Houston Was Grand

The weather was spotty, but we managed.

(As always, pictures are clickable, so please, don't make the pictures sad, they long to be clicked, so click early, click often.)

Dylan and I took off Friday evening and we arrived at Fred and Christine's about 8:30. We had fruit, cheese, excellent salami and beverages.

Saturday morning after sleeping quite late, we went to have an early lunch/late breakfast at Le Madeleine. It was packed. Not feeling up to an hour wait, we opted for Cafe Express. Always a good choice. I had the Signature Triple Deli Salad. Delicious.

We then went to Barnes and Noble where I purchased (for me) Disgrace and Midnight's Children, (For the boys summer reading) A Tale Of Two Cities and A Separate Peace. I also bought Dylan a study guide to go with the Dickens. I then did a bit of shopping at World Market. I picked up some wine and a few items for the kitchen.

Saturday evening was windy, oppressively humid and quite warm stiflingly hot. We hoped to eat a little seafood outside on the water and listen to the band at this place.

The weather had other ideas, so it was seafood inside, sans band.

The Top Water Grill, right before the rain.

Great food, shoddy service.

Our table had fish tacos (perfect), fried shrimp and scallops (light, panko covered, and moist), ribeye steak (slightly over-cooked). Flat draft beer.

Sunday morning brought us a little sunshine, and much less humidity. We went downtown to have brunch at Farrago. There was about a 45 minute wait to be seated, but a place at the bar and bottomless Mimosa's made the wait almost pleasant.

The crowd was for the most part a little younger and hipper than we were, but we weren't there to be seen, we were there for the food!

The food delivered.

With the exception of the potato cakes, which were far too crisp, the food was divine. I started with the petite bowl of Pasole. OK - petite is a relative term. Petite compared to a washtub maybe. I was served a well-sized bowl of the most perfect pasole I have ever eaten. The pork was lean, tender, and juicy. When cooking pork this tender, it often becomes stringy and dry. Not here, the pork was tender enough to just about melt in your mouth, and moist all the way through. It was spicy, but not distractingly so, it tasted of roasted chile, pork, and hominy, with a clean taste of lime and cilantro cutting through ever so slightly. It was perfect. So perfect, in fact, that my otherwise exceptional huevos rancheros on tomato polenta and black beans with roasted corn salsa was a mere afterthought, although a delicious after thought to be sure.

The tenderloin migas was wonderful and well cooked, and the spinach and feta souffle with a rosemary beurre blanc was outstanding. Tender, smooth, and decadently rich. I wish I had taken more pictures, but by this time the bottomless mimosas were taking their toll.

Farrago

Fred and Christine didn't mind the wait.

Dylan, not enjoying the wait as much as we were.

The bar was full of happy mimosa drinkers.

Perfect Pasole

There was a little sunshine downtown.

This little girl enjoyed the weather.

Can you name this (infamous) building?

This is from the downtown Aquarium. Too bad the food isn't as good as the view.

I love downtown.

We made our trip to Le Madeleine on Monday before hitting the Mall, where I did my part to boost the economy.

I bought some clothes, some photography lights, and a new lens. My next food pictures should be significantly better. We shall see.

That's why

Houston Bound . . . .

Wanna know why?


Now you know.

Ugh!

Exhaustingly busy today. I'm trying to get a little ahead so I can take off this weekend and enjoy the Holiday.

I will definitely have to work tomorrow, depending on where I am after tomorrow, Saturday remains in question.

Either way I expect to take Sunday and Monday off, which in and of itself is a holiday!

I expect we might hit the Bay House again, but I don't know for sure. Clinton is going to Garner State Park with his friends. He will love it! I'll keep you guys posted as to my plans, but what about yours?

Tell how you plan to spend the holiday.

Well? I'm waiting . . . . .

I Had a Nice Weekend . . .

And since it looks like I may not get another one anytime soon. . . .

Here are some photos, and as always, they may be clicked to embiggen . . . . . . .

