Another good Memorial weekend

The McAllen Memorial H.S. had another good weekend in sports and activities. Tonight the Memorial Band received the highest rating of Division 1 at the Pigskin Marching Contest. That's their main goal every year and they work hard and focused on that goal. So its great to see success. Several former band members were in the audience as well.

The football team beat Rowe on Friday night. And the Volleyball team beat Donna today.

The whole family is in town: Ed Kate Elizabeth Joanie and Vivian. They've been a little disappointed that Sarah has been busy both nights and today but otherwise its been a nice visit. I think they all enjoyed the Pigskin Contest. It's quite a spectacle.

King of the Causeway Triathlon

Sunday was the KOTC triathlon at South Padre Island. As it is October, there are many things going on all weekend. Saturday night was the City of Palms Marching Contest. It ended about 8:30 pm so I stayed home until Sarah got back. Then I went to sleep and got up at 4:15 am to drive to South Padre Island. No traffic at that time.

I got there in time to get set up in T2 and then drove with Steve E to the T1 area. We had a warm up swim and then our 40-49 mens wave went off about 8:15 am.

I had a great swim and finished with a friend Mike who is a very experienced triathlete. He of course went out much faster on the bike. But I was happy with my bike time of 17.3 mph. Then on the run, at the end I got caught by fellow Maniac Terri and we ran in at a good pace. I told her we needed to sprint but she couldn't make it so I dashed in as usual. Finished the run in 27 minutes which was my best tri run time. So the total time was 1:24 good enough for 5th out of 11 in the Mens' 45-59 category.

During the run we went by the Paragraphs bookstore and I thought "I should go there afterwards". It was funny because the BikeFest was going on with all the Harley people. So among all the beer drinking and hell raising, I was doing my triathlon and thinking about book shopping. Doing it My Way!!

Wednesday

I haven't been on the blog lately - too busy living life I guess. We had a great trip to New Orleans for the weekend and ate our way through. In all the good restaurants we went to, we even hit a BAD one. To make it worse, it was my choice. Looked OK from the outside, but I guess I should have been tipped off by the fact that it was next to a Jimmy Buffet Margaritaville tourist restaurant. And the name was deceiving. Magnolia Cafe in Austin it was not - the was the Magnolia Grill.

Fortunately we redeemed ourselves with lunch at K-Paul's which does change over time, but always remains good. Two great meals at the Palace Cafe ( the redfish was the best thing I ever ate as the show says) and at Dickie Brennan's

This weekend is the final triathlon of the season, King of the Causeway at South Padre Island. I think I'm ready for a little break after this one. One good thing about the triathlon is the week off afterwards.

Memorial plays Sharyland this Friday in the Game of the Week. Two undefeated teams - who will remain unbeaten? Mustangs will have to play hard.

Happy Birthday

Today is Susan's birthday and her mother and father are here visiting. We had a nice relaxing day at home. Last night Memorial beat Mission High 41-14. The maroon uniforms of Mission reminded me of the Austin High Maroons (as well as a dismal football performance).

Today I went with John S. to see the Memorial volleyball v. Palmview. Memorial is ranked #2 in the district and they won. Afterwards we raced over to see the #1 team Sharyland play McAllen High (McHi) and Sharyland won. It was a big event Dig for the Cure to celebrate the October Breast Cancer Awareness month. Look for lots of pink this month.

College Station

I've only been to College Station twice before this weekend. Once in 1986 we went to see the Aggie Bonfire from Austin. But by the time we left late and picked up Greg S's girlfriend, we didn't get there until after 11:30 and it was basically over. We ended up driving back that same night getting home about 5:30 a.m.

The next time was in 2000 when I went for a one day seminar. Didn't even spend the night.

So this time, I was looking forward to seeing what it was all about. Sarah was going to have an official student-type visit with her friend Nicole. I was going to see a game at Kyle Field.

