Texas 2023:
Day 21 - Arlington

	Friday, February 10, 2023: We awoke around 7:30 AM, had oatmeal for breakfast, and hit the road a little after 9:00 AM.
	Here's another view of the lovely Austin skyline.
	We drove to the University of Texas campus, navigating the hordes of students on their way to class and checking out some of the artwork on the buildings.
	We were here to see the UT Tower, officially known as the Main Building. It is an icon of the campus, and became infamous in 1966 when a student took a rifle to the observation deck of the tower and killed 15 people and wounded 31 more.
	Civil rights champion and member of the US House of Representatives Barbara Jordan has a statue honoring her on campus.
	We waited at a green light for the seemingly endless stream of students to cross the street on their way to class.
	While we waited, Debbie noticed that this CVS was in the former Varsity Theater. How cool is it that the kept the theater sign when they turned it into a drug store?
	A church near campus had a colorful message of inclusion.
	We passed lots of businesses with cool looking signs as we left campus, including Torchy's Tacos, ...
	... Pavement Fashions, ...
	... and El Patio. The neon sombrero above the sign must look great when it is lit up.
	Our next stop was the Texas Military Forces Museum on the grounds of Camp Mabry, ...
	... which is on the National Register of Historic Places.
	We were here to see the Texas Merci Train boxcar. This was our third attempt to see this particular boxcar. Previous attempts to see it had failed as our schedule hadn't aligned with their business hours. Today was the day though, and we were delighted to be seeing it. We were especially thrilled to see the cargo door open and to be able to see inside. They had a soldier statue and a horse statue inside to give the viewer a feel for what it was like to ride in one of these 40 and 8 boxcars.
	The boxcar itself was in fantastic shape, likely due to being inside and out of the weather since 2014.
	There was a sign at the end of the boxcar detailing the boxcar's arrival to the United States and the fact that there were gifts of gratitude inside from the people of France.
	Next to the display, there was an electronic display showing photos of some of the gifts that had been in the boxcar, ...
	... one of which was a French medallion commemorating the captitulation of Yorktown during the American Revolution. It features the profiles of General George Washington, Admiral Comte de Grasse-Tilly, who led the French fleet during the Battle of the Chesapeake, and French General Comte de Rochambeau. The surrender of the British at Yorktown led to the end of the American Revolution.
	There was a display case in front of the boxcar containing additional gifts, ...
	... and the February 28, 1949 issue of Life magazine covering the arrival of the Merci Train in the United States. Debbie has been searching for this issue since we first started visiting the remaining Merci train boxcars, but was hampered by the fact that she didn't know exactly which issue it was. Now she knows and will get her hands on a copy soon.
	We took a quick look around at some of their other exhibits, including this OH-23B helicopter, which was famously used as a medivac helicopter on the battlefields of Korea.
	This display was fascinating, explaining how the pierced steel planks known as Marston Matting were created by the US Army Corp of Engineers during World War II to enable a small number of soldiers to create runways in a very short timeframe, eliminating the need for heavy excavation equipment.
	There were more exhibits outside the building, ...
	... and there was a display of aircraft on the road toward the exit. There was an F-4 Phantom, this Cobra Gunship, and several Hueys, both armed and unarmed. We made our way to the exit gate of Camp Mabry, ...
	... and drove through a nearby neighborhood on the way back to the highway. Debbie's sharp eyes saw this armadillo statue on the roof of someone's house, painted to resemble the Texas state flag. You have to admit that it would make your house stand out.
	As we drove through Austin, we were astonished to see the number of downed tree limbs and other damaged trees throughout the city. The recent storms, combined with the unseasonably cold weather, appeared to have hit Austin's trees especially hard.
	Our next stop was in Pflugerville, ...
	... to see this building shaped like an ice cream cone. It was a former Twistee Treat and was featured in the opening of "Friday Night Lights," but now houses a restaurant serving a wide variety of foods.
