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Out and About Around Dallas

Ms. Cinnamon had the afternoon off, so we set off on a mini road trip. The weather was gorgeous and there wasn’t anything else I particularly wanted to see, so she just drove.

We headed out first to the Ray Hubbard reservoir area, where her son’s family lives. It’s a giant man-made lake used for recreation. The communities along the shore appeal to young upwardly mobile families.

Next, we drove the President George Bush Turnpike. Even a quick query on my phone didn’t satisfactorily answer how the toll structure works, although it is clear that your license plate is photographed and you get a bill in the mail.

We then stopped at her son-in-law’s recycling business, where I learned quite a bit about how recycling works and got a tour of the facility. The baler is really cool! I do find stuff like this fascinating, so this was absolutely a highlight of the day, with no sarcasm! He collects all sorts of things and showed off some small thick plastic bags of which he had dozens of boxes on a pallet. I mused that they would be great for scooping the litter box and I suddenly found myself the owner of a full 1,000 count box! I scoop two to three times a day, so that’s a year’s supply!

The visit done, Ms. Cinnamon took me to the Urban Reserve neighbourhood, filled with modern sustainable homes. It’s a lovely project, but those homes are just not my style.

Finally, she took me to another neighbourhood to show off a house she loves and we passed the very ornate Dallas Buddhist Center.

It was a lovely afternoon. I love getting chauffeured around!

5 thoughts on “Out and About Around Dallas”

  1. I went through at least four of those “take your picture, mail you a bill” toll booths in Florida and I never got a bill. Either four fifty cent tolls do not warrant the printing and mailing costs or they do not bother with out of State or out of country vehicles. I mean what would they do if someone simply threw the bill away?

    I would have paid had I got a bill, but on principle, I object to this method of toll collecting. Hire a toll taker for Pete’s sake!

  2. Here, they say they ‘aggressively’ pursue out of towners by using a third party agency.

    What they could do is put out a warrant for your arrest if you go to Florida on the odd chance that they flag your license plate again…

  3. When my son visited me in Texas last month I had him call the toll people up and find out what he had to do to pay his toll. He arrived at the end with no manned booth and no way to pay. I have read where people here get fines and penaltys added to the toll that adds up to a horribly large number.

  4. A friend lives in South Dakota and uses the Texas toll road between Columbia Crossing and bypasses San Antonio twice a year for years. He has never been mailed a bill. He keeps expecting one but has never gotten one.

    I can see the State making a decision that unless a person owes more than a certain amount, it is simply not worth the expense of billing.

  5. We were in Chicago area at Christmas, and went through an unmanned toll booth, you take a brochure and mail in the toll amount, you can go online and pay as well. We paid online. It was $6.00. After paying $40.00 for an expired meter fine, I don’t mess around, I will pay it, turn the screw but I will pay!

    Rae I thought you got lost in the Home Depot parking lot and had taken a picture of a metal shed! I guess Urban Reserve houses wouldn’t be my cup of tea either!

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