We're Number Two, We're Number Two

It's not easy being Number Two - People shoot at you just as if you were Number One. I think Avis was right...sometimes #2 just doesn't get any respect. Or was that Henny Youngman. Avis said #2 has to try harder. Maybe that's today's theme afterall.

Starting the day, the Horns were #2 in 3 different sports...football, men's hoops and volleyball. But all 3 have a chance to do something about it - 2 of them today.

The basketball team, despite being continously disparaged (well, maybe not continuously)for not playing any team of substance, squared off against the defending National Champs and perennial ACC and National Power UNC Tarheels. And the Horns got to do some showing off before a national audience. Despite having won their 9 previous games, all in doube-digits, against the likes of Pittsburgh, Iowa, USC, Long Beach State, etc., ranging from 16-33 point margins, this does not prove anything to folks like Dickie V. Result today? Horns by 13. They will now probably get some more Number 1 votes. Though, you know, UNC probably isn't really that good. Cough.

The volleyball team is also ranked Number 2, and despite all he volleyball teams having to deal with class schedules and final exams, somehow the NCAA has managed to cobble together a competitive PLAYOFF tournament. And the Horns have lived up to their Number 2 ranking by making it through to the Championshp game that will be played tonight. However, their opponent also did their job, as usual, by being ranked Numero Uno. And they are the current gold standard of women's volleyball - the Penn State Nittany Lions have won 101 straight matches including the last two National Championships. They've scored more the last 3 years than even Tiger Woods. The Horns will have an uphill fight tonight - but they will not be weaponless - having only lost once this year. Their star player is the wonderfully named Destinee Hooker who is also the NCAA High Jump Champion. And she is surrounded by a talented team. They will be the underdog, but don't be surprised if they pull the upset.

Last by not least the football team has ascended to Number 2 and is proud of its ranking as it should be. But, to be so highly ranked they are not getting much respect either. Just because the Big 12 ended up without any other highly ranked teams this year, the national media has disparaged (my new favorite word) Texas as not having played tough competition. Last I looked all the vaunted SEC teams - except for the top 2 - have been beaten 3-4-5 times as well. But, all you want is a chance to play for all the marbles and that's what the Horns will get to do on January 7. At least they have some precedence on their side this time which may minimize any surprise that may occur.

Until next time,

your humble servant.

What a difference a Year and a Second Make

Last year the Horns missed a perfect season by one second out at that barren, God-forsaken land called Lubbock. Last night in the comfort but tense land called Jerry World the Horns got their second back. Unbelievable finish to a storybook regualar season.

Best line by DMN's Barry Horn: "Ndamukong Suh - the most dominant defensive lineman to ever set foot in Cowboys Stadium." Gagree. That guy is the best defensive lineman I think I've ever seen. Top draft pick? If I'm a GM with the #1 draft pick I am going to question any of my scouts that suggest anyone else.

All North Dallas Emergency Medical personnel have been sent home for the day after being on High Alert last night. Maybe indicative of our advancing ages, but we pulled out the blood pressure machine immediately after the ball barely cleared the crossbar. Triple digits in all catgories for most of the folks here. Today as the polls are coming in, laidback-and-cool, nothing-to-it demeanor has returned.

(L)OJ Runs thru the Airport

-or-
Did He Try to Take Shrimp on an Airplane, AGAIN?


This story starts last Friday in the Trinidad Airport. Well, actually the preceding Sunday afternoon. Pete and I decided to visit the Casino conveniently located next to our hotel. (Editor’s note: This is the first time Pete and I have worked together in several years. As one of our co-workers said, “Do your Probation Officers know about this?” How true, how true.) After they sent us home once to change clothes – no shorts and sandals for me, no sweatpants and crocs for he and no caps for either – we were able to enter. Classy place.

But, once we passed Go we proceeded to the one Blackjack table. You have to play with TT’s (Trinidad and Tobago Dollars), so I sat down with 400 TT’s (feel free to make your own joke) – or roughly $75. Hit a nice run of cards – rules were all the same – except dealer took her down card after all the players played, but who cares when she takes her card, the odds are all the same – and after I accumulated 800 TT’s walked away a winner.

Pedro also won some, so we decided Wednesday night we needed to make a return trip one last time since those TT’s were burning a hole in our collective pockets. The cards were even sweeter this time. I sat down with 400 TT’s and walked away with a 1,000 TT chip. Not a lot of money but winning always beats a kick in the pants.

But the point is: I’m really flush with local currency. And with not much time left to spend it. It was good for tipping our driver and hotel staff and buying lunch, but heading to the airport I still have plenty. (Editor’s Note 2: Yes, I could have gone to a bank and exchanged it to US$ but would have taken a small loss doing that. So, screw it.) My decision was to spend it. The Port of Spain (capitol city in Trinidad and Tobago where we were) Airport is actually very nice. And, has lots of shops. Perfect for spending money.

Bought a lot of small stuff – various hot sauces, chutney (go figure), chanas (a local nut product), trinkets (?), plus breakfast. Stuffed it all in my backpack – so that it’s now just as crammed full as my two previously checked bags. But the big purchase was 3 bottles of local rum. Their finest – a brand called 1919. Had sampled it prior and I knew it was a definite. Spent over 400 TT’s for it and it was duty free, so they packed gift boxes and double sacked it. Picked up my sack at the gate to the plane (bypassed local airport security) and life was looking good.

Okay, I know you’re wondering – is there a GD point to this story? I’m getting there, I’m getting there, but probably not anytime soon.

We fly to Houston where I will connect to Austin. I have an hour and 45 minutes between flights so I’m in no rush whatsoever. I’m looking forward to buying a U.S. newspaper – probably not the Houston Chronicle since that’s the worst rag this side of Philadelphia – maybe grabbing a Miller Lite (non-existent in T&T) and taking my normal leisurely stroll to gate.

