6-29-09 Monday (Italian Spiders)

Last night Jim said, “Let’s get up early and go to the Grandy’s breakfast buffet.” Sure. We went. I wasn’t thrilled with any of it. That was OK though because fortunately, I didn’t each much of it.

Off to Fort Worth we went to tour the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. This was on the list of things to do because the tripadvisor.com reviews were positive. Another plus is that it’s all free. No coupons needed! Unfortunately, no cameras or cell phones were allowed. Just imagine millions of dollars. See, now it’s like you were there. OK, so a synopsis:

Arrive. Empty pockets, oh that’s where I put that gum. Metal detectors and x-ray machine – do I have a metal plate in my head? Tour bus to the factory. Many interactive displays. 15 minute video in a small uncomfortable theater shown on a small screen with an even smaller framed video. Back to the displays – how very clean and modern this all is. Take a guided tour up above the factory where we can see down into various phases of the money printing procedures. Learn interesting facts. See lots of currency. Desire currency.

Result? We enjoyed it. It was worth the time.

We planned our menu, went to Walmart, and then returned to meet up with John and Derek for dinner. We used a $25.00 gift certificate on restaurant.com to Birra Poretti’s - “A great Italian Restaurant, a heck of an Irish bar.” We all enjoyed our meals. I loved my chicken marsala. The chicken was amazingly tender and it was all so flavorful. The others? They had something Italian. They have no website but plenty of reviews on-line.

Miscellaneous stuff:

Tomorrow is a long travel day to Little Rock, AR with a stop to a diamond mine on the way there.

Today, we passed a street sign for “Tucker Blvd”. I took a few pictures of it. What does it look like it says?

On closer inspection, the “F” was created by the bolt holding up the sign.

And finally, on a walk with Dasher, some kids showed us a tarantula in grass. Jim kicked it and said it was dead. The kids ran over it with their bicycle. They didn’t have an explanation when I asked why they would do that. Pick a continent!