Texas Travelogue ’08, Day 1

This entry is part 1 of 5 in the series Texas Travelogue '08

Things have been slow around the blog the last week (obviously), since the fam and I have been on the road in Texas, visiting my in-laws. Please accept these next few round-ups as a small amount of compensation for the dearth.

Day 1: Saturday, March 8th

Kate and Poppy.
Scooted over from home to my parents’ place to hop a ride down to PHL to catch our flight out of Philly. American Airlines’ check-in services was painfully slow (to the tune of 1:15), so much so that we cleared check-in with a mere 5 minutes to spare before our scheduled departure. We cleared the TSA’s gauntlet in nigh-record time and huffed our way to the gate, only to find around 30 other folks waiting to board as well. We hopped aboard the 737, took our seats and a few deep breaths later were on our way to the flightline.
We were looking forward to a timely takeoff, but the weather had different ideas apparently, as we ended up sitting on the tarmac for around an hour waiting for a line of thunderstorms to blow themselves out before chancing departure. Fortunately, we only ended up losing an hour and were aloft with very little trouble.
The flight was smooth and relatively uneventful, with Alvin and the Chipmunks being the in-flight “entertainment” (so labeled since I was able to follow the entire movie, start-to-finish, without the benefit of headphones) and the drink service minimal, but we soldiered on. The kids were wonderful for the duration of the 3.5 hour flight, so much so that we received compliments from several sets of passengers as to their behavior upon our arrival at DFW.
“Nanny” and “Poppy” met us at the airport and swung us by Whattaburger to grab dinner (I ate a chicken sandwich, and yes, I’m aware of the irony inherent in that) and then went back to my in-laws to hit the hay as soon as was possible.

Texas Travelogue ’08, Day 2

This entry is part 2 of 5 in the series Texas Travelogue '08

Day 2: Sunday, March 9th

Will and Kate
Sunday was spent largely recovering from the trip on Saturday and hanging out with my wife’s sister, brother and brother’s girlfriend. We hung around the in-laws’ and chatted with the family, most of whom hadn’t yet seen Kate in person.
We also made the inaugural trip to Sonic for a Route 44 Ocean Water. Sonic is civilization! Sonic is life!

Texas Travelogue Extended

This entry is part 3 of 5 in the series Texas Travelogue '08

Weather!  Khaaaaan!
So we were supposed to leave Dallas today, just like I was supposed to be blogging this trip. I can still make up for that, but the wholesale flight cancellations that occurred at DFW International Airport today can’t really be made up. Here’s to hoping we’ll be able to get out tomorrow morning. Then we’ve got this waiting for us, of course:
Khaaaaaaaaaaaaaann again!  Weather!
Wheeee!

Texas Travelogue ’08, Days 3 And 4

This entry is part 4 of 5 in the series Texas Travelogue '08

Dallas World Aquarium

Day 3: Monday, March 10th

We spent most of Monday of our first week at the Dallas World Aquarium in downtown Dallas. However, I have little photographic evidence of said trip, as Yours Truly forgot to charge both camera batteries and thus the above snap constitutes the lion’s share of my photographic output for the day.
In any event, it’s a bit difficult to describe the DWA as an “aquarium”, as it houses a menagerie of animals that would be far more suited to the “zoo” appellation. There were tropical birds of all shapes and colors, monkeys, tamarins, flamingos, a leopard, South African penguins, snakes, vampire bats, even a shark tank — the list goes on. Needless to say, Will was ecstatic about the whole affair, particularly the giant river otter and the sharks.
A word about the penguins, if I may: they are dirty, filthy animals and I hope their mothers are properly disgusted at their behavior. Apparently, they aren’t the biggest fans of spectators, so the majority of the flock(?) hid under the concrete walkway surrounding their enclosure, while two of the braver souls defiantly stood erect on the island in the center of the pen, “voiding their penguin colons”, shall we say. If you have never smelled South African penguin poop, you’ve not yet lived, I assure you. Please also note that we visited the gift shop earlier in our excursion, at which time my father-in-law bought Will a stuffed S.A. penguin doll. Those of you with young children will no doubt have already made the logical jump that Will made, connecting the real life penguins with the doll, namely: he now calls the doll “Poopy Penguin” and giggles nigh-uncontrollably whenever the subject comes up. Ahh, the souvenirs we now carry…
After an entertaining morning at the aquarium, we headed back to my in-laws for a relatively mild afternoon. If I recall correctly, we sat down and watched Evan Almighty, a movie my wife and I had not seen. Short review: cute, family-friendly, love Morgan Freeman’s portrayal of God, more plot holes and less character development than an episode of Dragon Ball Z. This viewing was followed by a trip to the salon where my sister-in-law works for haircuts for both my wife and son.
My wife and I ate at the South Greenville Gloria’s with my sister-in-law and her boyfriend that evening and enjoyed the experience immensely. I of course took the opportunity to avail myself of a couple of Shiner Bocks, as I’m always up for the local TX beer of choice.

Day 4: Tuesday, March 11th

I have no photos from that Tuesday, nor do I remember anything particularly eventful, so nothing of any significance must’ve happened, or I’d remember it, right? And even if something did happen, I don’t have the pictures to prove it. *grin*

Texas Travelogue ’08, Day 5

This entry is part 5 of 5 in the series Texas Travelogue '08

Day 5: Wednesday, March 12th

It’s been a long time since I added anything to this year’s travelogue, so I thought it might be a good time to throw together a bunch of photos I took on the Wednesday of our trip.
My in-laws have a dear friend who is starting her own photo studio and who agreed to take some high quality pictures of Will and Kate in the park across from my wife’s childhood home. While all the fuss and commotion was in process, I managed to snap a few “behind the scenes”-esque shots, some of which are reproduced below the fold.
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