As I pulled into my driveway at 4 o'clock this morning, I let a sigh of relief to finally be off the road after 4 1/2 hours of driving and a long, long weekend. I'll start at the top and work my way down the list of things we did this weekend.
Elizabeth and I left Alexandria about 5:30 p.m. Friday after she got off work and we grabbed a bite to eat. We decided to take the backroads through Texas, as we'd heard it was quicker. It's actually about the same time -- 4.5 hours. As we got into Houston at around 10 p.m., that's when the adventure started.
I use Yahoo! maps, even though I try to keep an Atlas in my car. Yahoo! warns that they can't account for things such as construction or closed roads, etc. They also can't account for stupidity. So Elizabeth is driving down U.S. 59 towards Houston, and we're looking for I-610 to loop around to where our friends, Alan and Misti, live on the northwest part of town. So we come up on 610 West and take the exit. My map says we'll only be on the interstate for 0.8 miles and we're looking for Exit 7. So the first exit is ... Exit 16? Alright, no biggie. Since the exits are going down, we'll eventually run into 7 -- just a few miles further down the road than I was expecting.
So we go on ahead a couple of miles until we're near Exit 13, and traffic starts coming to a crawl. Apparently, they're closing the two outside lanes for some reason. Is it a wreck? No. Should have figured it was construction. Big cities in Texas have constant construction. The two outside lanes converge into one, and then before we know that one lane has become the shoulder. We're on a five-lane highway -- driving on the shoulder!
That's cool, though. We'll make it through to Exit 7. Except before we know it, we are diverted off I-610 onto I-10. That's about when we hit the panic button. So I call Alan, who gets on the computer and tries to walk me through some directions. After some yelling (from my wife to me because I'm not relaying Alan's directions quickly enough to the person who's actually doing the driving), we find ourselves back onto a feeder road to I-610. Alright, this is no problem! We'll just follow 610 until our exit, and then we'll be good.
Sounds too easy, doesn't it? Well, it was. About a mile from our exit, the feeder road stops, and our choices are to get back on I-610, get back onto U.S. 59 (wait, where did that come from? More on that in a minute), or turn right. So, thinking we'll still be following the feeder road, I tell Elizabeth to turn right (see, there's that stupidity). Oh, look honey, there's the Galleria. Insert a few yells here. Oh, right. We're lost. So we drive on ahead, trying to make heads or tells of our situation. Back on the phone with Alan, who again walks me through how to get to his apartment. We've finally got it! Except somehow those directions get misinterpreted from my ears to my brain to my mouth. We're lost again!
Elizabeth stops at a gas station. At this point -- all joking aside -- she's threatening to put me out on the straight and she'll go check into a hotel. So, again, I call up the ever-patient Alan (who, bless his heart, has had to be very patient lately, as you've read about the drama he and Misti have been going through lately -- more on that later). This time, Alan stays on the phone with me the whole as he holds my head and guides me to his apartment. Finally, we made it! After 45 minutes of being lost in one of the largest cities in the country, we arrived at Alan and Misti's apartment.
So we get into the apartment, settle into the spare bedroom and then stay up for an hour or two talking with Alan, Misti and Sophie (their chihuahua). Well, actually, we talked with Alan for the most part, as Misti and Sophie slept in a chair. Anyway, we caught up for a little bit and then crashed, exhausted after a long day.
The following morning, we got up and it hit me! I knew what happened. You remember back when we had the choice of getting on 610 or 59, and I (stupidly) chose neither. That's the original exit I was supposed to take off of U.S. 59. The two roads intersect twice, and we chose the first exit instead of the second one. All right, I'll remember that!
So we had breakfast with Alan and Misti (blueberry muffins, yum, even if they had flaxseed in them) and then hit the road headed to College Station for the Louisiana Tech football game against Texas A&M.
Onto College Station
We got into town around 2 p.m., just enough time for us to grab a bite to eat for lunch and then make our way around campus a little bit before the 6 p.m. kickoff. This was my second visit to College Station. The last time, four years ago, we went to a burrito place called Freeb!rds World Burrito. So, naturally, that's where I wanted to go again. After eating lunch (which, again, I thought was delicious and Elizabeth felt was so-so), we headed out to find the campus.
Alan had told us we needed to visit the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum (named after the father, not the son), and we had seen a sign on our way into town. So we headed back out to try and find it. Wow, talk about gorgeous! From the sign at the entrance to the drive up to the museum, the manicured lawns to the ornate statues, this place was first-rate. We never saw the library (the grounds is also home to a conference center and the Bush School of Government and Public Service), but we did take a tour of the museum. From his childhood, to his service during the war, days as a student at Yale and young husband and father, to his decision to leave his Connecticut roots and head to Texas, all the way to his climb up the political ladder to the presidency, the Bush Museum offers a very comprehensive look into the life of George Herbert Walker Bush, our 41st president.
After spending an hour or two touring the museum, we finally decided to make our way to the stadium. Instead of fighting -- and paying -- for parking, we just walked the 2 miles or so from the library to Kyle Field, "The Home of the 12th Man." We made our way through hundreds of Aggie tailgaters, hooked up the man who bought my spare tickets (since Alan and Misti stayed back in Houston in case any more complications arose and they were forced back to the ER; fortunately, she was OK when we left last night), and then went into the stadium about 50 minutes prior to kickoff.
Elizabeth and I bought some hot dogs and drinks and made our way to our seats. Initially, I didn't think we would have very good seats. I mean, we were stuck in the corner of the stadium. We weren't even in the end zone, much less on a yard line. But, we did have something. Right there to our left stood the "Gigatron" -- a 74-foot by 54-foot high-def LCD video screen which showed 12th Man TV and replayed every single play of the game. Man, did that thing make watching a football game much more fun!
