I made my way from Pearl Street (downtown Dallas) to Plano Downtown (a cute village) on DART, a metro system connecting different parts of Dallas. The sun hasn't had a chance to thaw the ice yet, so I had to tread tentatively, weaving from one side of the street to the other finding less icy patches. I was 45 minutes early so I had 'drip coffee' and a lemon cake in Bake Rejoice. The bakery has multiple displays of wedding and celebration cakes. I then walked on...

Thursday evening I booked into a local inn in order to experience Mineola, a charming town with many antique stores. The first evening I was the only guest at the inn. I'm in the Cowan Room which along with the rest of the house and garden has been exquisitely decorated for Christmas. Breakfast is served downstairs and they'd laid it up beautifully for my first morning. They serve Beignet coffee from a Louisiana Roastery. It tastes (and smells) slightly toasty wi...

I've been totting up some figures and thought you might be interested in some stats. Over a three week period I've travelled through twenty four US states and one Canadian state, stopping at fifteen towns, travelling eight Amtrak routes (Crescent, North East Regional, Empire, Lakeshore, Empire Builder, Coast Starlight, Sunset, Texas Eagle), staying in five hotels, visiting six sets of friends and sleeping on five trains, (well keeping one eye open when travelling...

What a difference a day makes! The weather has turned and it's cold already. Ice storms are expected here in Texas. Who knew?! Flask of coffee in-hand, Carol took me to Larry's hair salon in Mineola. The shop is alongside the highway (like many outlets). It a cute hut-type structure bejewelled in gorgeous icicles and sparkly lights. Inside is a very sophisticated look and the Christmas decorations look like they are out of a Hollywood movie set. On a suspended t...

The weather was stunning today, so I was able to sit out in the sun to catch some rays before the next cold spell sweeps in. My friends property is deep in the countryside, and as I don't have a car I decided to go for a walk. Carol had mentioned they sometimes walk a circuit near by. No one was around so at the tiny white spired church I turned left, walking and talking on my mobile. I walked for about an hour and a half solid! Across two wooden bridges, past fo...