Over the Thanksgiving Holiday teechur and DonDiego took one of their customary Fall trips to attend NFL contests by traveling westward to Arlington and Houston, Texas.
The two weary travelers arrived at their temporary quarters at The Stockyards in Fort Worth on a pleasant Sunday evening. The following morning the view from the hotel window provided a better view of the area.
Each day right down the street in front of the hotel the locals conducted a cattle drive, . . . by DonDiego’s observation the herd comprised 16 longhorns, . . . not including the beast known as Patrón, . . ."The Boss". That’s poor old DonDiego below seated comfortably aboard the huge brute, narrowly avoiding “the horns of death”. His predominant talent is to remain cool and calm as visitors mount and dismount and to insure the extraction of 5-dollars from each of said visitors, . . . that's Patrón's talent, not DonDiego's. The rest of the herd, each ungulate individually named, can be visited after the drive. One could even reach through the fence and pet a longhorn, if one is unconcerned about being gored beneath the armpit or losing an eye.
On Tuesday evening teechur and DonDiego had the pleasure of dining with Mr. johnzimbo and his delightful wife Mrs. johnzimbo at their invitation in an eatery called The Texas Land and Cattle Company. By mutual, unspoken consent there was no discussion of the numerous wants and warrants applicable to each of the diners. Nonetheless, pleasant conversation ensued.
It is DonDiego’s understanding that his host and his host's spouse are each descended from former employees/denizens/ne’er-do-wells of the infamous and deadly Hell's Half Acre located in Fort Worth over a century ago.
In any case 3 of the 4 participants ingested “filets of beef”, while one individual ate a heftier more manly cut of beef. The meal was very good, the conversation was pleasant, the beer was good . . . if DonDiego heard right a ZiegenBock Amber brew out of Houston, or thereabouts.
By mutual, unspoken consent no photos of this meeting exist.
The weather was pleasant throughout the trip. Daytime temperatures reached the 70’s on Wednesday. The day included a trip to the deadly Fort Worth Water Gardens. That’s poor old DonDiego waving from deep in the Deadly Pit of Raging Waters, and seated adjacent to the deadly flow, and later observing the safety message atop the pit after making his way back to the surface.
The remainder of the day included one of many Mexican meals teechur and DonDiego ingested during the Texas Odyssey; it is quite difficult to find tasty Mexican cuisine up heh' in the Appalachians, so the travelers took advantage while in The Lone Star State, . . . and 36 holes of golf in the balmy weather; teechur wins and collects $1 for each hole won. This game can get expensive.
Thursday ! Thanksgiving ! And The Big Showdown between the despicable Dallas Cowboys and the beloved Philadelphia Eagles.
But not everybody gets the day off. The deadly Patrón is hard at work in the Texas sunshine.
teechur and DonDiego arrive at the site of the upcoming NFL skirmish. Holy-Moly ! This place is huge.
So, . . . the game proceeds; the Eagles under the capable leadership of Mark Sanchez win 33-to-10; all is right with the world.
Friday is a travel day to Houston, . . . although teechur and DonDiego have chosen to stay beachside on Galveston Island. Shortly after arrival, they observe the deadly rides on the Pleasure Pier from a safe distance followed by a lovely sunset from the Gulf of Mexico beach. Friday night includes a Mexican meal in the old downtown section of Galveston at The Original Mexican Cafe; it is excellent.
Saturday is a relaxing day, . . . including another 36 holes of golf and lots of seaside sightseeing. teechur wins the golf again. Stone of a peach!
And an excellent evening meal at The Mosquito Cafe, . . . a curious establishment where one orders at the cash register, as at a fast-food place, and then finds a table. Then the meal is served as in a normal restaurant. And it is very good food, indeed; DonDiego enjoyed baked flounder. Highly recommended !
And Sunday is gametime, . . . again! DonDiego puts on his best bib-overalls, and he and teechur proceed to Houston for an NFL tilt between the Tennessee Titans and the Houston Texans. That there JJ Watt fella is a big’un; he could hurt poor old DonDiego. Houston wins in a blowout, . . . and teechur and DonDiego chalk up another stadium in their quest to visit them all. They’ve only got 5 left plus San Francisco, as the 49ers have built a new one since teechur and DonDiego visited Candlestick.
Travel Tip
The food and drink offered throughout the Houston Texans' Stadium is probably more varied than at any other stadium teechur and DonDiego have visited. Beers included an absolutely delicious Leinenkugel seasonal brew [Cranberry Ginger Shandy] and a John Adams seasonal [Merry Maker Gingerbread Stout], a mite too lightly malted and flavored for DonDiego.
Monday is a day of rest. Catching up on the news, . . . reading, . . . and attending a showing of Interstellar at the local motion picture emporium, . . . and late-lunch at another Mexican restaurant, adjacent to their hotel.