Line-up at Immigration. I’ve declared my 3 bottles of rum since I’m carrying them in this separate wonderful double-sack. When officer sees them he says, “You must be thirsty.” I mumbled something about Thanksgiving and I’m off to the next stop. Have to pick up my checked luggage and go thru Customs. Guy’s about to waive me through when he says, “You are only allowed ONE liter of alcohol duty free, agitatedly slapped a booklet on immigration rules at me, but waived me through. Down the hall about 100 yards I re-checked my two bags to Austin. No problemo. Off I go with my sack of rum and my customary backpack stuffed to the brim and with computer inside.

This is when the s starts to hit the fan. I wait thru the regular US security. Try to remember to take my belt, shoes, computer off/out (don't have to overseas), but a little panicked, since I have tons of crap in my pockets and I have to completely empty my pockets because with the pacemaker I have to go through a separate pat-down which requires nothing in your pockets. Takes me forever, but I got everything emptied and out. All my crap goes thru the belt and the x-ray machine. They motion me over to the pat-down area. I go in and point to all my crap and they start bringing it over…except there’s 3 of them including one officer with my backpack. She says, “you got alcohol?” I go, yes, I have 3 bottles of rum. This big guy says, “you’re only allowed 3 ounce bottles of liquid in a baggie.” The woman goes, “plus you have alcohol in your backpack.” Knowing my possessions, I go, no I don’t. She pulls out my bottles of hot sauce…uh, that’s hot sauce not alcohol. Then she pulls out my plastic bottle of chanas (nuts)…uh, that’s not either. BUT, there was no denying the 3 bottles of rum. I was dead meat.

The big guy says, you can either leave behind the rum here or go up to Continental’s counter and check it. Says I can put it in my backpack. I go, “Uh, no, that’s where I keep my computer and it does not get checked.” I’ve seen the way baggage handlers do their job. So he says they’ll give you a box to put it in and check it. Well, these airlines don’t “give” you nothing these days. But, nevertheless, being the tightwad I am I ain’t donating my rum to these SOB’s – they were doing their job properly, but that doesn’t mean I wanted to fund their Thanksgiving Spirits.

So now I’ve got sweat dripping off of me. All my crap that I’m used to gathering and heading to the gate – now, I have to gather and head back to the Continental counter and start the process all over again! Oh by the way, I’m down to 20 minutes before my plane takes off. I get on the slowest elevator ever, go downstairs, find the Continental counter and get in line. In hindsight it was good there was a line because it gave me time to figure out what the hell I was going to do.

And I did figure it out. Took my computer out of the backpack and crammed 3 gift boxes of rum in there. Put the computer in the double sack. Checked my backpack. Lady at counter said to get gone. I was down to 15 minutes.

Took the slow elevator back upstairs, stood in line, patiently – and I had decided I was going to play it by the book – any time spent ‘begging’ for special privilege would cost me special minutes – and this time I proudly cleared security. Of course it was the big guy that did my pat-down and he took FOREVER. I think he was enjoying it if you know what I mean, and I think you probably do.

Now I had 10 minutes. Only one problem. I was at the farthest east side of Terminal C and needed to go to the farthest west side of Terminal E. Egads. I started out walking fast, but after the gates started going one by one and much slower than I wanted I needed to break into a trot – me and my rum sack with my computer in it- and I completely forgot what trotting meant.

But, huffing and puffing I finally make my gate one minute prior to take off. “Can I still board?” “Yes you can, Mr. Jefferson.”

Straightened my back, stood erectly and proudly boarded my plane.


Post-mortem: I thought if I made that flight I would order not one, but two Miller Lites. Unfortunately it was announced that the flight to Austin would take 27 minutes and there would be no in flight service. So, I just sat there and worried if my backpack would arrive: a) on time, since it was checked very late, and b) with rum in tact after being thrown around with the rest of the cargo.

Post-mortem 2: The backpack arrived on time and safely. Including my cellphone which I had kept in there because I would need to use to call Cindy to let her know when I arrived in the US. Since I wasn’t able to call her from Houston, she went on emergency alert, trying to find out if anyone could check on my flight status (she was driving from Dallas to Austin). When I finally was able to call her at the Austin Baggage Claim she was obviously happy but across town because she had assumed I wouldn’t be on time and so she had time to do other things.

Post-mortem 3: Monday after finally arriving home, I get a call from Citi Bank that someone in some town in India is trying to buy $6,300 worth of jewelry with my credit card number.

If it’s not one thing then it’s another.

Eating a Double in Trinidad

She may be acting single but I’m eating Doubles in Trinidad. Photo above is said Double.

On the plane over an American lady who is a school teacher here sat next to me. As I was leaving the plane I asked her to name one thing that I should do in Trinidad. She says, “Eat a Double.” After seeing my dumbfounded look (not hard, by the way), she explains it’s a sandwich that is sold by street vendors. I thought to myself, “Fat chance, I’ll stick to restaurants, thank you.” But, remember I was one of 4 people who used to buy jerk pork and jerk chicken on the roads of Jamaica.

So, the guy we’re auditing this week comes in one morning and asks if I want a Double, and of course I go oh sure! Come to find out one of the locals in the office goes somewhere in the neighborhood most every morning and gets a bag of them and brings them back. The only decision you have to make is how spicy do you want it? Mild, medium or hot. I like spicy but figured I better go mild, and gosh, I’m glad I did. It was plenty spicy enough.

But… it is very tasty. It’s hard to tell from the pictures - fried bread folded over like a tortilla with a chickpea filling and spicy sauce that includes curry - like a very mushy bean burrito with an Indian taste. The bread is excellent, light and doughy. Will definitely do again - though it may consume at least half the day's calories – but apparently I experienced no backlash, if you know what I mean.

Here’s a link that does a better job of explaining:

http://www.seriouseats.com/2007/10/serious-sandwich-the-trini-double.html

Trinidad is a very tropical place as you might imagine. Warm and subject to daily showers. The temperature is not that hot, but in mid-day the sun is very intense. Something about that equator thing.

The driving here is same as in U.K….wrong side of the road. Thus, we have drivers assigned to us. We have 3 Audit Teams of 2 each. The office I’m working at is not far from here and usually only takes about 10-15 minutes each way. However, since we require drivers we haven’t gotten out much so far.

