When it was a blog

Sometimes, I have to wonder -- why am I doing this? To introduce myself to total strangers? To show the world what the life of a typical Texan-American is like? For friends to catch up with the latest news in my life? To show troglodytic losers living in their parents' basements how cool I am? Well, actually, it's a little bit for all of those reasons... as well as for myself... it'll be interesting to reflect back on these entries in 5 or 10 or 20 years -- assuming that blogspot lasts that long.

back to the ballpark

K was lucky to score free tickets for us to see the Frisco RoughRiders minor league baseball (AA affiliate of the Texas Rangers) game last Sunday. Mom joined us, as did our friend Matt, and we loaded up the kids for the hour-long drive to Frisco. K's parents even came out and joined the fun. The RoughRiders gave us our money's worth, and then some, rallying from an 0-4 deficit to win 6-5 in 10 innings. We had a great view of the action, from our box seats RIGHT BEHIND home plate! I've never had seats that good at ANY game. I was impressed with Frisco's ballpark... probably the most unique I've ever seen. (See photos below). Looking forward to cathing another game there later this season (hopefully for free, but I'll pay if I have to... )

M enjoys the game from our seats behind home plate

Dr. Pepper Ballpark, Frisco TX

the view from left field

back on the road

No train photography since our trip to Houston, but I did make it back on the road this week... rode 30 miles on Monday, including the entire West Fork trail along the west fork of the Trinity River (18 mile round trip from where it connects with the main course of the Trinity near downtown Fort Worth). Most of the trail is crushed limestone. I prefer riding my road bike on pavement, but the unpaved portion of the trail was still pretty smooth. On Tuesday, I did a 20-mile round trip to Saginaw, and on Wednesday, I did a 35-mile round trip to Argyle. And yes, I saw trains during all three of those rides.

Being relatively new to the world of road cycling, it still surprises me how I can go out and ride 35 miles like it's no big deal, and still manage to go grocery shopping, make lunch, put away laundry, and go to work, all in the same day. When I was a kid riding around San Angelo my Mongoose dirt bike, it would have taken me a week to ride 35 miles. Now I can do it in a couple hours.

School will be out in a few weeks... I'll probably have to make some adjustments to my riding schedule since the kids will be home during the times that I have been riding. With our scorching hot summer temperatures right around the corner, I'll probably be wanting to ride earlier in the day, or else at night...

back on the air... in cyberspace

Bruce Kidder, former KHYI program director, announced on the Hard Country Radio forum (Yahoogroups) that streaming audio is now available at www.hardcountryradio.com . Right now, they're just playing music with no commentary, but they're supposed to go "live" on May 16. I can hardly wait to see what kind of shows Bruce and the notorious Bad-Cover Brian will put together... should make for some good entertainment.

WSC

np: Asleep at the Wheel - Tribute to the Music of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys


nr: Expedition to the Southwest -- An 1845 Reconnaissance of Colorado, New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma -- Lieutenant James William Abert