We left Harlingen for Houston Hobby and got to Houston at 8:15am. John picked us up and we drove the 2 hour drive to College Station, stopping first at his favorite place Rudy's BBQ for breakfast (yes - tacos) and then when we got to C.S., we stopped at the various tent sales set up to sell the Aggie gear. When in Rome, wear maroon to fit in. So we each got a shirt. Didn't feel the need to invest too much since we'd probably not wear it much again.

We dropped Sarah off at the dorm and paid $10 to park at the golf course right across the street. I checked it out - would like to play at the Texas A&M Golf Course the next time I'm there. We then went walking toward Olsen Field where my friend Ben said he has set up a tailgate party.

We got there and found him. It was a nice set up, and I saw another friend from McAllen, Dr. Moncada and his family. He has 2 daughters at A&M. We all then left to see the Aggie Band march out from the dorm area. That was good to see it set up and go out. A big band and the military aspect was on good display.

Then we went to the Former Student Center where it had AC and cold drinks and a big screen (movie sized) TV. We cooled off there and then went into our seats.

The seats were on the upper level and 30 rows up was a good walk, even for this triathlete! It was a full house and the cheering was on display. I tried to get into the spirit of things but they have their own traditions that it would take more than 1 visit to master.

At the fight song they sing "Saw Varsity's horns off". I don't believe that Bevo was ever named Varsity so I'm determined to research that. I tried to get Ed involved. He probably knows the people that played in the 13-0 game that resulted in the Bevo name.

Aggies lost 30-29 in a game they had a chance to win. They had the ball in the last few minutes but... threw an interception. Afterwards, back to the tailgate party. Lunch and Dinner, both there. People were from all over, not just McAllen.

That night we stayed at John's friend Vicki and Kyle's house just outside of town. Very nice house and we each had our own room. In the morning we checked out the various dogs, chickens, horses, donkey, alpaca and sheep they had. They have a most unusual dog a Great Pyrenees, which is a special shepherd to watch over and protect the flock at night. No coyote would mess with that beast. We had farm-fresh eggs for breakfast. Best meal of the trip.

Afterwards we picked up the girls and went to the famous Dixie Chicken for lunch. It was an old drinking spot and smelled like last night's party Bourbon Street style. Food was not as famous as its cold beer. But I've been there now.

We drove back and got home and after a long day of travel was happy to be home. I've got my Longhorn shirt back on now. Sarah enjoyed the weekend but I think it just cemented that UT Austin was a better choice for her.

September 11

It seems like a lot has changed in the 10 years since 9-11-2001. Sarah was 7, now she's 17. We then lived in Houston, we're now in McAllen. But watching the old news clips, it seems like it just happened.

I went to church today and remembered the Friday National Day of Prayer back on Friday, September 14, 2001. It was a special day and it was a nice memory today.

This weekend, there was a bike ride Pedal Against Child Abuse and I did the 25 mile ride for speed. Never would have done it that way without coaching. And it was a good ride. Averaged 16.2 mph and also rode to and from the Municipal Park start.

I've been trying to reduce my driving. Today the coach wanted us to go to South Padre Island but that was too far for me and I did the swim here after church. Afterwards I made lunch at home and then went to the golf course. I did also get to watch the Texans score a big win over the Colts to start the season off very nicely.

Labor Day Weekend

We are at home this weekend and I am looking forward to Monday off. I think I will go bike riding in the morning. Or maybe I'll sleep late. I was going to get up to ride with the group but failed to correctly set alarm and I missed them by a minute. So I rode by myself and it was nice and quiet.

This afternoon, I went shopping and got a few new pair of shoes. I stopped by the new Valley Running store and everyone there was very nice - seemed like home.

Sarah is recovering from a cold so she's taking it easy today.

I went to see Seven Days in Utopia movie on Friday night. I had read the book and believe it is an outstanding book. The movie, like many, has a hard time living up to the book. 2 1/2 stars. Beautiful Texas scenery though.