When I was planning the itinerary for Austin, I knew I wanted to stop in Dallas. Dallas is known as the home to the Dallas Cowboys, BBQ, and, unfortunately, the city where John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. When I told my mom I was visiting Dallas, she told me where she was when she found out JFK was assassinated. She was in elementary school when she was sent home and found my grandma crying in front of the TV. I would honestly recommend visiting Dallas solely for the history and the museums located there.

The first place we stopped was the Dealey Plaza museum. The Dealey Plaza is the building where Lee Harvey Oswald shot the president. It’s been named a historical building and turned into a museum. I felt this museum did a great job balancing JFK’s life and all that he accomplished while also covering the assassination. It wasn’t a museum solely dedicated to the assassination, which I thought was respectful. There were diagrams showing the motorcade. One thing I pointed out to my husband was the fact that there were white X’s on the road, which showed the points at which JFK was shot. I wasn’t expecting that to be there, and it made it more alarming to me. The museum itself was well worth the trip, and I would probably go back to Dallas and visit the museum again if I were with someone who had never been.

After the Dealey Plaza museum, we went to the Dallas Holocaust & Human Rights Museum. While this museum focuses on the Holocaust, it also focuses on the definition of human rights along with other genocides in history. It talked about the idea of upstanders and bystanders. Upstanders are individuals in history who do the right thing even if it’s illegal or banned. People who smuggled Jewish people out of Europe technically were doing something illegal, but it was the right thing to do. Bystanders are those who stood by and watched things happen. I liked how this museum didn’t just focus on the Holocaust, but also explained how this happened and what traits dictators show that lead them to violence.

Along with the museums, my husband and I walked around downtown Dallas. We stopped at Pegasus City Brewing, which oddly reminded us of the video game BioShock since the font felt old-fashioned. After having a few cocktails and dinner, we meandered back to our hotel before driving home the next day.

It’s funny; I spent less time in Dallas, but this post was longer than my Austin post. I think that’s because of the museums, from which I learned a lot. There was more downtime in Austin versus Dallas, as there was a list of activities I wanted to do for the day. This road trip was such a blast. My next trip will be to Door County, Wisconsin, in September. Otherwise, I’m thinking an international trip will be my focus sometime next year.