Tyler - America's Rose Capital

Tyler is a city 100 miles away from Dallas and is famous for its roses. It's been in my 'To Visit Before I Go' list since long time. More over I now have a friend, who is living and working there. I met this guy through our Malayali friends network here and was happy to know that his native place was not very far from my home town Manjeri. He is such a nice chap and his love for the Malappuram dialect of Malayalam is still so burning even after many years continuous life in US.

We started the trip at Morning and had a relaxed two hour plus drive enjoying the greenery of pine trees that dotted the sides of interstate highway I-20.

My friend was busy at his gas station and we spent few hours there waiting for his staff to turn up to replace him. While waiting there, I tried to understand the details of how these gas station plus 'you get everything here' shop is run.

The 5 security cameras inside the shop were covering all the areas and he was able to watch every nook and corner of the shop from his office room or even from his home through the connected portal using internet. It was possible to zoom in/out and pan the camera through mouse clicks enabling him to read even the numbers of an invoice!

We headed for a lunch buffet at a Chinese restaurant there and had a heavy meal. By then it was already evening and was getting late to see what Tyler is famous for.

The Tyler Municipal Rose Garden was supposed to have acres of roses of different colors and varieties. But it was the season of pruning, and we ended up enjoying the garden with few roses left here and there. Nevertheless, the garden was beautiful and there were bridal parties busy with photo sessions.

While returning, drove some miles off the highway to see the scenic country side and it was worth the time.