Weekend in the Big D and Still Hacking

My crew (my family) always has a great time when we travel from place to place and this weekend was no exception. Using Ian's birthday as an excuse to have a family road trip Deb and I worked up a quick trip to Dallas for a little bit of urbanism and most of all to take Ian to his first NBA game. A friend was able to wrangle complimentary tickets for the Mavs versing the San Antonio Spurs (far and away E's favorite team from birth). Everyone (including Jake) was looking forward to the trip so off we went.

Loaded up the car Thursday night (after week 6 of foster/adoptive class) and at 8am Friday we were on the road. The boys had no problem missing the last day of school prior to spring break; imagine that... Deb quickly pulled out 'The Hobbit' and started reading. This is a pretty routine setting for road trips and it makes the time fly and this was no exception.


Similar to downtown Bodunklivar

Around 4:15pm we pulled into downtown Dallas to our hotel. Freshened up a bit and caught the hotel shuttle to the American Airlines Center way before the tip off in hopes of getting some autographs during warmups. Oh, I forgot to mention the temp was high 80's and we were in shock of the heat (ha!). Heading into the arena I reminded Ian that the odds of any signatures were not good, but we would still give it a try. Down to the floor we went just as several of the Spurs were coming thru; short version is my little man got a mini ball signed by the following: T Duncan, M Ginobelli, T Parker, R Jefferson, G Neal, and the list goes on and on. We were all having a good time and excited watching Ian in pure heaven meeting his basketball hero's; so fun watching Jake encourage and congratulate his little bro with every signature obtained.

Off to our seats (and food) for a great game where in the Spurs beat on Dallas. Quick taxi back to the hotel and the rest of the night was reliving Ian's blow by blow of the action. This evening ranked pretty close to the week we took Jake to Disney when he was 8 or so years old - awesome!

Saturday morning I hopped up and snagged a couple hour ride with Rod Lake (a friend from when we lived in SA), who now lived in Allen, TX. Fun easy cruise while we caught up. Got back to the hotel just in time to walk over to What A Burger for lunch; just what the boys had wanted as they pointed them out every time we passed one on the drive down. From there it was to the Dallas World Aquarium (highly recommend) for a great afternoon of fun viewing.


This little guy (sloth) was by far our favorite as he was completely open to the public with no cages or wall; odd creature
.

Next was a jog (figuratively) over to the JFK area, then through the West End, then back to the hotel. Freshened up a bit before hitting a local joint (always the best) for an authentic Mexican (not Tex Mex) dinner at Avila. Holy cow we all ate way too much, but we just couldn't stop. Enchiladas with Tomotilla sauce, fresh made tortillas, and the list goes on... (No freaking way will I be able to go back to El Rodeo for at least a couple months). Everyone was stuffed and kind of beat so the rest of the evening was spent watching some March Madness.

Sunday morning everyone slept in late, chowed on breakfast, then headed north. A good stop in Allen at a huge outlet mall was fun as Deb went one way while Ian, Jake, and I went another. After loading up the new 'luggage' from shopping, it was time to finish The Hobbit on the drive home and that's what was done.

All in all a great weekend trip as we all agreed several times since.

Back to reality...

Monday I was able to snag a couple hours on the road mid-afternoon and was still snorting and hacking. It's getting better, but not near clear as my energy level is still a struggle.

Tuesday early AM I got in 1:30hrs on the road during in awesome conditions; spring is just around the corner (so we thought...). Played a solid 1:20hrs of basketball at noon for an 'interval' session. Still coughing every 20 seconds.

Wednesday was Jake's 18th birthday and it made for a great rest day. Lunch at Master Wangs, basketball practice (for the last time this season), Deb's casadillia for supper, a huge bday cookie, finished up with Deb and I taking Jake to see a 9:50pm showing of Red Riding Hood (on the top 10 worst movie list).

It's great watching Jake grow in so many different ways and it's always nice to have a kid his age and the biggest worry is if he put on deodorant (ha); quality through and through.

It seems someone forgot to pay mother nature's power bill as the heats been cut off. Temps back in the 40s this week, which meant my lunch ride today was on the rollers (1:15hrs) since the windchill was 25*. ARGGGGGG