So we landed in Dallas at 1.15pm, cleared customs by 2.30pm, checked in to the hotel by 3.00pm and did what everybody does right. I headed out and walked all over the John F Kennedy assassination site.
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| View from Lee Harvey Oswald's Sniper Perch |
The place is about 500 metres from my hotel door so it was an easy thing to get to. It still looks remarkedly similar to the that fateful day in 1963. The first thing I have to mention however is the panhandlers. I was literally standing on the corner of what was the old school book depository building when I was shaken down by two guys, the first of who thrust a newspaper in my hand and gave me an impromptu lesson of the event then charged me five bucks for the paper. The second one tried a different angle and pulled out a pile of photos of him with his happy clients all the while trying to work the Australian angle. Well I had been awake for 24 hours straight at this point and was not really in the mood so I let them know my feelings on the matter and declined all further offers of assistance then proceeded to walk the famous grassy knoll.
There was something slightly surreal about the entire experience. Here I was doing my own little bit of disaster tourism while being panhandled and sharing what should be solemn and respectful place with a bunch of other obnoxious tourists.
You can see from the photo above where the motorcade came from (between the two red brick buildings on the left) turning right and driving towards the book depository. It then drove along the road and made a slow left turn onto the street below where the fatal shots were fired. In a macabre display of accuracy these are highlighted with white "X marks the spot".
All of the pictures are taken from the seventh story of the book depository building, one floor immediately above where the fatal shots came from. You can see the famous grassy knoll in the photo below (the book depository is behind the tree on the right).
You can see from the photo above where the motorcade came from (between the two red brick buildings on the left) turning right and driving towards the book depository. It then drove along the road and made a slow left turn onto the street below where the fatal shots were fired. In a macabre display of accuracy these are highlighted with white "X marks the spot".
All of the pictures are taken from the seventh story of the book depository building, one floor immediately above where the fatal shots came from. You can see the famous grassy knoll in the photo below (the book depository is behind the tree on the right).
From there I went to an incredibly well curated exhibit called "The Sixth Floor Museum". In it they have recreated the sniper's perch and the location of where the rifle was found. Sadly no pics were allowed so you will have to take my word for it. Considering the subject matter, the museum was respectful and dignified. All of the facts were covered along with all the conspiracy stuff and surrounding controversy. The attention to detail was phenomenal, many original artifacts were on display or exact copies were found. This includes the rifle, the Zapruder camera that shot the video footage, the clothes of the arresting officers, the ceremonial sword worn by one of the guards of honour as Kennedy's body lay in state. For the history buff I would highly recommend it.
So what do you do once you gawked at the murder site of an American President? Well you head to R J's Mexican Restaurant and for some dinner and Margaritas. There I got drinking with an aerospace engineer and a trust fund baby. Only in America right?
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