Staying in a Marriott Courtyard and there is a big shopping mall next door that is anchored by a multi-screen Cinema. It is a very busy place and is a hangout for young people. Expecting an uptick in activity this weekend as guys in their souped up cars and stereos blaring drive around over there. First 3 nights we walked over there for dinner – there’s a Ruby Tuesday, Subway, Popeyes, Burger King – you know, the biggies. But, as you can see there are lots of stores and restaurants that are American chains we’re used to. Tonight we got one of our drivers and four of us went to dinner at a good restaurant – I had a shrimp and lobster bisque and a grilled swordfish and salad. It was all very good. The place reminded me of a Humphrey Bogart movie – wooden windows swung open, ceiling fans, brightly colored walls. In the middle of the restaurant was an enclosed Havana Cuban Cigar Room.

Actually all the food I’ve had has been good here – if not too much. All the portions are huge so I usually eat about half (or at least that’s my goal!). At lunch we go across the street to this big popular Sports Bar called Trotters. It has a massive menu so it’s easy to have something different each day – had mahi-mahi, crab cakes, chicken, etc. All good and, did I say, LARGE quantities?

And speaking of sports – my eyes just lit up – the two most popular sports here are soccer and cricket. Across the road from our hotel is a big complex of 3 stadiums. There have been cricket matches over there the last couple of nights. I’m tempted to try and go see one. On the soccer front, James informs that T&T is the smallest country to ever qualify for the World Cup, though I think they missed out in this year's qualifications. USA rocks.

But, the best news on the sports front is the hotel tv. We get two ESPN channels, one Fox Sports Net and Versus, which carries some games, the NBA Network, as well as the 3 networks from Miami. (Think Cowboys-Eagles on NBC last Sunday Night). So obviously I’m looking forward to the weekend and seeing what football games we’ll get. I know, I know…I’m 7 miles from Venezuela and I’m sitting on my butt watching football. Hey, I need the rest and break from the week long work rigors. I may get out this weekend, but am going to play it by ear. Working Saturday a.m. but then taking the rest of the weekend off.

And home, er Austin, next Friday. Hook’em!!

Should mention that people here are black and most speak English in a lovely, lilting tone. Though some can be just as hard to understand as a Scotsman. Their music is truly calypso. All the drivers always have music on the radio and I enjoy our driver's music. But the guy we rode with tonight plays it very loud and it is distracting. I asked him to turn it down, but heard later when Pete was riding with him, he reached over and turned off the radio. You gotta love it.

I like my driver. Her name is Allison John. I was originally sent an email with her name and I thought they had sent it with last name first. She drives a new shiny black Camaro and all is good.

Alright, that's it. Everyone have a good weekend!

30 years ago today...for real

this little nuclear family really took off. 3 days after Kristin Lea arrived on this earth she and her mother came home from the hospital. what? 3 days??? unheard of in today's healthcare/insurance economy. but...that's the way it was back then.

and on that peaceful sunday morning she arrived for the first time at Myerwood Lane proudly in the possession of her new young (?), mature (?) all grown-up (?) parents in their environmentally sound Volkswagon Rabbit. This actually begs for a picture and I will have to dig into archives to find.

But, the reason today is an "infamous" day in world history is that it was the day of the Iranian takeover of the US Embassy. The beginning of an historic event that took 444 days and the outster of the US President to resolve. It seemed back then that Kristin's impact on the world would certainly be overshadowed by this tragic political drama. An event that I'm sure impacted the first 444 days of KLJF's life on Myerwood. Certainly caused a delay in her walking. That didn't happen until she was 510 days old. Even then she was leaning Republican.

But, luckily the hostages were finally released including the Embassy US Marine Guard that was a younger churchmate of Kristin's dad at the famous Hickory Tree Baptist Church in Balch Springs, By God (sorry Rick for stealing your line), America.

A news story of the day: http://www.allvoices.com/s/event-4551861/aHR0cDovL3d3dy51cGkuY29tL1RvcF9OZXdzL1NwZWNpYWwvMjAwOS8xMS8wNC9BcmNoaXZlcy1BeWF0b2xsYWgtZGVub3VuY2VzLVVTLUVtYmFzc3ktaG9zdGFnZXMtdGFrZW4vVVBJLTI2NDExMjU3MzUxMDc0Lw==

At any rate, the country and this family have moved forward - though apparently not Iran. So, who do you think's done better - Kristin Lea or Iran? I know who I vote for!

Planes, Trains and Automobiles...

Not to mention boats, cruise ships, ferries, taxis, buses – including Gray Line, City and Greyhound and of course feet, not to mention every one of those dry and in the rain…

The possibilities are almost exponential.

We have been trying to exploit every possible means of travel possible.

Do you really want to hear every one of them – especially after I just rolled them off above? Okay. I’ll not bore you with that. Just trust me.

Needless to say we have had an eventful and fun excursion so far. Friday through Tuesday (7 a.m.) we spent in Seattle – exploring Pikes Fish Market, taking a Locks Tour and going to the Huskies-Ducks game on Saturday.

Tuesday we took the Victoria Clipper to Victoria (imagine that) – a 2 ½ hour ride through the San Juan Islands – and spent the rest of the day roaming the Downtown and Wharf area of Victoria.

Wednesday, oops that would be today, we took the Pacific Coast bus from Victoria to Vancouver via the Swartz Bay Ferry. Great adjustment here as we were originally thinking we needed a car to get from Victoria to Vancouver, but then a guy I had met at BP that had recently moved to Houston from Seattle told me to avoid a car on the ferry. Gawd, was he correct. There was a 2-hour wait for cars but the bus had a ‘reservation’ and so we popped right on the ferry.

As it turned out, the reason there were so many cars going to Vancouver? U2 Concert, no less. These females on our bus were all abuzz because U2 was happening tonight. They’d seen them 4 years ago in Vancouver, and last year had seen a Tribute Band. At any rate, it was like better than Christmas for all of them not to mention the excitement brought to Vancouver. I could definitely relate given the recent excitement brought to Kristin/Nathan, their friends and their Norman cousins.

