Dallas Trippin'

So we and about a jillion other Okies hit the road this past Friday morning for Dallas but I'm willing to bet we were the only ones not in pursuit of the Holy Grail of the OU-Texas football game. As fine a Fall morning as you can imagine: crystal blue skies, brisk temperature, the grasses and trees still green though just a blush of color coming on. We picked up Rachel's buddy and then Emily's pal and after a quick stop at McDonald's, were south bound.

We anticipated trouble on the state line but found none; the rumored road repairs had been complete and our early departure had put us ahead of the crimson horde that surely was pressing behind us. We made our first stop - the Grapevine Mills mall in, well, Grapevine, and off everyone went to wherever it is they wanted to go to. Me, I parked myself in the bookstore and browsed and browsed. Clara finished first and we hit the Starbuck's. We ran into Doug, who works for my office partner, and his grandmother, who was visiting from a small town in Pennsylvania. Odd to come 200 miles to run into someone I see everyday and in a different context, but we had a nice visit; Doug's grandmother was on her second trip to Texas and was still awed by all the wide open spaces. Good for her.

The girls and the their buddies caught up to us and we moved on. Next stop, The Galleria. Oh, look, they were ready for us: Balloons!



(This was the only shot I got of the trip. You can click here for pictures from our last trip to Dallas back in the Spring.)

A little too pricey for our budget but still a lot of fun to check out. Though the mall lost its book store some time ago and still hasn't replaced it. What's up with that? Dinner at The Grand Luxe and, you know, call us spoiled but we kinda think the slightly lower-scaled Cheesecake Factory is better and has more selections. Ah, well, not a bad meal but still, we expected more. Finished up by doing some people-watching while the girls hit their final stores. I inadvertently - honest! - parked myself near the Victoria's Secret but the pouty-lipped models in their skivvies on the posters drove me to distraction. Why so serious, girls? You're in your underwear! Except for public speaking, and that's only in your dreams, nothing really bad happens when you're in your underwear.

The girls finished and off we went to the hotel in Frisco. The lobby was jammed with giddy Okies but we threaded our way through the crowd up to our room and got settled in. The girls headed out to explore and later hit the pool while Clara and I stayed in and channel-surfed. You know, there's no lacking of sports channels on hotel cable packages. That and kid's channels. Do hotels know their customers or what?

The girls got back at a decent hour and we settled in for the night. But at 1:00 a.m, I awoke we some deep central gut pain like I've never experienced before. Dang. Tried the usual remedies to rid myself of it - medication, self-gagging, other methods best left undescribed. No luck. About ever 30 seconds I found myself getting up from bed and hitting the bathroom but the pain just. Wouldn't. Budge. By around 7:00 it was clear that Clara's advice that I seek out some kind of medical help was pretty sound. I managed to dress, stumble out the door, find the elevator, buy a whoppingly priced tiny bottle of Pepto and did a shot of that, and todder over to the front desk to get directions to the nearest doc-in-the-box. Only four miles away. Oughtta be able to do that. Without barfing? That could be another story.

Got in the car, found my way through the early morning Frisco streets, found the doc-in-the-box had long ago moved but also found a sympathetic manager at the Kroger's next door who sent me back to another location not far away. Made it in time to find the bathroom and return the earlier shot of Pepto - My, such a bright pink for so early in the morning! They checked me in, got my vitals, took some blood, and with the high white cell count and symptoms determined I'd picked up a nice stomach infection. Some 'scrips to fill and I'd be fine. Which I'd managed to start doing just laying there waiting to be examined. Great!

Got the 'scrips filled, found my way back to the hotel - a whole lot easier when not fighting nausea - and managed to make it back by 10:00. Clara and the girls were dressed, fed, and ready for the next mall. Well, all righty then. Had a good laugh at my demise - Rachel had heard some of it and Emily wanted to know who Ralph was and why I kept shouting his name into the toilet. I felt good enough for a few pancakes and then we headed out, none the worse for the wear.

The girls did their shopping, I did my book browsing, and when we were through, we grabbed a snack for the road. Headed out on the Dallas Tollway and picked up a cross highway that would put us back on the Interstate outside of Denton and then we were home free. Crossed into Oklahoma but by then the morning and medications were catching up to me so time for Clara to take over. Another beautiful Fall day, perfect for driving.

Made it home just fine. Dropped off our guests, got the dogs from the in-laws, then headed home. Done. Another journey completed, safe and sound, with only a minor detour. I'd call that pretty good, wouldn't you?

We're Back

Made the trip to Dallas and back. Catching up so details will have to wait but if you're following me on Twitter - and, really, if you're not, why not? - you've had some thrilling, as-they-happen, tweets that would've told you what went on when it happened. Summary: all went according to plan and then we came home. Oh, and OU lost. Dang.

Driving With The Roof Open

Had to take Rachel's car in for some routine maintenance - you know, oil change, tire rotation, and then a few more things - and it wasn't ready to be picked up until Monday evening. It just so happens Rachel needed an item or two of clothing so that meant a brief shopping trip for her and Clara and that meant I'd get the task of picking up Rachel's car and driving it home.

Good deal. Rachel's car has a moon roof but she says she never uses it. Something about mussed hair. Well, I have no problem with mussed hair so I cranked the roof open and hit the backroad home from Norman.

A fine Autumn early evening, too. I had my cell camera so that meant pictures.

Nothing but blue skies through the moon roof:

And the occasional set of power lines and telephone pole and part of a sign:

Since it was no big thing to stick the cell phone outside - whoops, almost lost it there in the rushing wind - to shoot the scene that way rather than through the bug-spattered windshield, that's what I did.

The bucolic countryside:

Looks like I'm not the only one enjoying their drive:

Yep, you're in Sooner country:

I got more than a few looks from people wondering what it was I was doing with my hand stuck outside the car's roof. Having a pretty good time, I'd tell 'em, if they asked.

Fall Begins

Fall is the perfect time for ruminations of the past - the winding down of the year, the gradual glide into Winter and all of its finality - time to look over your shoulder and see what has been and chart your satisfactions and regrets.

Nobody does it better than James Lileks so why even try? Here he's at his best when he details this year's neighborhood fair:

No face painting this time; no silly games where you get plastic flotsam. Off with friends, into the dark. Love and laughter are like water; you need them to live. And they run through your fingers no matter how tightly you cup your hands.

The shadows lengthen, the days start later and give it up earlier. What was all that fuss about the hot summer, you wonder. Too early to look towards the next one; we'll still have Winter and all of its pleasures to get through and then Spring. But Summer's had its say. Time to listen to Fall.

Labor Day 2009

Still early and no plans have been set in stone for the rest of the day but we've got a vague intention to get up and out and do something different than we normally do on a long weekend. Then again, we may do nothing at all. Don't we do enough during the week? Shouldn't we honor labor by taking a break from our own? We'll see. It's good to have so many choices. All we have to do is choose.

Yesterday we had Mac and Helen over for grilled burgers and fixin's and then just some good ol' fashioned sitting-around-and-jawing-time with them and the girls. The days where we can do this kind of thing are numbered so it's a pleasure to have them while we do. The weather was warm - high up near 90 and with no breeze, making it feel hotter than it was but nowhere near the blast-furnace temperatures it could've been. Made for an enjoyable day.

So we have the summer in our rearview mirror now. It's been a good one, likely the last of its kind now that Rachel's a senior in high school. Did we do all we set out to do? Not hardly but we did do a few things and that's good enough. Time to move on into Fall and the pleasures that'll hold.