i can't speak for everyone else but i know i had a fantastic weekend. it was awesome to visit with old friends and to make some new ones. and i can finally say that with this one everything planning-wise seemed to fall into place.
friday evening i got to the drury plaza (which is still the most beautiful hotel i've ever been to. i'd live there if i could.) and found most of the group already enjoying the evenings cocktail social. i saw justbob, bradlee & frankfrank who i had last seen at the st. louis meet. i finally got to meet scrub and nightdancer, two members i've known for years on these very boards. it was also an opportunity to meet lilbit who i have been getting to know here at jub as well as nd's spouse and scrub's cousin who traveled with her.
we all sat around and chatted for a while. and then we piled up and drove to the bowling center where we enjoyed some spirited bowling. martin6 drove into town and met us there. after wards we went to one of my favorite spots for supper: tomatillo's where we finished off our first night.
as i left my place saturday afternoon it began to rain and i hoped that it would not ruin our plans. but as i was driving i witnessed a beautiful rainbow over the downtown skyline so i accepted that as good sign. from the hotel we hiked over to the alamo and sure enough it began to rain on us. we were right in front of the alamo when a bolt of lightning struck a building a block behind us. the sound was amazing! i think frankfrank and justbob witnessed tiles flying off the struck building!
we all got in line to tour the shrine just as everyone was trying to escape the rain. needless to say it was pretty crowded inside but it sort of worked to the site's advantage. one of the tour guides grabbed a microphone and gave us the story of the alamo and it was amazing. i know a good deal of the history but his delivery was impressive! i won't lie, there were times in his oration that moved me. anyhow, after wards i went up to thank him and he told me that usually he gives his speech in the courtyard outside of the structure but this time the rain forced an exception. believe you me, it worked to his advantage. he was able to point out the activities on that fateful siege that really struck a chord. after our visit we took some r&r at the rivercenter mall and then took a ride on a river barge and toured the riverwalk itself.
later that night we hiked over to mi tierra for dinner and drinks and more socializing. cell phones were passed around and i got to talk to m4p and kevbo. i understand sausy called as well. from dinner we headed out to the bonham and danced! well some of us did. i managed to get martin6 down on the floor and we danced with nightdancer and his husband. evidently i can sorta dance the merengue! we also scored some time with one of the hot male dancers- cowboy hat, chaps... uh, yeah. he was very firm.
sunday we had planned to go to six flags fiesta texas but because we were all tired out from all of our hiking the day before, we decided to go to the movies. which was probably a smart move because we had a 40% chance of rain. so what did we go see you ask? star trek! and the cool thing is that i didn't even suggest it! that's 3 viewings under my belt. for the most part i think everyone liked it! as the movie finished we could see from the lobby the torrential downpour that would have waterlogged us had we gone to the park. from there martin6 hit the road and was the first of our group to leave.
later that night we did one last dinner and hit the republic of texas on the riverwalk. we managed to get back to the hotel and sat in the lobby and visited and chatted. slowly people broke off the get some sleep for their departures today and i myself went home where i promptly fell to sleep. all in all, it was a good time. i have to thank everyone who came down to visit. you guys and gals made this weekend special to me and one i will not soon forget.
i'll be posting pics later so stay tuned!