And the other buzz is the 2010 Winter Olympics. Very exciting. We’re renting a car tomorrow (Thursday) and going to Whistlers Mountain. Should be a scenic drive up, plus going to the mountain where the Winter Olympics will be held.

Saturday we’ll be taking the Amtrak back to Seattle where we will fly home on Sunday. This should complete all of our modes of transporation.

In the meantime – the rest of our travel exploits would not be complete without our rankings of our favorite restaurants to date (in no particular order):

1. Metropolitan Grill – Seattle – Excellent steak – both US version and Kobe.
2. Il Terrazzo – Victoria – Great Italian, or Eye-talian – Best Halibut EVER
3. Carderos – Vancouver – Really good seafood overlooking the bay

But, stay tuned, these could be changed at any time. As well as adding some new form of transportation - though, the only thing missing could be the 2-wheeled variety and I don't think that'll be happening, unless it's a rickshaw. Adios and Goodbye.

Horns Shine Brightly in Seattle

Nevermind that I'm two posts behind - 1) initial Seattle reaction and 2) trip to UW-UO football game - they'll come later.

Nevermind that the Texas game would start 90 minutes after the completion of the UW game.

Nevermind that I was told there's no way you'll see the Texas-Mizzou game since the USC game will be all that's on on the West Coast.

Nevermind ALL OF THAT NEGATIVITY...

Within 2 blocks of our bus stop downtown were two Sports Bars. The first one we tried had a whopping total of 6 42" tv's. As the Hostess explained, 3 were on USC, 2 were on Florida (really? wasn't their game over?) and 1 on TCU. Thank you very much, we'll see what the other place has.

So we hustle over to the Fox Sports Grill - and when you walk in you know immediately this is the place to watch football, regardless of whether the Texas game is on. Big Screens and tv's abound. The place felt as warm as your mama's womb.

So, I ask the Hostess, "by any chance do you have...?" Expecting the obligatory deer-in-the-headlights stare she informs that over in the corner they have one tv with the Texas game, but at 8 pm all TV's in the joint would be switched over to the UFC fight. Yuk, but who cares, as long as we get a couple of hours of UT football.

NIRVANA! Sure enough over in that corner. The game had just started. And there were several UT fans over there huddled like Russian Jewish Immigrants soaking up the rays from the small tv.

And the best was yet to come - and not just the fact that the Horns put up their most impressive performance of the season. There were lots of people in this place and a long waiting list for tables. At some point in the middle of the 2nd quarter somebody in Fox Sports Grill Management made a TERRIFIC decision.

They had one of their Private Rooms open, and they decided they clear a bunch of parties from their Waiting List by moving the Texas fans to the private room. Bear in mind we had been standing (and drinking) (sorta like a Tx/Ou game come to think of it)for the entire game. So off we go to this private room.

NIRVANA SQUARED. Cushy chairs, ottomans, couches, 3 tvs and our own wait staff. WOWZER! There were probably 14-16 Longhorn Fans in there. And while the rest of the Fox Sports Grill in Downtown Seattle were enjoying, I guess, the UFC Fight(s), there was a group of Texas Ex-Pats who had a lovely evening.

Friday Night in Gaylord

Since I haven't been anywhere exciting in a week - some would say for at least a month - I stumbled across something I wrote in November 2003. Enjoy.

Went to Timothy’s Pub and sat next to this guy that looked like he’s my age. Obviously a regular, just like everybody else in there. Though everybody else had beards and/or flannel shirts and smoked like chimneys he looked like a clean-shaven, short hair, successful businessman. Turned out he worked for the State of Michigan Highway Dept. – mostly outdoors. Guess he dresses up on Friday Night.

Of course it’s blowing snow outside (19 degrees, 9 degrees windchill), and I’ve already wondered how anybody works outside during the winter much less this beautiful fall weather – yep, the locals are saying it’s still fall – guess because the ground’s not covered with snow and all the cars at the car dealers are still visible, though I’m thinking in the morning that theory will be over. Anyway, when he found out I was in town working for an oil company, he started talking about what the roads are made out of in Michigan. Bituminous, not concrete. Much better to handle the weather conditions. I just nodded my head, like that was a good thing. For all I know those roads are made of marble, though I figure if this guy says bituminous, it must be bituminous.

Later, a much older man comes in and sits on the other side of the highway man. He’s wearing a red jacket with U.S. flag emblem on it, with a red cap with a cross and some kind of church logo on it. The Highway Man proudly introduced him as “the guy who worked on the Mackinaw Bridge when it was built – an iron worker.” I asked when the bridge was built and was informed the mid-50’s, or approximately the same time I played my first baseball game for the Bums vs. the Boogers in the Salvation Army Summer League.

So, the iron worker proceeds to tell me he is the ONLY guy to work on both constructions of the Mackinaw Bridge. Seems his son is the president of the local hall (that’s union talk) and he invited him to work on the “workover” of the bridge two years ago. Kind of an honorary position. Though he wanted to do more while working on the bridge, the young guys kept telling him to get out of the way. He complained about OSHA and how they now have to wear safety belts and harnesses and have nets underneath them. Of course this slows them down, and besides “we didn’t have any more accidents in the 50’s than they have now.”

In the mean time the Highway Man tells me about his trip to Dallas around 1980, or approximately the time that we were shoving chocolate cake down Kristin on her first birthday. He says he was in some bar on Regal Row and that when people found out his name was Hagman women started flocking around him and buying him beers. Sounded like one of his personal highlights. Of course it was at that time I had to tell him he had the Hagman and I had the Larry.

By now, I knew it was time to go. Back out in to the frigid air and blowing snow. But more in tune with my roads and bridges.

The Phillipines Storm Strikes Angola

Well, not literally, just indirectly.

Our Audit Contact here is from Manila. He works around the clock all the time. We knew he only went home 2 or 3 times a year but wasn’t convinced he had family back home.

