Monday, 02/22/2010 SPI, TX

Every morning we ate breakfast at the hotel. I know I'm silly, but I had to take a picture of my Texas-shaped waffle. We got our stuff together and M&E picked us up to give us a ride to the airport. We got there 1/2 hr before boarding and found out that we had different seats 4 rows away from each other. (Rest of the story below.)
We bid farewell to Mom & Earl and went through security. Thankfully Mom packed us left-over turkey samiches :) and we gobbled them up before we even boarded.

The rest of the story: We were supposed to sit 4 rows apart from one another in the plane. We were the last to board, so we told the two gentlemen that sat on either side of me that we are married and would like to sit together, asking if they would switch with David (a window seat). The single guy with on my right never had a chance to speak up. The older, married man who was across the aisle from his wife stated, "well, this is my wife here too, but I'll switch." I guess that's that years of marriage does to you. You just really don't care if you sit next to your spouse anymore anyways.

All in all, it was a beautiful (much needed) vacation. Sunny, 70's, and we even took a little sunshine home with us. It was sooo good to see my Mom again and spend that time together. Thanks for everything guys! Here's our last pic: 2 dolphins swimming against the setting sun.

Sunday 02/21/2010 SPI, TX

Woke early to see the sun rise. Just barely d/t the heavy, heavy fog that the island gets. Walked to the condo and bid the family good morning as we took their truck to "Our Lady of the Sea Catholic church". It was a very large, beautiful church on the mainland in Port Isabel, TX. Here's a pic of the front alter.
We went back to the island and hooked up with M&E. We then went for lunch at the Padre Island Brewery Co. There DB&I each got the sampler platter of the different homemade brews. I thought it would be little shots of each beer. WRONG. Christi was a little...giddy... by the time the food arrived. Hey, it was 5:00...somewhere. The speckled trout stout was my favorite.
After lunch we went to see Jesus (Cristo de los Pescadores Memorial). Who knew he was just hanging out on a jetty in SPI?
On our way back to the truck, a barge was bringing a pipe from the bay onto the beach. The picture doesn't do it justice, but it was pretty darn amazing.
From there we went to the t-shirt store and got our free t-shirts and I bought a couple of glass-blown rings. We then drove down to the beach and stopped to pick up some sea shells and watch as trucks & jeeps were doing some sanding (insert the term "mudding" and it makes more sense, but in the sand). How many people does it take to get a 4x4 truck unstuck from the sand? We didn't stop long enough to find out. :) Getting thirsty, we stopped at Wanna Wanna. We then went back to the hotel to freshen up and headed to have Mom's famous spaghetti with the fam as we watched the sum set from their condo.
Later we went to Big Boy's Wings. Earl played with a band there. Mom & I line danced (as the US mens' hockey team beat Canada in the Olympics-whoo-hoo.)

Saturday, 02/20/2010 SPI, TX

The next day was an exploring day. We put on our walking shoes and hit the beach (gulf-side). Here is a pic of the jellyfish that wash up on shore. We collected a few shells as we walked North on the beach for quite a distance. There we saw many condos and even the aftermath of the last hurricane.

We cut across the island and headed West. Thanks to Mom's map in her abundant care package for us, we visited the Sea Turtle Rescue. Here is a video of one of their largest sea turtles. There are signs all around not to pet the turtles. Some of these turtles (i.e. the loggerhead) develop 1000lbs of crushing power in their beaks. Some of these animals have handicaps and will permanently live here. Others will be released. Lots and lots of turtles to look at!
Next we headed North to the Laguna Madre. It is a huge walking deck where the birds, fish, crabs, painted turtles and even a crocodile call home. The colors, sizes, bodies, and even the actions of these birds were so amazing to see. DB&I consider ourselves unofficial bird watchers. It was just so interesting to see a different variety of birds compared to ours in MN. There were information boards along the way so you knew what wildlife you were looking at. We saw herons, spoonbills, moorhens, ducks, egrets, storks, pelicans, sandpipers, etc.


We then walked down to the Texas Moon restaurant. Two big thumbs up. The best cheeseburger I have ever had. Dave had the mahi-mahi. Walked back to the hotel. Called Mom. Walked down to their condo and we drove to the pirate ship.
Magical-Mystical Mike the Pirate entertained us as we waited for the ship. He was actually pretty good at the magical tricks he performed. Or maybe it was the $2 beer that made him interesting. Any which way, it was a good way to pass the time until the ship was ready for us.


We then boarded the Black Dragon. It is able to hold 80 passengers and we took a 2 hr cruise around the bay. Here there were pirates putting on an act for the kiddies while we hung out at the back near the refreshments. Face painting followed (no thank you). And we watched as a family of 4 dolphins chased the ship.

There was a shoot out with the Pier19 restaurant & bar. They sent up their white flag, so I assume we had the bigger cannons.
The houses on the bay are absolutely amazing. Who needs beach-front property? And seeing those huge shrimping boats was pretty unbelievable. I never saw a Bubba-Gump one though.
After all that I took the pledge and became a real pirate.

That night we went to Steamers to have dinner and listen to Earl play his bass and sing with a band. Lots of sun and warm temps and a fun-filled day!

