Smorgasbord Letters from America – 1986 – Trip to Dallas, #Southfork Ranch and Tornedoes

As we move into February 1986 there is much discussion about our future… would we stay another year or would we back to Cheshire in England. We also continued to explore Texas including Southfork Ranch in Dallas.

February 7th 1986.

Dear M & D,

Hope you are well… and as you can see from the letterhead which I pinched from the Marriott, we were in Dallas last week . David had a meeting so we thought we would combine with some adventures. The weather had been wet on the trip up but it dried out enough for us to go to Southfork of ‘JR Ewing Fame’ the next afternoon.

There is a long drive up to an impressive looking house and we went in for a tour. I think that they must film the interior shots, or some of them anyway in the studio as the actual rooms were a bit small by the time you get cast and crew in them.

The pool also didn’t seem to be as big as I expected in the scenes that they have with 20 or 30 people having a party around it. Still it was fascinating to be actually at the famous Southfork.

They did have a buffalo in one of the paddocks and they also offer something quite unique for visitors, and that is why this is a packet rather than an email letter. You are now the proud owners of “1 Square Inch” of Southfork ranch. Don’t ask me which square inch it is so don’t order an oil drill quite yet! It is all legal apparently and the ownership is registered with the Land Office…

We also did a little retail therapy and we are now the proud owners of our own movie player, rather than having to rent one when we hire a movie. This means that I can go to Krogers and pick up a movie for $1.50 any time I like. Unfortunately the television which is also a rental has decided to die, so they are coming with a replacement this afternoon.

We also experienced a different side to the weather on Wednesday this week when several tornadoes whistled down route 1960, doing a lot of damage and our municipal airport Hooks was devastated with a huge amount of damage to buildings and aircraft and 5 miles from here two people were killed and there were about 75 injuries. It must have been terrifying and I felt so sorry for the people in the trailer parks in its path as they have very little protection and can be smashed within minutes. In stark contrast today is brilliant blue skies and warm and just goes to show how weather here can flip on a dime.

We have also been talking about our future this week, and it looks like that the company is happy for David to stay until the end of this year before he returns to Liverpool to a job there. The problem is we don’t know if we want to go back. We love the weather, lifestyle and the people here and one of the things David will explore now we have the extra twelve months is to look at getting a job here in America. I realise that this means being away from you all but I will try to come home at least once a year, including this summer. I know that you enjoyed your stay in November and we would also hope you would come out to see us on a regular basis.

Tonight we have dinner with Walter and his girlfriend and he is going to be trying out his new wok. Tomorrow we are entertaining a couple of David’s colleagues from England and Monday David flies to Chicago and then Washington. We are having my birthday party the day after on Valentines and have about 20 people coming which no doubt will result in shenanigans and a late night dip in the pool which is quite cold at the moment… still the tequila will help keep us warm.

Will write again after the party… love from us both S &D.

Thanks for dropping in and I hope you enjoyed the trip to Southfork.. You can find the other Letters from America HERE