Monday we asked him if he was affected by the horrible storms that ravaged Manila over the weekend. Sure enough he was. He has a 2-story house that was flooded up to the ceiling of the 1st floor. His wife and young daughter were able to go up to the 2nd floor and were unharmed. Their teenage son was visiting a friend and the two of them were worried for his safety. All of a sudden…he came swimming up to their house. He and the friend had been concerned about how high the water would get so they took off to Felipe’s house where they were safe on the 2nd floor.

On Sunday Felipe and other of his Filipino friends went to the Filipino Embassy outside of Luanda where they often meet for afternoons of table tennis and socialization. On this Sunday they were all in communication with their homes in Manila. Felipe was able to talk to his wife because the cell phones were working and her power was restored after being out.

He now reports that the water has subsided and that mud is the problem of the day. His car in the garage that doesn’t get driven much was completely destroyed. He will get it replaced by insurance but at a great loss. This all sounds a lot like Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, etc. Over there they are typhoons. And there are two major rainstorms still predicted to be moving into the area.

Tonight as a gesture of International Goodwill we (i.e., BP) treated Felipe and his 2Filipino friends, Gilbert (the fat man – Felipe’s words) and Mar (the little man) to dinner at a very nice restaurant called Pimms. Had a T-bone steak, French fries and Johnny Walker Red. Yum, yum. Not worth a typhoon…but, need I remind anyone…two more wake-up calls and I’m outta here.

Later.

Larry Olan Mills

This is some of our Wait Staff at the BP Staff House. From left to right, Graco, Rosarie and Cecilia. After we came in Friday Night from our dinner outing to Chez Wou (Shay Voo) we came back to the Staff House for a nightcap. Along the way I pulled out my camera and snapped these pix.

Yesterday I print them out on full size sheet of paper and last night give them to these 3. They go nuts. They were so excited. Rosarie came up to me and starts trying to explain something. I finally figure out - another girl is working that night - Sophia - and she wants me to take her picture.

Before I was finished, they went and got others, including two cooks, the bartender, two desk clerks, etc. So, now I have a whole “plate” of pictures to print and present to them. My printer will never be the same.

Never fret. When I do my picture album at the end of the trip you will see them all. They really are a fun group, though their English and my Portuguese is about the same - non-existent.

College Game Day: Saturday Night - Sunday Morning

After working at the office Saturday it was finally time to go out somewhere for a nice dinner on Saturday Night. I asked the Controller at the company we’re auditing for recommendations. He gave me 4 that were all in the same general area: Chill Out, Cocanuts, Cais de Quatro and a Chinese Restaurant named Chez Wou.

The area they were in is called Ilya (Island) because it’s this long peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean. The first two were the furthest away, so we shot for Cais de Quatro. Funny thing was though none of the phone numbers we had for it worked. We had the kid at the front desk calling and he never could raise them or find a good number though he was trying diligently. His final tactic was really humorous. He told someone on the phone that he is a General and that he wanted Reservations at Cais de Quatro. Apparently that didn’t do any good because it was like the restaurant wasn’t open. As it turned out all 4 of us guys liked Chinese – this is very odd in the Audit world – they like them some meat and taters – but this group all said okay. So Chez Wou it was.

Very easy to get a car and got there within 15 minutes which was very cool. It was a very nice restaurant and we had a great meal and a great time. When we first walked in, you don’t expect to hear someone going “Larry, Mr. Larry…” Lo and behold it was our main contact person (Felipe) where we were auditing – he wasn’t the one that had given me the list of restaurants and had no idea either of us would be there. But that made the evening even better because we were able to pick his brain for menu items to select. After cocktails of course. And those were very good. Two of the guys ordered Jack Daniels and Sprite (sounds vaguely familiar) and the waiter brought out a new bottle of JD. Luckily he didn’t leave it at the table, but his portions were generous as was the Blue Sapphire.

Felipe said to order the spring rolls and Chinese soup (wasn't called that on the menu, but he said they all knew what it was) – it was your basic hot and spicy soup and it was deeeelicious One of his guys said to order the Beef Teppanyaki (Teriyaki) and we did. It was all really good and we were very glad we went, especially since all our dinners had been in the hotel during the week.

Came back to the hotel (remembered to order a car during the middle of the meal), and had a nightcap or two. At this point it’s 10 pm. Checked some afternoon college football scores and promptly went to bed for a nap. Somehow I woke up at 1:05, right about the time the Texas game was going to start. Got online and pulled up the radio coverage and then went to JustinTV to see about actually watching it.

Got a message that the maximum number of viewers from “this region” were already on. Guess all 5 of the Texas alums in Africa were watching. I’m sure any Tech people not in Lubbock were probably in Muleshoe watching on the tube. But, for $10 I could upgrade my watching, and of course I did that. And that worked for the rest of the game, though sometimes the picture would freeze, usually at the beginning of a play. But, the audio would continue, so you knew how the play turned out. It was a nailbiter of a game. Seems like things went Texas’ way in the last 6 minutes which was great. Our team will go as far as our defense takes us and Tech was certainly a good test. Second best result of the day was the USC beatdown. Way to go Huskies. Will see them Oct 24 vs the Ducks. Quack.

Ended up going to bed at 5:30 a.m. I woke up around 10 which was much earlier than I expected but laid there until around 10:30…could hear all the kids playing outside my window down below. As I was getting up there was a knock at the door. Figured it was the cleaning people and I would tell them that I didn’t need any service. Sure enough there are 3 young girls in starched uniforms. Instead of them adhering to my “no, no, no service…” they immediately came in the room – with me still in my drawers. Not the dresser drawers either. Oh, that's right, there's not a dresser.

It was like they were searching for something. They were rifling through my papers, picking up my wallet and looking under it…just looking everywhere for something. Finally the main lady (really they’re young girls) goes away and comes back. She has a “Do Not Disturb” sign and puts it on the front of my door. There had never been one in the room – like a jillion other things that aren’t here – but anyway, they wanted apparently to put one on my door…probably so their Supervisor wouldn’t hold them accountable for not cleaning my room. It was quite the little experience. Especially since I was groggy from just getting up.

