One Giant Leap for Womankind

Wally Funk gets a parade in Grapevine to celebrate historic Blue Origin space flight

Wally Funk aboard Blue Origin New Shepard

The 82-year-old Wally Funk became the oldest person to go to space on July 20, 2021.

Photo courtesy of Blue Origin

The city of Grapevine is throwing a parade for its hometown hero Wally Funk for her history-making experience aboard Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin New Shepard suborbital rocket.

The parade, happening Saturday, August 7, will take place along Historic Main Street beginning at 12 pm. It will head south from Wall Street toward Dallas Road, culminating on Peace Plaza at Grapevine Main Station. It will be immediately followed by a presentation featuring Funk, aviation leaders, peers, Grapevine Mayor William D. Tate, and the Grapevine City Council.

The events are free and open to the public.

The 82-year-old aviation pioneer became the oldest person to go into space on July 20, besting the record previously held by the 77-year-old John Glenn. Funk first trained to be an astronaut in the 1960s as part of the Woman in Space Program, although she and the rest of the group known as the "Mercury 13" never made it to space.

Funk would go on to a long career as a pilot and flight instructor, making history as both the first female FAA inspector and first female NTSB air safety investigator.

Funk was joined on Blue Origin New Shepard by Bezos, Bezos' brother Mark (a TCU alumnus), and Oliver Daemen, an 18-year-old from the Netherlands who became the youngest person to go into space.

In interviews after the 11-minute flight, Funk enthusiastically told reporters, "I loved every minute of it. I just wish it had been longer.”

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Dallas-Fort Worth heats up as 3rd best winter travel location in U.S.

Christmas Fort Worth Stockyards, Cowboy Santa, Fort Worth Herd

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Mariah Carey isn't the only one defrosting in preparation for the winter season: Dallas-Fort Worth has warmed up as one of WalletHub's top three best warm weather travel destinations for 2024.

Every year, WalletHub's analysts divide nearly 70 of the biggest U.S. metropolitan areas into two categories: the top "warm" and "cold" weather destinations. The study evaluated every metro based on 37 factors, including travel costs, local costs, weather predictions, and safety.

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington earned a score of 68.08 out of 100 possible points to claim the sunny No. 3 spot nationally, finally breaking a three-year stronghold as No. 4, which began in 2021.

DFW landed right behind Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nevada (No. 1), and San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, California (No. 2), and overtook Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown (No. 4). Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, Arizona rounded out the top five.

The North Texas metro ranked No. 2 in the national "weather" and "travel costs and hassles" categories, showing major favorability towards DFW Airport and the region's almost year-round sunshine. The metro's relative affordability earned it No. 8 in the "local costs" ranking out of all 69 U.S. metros.

Here's how Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington performed in the remaining three categories:

No. 12 – Attractions rank
No. 13 – Warm weather activities rank
No. 28 – Safety rank

As in previous years, the highest concentration of top warm weather destinations was in Florida (10 metros), followed by Texas (nine metros), then California (eight metros).

Besides DFW and Austin, the only other Texas metro to earn a spot in the top 10 in 2024 was Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land (No. 6), as San Antonio-New Braunfels slipped from No. 5 in 2023 to No. 11 this year.

Atlanta, Georgia ranked No. 1 once again on the list of best cold weather destinations for winter vacations, outdoing New York City, New York (No. 2), Washington, D.C. (No. 3), and Chicago, Illinois (No. 4).

"Whether you love to have a chill in your bones during the winter travel season or prefer to escape to somewhere sunny, the top travel destinations can cost as little as $200-$300 to reach by plane from major U.S. cities, with no connections," said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo. "In addition to being affordable, the top cities also have an abundance of attractions that fit their weather patterns, along with high-quality restaurants and relatively low crime rates."

The top 10 best warm weather destinations for winter vacations are:

No. 1 – Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nevada
No. 2 – San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, California
No. 3 – Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas
No. 4 – Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, Texas
No. 5 – Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, Arizona
No. 6 – Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas
No. 7 – San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, California
No. 8 – Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida
No. 9 – Charleston-North Charleston, South Carolina
No. 10 – Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Florida

For the purpose of the study, "cold" weather was determined to be less than or equal to 46 degrees Fahrenheit, while "warm" weather was greater than or equal to 57 degrees Fahrenheit. Both guidelines were analyzed based on the 50-year average December temperatures.

The full report and its methodology can be found on wallethub.com.

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