Day 7: Deep in the heart
McALLEN TX (3/31) -- When in Round Rock, one must always take in donuts from the Round Rock Bakery. The locals know this for sure, as the drive-through line at 7:15 on a Saturday morning still looped off of the side street and on to Liberty Ave. Smart yainkay that I am, I simply parked in a church lot across the street and walked over.
It was on to Austin and a tour of the state capitol which, as the state's citizens like to brag, is taller than the US Capitol. I would respond that the statue atop the dome that I'll call "Ninja Liberty" -- complete with a lone (throwing?) star -- just gets hit by lightning more.
Moving on south, I stopped in San Marcos, home of one of the newest BCS schools -- the WAC's Texas State University -- where the student center is named after the school's most famous alum. Who's that? Well, while George Strait (Ag. '79) would be a good guess, LBJ (Ed. '30) would be the correct one.
After lunch at a Texas tradition (Whataburger), I headed down toward the Gulf. Apparently, the state of Texas authorizes town festivals by letter; as I drove through both San Marcos and Seguin, their town squares were hosting carnival rides.
My next stop was in Corpus Christi, where the minor-league Hooks play in Whataburger Field. (Whatasurprise!) In the distance from the stadium's parking lot is the high-level Harbor Bridge; no doubt the view from inside the park is just as spectacular.
I was kinda dreading the final leg of the day's journey. While I did have air conditioning and an audiobook -- Jodi Picoult's Change of Heart -- it was still a two-hour drive through the largely no-man's-land of the extreme southern Gulf Coast. The "No Services for 60 Miles" sign halfway down supported my argument.
I finally got to my hotel a half-block from the McAllen-Miller International Airport, unpacked, and turned right around to the State Farm Arena. I was able to find this D-League arena quite easily; the home-standing Rio Grande Valley Vipers (whew!) ended up losing to the Tulsa 66ers, 101-83. (Just wondering: How could women -- and some men, I suppose -- get behind a team whose mascot is a herpetologically-incorrect snake with hands and feet?)
Due to a language snafu at concessions -- I had wanted a burrito with my Diet Pepsi, la señora insisted on the drink only -- I instead referred to the game program's ads for a dinner selection, and ended up in McAllen's club district at Frida's Grill & Cantina. It was that awkward time on Saturday evening for restaurant-bars -- too late for the dinner crowd, too early for the barhoppers -- but I did enjoy my tacos de camaron while listening to live-but-soft Tejano music in the unroofed bar area.
It was on to Austin and a tour of the state capitol which, as the state's citizens like to brag, is taller than the US Capitol. I would respond that the statue atop the dome that I'll call "Ninja Liberty" -- complete with a lone (throwing?) star -- just gets hit by lightning more.
Moving on south, I stopped in San Marcos, home of one of the newest BCS schools -- the WAC's Texas State University -- where the student center is named after the school's most famous alum. Who's that? Well, while George Strait (Ag. '79) would be a good guess, LBJ (Ed. '30) would be the correct one.
After lunch at a Texas tradition (Whataburger), I headed down toward the Gulf. Apparently, the state of Texas authorizes town festivals by letter; as I drove through both San Marcos and Seguin, their town squares were hosting carnival rides.
My next stop was in Corpus Christi, where the minor-league Hooks play in Whataburger Field. (Whatasurprise!) In the distance from the stadium's parking lot is the high-level Harbor Bridge; no doubt the view from inside the park is just as spectacular.
I was kinda dreading the final leg of the day's journey. While I did have air conditioning and an audiobook -- Jodi Picoult's Change of Heart -- it was still a two-hour drive through the largely no-man's-land of the extreme southern Gulf Coast. The "No Services for 60 Miles" sign halfway down supported my argument.
I finally got to my hotel a half-block from the McAllen-Miller International Airport, unpacked, and turned right around to the State Farm Arena. I was able to find this D-League arena quite easily; the home-standing Rio Grande Valley Vipers (whew!) ended up losing to the Tulsa 66ers, 101-83. (Just wondering: How could women -- and some men, I suppose -- get behind a team whose mascot is a herpetologically-incorrect snake with hands and feet?)
Due to a language snafu at concessions -- I had wanted a burrito with my Diet Pepsi, la señora insisted on the drink only -- I instead referred to the game program's ads for a dinner selection, and ended up in McAllen's club district at Frida's Grill & Cantina. It was that awkward time on Saturday evening for restaurant-bars -- too late for the dinner crowd, too early for the barhoppers -- but I did enjoy my tacos de camaron while listening to live-but-soft Tejano music in the unroofed bar area.