So, that’s how you get thru College Football Saturday and especially a 7 pm game on a Saturday Night. Would love to be able to do the same thing for the Cows and the Giants at 7 tonight but this is a School Night and so I’ll just read about it tomorrow.

Adios and Good Night.

Week One in the Books...almost

Inside of two weeks to go. Finally getting into a routine. Learning the transportation routine. Figuring out the food. Know how to get up in the morning. I like nothing better than routine – and by gawd, I’ve got one going now.

Received a local cell phone and have figured how to call for a car. Took me a while to FINALLY figure out how to view the Text Messages that tell me what the license plate is of the car that will pick us up. You stay indoors until you see the vehicle with the matching license plate. The funniest part, but you probably need to be here – no really, YOU need to be here instead of me – but when I call for the car to go to work (at least an hour ahead of time), the address for the company we’re auditing is on a little side street – one that nobody recognizes. But, when you tell the Dispatcher the neighborhood (and pronounce it correctly), then they go “awwww, sia.” And the neighborhood is “Bungo.” Of course I always pronounced it just like it shows – “Bun-go.” And they wouldn’t recognize it. So I ask a local – it’s “Boon’-gooh.” So now I say “Boon-gooh” and they go, “ah, Boon-gooh”

It’s easy to see why nobody would know where the address is – small side street – a wooden 10’ gate that has the address, 6, on it and the one word name of the company on a small sheet of paper. It’s surrounded by slums and waste, but inside is a nice company compound. Two story building plus several trailers made into offices, including a “canteen” where breakfast, lunch and dinner are served – free of course to everyone. There are guards at the gate that allows our vehicle to go in when I show them the business card of the company’s Security Manager.

The employees are nice there and two really good guys supporting us – one from Kuala Lumpur in Malayasia (Caesar Shim) and one from the Phillipines (Felipe Barnardo). They are residents there but the company pays for their housing. There are other office workers that are also Ex-Pats from all over – they work 35 days and go home for 35 days. Thus, we will be working on Saturday – what else is there to do? – and if you said, “watch football” I’m going to kill you if I ever see you again.

Getting up in the morning has finally developed into a routine. First morning I had called for a wake-up call, got it, got up and got ready and then realized that I was an hour early. But that was better than the next morning when the phone rang and it was one of my co-workers wanting to know if I was okay. I was over an hour late. That was the last time I requested a wake-up call. Found a good use for my Blackberry. It now goes to bed with me snuggling up to each other under the mosquito net. Life is grand.

Maybe I’ll stop here. Save more exciting adventures for next time – like Drinking Wine on the Roof, Shooting Pool, Breakfast Foods, Walking to the Grocery Store, and Observing an Angolan National Holiday the 3rd day here.

Until we meet again.

View from my Room

This is looking out my window.

Those are the metal roofs held down by rocks and other debris. If you look - not sure there's anyone visible in the pictures - there are women,babies,kids down there, along with clothes lines and at least one rooster that I hear every morning...well, some mornings. Surprisingly there are satellite dishes also.

Enough of these 40 Year Anniversaries...

Let's go 45 this time.

9/18/64: The Beatles made their only appearance in Dallas. Balcony Tickets ranged from $2.50 with Obstructed View to $5.50.

Of course the audience consisted of mostly screaming girls, including a Station Wagon of 9th grade girls from Ada Oklahoma.


She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah, she loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah.
And with a love like that you know you should be glad...

R.I.P. Oliver

Despite a few social snafus along the way, a fine 15 years nonetheless. Everyone have a treat tonight in Oli-veer's memory.

If Today is Monday or Tuesday, it must be Angola

Not sure what hit me – but have been dropped off into a land where I have never been before. Starting to see the meaning of Third World. Though, in reality it could be fourth or fifth or twelfth. It’s that far removed from what you and I are used to.

The 4 locations I’ve been to are all okay – and so to ease any concerns about me – that’s the most important. The airport terminal building appeared to be new. It would probably compare to the terminal at Rock Springs Wyoming except there’s cheaper linoleum here. The two office buildings I’ve been in are nice and modern. The people I’ve encountered have been nice, mostly all Ex-Pats from countries everywhere, except the menial jobs belong to the locals. The Staff House I’m staying is similar to a Motel Six – small rooms with no amenities. Unless you call the Mosquito Net over the bed extra as well as the bug spray (2 kinds – one to knock them down out of the air; the other to apply to your skin. As Tony the Tiger would say…”Grrr-rrreat.”

But, enough about me. I’ve always been spoiled and will continue to be so. It’s the 4.999 million outside these doors that are not spoiled. Unless it’s the water they drink, the food they eat, the air they breathe. It is squalor in the strongest sense. This city was built for couple hundred thousand, but now has 5 million.

I will take pictures as the time goes by to hopefully capture some of the atmosphere… though I don’t see walking around and sightseeing in the cards – not even at lunch. I didn’t want to lead off my first post with a picture, but will wait a day to show the pictures so I can follow it with another post and bury the picture a tad.

The pictures are looking out my hotel window. Then it will be easy for anyone to compare/contrast to Baku. Not pretty. And I so enjoy pretty.

Johnny Carson, Eggs and Dom Deluise

Enjoy...

Timeout from Baku for Another 40-Year Anniversary

Probably not too many Texans were at Woodstock, but there were tons 2 weeks later at the Lewisville Pop Festival…including this Beancounter…not very Hippiesh, but interested in the Counter-Culture and certainly the music just the same. The link to the DMN article chronicles the 40-year remembrance, complete with video.

Before I even went, I encountered a serious decision time concerning my father. As the DMN article says, there was much media hysteria about the Concert and what would be “going down” there. So, unexpectedly, on the Saturday morning I’m getting ready to go to Lewisville (Reference: I’m 22 years old, 2 months out of UT, working at Arco Oil & Gas…guess some things never change – except the age) when my phone rings and it’s my father of all people. He NEVER calls. I guess I had mentioned I was thinking about going to the Lewisville Pop Festival – how innocuous does that sound today? – and he wanted to tell me he had some inside info. He had a friend who was a Texas Highway Patrolman who told him that “there is going to be trouble there.” So, he was “officially” asking me not to go. Gosh…don’t make me defy you Father, dearest. I had some soul-searching to do. In fairness, he really was looking out for my best interest. But, at the time I figure he just doesn’t want to have to deal with bailing me out of jail. Okay, I rationalized I could take care of myself, I would steer clear of any "Hippie/Police clashes" so off to L’ville I went with a couple of my buddies in tow.