DonDiego enjoyed Interstellar more than he had expected to. Some reviewers had criticized the "inaccurate science", but that didn't bother poor old DonDiego too much; who knows, maybe one can travel through a space-time warp to another galaxy? But as Arthur C. Clark once posited: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." And if a movie-maker proposes a sufficiently advanced civilization that can do things presently thought impossible, well, . . . the movie is more like "fantasy" than "science-fiction".
What did bother DonDiego most was that the entire plot ends up based upon paradoxes which are generated by time-travel/trans-time-dimensional communication, from a super-technically-advanced human race. It's cool that paradoxes make one think, . . . but it just ain't logical.
And on Tuesday it’s time to hit the road again. teechur and DonDiego catch the Galveston–Port Bolivar Ferry to begin their eastward journey. This is cool; the ferry operation is run by the State of Texas to connect the highways of Galveston to those of the Bolivar Peninsula, and it’s free. Lots of deadly gulls and dangerous pelicans in the air and dolphins in the water accompany the vessel on its passage. And then a quick Interstate-10 run across the wetlands of Louisiana.
teechur and DonDiego arrived at their newest beachside quarters – The Beau Rivage Hotel and Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. Blackjack and deadly slot-machines occupy their evening.
Tuesday concluded with an evening repast at the casino cafe and some minor gambling. [DonDiego chose the Reuben, after which a supervisor walking by advised DonDiego it was his favorite sandwich. teechur hates when restaurant folk compliment DonDiego on his dining selections.]
Gambling Tip
Blackjack in the area is all pretty similar – hit soft-17, 2-deck or 6 deck, minimums from $10-to-$25, and occasional the deadly 6:5 blackjack-payoff – one needs to be careful out there! The friendliest game teechur and DonDiego discovered was at the Treasure Bay Casino – stand on soft 17, double-deck, 3:2, and a $5-minimum before 10:00AM on weekdays. This is a very good game.
Gambling Tip
9-6 Jacks-or-Better slots are getting harder and harder to find; 7-5 looks like the norm, . . . with an occasional 8-5 to tease the observant.
Wednesday began with a breakfast buffet at the Beau Rivage. The buffet was well provided and well-attended, . . . omelette-station, meat station, plenty of breads and pastries, and all the breakfast standards.
Dining Tip
On Wednesdays, the breakfast buffet at the Beau Rivage is Buy-One-Get-One-Free.
The rest of Wednesday comprised touring the area and a bit of gambling.
That’s Deer Island viewed from the Beau Rivage and some sorta deadly, eye-poking water-bird somewhere in Biloxi, below:
And then home.
DISCLAIMER:
As always, DonDiego takes no responsibility for anything written in this post. Some of it is prob'ly true and some of it is almost certainly not. But none of it is to be trusted.
The two weary travelers arrived at their temporary quarters at The Stockyards in Fort Worth on a pleasant Sunday evening. The following morning the view from the hotel window provided a better view of the area.
Each day right down the street in front of the hotel the locals conducted a cattle drive, . . . by DonDiego’s observation the herd comprised 16 longhorns, . . . not including the beast known as Patrón, . . ."The Boss". That’s poor old DonDiego below seated comfortably aboard the huge brute, narrowly avoiding “the horns of death”. His predominant talent is to remain cool and calm as visitors mount and dismount and to insure the extraction of 5-dollars from each of said visitors, . . . that's Patrón's talent, not DonDiego's. The rest of the herd, each ungulate individually named, can be visited after the drive. One could even reach through the fence and pet a longhorn, if one is unconcerned about being gored beneath the armpit or losing an eye.
On Tuesday evening teechur and DonDiego had the pleasure of dining with Mr. johnzimbo and his delightful wife Mrs. johnzimbo at their invitation in an eatery called The Texas Land and Cattle Company. By mutual, unspoken consent there was no discussion of the numerous wants and warrants applicable to each of the diners. Nonetheless, pleasant conversation ensued.
It is DonDiego’s understanding that his host and his host's spouse are each descended from former employees/denizens/ne’er-do-wells of the infamous and deadly Hell's Half Acre located in Fort Worth over a century ago.
In any case 3 of the 4 participants ingested “filets of beef”, while one individual ate a heftier more manly cut of beef. The meal was very good, the conversation was pleasant, the beer was good . . . if DonDiego heard right a ZiegenBock Amber brew out of Houston, or thereabouts.
By mutual, unspoken consent no photos of this meeting exist.
The weather was pleasant throughout the trip. Daytime temperatures reached the 70’s on Wednesday. The day included a trip to the deadly Fort Worth Water Gardens. That’s poor old DonDiego waving from deep in the Deadly Pit of Raging Waters, and seated adjacent to the deadly flow, and later observing the safety message atop the pit after making his way back to the surface.
The remainder of the day included one of many Mexican meals teechur and DonDiego ingested during the Texas Odyssey; it is quite difficult to find tasty Mexican cuisine up heh' in the Appalachians, so the travelers took advantage while in The Lone Star State, . . . and 36 holes of golf in the balmy weather; teechur wins and collects $1 for each hole won. This game can get expensive.
