The fourth day of our vacation started with great fanfare. Well, really, I do not know whether it did or not, because I slept till 10 AM therefore missing whatever fanfare there might have been. As soon as I was fully awake, my lovely bride yelled that we had to get ready NOW. It was time to leave for Houston. So it was a chaotic scene as we were all racing to get ready before the "ride" left the house. I just had time to splash on another day's worth of Wacky Melon scent body wash, dry and style my hair (right!), get dressed, and jump into the departing Toyota Tundra. We had to be at a certain point in Houston by 11 AM. Well, just let me assure you that my brother-in-law, a transplant to Houston, has over the past few years mastered the art of DRIVING IN HOUSTON. The scenery and near collisions passed by so quickly that all I can say for sure is, we were NOT LATE to our appointment, even counting the two wrong turns on Hwy 59!
Having made the necessary rendezvous and picked up Uncle Duane, we then raced to the Harris County TXDOT office where our driver and my spouse had to pick up a certain document. I must say at this point that I was pleasantly surprised by the TXDOT service. Within minutes my spouse and her brother had returned, and it was now time to eat lunch. This is when things got just a tad dicey. My lovely bride had just installed Yelp on her IPhone, and she both decided on the restaurant at which we would dine, and navigated for us via Yelp. The problem was that Uncle Duane knew how to get to Pappadeaux, too. The other problem was that his directions were opposite those of the Yelp app. So we turned into the shopping center as indicated by Yelp. No Pappadeaux's. As we were driving down the service road on I-45 West, Uncle Duane pointed out the Pappadeaux's now clearly visible just across the Interstate. Seeing it so close, however, did not mean that we could GET TO IT! Not to worry...with just a couple of miles of stunt driving and committing a dozen or so moving violations, my brother-in-law delivered us safely to Pappadeaux's.
Mini review of Pappadeaux's: The food was okay, the service was alright, the noise was deafening, and the prices made me forget all the foregoing. All I can say was the conversation I could actually hear was great, but I was more than happy to get outside back to the tranquility of Interstate 45 traffic and the constant roar of jets passing overhead.
After the luncheon described above, we again boarded my brother-in-law's Tundra. Minutes later we were rocketing south on Hwy 288, again making "the Indy 500 look like a Roman chariot race now.." to quote a famous tune. My brother-in-law's talent as a fearless stunt driver should surely earn him a slot in Hollywood. We were back in Angleton in half the time it should have taken us, but back in one piece, and that is the important thing.
By 4:30 PM it was time to leave for Pearland. I was doing the driving this time, therefore there was less stunt drivering, and the length of travel time was more realistic. But the most exciting thing was that we were having dinner with my cousin, LeeAnn, whom I had not seen in probably thirty years, although we had "talked" occasionally on Facebook. I could not wait to get there. In fact we arrived early, so I had to take the spouse shopping in the Town Center. Finally though, it was time to go meet LeeAnn.
I cannot describe the feeling of finally seeing LeeAnn again. She was just as beautiful as the day I saw her last. I introduced her to my lovely bride, and to our grandnephewson. Cole was immediately taken with her, and they both spent a few minutes coloring in his coloring book. Sherron and LeeAnn hit it off just as well, too. It was such a great reunion. I could not stop hugging her. But then we were seated and ordered our food. But the great thing was that we talked just like we had not been strangers. By the time dinner was over and the young nephew was getting sleepy, we still could have talked for hours more. But all things have to come to an end. Our grandnephewson was up past his bedtime and it was beginning to show. So we said our goodbyes and got hugs all around. I already miss her and can't wait to see her again. I love you, LeeAnn.
It is now the end of the fourth day of vacation. Due to a certain task waiting for my lovely bride on Friday, we will leave tomorrow to drop Cole off at his home, then we will drive back to West Texas. I am still so wired from the dinner with my sweet cousin that I don't believe I will be sleepy for some time. I hope all of you have a chance to reunite with a distant relative or friend that you have not seen in some time. The strange thing is that once you see each other again, it is almost like you have not been apart for long at all.
I am so happy to see how many have read about my fairly mundane vacation, and I have to tell you that this is one of the best I have ever had. May God bless all of you, and especially may God bless our neighbors in Boston and in West. And God bless America.
Having made the necessary rendezvous and picked up Uncle Duane, we then raced to the Harris County TXDOT office where our driver and my spouse had to pick up a certain document. I must say at this point that I was pleasantly surprised by the TXDOT service. Within minutes my spouse and her brother had returned, and it was now time to eat lunch. This is when things got just a tad dicey. My lovely bride had just installed Yelp on her IPhone, and she both decided on the restaurant at which we would dine, and navigated for us via Yelp. The problem was that Uncle Duane knew how to get to Pappadeaux, too. The other problem was that his directions were opposite those of the Yelp app. So we turned into the shopping center as indicated by Yelp. No Pappadeaux's. As we were driving down the service road on I-45 West, Uncle Duane pointed out the Pappadeaux's now clearly visible just across the Interstate. Seeing it so close, however, did not mean that we could GET TO IT! Not to worry...with just a couple of miles of stunt driving and committing a dozen or so moving violations, my brother-in-law delivered us safely to Pappadeaux's.
Mini review of Pappadeaux's: The food was okay, the service was alright, the noise was deafening, and the prices made me forget all the foregoing. All I can say was the conversation I could actually hear was great, but I was more than happy to get outside back to the tranquility of Interstate 45 traffic and the constant roar of jets passing overhead.
After the luncheon described above, we again boarded my brother-in-law's Tundra. Minutes later we were rocketing south on Hwy 288, again making "the Indy 500 look like a Roman chariot race now.." to quote a famous tune. My brother-in-law's talent as a fearless stunt driver should surely earn him a slot in Hollywood. We were back in Angleton in half the time it should have taken us, but back in one piece, and that is the important thing.
By 4:30 PM it was time to leave for Pearland. I was doing the driving this time, therefore there was less stunt drivering, and the length of travel time was more realistic. But the most exciting thing was that we were having dinner with my cousin, LeeAnn, whom I had not seen in probably thirty years, although we had "talked" occasionally on Facebook. I could not wait to get there. In fact we arrived early, so I had to take the spouse shopping in the Town Center. Finally though, it was time to go meet LeeAnn.
I cannot describe the feeling of finally seeing LeeAnn again. She was just as beautiful as the day I saw her last. I introduced her to my lovely bride, and to our grandnephewson. Cole was immediately taken with her, and they both spent a few minutes coloring in his coloring book. Sherron and LeeAnn hit it off just as well, too. It was such a great reunion. I could not stop hugging her. But then we were seated and ordered our food. But the great thing was that we talked just like we had not been strangers. By the time dinner was over and the young nephew was getting sleepy, we still could have talked for hours more. But all things have to come to an end. Our grandnephewson was up past his bedtime and it was beginning to show. So we said our goodbyes and got hugs all around. I already miss her and can't wait to see her again. I love you, LeeAnn.
It is now the end of the fourth day of vacation. Due to a certain task waiting for my lovely bride on Friday, we will leave tomorrow to drop Cole off at his home, then we will drive back to West Texas. I am still so wired from the dinner with my sweet cousin that I don't believe I will be sleepy for some time. I hope all of you have a chance to reunite with a distant relative or friend that you have not seen in some time. The strange thing is that once you see each other again, it is almost like you have not been apart for long at all.
I am so happy to see how many have read about my fairly mundane vacation, and I have to tell you that this is one of the best I have ever had. May God bless all of you, and especially may God bless our neighbors in Boston and in West. And God bless America.
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