And…what a fantastic experience it was! The music was incredible. There were bands that performed that became very big stars and to think we heard them in their infancy.

As stated in the DMN article, Grand Funk Railroad (later truncated the Railroad) led off the Festival around Noon on Saturday and that was just getting it all started. Canned Heat, fresh off of Woodstock and one of my alltime favorites with their very unique sound, as in “Going up the Country,” Johnny Winter, Freddie King, B.B. King (and Lucille of course), Tony Jo White and Sam and Dave.

Then imagine…Led Zepplin, Chicago Transit Authority (later just Chicago), and Santana. So many of these are still alive and kicking…well, at least partially alive and semi-kicking.

So, for all the “scare” about drugs and nudity…we saw no nudity, some pot smoking, but nothing else. Of course, any drugs other than pot were in pill forms – LSD, Mescaline, etc – and so there could have been folks high on that stuff and you wouldn’t observe them actually taking it.

The closing act was the Queen of Rock N’ Roll herself – Janis Joplin. She was supposed to be on at Midnight according to the schedule, but, of course, these things are always pushed back because of all the acts that preceded her. There was a bare stage for the longest time. Finally they make an announcement…she is actually appearing in Concert in New Orleans that night (double-booked as it were) and she was being flown, helicoptered the final stretch, to Lewisville and would be there soon. Sure enough at 2 a.m. she and her band, Big Brother and the Holding Company comes on stage. And, my god, did we get our money’s worth ($7? a little less than 2 hours wages). They sang/played for two hours.

Now days singers may have a separate stool on stage where they have their bottled water. Not the Queen. She had a fifth of her favorite – Southern Comfort. In between songs she’d go and take a big gulp out of the bottle and step up to the microphone and begin wailing the next song. You can only imagine the crowd reaction. It was electric. You can also only imagine what else she’d consumed that night, not to mention the volume of Southern Comfort, beginning the night in New Orleans and flying to Dallas. I saw her a total of 3 times in Concert and she was as consistent as your deadline for your Tax Returns – she was fantastic each time, never mind she was probably drunk as a skunk and high as a kite.

And when it was over, it was over. We go walking out at 4 a.m. There was a dude selling kilo’s of pot for $50. Bear in mind, that an ounce cost $10. A kilo, buying it at an ounce at a time would bring over $300. But…that really wasn’t my game. So we went merrily to my car and drove home to my apartment.

A good time was had by all and somehow I managed to not get caught up in some Hippie Revolution and get my arse thrown in jail.

Be sure and watch Local News tonight at 9

Was downtown today (Sat.) sightseeing and walked by a Govt. Bldg and there was this film crew outside. They stopped me and asked me if I would do an interview on tv about "Parking in the Country You are from" Seems they're doing a story about there being No Parking in front of the Govt bldg but if you pay somebody they will allow you to park there. Did a pretty boring explanation of USA Parking Lots and fees, and explained Valet Parking that you can pay a guy to go park your car. Not sure how my interview couldn't help but end up on the cutting room floor. But, he said it would be on the 9:00 News Tonight. I don't think I have any local Baku TV stations. Stay tuned.

Just Another Day in Baku-adise!

Last week the weather was oh so very nice – highs in the mid-80’s, lows in the low 70’s with a nice gentle breeze blowing in from the sea. But this week? Spectacular, dahling!

Ten degrees lower all the way around. Just as pleasant as it possibly could be. The locals say that this has been an unusually mild August as I think they would expect it to be in the 90’s this time of year, excuse me 34C. We told them thank you very much.

But, enough of my weather babbling. Picture above is the view from my hotel window. As you can see it’s definitely a metropolitan scene – all the highrises are apartment buildings – that’s where everyone in the city lives (1.9 million – not all in those few buildings!) except for those in the slums. And their slums are very wretched. I may have mentioned before, but all generations of families live together. If our family lived here, however, Cindy and I would still be empty nesters. Kristin and Nathan would be living with the Fays in their apartment, as would Lauren and Scott. Any little bambinos may require additional rooms to be added to the apartment house, which they do this. It seems the younger generation would like to change this (imagine that!), but this is story for future day.

One of the guys, Parvin, his family has a villa out in the country and all their family lives out there in the summer. In a couple of weeks when school starts they will be moving back into their apartment house in the city.

One other item that can be noted in the picture above – is how clear the air is. The sky has been bright blue with no evidence of smog. Houston and Dallas should be so fortunate.

There’s always more, but that is all for now.

Happy 35th Wedding Anniversary from Phil and Rob

Not exactly Batman and Robin, but close. Went to nice Chinese Restaurant tonight for Wedding Anniversary. Only problem...it was with two guys. Told them they had to tell me Happy Anniversary.

Who would have thought that 35 short years ago, Cindy in her cute little mini-skirt, me in the orange plaid sportcoat, would now be professing our love for each other over Skype, webcams and e-cards on separate continents. See kids. You cannot begin to fathom (or phantom) what changes you have to look forward to. I mean, if I can do Table look-ups in Excel and then get emails from Amelda on her iphone, while Sue is making fancy Word Documents with colored graphics, one can only dream about what it will be like 35 years from now.

Enjoy the moment. Prepare for the future. And above all else: Get your Horns up.

Sim Cards and License Plates

During the week I decided I needed a local cell phone. Everyone here, just like at home, is constantly on their cells talking or texting. I am more basic. I just need one for security. Want to be able to call someone locally if I need to.

So Vugar and Parvin tell me they will take me to a Sim Card shop after lunch where I can buy an Azerbaijan Sim Card to put into my Blackberry. It’s good they went because these people did not speak English. There were several forms to complete and supervisor approval because I was a foreigner, but got that done and then it came time to select my phone number.

