was easy to see why JFK was loved by many especially during his reign as he appealed to the young masses of baby boomers at that time.

Outside the Dealey Plaza, there were many tourists walking around to immerse in the experience of being there during that moment. It helps that the site is well maintained to preserve most of its original environment setting so it was easy to imagine one’s self being there walking around Dallas in the 60’s.

I would summarize it as the most unique museum visit I ever experienced though I left with more questions than answers. Alternative and conspiracy theories about JFK’s assassination would continue to intrigue me for the rest of my life but until then, it was a smooth ride back to the airport.

What was the most interesting was a small corner near the window from where the assassin supposedly shot his rifle from. This small area was carefully preserved just as it was in 1963 and a video clip beside it showed how the view of the road from that window was back then (which was still quite similar). They even marked the road with a big white ‘X’ where JFK was shot in his car after the turn at Elm Street.