Thursday ! Thanksgiving ! And The Big Showdown between the despicable Dallas Cowboys and the beloved Philadelphia Eagles.
But not everybody gets the day off. The deadly Patrón is hard at work in the Texas sunshine.
teechur and DonDiego arrive at the site of the upcoming NFL skirmish. Holy-Moly ! This place is huge.
So, . . . the game proceeds; the Eagles under the capable leadership of Mark Sanchez win 33-to-10; all is right with the world.
Friday is a travel day to Houston, . . . although teechur and DonDiego have chosen to stay beachside on Galveston Island. Shortly after arrival, they observe the deadly rides on the Pleasure Pier from a safe distance followed by a lovely sunset from the Gulf of Mexico beach. Friday night includes a Mexican meal in the old downtown section of Galveston at The Original Mexican Cafe; it is excellent.
Saturday is a relaxing day, . . . including another 36 holes of golf and lots of seaside sightseeing. teechur wins the golf again. Stone of a peach!
And an excellent evening meal at The Mosquito Cafe, . . . a curious establishment where one orders at the cash register, as at a fast-food place, and then finds a table. Then the meal is served as in a normal restaurant. And it is very good food, indeed; DonDiego enjoyed baked flounder. Highly recommended !
And Sunday is gametime, . . . again! DonDiego puts on his best bib-overalls, and he and teechur proceed to Houston for an NFL tilt between the Tennessee Titans and the Houston Texans. That there JJ Watt fella is a big’un; he could hurt poor old DonDiego. Houston wins in a blowout, . . . and teechur and DonDiego chalk up another stadium in their quest to visit them all. They’ve only got 5 left plus San Francisco, as the 49ers have built a new one since teechur and DonDiego visited Candlestick.
Travel Tip
The food and drink offered throughout the Houston Texans' Stadium is probably more varied than at any other stadium teechur and DonDiego have visited. Beers included an absolutely delicious Leinenkugel seasonal brew [Cranberry Ginger Shandy] and a John Adams seasonal [Merry Maker Gingerbread Stout], a mite too lightly malted and flavored for DonDiego.
Monday is a day of rest. Catching up on the news, . . . reading, . . . and attending a showing of Interstellar at the local motion picture emporium, . . . and late-lunch at another Mexican restaurant, adjacent to their hotel.
DonDiego enjoyed Interstellar more than he had expected to. Some reviewers had criticized the "inaccurate science", but that didn't bother poor old DonDiego too much; who knows, maybe one can travel through a space-time warp to another galaxy? But as Arthur C. Clark once posited: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." And if a movie-maker proposes a sufficiently advanced civilization that can do things presently thought impossible, well, . . . the movie is more like "fantasy" than "science-fiction".
What did bother DonDiego most was that the entire plot ends up based upon paradoxes which are generated by time-travel/trans-time-dimensional communication, from a super-technically-advanced human race. It's cool that paradoxes make one think, . . . but it just ain't logical.
And on Tuesday it’s time to hit the road again. teechur and DonDiego catch the Galveston–Port Bolivar Ferry to begin their eastward journey. This is cool; the ferry operation is run by the State of Texas to connect the highways of Galveston to those of the Bolivar Peninsula, and it’s free. Lots of deadly gulls and dangerous pelicans in the air and dolphins in the water accompany the vessel on its passage. And then a quick Interstate-10 run across the wetlands of Louisiana.
teechur and DonDiego arrived at their newest beachside quarters – The Beau Rivage Hotel and Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. Blackjack and deadly slot-machines occupy their evening.
Tuesday concluded with an evening repast at the casino cafe and some minor gambling. [DonDiego chose the Reuben, after which a supervisor walking by advised DonDiego it was his favorite sandwich. teechur hates when restaurant folk compliment DonDiego on his dining selections.]
Gambling Tip
Blackjack in the area is all pretty similar – hit soft-17, 2-deck or 6 deck, minimums from $10-to-$25, and occasional the deadly 6:5 blackjack-payoff – one needs to be careful out there! The friendliest game teechur and DonDiego discovered was at the Treasure Bay Casino – stand on soft 17, double-deck, 3:2, and a $5-minimum before 10:00AM on weekdays. This is a very good game.
Gambling Tip
9-6 Jacks-or-Better slots are getting harder and harder to find; 7-5 looks like the norm, . . . with an occasional 8-5 to tease the observant.
Wednesday began with a breakfast buffet at the Beau Rivage. The buffet was well provided and well-attended, . . . omelette-station, meat station, plenty of breads and pastries, and all the breakfast standards.
Dining Tip
On Wednesdays, the breakfast buffet at the Beau Rivage is Buy-One-Get-One-Free.
The rest of Wednesday comprised touring the area and a bit of gambling.
That’s Deer Island viewed from the Beau Rivage and some sorta deadly, eye-poking water-bird somewhere in Biloxi, below:
And then home.
DISCLAIMER:
As always, DonDiego takes no responsibility for anything written in this post. Some of it is prob'ly true and some of it is almost certainly not. But none of it is to be trusted.