So, we're settled in next to the Gigatron. Got some grub and some drinks. We're ready to go. And so is mother nature. A huge storm is making its way to College Station, forcing the delay of kickoff. Now, this is a first for me. I've heard of rain delays in baseball, but in college football? Never! But due to the severity of the storm and the lightning coming with it, kickoff was being pushed back. The game was delayed for two hours, as everyone fled to seek shelter from the storm. And what a storm it was! Lots of lightning and buckets of rain. Elizabeth and I sought cover near our seats under one of the awnings of an upper deck. And it kept us dry, right? Of course not! Thanks to engenious Aggie engineering, we might as well have been out in the storm. I mean, I got absolutely soaked. But a little rain never hurt nobody!
During the delay, I was able to catch up with some old buddies. I ran into Ms. Susan Elkins (formerly Hilton), who works in the registrar's office at Tech and is the mother of my former roommate, Brian Hilton, and also a former landlady of mine. Saw Kyle and Ginger Guice, two former Ruston High and Tech classmates who are now living in Austin, as Kyle is going to graduate school at the University of Texas. Saw Binni Keleta and Grant Terry, but I see them all the time. Just didn't want to leave them out of the story. Also ran into some old buddies from college -- Josh Jordan, Dave Asfar and Jason Shinaberry.
The rain delay gave me and Elizabeth a chance to visit with JJ for about 30 minutes. JJ is from Deville, which is right outside of Pineville. We met at Tech and ran with some mutual friends, played a lot of basketball together. Great guy. Nowadays, he is working in the aviation industry based out of Austin. Until March, however, he'll be in New Jersey -- 15 minutes from the Newark airport, where coincidentally, I'm flying into this coming weekend. Small world!
After the storm subsided, Elizabeth and I made our way back to our seats and got ready for the action. Not much to tell here. Tech played well early. Led 7-0 at the end of the first quarter and trailed 14-7 at halftime. But much like when the Bulldogs played some of the big boys, they faded late in the game and lost 45-14. The game was disappointing. The outcome was negative. Due to the rain delay, the Aggie fans just didn't seem to be into it. The atmosphere wasn't nearly as good as when I came four years ago. But it was worth it. It was a good trip.
Thanks to the rain delay, the game didn't end until about midnight. After sticking around to talk to a couple of my boys -- quarterback Zac Champion and linebacker Quin Harris -- Elizabeth and I finally got back on the road to Houston. At about 2:30 a.m., we arrived back at Alan and Misti's apartment -- without incident this time!
Hanging out with friends
While we didn't see Alan and Misti too much on Friday night or Saturday, we spent all day with them on Sunday. We all slept in, which was very nice. I got up around 10, watched a little TV. We all went to Fuddruckers to eat some lunch. They advertise "The World's Greatest Hamburger" -- and it was pretty good. Had never eaten there before, but I probably will go back again some day if I get the chance.
After lunch, we went back to the apartment and watched some football. Man, that was nice. I enjoy football, but I enjoy it even more when I can watch it with a buddy who really enjoys it too. Life has taken us in different directions, but it's always nice to spend time with Alan. He's just an easy person to be around.
We watched football until about 6 p.m., when we made our way to Minute Maid Park for the Astros' home finale. Originally when we made plans, this game was set for 1 p.m. But ESPN picked it up for Sunday Night Baseball, and we found ourselves staring at a decision of whether or not to go to the game. We made the right decision.
In a surprise decision, the Astros decided to bump up Rogers Clemens -- the best pitcher of his generation and a sure-fire first ballot Hall of Famer. Clemens started on Wednesday, which was supposed to be his last start of the season in Houston -- and potentially the last start of his career in Houston, should he choose to retire. But The Rocket came out on three days rest to show his appreciation for the people of Houston -- his hometown.
So here Elizabeth and I (and Alan and Misti) sit, watching the greatest pitcher of his generation in perhaps his final home start of his career. Can't say I could have lucked into a better situation. I saw Michael Jordan in his final year with the Washington Wizards, and I might have seen Roger Clemens in his final year of pro baseball. Amazing!
The Rocket didn't have his best stuff -- a 44-year-old pitching on 3 days rest usually doesn't -- but he had enough to stay competitive. He got in trouble in the first inning, but pitched out of it, allowing just one run. Over the next four innings, Clemens didn't give up another run. He came out to warm up in the top of the 6th before manager Phil Garner took him out of the game. I was one of 43,000+ that gave Roger a standing ovation as he tipped his hat to the crowd, thanking the Astros fans for their support of him and the team. After he went in the dugout, all of us continued to stand and cheer for a good 2 minutes until Clemens came back out for a curtain call. It was a fitting way to end his career in Houston.
The bullpen couldn't hold the lead, so Clemens didn't pick up the win. But the Astros did win, closing a 4-game sweep over the first-place St. Louis Cardinals and pulling within 3.5 games of the Cards in the NL Central race with just seven games remaining in the season. The Astros have a makeup game against the Phillies tonight before closing with three games at Pittsburgh and three more at Atlanta. Clemens should make his final start of the season -- and possibly his career -- on ESPN Friday night against the Braves.
After going back to Alan and Misti's apartment, we gathered our stuff, said our goodbyes and hit the road about 11:30 p.m. Five long hours later, we arrived home and crashed into the bed. All I can say is I had a blast, and I can't wait to do it again this weekend!
