Bloodshed, Death and Destruction in a Quiet Texan Town!

We were still buzzing this morning after the thrills of yesterday's American Grand Prix and that was just our ears!!  We bought ear plugs for the occasion but never used them and so today paid the price.

That said, it was a small price to pay for such a great day but this morning did remind us that we are no longer spring chickens as we lifted our weary and aching limbs out of bed.  Actually, Linda is even less of a spring chicken today as it is her birthday - happy birthday my love and many more of them.

We had made no decisions as to which direction to take today.  Part of us wanted to rest up in Austin but no, this is a Texan road trip and so a decision was made to head the 200 miles North to Dallas and Fort Worth.  The storms of the previous three days had gone and we opened the curtains to a beautiful sun filled morning, perfect for the trip North.

Pretty much a low news day today with the exception of Waco, a name that will certainly be known to the older readers of this blog but for the younger ones, well, Google will have to rescue you again.

It was the scene of an infamous shootout and 51 day siege in 1993 involving the Branch Davidians led by David Koresh which ultimately led to the deaths of 86 people including the sect leader.  Bizarrely, you can actually visit the site of the compound and be given a guided tour - we passed on this opportunity - and instead chose a great cafe in the centre of the city to enjoy coffee and mixed berry muffins. We have to have a daily fix of good coffee and something to compliment it.

Actually and more recently in May of this year, you may recall that Waco made the news again following a shootout between biker gangs in which 9 members were shot.  Controversy reigns over this because a number of the victims were allegedly shot by the police??  It remains under investigation.

So death and destruction is what Waco appears to be remembered for but on a slightly lighter note, it is home to the largest Baptist University in the world - Baylor - and has no less than 97 Baptist churches to serve the city's small population. Finally there is only one tall building in the city - the Alico. Would have been so much better if it had been the Alicoy!  This was the only one that survived the 1954 tornado that hit the city and is testimony to its steel structure.  See, I told you it was a low news day.

More photos from yesterday plus an odd one from today.