	We stopped at Taco Cabana for an early lunch, where Debbie got shredded chicken tacos and Tom got chicken fajita tacos. Both came with chips and salsa, which we saved for later.
	Back on the highway headed north, we were passed by a truck carrying a load of Tesla Model 3s. They were so beautiful.
	Just after noon, we arrived in Waco, passing the outskirts of the Baylor University campus, ...
	... and this building built from colorful shipping containers.
	Check out the giant gummy bear on the side of the Hey Sugar candy store, ...
	... and this mural.
	We were in Waco to see the Dr. Pepper museum. We paid for parking in the lot across the street, ...
	... and entered the outer courtyard of the museum. Here's a cool vintage Dr. Pepper delivery truck.
	We paid for admission and checked out the exhibits in the main building.
	Debbie remembered that part of an old advertising campaign for Dr. Pepper was that you were supposed to drink it at 10 AM, 2 PM, and 4 PM, hence the neon 10, 2, and 4 on this Dr. Pepper clock.
	We headed outside, through the courtyard, and over to the adjacent building, ...
	... where we paid for admission to the 12:30 session of Taste-a-Soda. It's a blind taste test of six different sodas where you get to rate them on smell, look, texture, and taste.
	The first one we tasted was Cherry Dr. Pepper, which we both really liked. Our host, Grant, told us interesting information about the process of blind taste testing, and the way the information gathered is used to shape what brands end up in the stores. It was fascinating and fun at the same time.
	Five more sodas followed, of which three were brands not made by the Keurig Dr. Pepper company. We really enjoyed the experience.
	We looked around at the exhibits in this building, including another 10-2-4 clock, ...
	... and an amazing model train exhibit featuring a lot of Dr. Pepper-related themes.
	Here's a train car hauling cans of Dr. Pepper covered in ice, ...
	... and this tower made from a frosty mug of A&W Root Beer.
	We could both remember the feel of the control for this moon wagon.
	There were more cool displays and memorabilia, ...
	... including this Iron Man Dr. Pepper vending machine from a 2010 Dr. Pepper commercial.
	There was an entire display case devoted to Big Red, another soda created in Waco, Texas.
	Check out this replica of a bottling plant. Every now and then, it comes to life and the bottles click and move around the exhibit, just as they would in a normal bottling plant.
	This is the Make-a-Soda exhibit, where you can mix flavors to create your own unique soda. We decided to skip this one, figuring that anything we made would be revolting.
	There were a variety of sodas available for purchase at the cafe in the Taste Building, including the ones that we had just sampled during our Taste-a-Soda session. We decided not buy anything here, ...
	... and made our way to the gift shop instead.
	Tom hadn't heard the "I'm a Pepper, you're a Pepper" jingle since he was a kid, but looking at these shirts, it all came back. We purchased a Dr. Pepper bottle cap magnet and bottle of the Boots Caramel Apple Pie soda that we'd both enjoyed during the taste test.
	Walking back to the van, Debbie noticed this manhole cover with a City of Waco brand on it.
	We said farewell to the Dr. Pepper Museum, ...
	... and drove back past the Baylor campus, and continued northward.
	Just before 3 PM, we arrived in Arlington, where we drove immediately to the last open Black-eyed Pea restaurant in the state of Texas.
	We ordered our usual: one meatloaf entree with broccoli rice casserole and fried okra, and then a five sides plate with broccoli rice casserole, fried okra, cinnamon apples, mashed potatoes, and onion rings. We share everything, and it is just the right amount of food for two people. Not pictured: the amazing yeast rolls and cornbread. We ate them as soon as they came out and didn't remember to photograph them until they were long gone.
	We made our way to the Dallas/Arlington KOA, which was our destination for this day.
	After checking in, we made our way to our tent site, ...
	... and set up as quickly as we could in the chilly afternoon air.
	Once everything was set up, we drove over to the shower building, where we took full advantage of their beautiful facilities.
	We relaxed in the tent for a while, and then processed the day's photos and worked on the website for a few hours, before relaxing some more and heading to bed. Day 22 >