Texas With a Dollar Sign!

No trip to Texas would be complete without a reference to that SNL Jeopardy skit!

So I spent 4th of July weekend in Texas with my brother and watching the Frisco Rough Riders play baseball. For those of you who don't know, he is the director of game entertainment for this minor league baseball team that is a farm team for the Rangers. He is truly made for that job and it is way cooler than anything I will ever do, but it keeps him super busy which is why he's not ever going to be a frequent visitor to my blog. (I know, I have sitemeter!)

So I thought I would make two lists about my trip to Texas to sum up my mini-vacation.

5 Least Favorite Things about Texas (or my trip in general)

1. No sweet tea! Are you kidding me? It's supposed to be the South at it's best there. Not in my book with no sweet tea. The trick to getting sweet tea was going to the Food Court at a mall and finding ChickFilA! That worked! (I know, I shouldn't have even been looking for sweet tea being pregnant, but it was vacation!)

2. Largest airports in the history of my traveling. I flew into Houston airport before going to DFW. My entry gate to Houston was B63A. I had to make it to E84J. This consisted of walking through the tunnel for all sections of B63, then making it out of concourse B to take a shuttle to concourse E which arrived at gate E60. Then I had to hike it to gate 84, then down the 84 tunnel to 84J. It was all very confusing, but it was a good thing I had a two hour layover.

3. The Heat! It was very dry and I ended up sweating quite a lot. I am sure it seemed extra hot because I left a Columbia cold front of 80 degree days. It also seemed hot because I spent many hours outside each day in the sun at the ballpark. So I am sure it is all relative.

4. Toll Roads. Lauren picked me up in Fort Worth and I got to see her new married home and seminary, etc. Then we made our way to Dallas by way of some highway that made us pay. Not once, but three times. Not 25 cents, but $1 each time. Add this to the soaring price of gas and you've got a real pain in the butt!

5. No Spurs Gear! I know I was in Dallas which is home of all things Cowboys and Mavericks, but I certainly thought I would be able to score some Spurs gear for Doug. WRONG! I did find one shirt on a CLEARANCE rack so it wasn't completely fruitless.

5 Things I LOVED about Texas and My Trip!

1. Longhorns and bunnies! Very random, but true. When Lauren and I were in Fort Worth, we went down to the stockyards where we saw some Longhorns, my first time ever viewing one. They were surely sedated, but with good cause I am sure. Those things were huge! And Bunnies! All over the ballpark and Gabriel's apartment grounds were little bunnies. I tried to take some pictures, but none turned out very well. But the animals were a nice change from the usual squirrels and deer of Columbia.2. SAM MOON! This place was like a New York street corner in a place the size of a grocery store. They had tons of knock off purses and jewelry and scarves and luggage. I was on a mission to find one of the giraffe print purses that everyone is carrying. (I know, I am a sucker for trends.) I had absolutely no trouble finding one, in fact, there was one in about 20 different colors! I spent a while deciding. Plus, they had wallets to match! Everything was so cheap. I know you get what you pay for, but by the time my giraffe bag falls apart, they won't be cool anymore anyway. This store is so big and apparently really popular that they have a "No strollers on Saturday" policy. That made me laugh.

3. Behind the Scenes! I got to see all behind the scenes (except the locker room) of the Dr. Pepper Ballpark and the baseball game in general. It was awesome to see what all goes into a game. Each night I was there had a sellout crowd of 10,000 + people. I was there early so I watched all the batting practices, vendors setting up, national anthem sound checks, mascots without their heads on yet, etc. It was really neat to watch the stands fill up too! I got to sit in the control booth one night which was a lot of fun! This place is amazing, considering it is a minor league team. There is a pool in the outfield stands that you can rent out for parties. I tried to talk Gabriel into letting me in it for one game, but that wasn't going to fly. Apparently, it also wasn't going to fly for me to sing the National Anthem, throw out the First Pitch, or announce any of the game. They say it pays to know people, but that didn't help me! Here are a few pictures of the behind the scenes and the ballpark itself.

Control Room with Gabriel - he's the one standing up.

The Bullpen - It was actually in the middle of the stands which was really cool for the fans! I like this picture because the guys have the same last name!

A packed house for the 4th of July!

4. Third Base! I can now say I went to 3rd Base with my brother! (Not that that's something I have been hoping for.) Before anyone gets weirded out (especially those of you who remember the SNA skit where he kissed me), 3rd Base is a bar/restaurant right by the ballpark. We went there after Saturday night's game. It turned out about half of the place was filled with people associated with the Riders. Some of the people Gabe works with were there and some players were there as well. I got to meet two of them - a guy named Laughter (pronounced like Louder, but that's not as funny) and a guy named Garr. Besides the two Diaz guys, those are the only players I took pictures of so I thought it was neat that I actually got to meet them later. It was a fun time, the juke box was hopping and people were drunk on the Riders shutout and lots of beer.
Laughter in the Bull Pen!

Garr signing autographs before the game.

5. FIREWORKS! We say every year that we're going to go out to Ft Jackson for the fireworks and then something always comes up and we don't go. So, it's been a while since I have seen a good display of fireworks, if ever. The Riders actually do fireworks every Friday night home game but they put on a special show for the 4th. Actually, they did it on the 5th of July too! It was great. It was 9 minutes of fireworks set to great patriotic music (a la my brother)! I felt like a kid again! It was so much fun and I got to see it twice!

Shutter release too slow! OOPS!

Best picture I got, but it doesn't do it justice.



Overall, I had a great time and just enjoyed getting to see my brother! He is one of my most favorite people and I don't think we've ever just spent 3 days with just the two of us. I'm sure my parents never thought we'd live to tell about it if we did! If you're ever in the Dallas area, go to a Riders game! It's way cheaper than half the other things to do and I bet it's twice as fun! I might even be able to get a hook up on the tickets! I know a guy.