Friday, 02/19/2010 SPI, TX

We arrived in Tx. Mom & Earl picked us up and had a few cold ones waiting for us. The rain had just cleared and the sun was trying to peek out. On the 40 min drive to SPI, we stopped for a BBQ lunch. Mmm, makes my mouth water just thinking about it. Next stop was at a HUGE gift shop/museum and where we meandered around a bit. Mom&Earl are standing in the doorway that is a shark's mouth. I purchased a sea star & sea horse there. Earl & Dave tried on hats. Hmm.

We then checked in at the Travel-Lodge, walking distance from the condos, and took a siesta before having dinner with M,E,E,&D. That night was a turkey dinner with potatoes, veg, & stuffing. Later on we went to listen to music at the bar. We met M&E's group of friends (very touchy-feely those retirees are:)LOL. I got kissed and hugged by strangers) while we watched M&E cut a rug on the dance floor. They dropped us off and we bid them farewell until the next morning.

Thursday 02/18/2010 SPI, TX Vacation

Last week DB&I went to SPI, TX to have a little R&R and visit my Mom & Earl and his folks. Thursday we dropped Lexie off at the Woof & Purr Boarding & spent the night at my girlfriend's in WBL. They have a beautiful home and busy household with 2 young, gorgeous children, 9 mo old retriever, and a crazy cat. We had a good night reminiscing & catching up. We had to leave early @ 5 AM. Cari was sweet enough to set out to-go cups for coffee and donuts with sprinkles for our drive to the airport. We got to the airport early, parked the car, and headed in. I was surprised (though I shouldn't have been) at the size and amount of carry-ons people had. Like I had said before, it was $20 (went up from $15) per checked bag. There are pros & cons to this, of course. Pro: significantly less people at baggage claim. Con: Everyone has a bag in the overhead compartment, so it takes longer to board and deplane b/c everyone is fighting w/ their bags. All in all, the flight was good and DB&I sat next to each other without having the pa the extra $15 to guarantee a seat next to the one you love.

I love it!

Quote on Pessimists

The nice part about being a pessimist is that you are constantly being either proven right or pleasantly surprised.
- George F. Will

I Play My .. Gui-tarrrr

I'm teaching myself the guitar. Slowly. I know A, D & G. Luckily those are just the cords for "I Keep Falling in Love With Him" (Christian music). I kept playing and falling in love with him over and over again and now my fingers are pooped out. Just taking a 5-er to stretch them out before hitting it again.

2010 Winter Olympics

"When NBC kicked off its coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympics on Friday night, it was with a much different introduction than originally planned. The broadcast started at 7:30 p.m. ET with a somber intro from Bob Costas and Matt Lauer that detailed the death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvil earlier in the day. It was a respectful and necessary decision, but far from the triumphant opening sequence that was doubtlessly in the can. Still, it's safe to say that a vast majority of the 38 million Americans who were watching the Opening Ceremony hadn't yet seen the gruesome clip of Kumaritashvili flying off the course and crashing into a metal pole. Was a brief warning that suggested only "some people" would find it tough to see enough? NBC was right to cover the story, and showing the video was a necessary news decision. The network, which usually holds a tight grip on Olympic footage, even released the tape to other news organizations because "this was a significant news event." However, showing it three times at the beginning of coverage without an adequate warning and then airing a picture of a lifeless body getting medical attention was irresponsible. "~excerpt taken from Yahoo news
Oh my! We don't even have NBC and we saw this on another news channel. What is wrong with our society? I was appalled when I saw this video clip, replayed over and over, then in slow motion. I have a strong stomach, but that's not the point. This was disrespectful. A simple snapshot would have gotten the news across. His poor family.

Siesta

Rescuing pup from pound: $200+ dollars
Going to animal store for the first time and staring from scratch: $100
Buying a doggy kennel she hates: $40
Teeth cleaning and 2nd round of shots: $195
Capturing the two loves of my life taking an afternoon siesta: PRICELESS
Happy Valentines Day, everyone!

Introducing the Newest & Littlest Brooks

I ran out of things to blog about, so I got a dog. JK, that's not why we got her. We adopted her last Saturday. She's 6 years old. Vet thinks she's Pomeranian-chihuahua mix. She had to have her teeth cleaned on Friday and get her 2nd round of shots. Her teeth were SO brown and the vet said this is most likely from years of soft dog food. So, owners beware: hard dog food has its benefits regarding cleaning tartar from your dogs teeth. Her teeth are whiter than mine now! :) In this video, she's crazy, but for the most part she's pretty lazy. She got a bath this morning and is fluffier than ever. I absolutely love her!

Sun Country Airlines

Can you believe what the air lines are doing now? They are charging for baggage fees for your first bag and then they charge $15 to be guarenteed you sit next to the person with whom you're traveling! Are you kidding? I refuse to give them the satisfaction. This is like high school and being assigned seats next to people you don't like. I'm an adult. Let me sit where I want. To my knowledge, the purpose for the assigned seating initially was so that everyone has a seat that bought one. My guess as to this change? To lower costs when they cut the position of the employee who sat on their duff all day - assigning seats according to first come-first serve. COuld you imagine traveling with a 2 year old and telling him, "Sorry little Johny, we didn't have the extra $15, so you have to sit next to this stinky, sweaty 400# man whose hips are going to be crawling into your seat. Play nice". Arg. When are we going to put our foot down and say "ENOUGH!"