Some things I have learned about Dallas

Currently at this conference, you can see there is some down time in the afternoons that I struggle to fill.

So I have decided to share a few things about Dallas:

1. I-45 becomes I-75 after you pass downtown. This is new information to me which I learned as we left the hotel for our first dinner out...good information to know considering that we needed to get on to 45 then 75 to get to Campisi's.

2. Campisi's is a little Italian restaurant off of 75 and Mockingbird. It is a cool old place with great cheese bread and pizza where the mob used to meet in a back room and where famous Dallas people like the Mavs players go eat all the time. There were no Mavs there the night we went. They had a game in Sacramento. Interestingly, though it is an Italian restaurant, it says Egyptian restaurant outside (supposedly there is an Egyptian room)....not sure where that came from. Nothing in there looks remotely Egyptian!

The outside of Campisi's

3. The Adolphus Hotel where we are staying is supposedly haunted. A couple of teachers who are here from our district swear they must be on the floor with a ghost (the 5th floor in case you are wondering). Each morning at 4:30am sharp they start to hear what sounds like a cart of plates (like a catering cart) go by their room many many times, but there is no one there when they look out the peep hole. The staff here say that there are ghosts and some won't go into certain parts of the building if it is dark or late at night.

The Adolphus Hotel in Dallas



4. A GPS is a good tool to have in Dallas. Though we have been travelling the same route the last few nights for dinner, it is still not a totally clear picture with exits and such. Probably doesn't help that somewhere on I-45 it magically becomes I-75! I often think that a GPS would be a waste of money for us in College Station, but for the few times we drive out of town, I think it may be worth thinking about at least--it is so reassuring and helpful. Highly recommended.


5. A GPS will have a hard time finding you when you are downtown in Dallas. The skyscrapers throw the thing off, so be prepared for a few minutes of "driving blind." But no worries-keep going and it will "recalculate" and help you figure out where you were a nicompoop.

So there you go--you might as well have been here too as I have revealed all there is to know about Dallas (or at least all I know after being here a few days).