Bass Pro Shop

Now, what to do until 2:30 pm in Dallas. We had originally thought about going to the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, which chronicles the event of JFK's assassination but it was a 30-minute drive to get there. By the time we slept in, ate breakfast, and walked around the lake, we didn't have a lot of time left. Besides, we'd have to take a shuttle back to the airport then another shuttle to the car rental agency, since there were no cars available at the hotel.

Instead, we went to the Bass Pro Shop, which was just across the street. Who needs a museum when you can visit a Bass Pro Shop!

I've never seen anything like this in the Bay Area. It's a Costco-sized store selling gear for hunting and fishing.

The entrance has trophy heads mounted on the walls and stuffed animals everywhere else.

Yes, that's a mountain lion on top of a full-blown waterfall in the middle of the store.

There was a memorial to Ethel, a wide-mouth bass who was caught in 1985 and set the Texas state record at 17.67 lbs. She was kept alive for 9 more years and grew to be the largest large-mouth bass in captivity and lived to twice her normal live expectancy at 19 years. 

I loved the iron-work on the fireplace.

There were guns and ammunition for sale. I didn't know ammo was so cheap--a box of 100 for less than $30.

And, of course the off-road vehicles disguised with camo paint. There were also boats that cost as much as a luxury car.

It was quite an eye-opening experience. According to their website, the average visitor spends 2 1/2 hours at their store and I was amazed that I was actually there for that long. I was also amazed to discover that they are opening a store in San Jose!

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