Overdue update, Part II

Now, for our most recent visit:

The Texas baseball Rangers (as opposed to the law enforcement Rangers) have broken so many hearts over the years that most fans have long ago given up on any chances of success in the post-season. We have been so used to failure year in and year out that, unless you are a die-hard fan or a fool, you have not even considered play-off games for years. It is with this in mind that I begin this account of our most recent visit.

The Rangers made the play-offs, a rare feat, so we decided to go to Arlington to watch them play on Saturday against Tampa Bay. (It's only 300 miles out of the way.) Friday night after arriving, we drove down to the Entertainment District, past Six Flags to see the area around the Rangers Ballpark and kind of get an idea about where we might need to try to park the next day. When what to my wondering eyes should appear, but Cowboys Stadium hit me in the face! We stared in amazement at what $1,300,000,000 (that's 1.3 BILLION DOLLARS) looks like. I don't know what else to say, except that I'll bet the big, new Wal-Mart directly across the street from the stadium does pretty good business...

Anyway, the weekend was to be the biggest sports weekend ever in Arlington, with Texas A&M playing Arkansas in Cowboys Stadium and the Ranger game both on Saturday, then the Rangers and the Cowboys both playing on Sunday (not each other, but it might have been interesting!) We had a great time at the game, even though they lost, and in spite of the hour-and -a-half drive to go ten miles to get back to the motel after the game, it was a very nice day.

For those of you who may have missed it, Sunday the 10th was literally a once-in-a-lifetime occurance, unless you happen to be a centenarian born at just the right time. The date was October 10, 2010, or 10-10-10. If you happened to be born on October 10, you are quite a special person. My Helen is such a one. So we wanted to celebrate her special day in a special way. After packing the car and checking out of the motel, we used her I-phone map ap to find First Baptist Church Arlington. We decided the middle service at 9:30 (they have services at 8:00 and 11:00 also) would best fit our schedule, and we arrived with twenty minutes to spare and went inside.

The main reason we wanted to go to FBCA was because we have close friends--a couple--from CTRC who live in Arlington and go there. We were delighted to see one of them as soon as we walked in the front door into the welcome center. To say that she was surprised to see us there out of the blue would be an understatement. And he said I almost scared the pants off of him when he saw me. We were blessed by the worship service and our time with our friends, and, after saying goodbyes, were off to San Antonio.

We opted to avoid the Austin I-35 traffic by taking Highway 281 from Stephenville, a new route for us. Coincidentally, but not really, Hamilton just happens to be on 281, so we made a pit stop to drop by and see Helen's sister Diane and her husband Doug, since we were in the neighborhood. That was an unplanned and unexpected blessing.

Our ultimate plan was to end up at our favorite eating spot, The Gristmill in Gruene, a tiny town just outside of New Braunfels, for our evening meal. The ribs there are the best either of us have ever eaten. Literally (and I am not using that term loosely), they are fall-off-the-bone ribs. The only ribs I have found that can be eaten without having to use your fingers. And the Gruene beans are also the best I have ever had. Finishing off with a huge strawberry shortcake dessert, we arrived at San Antonio Sunday evening after a very enjoyable day.

Our Monday began a new cycle (#18) on my cancer drug. The mid-morning appointment time allowed us the blessing of slow traffic, and my day at CTRC went pretty easy. I made them happy again by stepping on the scales. That's all I will say about that.

A thousand miles this trip, with some nice diversions. We both had a great time with our best friend. We are so blessed to be healthy enough to do so. God is so good to us!