I’ve started volunteering at the Bass Concert Hall as an usher. Today I worked the matinee for the Broadway musical “Ain’t Too Proud,” the story of the lives of the members of The Temptations. The venue was full of music, dancing, and lights…. a great story and show.
I got home from the show in time to watch the FAU Owls play in the Final Four. Sadly, we lost. Should have won, but a great game played by all.
We attended a session at our car dealership today to get some one-on-one time with a “delivery specialist” who explained to our old-people selves how our new car worked. So much technology, so little time….
After that we dropped in to the backyard at Celis Brewery, and then explored the Whole Foods near our house. It has been “near our house” for going on 10 years, but today we actually went inside and discovered the awesome in-store bar and eatery options. What a concept!
We are slowly catching up with the rest of y’all in the 21st century – be patient, we’re getting there.
We drove straight to Colorado on the way north, about a 15-hour drive, and stayed with Julie in Denver for a night. Then we headed to Gene and Jo’s for two nights. We made a side trip to Estes Park as well. The family get-together was very special.
On the way back south we had another nice visit with Julie.
Then we broke up the long trip home into a couple of days including stops at two national parks.
We stayed in Ft. Davis for a night with a reservation to attend one of the McDonald Observatory’s star parties. The skies were not cooperative for viewing at the observatory, but we had fun.
We left Ft Davis on Wednesday well before dawn, and on the drive up to I-10, I noticed that the clouds parted, opening up a clear, starry sky. So we pulled over in the middle of pitch-dark range land with coyotes howling all around and enjoyed a full-sky view of the Milky Way.
We enjoyed the view for a few minutes and then resumed our drive. A few minutes later the skies were filled in with thick clouds again. It was a treat to get that brief moment of star gazing.
A successful road trip, but it’s always nice to get back home.
Well, it happened! Monte and I went on a road trip together for the first time since before COVID. We drove to Colorado for a family gathering of Gene and Jo’s entire posse. It was really a treat to be there. Lots of special people. Many laughs, stories, and hugs.
It’s GREAT to BE an FAU Owl!!
We are rooting for Monte’s school in the College Men’s Basketball Championship. We watched them at a local watering hole. Florida Atlantic made it to the Sweet Sixteen. Fingers crossed!
And in with the new! We are firmly in the Subaru camp. The outback is a fantastic car.
We are knee deep in user manuals. Stay tuned. But we are again imminently Road-Trip Enabled!!
We took our friends Tim & Fiona and their three kids sailing on Nirvana today. We’ve done it many times over the years during their Spring Break holidays.
The kids are now 13 or 14, and 19 years old. It’s amazing to watch them grow up. They all have an intuitive feel for the helm. Monte and I didn’t need to steer much at all. It was a beautiful day for a nice long sail. I’m glad we got to spend it with them.
Monte and I both hang on to the cars we buy a long, looong time – one is 26 years old, the new one is 13 years old. It’s time for some new blood in the garage.
We’ve been thinking about getting an electric vehicle, as much of our driving trips are less than 70-miles roundtrip (to the lake and back) and much shorter errand-trips around town. We have been shopping for a month or two. Last week we found one we were looking for in San Antonio. So on a wild hair, we hopped into the fossil-fuel vehicle (ironic, right?) and drove 75 miles to see it, sit in it, test drive it. We liked it, so we brought it home!
We picked a Chevy Bolt EV. Pretty roomy. It’ll hold our boat loads to and from the marina (ice chest and our bags) and lots of room for groceries and other things.
Nice!
It’s hard to predict because of the seemingly endless droughts and freezes, but the Texas bluebonnets are blooming early and it looks like it will be a big wildflower year.
Monte has been grooming our front yard bluebonnet patch for years. Looking good! More photos to follow.
Wow, that was fast. January and February flew by – only 8 months til Halloween. 🎃
After the brief ice age a few weeks ago, our temps are in the 80s here. Seems strange when the latest arctic front is hitting another part of the country. But I’ll enjoy it because we’ll be back in the 100s in no time.
Speaking of ice storms, our wall of broken tree limbs were thankfully hauled away this week. I can see the street again!
I’ve been craving fish tacos for a week. Last night the universe aligned and I finally made a batch. They’re so delicious. Here’s a link to the recipe I start with. Or you can just google ‘best fish tacos’ and it’s the top result. They’re that good. The sauce is amazing. And the cotija cheese makes them muy auténtico. I like to use mixed corn/flour tortillas, which Doray turned me on to years ago. They’re sold by H‑E‑B here in Texas as Mixla tortillas. They tend to hold together better than plain corn tortillas.
I had an opportunity to visit two more National Parks this week. Lori and Mike are driving to Arizona to visit her sister, and planned to visit two parks I’d yet to see. So, I stowed away in their backseat on Wednesday morning. We drove all day, staying in Van Horn, Texas for the night.
Thursday we took a short detour north to see Carlsbad Caverns National Park. We crossed into New Mexico to see it, and the underground caverns are stunning.
After the caverns we turned around and headed back south. We hiked the Devil’s Hall trail at Guadalupe Mountains National Park on our way back up I-10.
We stayed in El Paso for the night, my first time visiting this border town. Our hotel had an amazing rooftop bar with great views.
This morning I flew back home. Lori and Mike are continuing on west. That was a whirlwind 48 hour trip. And two more Parks in the bag!
Sunday afternoon, Laura treated us to a piano recital at her house – well, a piano concert, really. She has always been a marvelous piano player, but she continues to put up with us singing the Twelve Days of Christmas around her piano every year. 🙂 She’s been taking classical music piano lessons for a number of years now, and her practice and hard work have made her even better.
Her program included:
What a treat!
I started running in graduate school with friends and really enjoyed running many 5Ks, 5 milers, and a 10K or two during the 5 years I was there. Then I was sucked into the corporate world and somehow lost 25 years.
Since then I have not run unless being chased 🙂
This year my friend (accomplished tri-athlete, multi-marathoner, and Iron Man) Doray decided to run in the Austin Marathon/Half-Marathon again to celebrate her birthday. To celebrate with her, Lori and I committed to running the 5K portion of the event. We only gave ourselves 6 weeks to get ready – I would advise a longer training timeline!
Well, yesterday we ran it – Lori’s first official event, and my first in three decades. I’m older, heavier, and much slower than I was way back when, but yesterday I did reach the zone I used to enjoy where my breathing and strides were in sync and the rhythm helped me keep going. The event itself was fun to be a part of.
After Lori and I finished the 5K, we walked up to the finish for the marathon & half-marathon to cheer Doray across the finish line for her race.
Mission accomplished!
We had a fun, busy week. Noreen came to town. We visited with some of her family here in Austin, and some of our family in San Antonio.
We enjoyed an evening at Lori & Mike’s for a Super Bowl party.
Then we enjoyed a visit to Donn’s Depot to listen to Danny Britt and his band Grouchy Like Riley.
Valentine’s Day snuck by this week, as well
Noreen returned home after a fun-filled visit. Some orthopedic care and a pedicure happened. Then focus turned towards the upcoming 5K race this coming Sunday.
Tempus sure does fugit! Enjoy your weekend!
Sheila365 