My friends Fred and Christine came to visit. I go see them quite a bit. Whenever I say I spent the weekend in Houston, I was most likely at their house. They don't often come down here. They have quite a few relatives in the area. It's difficult for them to come down here and spend time at my house without upsetting a relative or two. Those of you who are married can probably appreciate what I'm talking about. So, we slipped away to D&L's Bay House, AKA Rancho Gordo. It's only about 20 minutes away, but it feels like it's hours away. . . . . . .




Fred and Christine are like most of us, they work, work, work and often spend the weekend catching up on housework. They enjoyed the opportunity to relax.


Mostly we sat on the porch and listened to music. This is the view from the porch.


We grilled some chicken and veggies, but since it was a bit of a vacation, there's always a little room on the grill for some pork sausages, right?


I didn't take all of the pictures, Dylan took this one. You can see me there in the Shiner shirt, showing my best side.


It was a little cloudy for the most part, but it cleared up just in time for sunset.


We picked dewberries. Dewberries are tasty, but you must be careful and patient to pick them, they are always deep in the thicket.


Of course, this is what your hands will look like when you're done.


Like I said, it was a nice weekend.

I Survived The Trip!!

Details and pictures coming to a blog near you soon. . . . .

To whet your appetite . . . .

Good Morning From The Road . . .

Well, it took 8 and a half hours to get here.

But that was ok, we had excellent conversation and (two of us), plenty of beer.

This morning we are crossing the border into Oklahoma for a bit of gambling at the Native American Casino.

I'll have pictures later, I can't upload from this machine.

Did I miss anything?

Guacamole tastes better on the beach….

Brave Sir Robin had a snack on the beach. (Under the shade of a Tiki Hut of course.)

More About The Cruise ......

Ok, I promised a post at lunch. I wish I had time to sit down and write.

The cruise was fine.

The ship was impeccably clean, the staff was attentive, friendly, and efficient, the food was excellent and interesting, the weather was perfect, and the alcohol was plentiful.

So what’s the problem?

My worst fear was that I’d get on the ship and be overwhelmed by a flood of memories and be miserable. I’m happy to report it wasn’t that bad. I did have moments of deeply missing her, mostly during meals and in the late evening. I avoided the places she and I frequented most, and that seemed to help.

I took the attitude that I was there to relax, rest, read, and rejuvenate. I didn’t attend a single show, I didn’t once rush to get somewhere by a certain time, and when I was tired, I slept. That in and of itself is such a vacation from my regular life that it was rejuvenating.

Oddly enough, it was debarking and the long drive home alone that really made me the saddest

Over the next few days, I will try to fill you in on the details.

By This Time Tomorrow....

I will have my drink on!!

Brave Sir Robin usually eschews fruity, sweet drinks. However, when in Rome.......

All Work And No Play.......

Make Brave Sir Robin a very dull cranky boy.

At the rate I'm going, I will be too tired to do anything but sleep on the ship. 12 hour days without a day off since the 22nd. I only worked 10 hours on Halloween and only 6 on Sunday, but I had to drive 4 hours Sunday to pick the kids up from their Mother's.

I really have planned to post, but work and sleep keep getting in the way.

I managed a run to the book store yesterday to pick up World Without End. I plan on re-reading The Pillars Of The Earth first. I started it yesterday, so between the two of those, I should be set for the cruise, they are both nice and long.

.... Hmm, that didn't sound very sexual did it? I can just hear Sean Connery on Celebrity Jeopardy saying, "Joost like yoor Moother likes it Trebek."

Enjoy:

7 More Days....

Until I sail to Cozumel

So, A German, An Australian, And A Gringo Go To Mexico...

Brave Sir Robin had a great Holiday Weekend. My family and close friends took a weekend roadie to sunny Mexico. A good time was had by all. In fact, I have material for several posts over the next few days. Along the way, I "chaperoned" a couple of Foreign Exchange students. Hmmmm. You may ask yourself. "What kind of chaperone would Brave Sir Robin make? Was I successful? Well, you be the judge.

I call this one "Before"

I call this one "During"

I call this one "After"