The Republic of Texas was annexed by the United
States in 1845. Proud Texans still refer to it as a republic and question
whether it was a good idea to have joined the U.S. in the first place.
Visiting Texas is like traveling to an entirely different country. The language is American English spoken slowly with colorful flourishes.
It's hot, they all wear cowboy hats, and speak with a twang. They are also more friendly and accommodating than most anywhere else in the country.
I traveled to the Lone Star state on business from '95 to '97 and then for pleasure in a 2009 family trip to attend my grand niece's high school graduation.
The business environment was filled with carpetbaggers like myself, descending on the Dallas suburbs from the Northeast to work with the less expensive but still technically attuned work force. I enjoyed my time there, visiting Mesquite for the rodeo, Fort Worth for the cattleman history, and Austin to tour the state capital and the U of T campus.
The 2009 trip exposed the more wide-open Texas. My niece lived in a small house on a large ranch in Valley View, about 60 miles north of Dallas. She raised horses, chickens, and eventually bought a steer. Her dogs chased off snakes and other predators. Once she got used to seeing rattlers sunning themselves on her porch, and coyotes wandering the land, she embraced Texas as her home.
Visiting Texas is like traveling to an entirely different country. The language is American English spoken slowly with colorful flourishes.
It's hot, they all wear cowboy hats, and speak with a twang. They are also more friendly and accommodating than most anywhere else in the country.
I traveled to the Lone Star state on business from '95 to '97 and then for pleasure in a 2009 family trip to attend my grand niece's high school graduation.
The business environment was filled with carpetbaggers like myself, descending on the Dallas suburbs from the Northeast to work with the less expensive but still technically attuned work force. I enjoyed my time there, visiting Mesquite for the rodeo, Fort Worth for the cattleman history, and Austin to tour the state capital and the U of T campus.
The 2009 trip exposed the more wide-open Texas. My niece lived in a small house on a large ranch in Valley View, about 60 miles north of Dallas. She raised horses, chickens, and eventually bought a steer. Her dogs chased off snakes and other predators. Once she got used to seeing rattlers sunning themselves on her porch, and coyotes wandering the land, she embraced Texas as her home.
Vegas is a 24 hour Fantasyland for adults; a meeting place for real and want-to-be freaks. There is nothing that you won't expect to see on the street or in the casinos.
Somehow it all works with a minimum of visible crime. Maybe the 'anything goes' mentality makes crime harder to quantify.
Gambling is king here. Slot machines greet you at McCarran when you deplane, and bid farewell before you board for home. In between, neon lights, cheap buffets, and shouts from winners lure you into the casinos for serious gambling on and off the Strip.
World-class entertainment and western vistas such as Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon also complete for the visitor dollar, but the lure of instant wealth makes people come in the first place.
Paula and I have been here twice and look forward to returning. A fool and his money, I suppose, but how do you keep them down on the farm, or South Jersey for that matter, when you've experienced Vegas.
We took a Trafalgar tour of
Nevada, Arizona, and Utah in 2013. While climbing on and off busses for 10
days hardly seemed relaxing, the convenience of someone else navigating the
winding distances, and the knowledge and experience of tour guide and
driver allowed us the take in the sweeping vistas and learn how the
breathtaking scenery was formed.
Nevada was two days in Vegas basically, and the Hoover Dam. Torrential rains common only in September, accompanied us out of the state as we traveled towards Arizona.
Arizona was scenic with historic Flagstaff, the red rock formations of Sedona, the Grand Canyon, and Lake Powell. The Grand Canyon was the presumed highlight of the tour, and was certainly impressive in its breadth, but hid it's full beauty behind clouds the seemed to accompany us.
Utah was the pleasant surprise of the tour with the vistas of Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park contrasting with the flat, open spaces of Arizona.
Nevada was two days in Vegas basically, and the Hoover Dam. Torrential rains common only in September, accompanied us out of the state as we traveled towards Arizona.
Arizona was scenic with historic Flagstaff, the red rock formations of Sedona, the Grand Canyon, and Lake Powell. The Grand Canyon was the presumed highlight of the tour, and was certainly impressive in its breadth, but hid it's full beauty behind clouds the seemed to accompany us.
Utah was the pleasant surprise of the tour with the vistas of Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park contrasting with the flat, open spaces of Arizona.