Debbie Does Dallas - with Cameron

We had picked up our hire-car at the airport - A blue Mazda 3, which was to be our best friend and day time home for three weeks.This already had a dint in it, not that we cared.  And the woman at the car hire place tried to sneak in an extra charge for "under aged driver " !!! (Cameron is in his 40s. I guess according to the woman there,  that made me his Mum.??)

Our very first hotel was the Holiday Inn , Market Centre in Dallas (below). A very typical chain hotel, but nice enough, clean and comfortable. 
There were a few, well, interesting (??) people sitting in the lobby when we arrived. Sitting on the sofa was a couple who really looked like they stepped right out of the casting call for Deliverance,  man and wife ( I assume )who did seem very out of place there. I had not become intrepid in my photo taking, so alas I have no photo of them.

As usual, when we found our room, the first thing we did was turn on the TV. (This would become a habit throughout the trip and we would come to love a handful of USA shows - mostly American Pickers, Hardcore Pawn & Pawn Stars )

Here is our first hotel, ( above ) The Holiday Inn , Market Centre. It was nicely placed between a train line and several busy freeways. Repair work  was going on too. Oh yes, and the curtains didn't close.

A few weeks later I came across a vintage postcard of this hotel in an antique shop in  Arizona!

How it has changed!! Mind you they were still doing work on it!! Lots of  banging and  hammering. Still haven't got it right. I like this old style one a  lot better!

Early that evening we had a look around the downtown area of Dallas, and looked for somewhere to eat. This was  not that easy, and  the first  of many experiences we would have  in finding downtown areas to be  almost completely deserted!  Big tall business  buildings, and  older style places,  with the streets so quiet it was like no people existed here. There were a few eateries and we found  an OK one. But Dallas did not seem to be a  happening place at all,  whether for eating, entertainment, shopping or business ! It  was all very "Twilight Zone", but we would get used to this and the feeling would become strangely normal.

  St Jude statue - Practically the only other "soul" we saw  in Downtown Dallas

Before heading back to our room, we explored a  little  around town. We headed up a  street called Cedar Springs Rd and  got  ridiculously excited  by the sight of a large family sitting on their front porch , enjoying the warm evening, something you rarely  see anymore in Melbourne area. (Well, we were jetlagged)
This lead us to a more  upmarket, arty, trendy and interesting area, with older homes and cool, expensive-looking apartments, " lofts" and condominiums. Hold  on - of course it was  like this! This was, I later learned, Cedar Springs -   a famous gay area of Dallas! 

Apartment block, Cedar Springs

There was also a  supermarket that played MUZAK ! That impressed me, as well as  the really cheap prices for nearly everything - especially make up and face creams!

 The "Hee Haw"couple were still there when  we got  back to our  hotel , just sitting there quietly on the sofa in the exact same positions. Maybe they do this every day?