They have a notebook with 8.5 x 11 sheets with phone numbers typed down columns on page after page. AND, they each have different prices! Why? Because the more double-numbers that are in your phone number the “more prestigious” it is. The cheapest number was 8 manats ($10), but the prices ranged up to 2,200 manats! A number like 726-5266 might be 15 manats. A number like 844-5544 could cost 800 or 1,200 like that. The top one I saw at 2,200 was something like 505-0505. I was of course aghast. I said who pays that for a freaking phone number and Vugar and Parvin explained. People think “easy” phone numbers to remember are prestigious. If they see one of those numbers on their Caller ID they think someone important is calling. I was just totally amazed. They said it was basically stupid people that would do that.

Then to top it off the number I got for 8 manats? 626-4144. Seems it’s all negotiable. Vugar and Parvin had talked them into giving me an “easy” number for the bottom price! (They already know I'm old and cheap.) So, now I feel like I really am somebody. Or a Chris-Chris (pardon the Ticket Reference).

Come to find out auto license plates are the same. All Baku license plates start with 10 or 90, unless you want to buy a different number. Certain numbers are reserved for certain high-ranking people. Families often buy a certain number and then everyone in their family will have the same license plate number. Laura's devilish "666" Texas License Plate would be worth a gold mine over here.

But they don’t have Vanity Plates. Just very impressive numbers.

Religion in Baku

Ramadan starts today

Friday Night at sundown is the official beginning. It is a month long, is once a year, and consists of fasting during the day while the sun’s up.

I have two local guys working with me on the audit and so they will be participating. It’s funny to hear them respond to our questions. They get up early in the morning and have a large breakfast. And you can imagine after sunset they have big dinners. I’m sure there are religious rituals they go through, but will have to find that out later.

Of the two guys working with me – Vugar (Voo-gar) and Parvin (like Marvin) – one is less devout than the other. While we were out walking after lunch one day they said that their religion was like all religions…people are more devout than others. Hrmmmp.

There are no prayer horns that go off anywhere other than one area of town where the mosques are. There are not women with burkas walking around – more in Texas than here.

Parvin is the more devout Muslim of the two and each afternoon he pulls his prayer rug out of his bag and goes somewhere to pray for about 20 minutes. Either that or he has a secret smoking habit.

Last night (Thursday) Zaur (Zah-oor) and Vugar took us to a nice Continental Restaurant in the Old Town. This is where Baku began – with large old fort down by the ocean built to protect the original inhabitants. (Like the one in San Juan and for the same reasons.) We climbed 5 flights of stairs to a rooftop restaurant that overlooks Old Town and the ocean. Beautiful sight and as usual, the weather has been very pleasant. 80’s during the days/70’s at night and there’s been nice breezes blowing – just really very comfortable.

AT ANY RATE, (like I worked in our nice dinner while talking about Muslims), about 9:00 there was this loud noise of “wailing” for lack of better word and it was some Muslim prayers, or something, going on. Was unbelievably loud and it echoed throughout the area of town where we were. It was the first time we’d heard anything like that and the funny thing is – it did not phase anyone at the restaurant. Not only did nobody look around (obviously they’re used to it) but it did not affect people with what they were doing. I take it these were “less” devout people – probably the kind that jack up the enrollment at the First Muslim Church of Baku.

Will keep you posted. Off to work…which will be another blow to my work ethic…not used to working all day on Friday. Arrgh.

Crusing towards the end of the week...

But I"m only up to Day two.

I better get those first two days documented, I’ve now been here 4. Can an old man get much slower and more behind?

After 3+ hours sleep, the first morning the 4 Auditors (i.e., Nerds) have breakfast and then take out to BP’s offices where we will be having meetings before traveling to the Job Site. The only instructions I have are that “the BP building is very close – about 100 meters.” Okay, simple. Ask at the hotel which way is the BP building and off we go.

Two office buildings down there is a BP logo among others on the building and so we go in. I ask the Security guy about the person we are to meet. He doesn’t know him. Asked him if he called one of the BP departments if perhaps they could locate them. I finally ask him about the department my guy is in and he said, “oh you’re in wrong place.” (No sh*t Sherlock.) Okay. No problem. He says, “go down to the corner and turn right and it’ll be right there. Great.

Off we go pulling our bags behind us – off in the distance is an intersection with a traffic light – but it’s obviously further than a 100 meters, but we take off again. Next building over has enough security around it that we realize it must be some Government building. The next building is huge – about a half of a block wide – and there is construction with a big fence up around it blocking the walkway. We then start walking single file, with me being the Mother Duck. Finally we get to the corner and I go – sumpin’s up – we’ve gone too far. One of the guys says well maybe we turn right and go to the next corner. I make an executive decision: We are making an about face and going back to the security guard that told us “the next corner.” Guess what he meant? The corner of the building we were in! When we walked out of the door to his building, we went about 10 meters to the corner of the building, turned right and down on the side of his building was a completely separate entrance to the BP Offices where our folks work. Oh brother. Everyone already knows this, but I will never be appearing on the Amazing Race.

I know you haven’t tuned in hear to hear this kind of dribble – you’re much more interested in the culture, the landscape, the food, the drink, the people, etc., etc. but I just feel compelled to explain the strange things that happen in strange lands.

We had a good morning of meetings and then stayed over that afternoon to gather some contracts we needed. BP has a company cafeteria where employees eat free and as it turns out that is a common practice in the Oil Industry here. Good food, with soups, salads, entrees and deserts. Will talk more about the food later.

But, about 2 p.m. I finally hit the wall. Couldn’t wait to get back to the room and jump in that nice comfy bed (with my pillow!) and went to sleep for over 2 hours. I had packed a whole bunch of snacks, crackers, peanut butter, etc. so I had that for dinner and then went to bed around midnight. My schedule was returning to normal.

The breakfast at the hotel is also a buffet and very good. Typical European. Big table full of lunch meats, cheeses, yogurts and breads and fresh tomatoes and peaches. Then you can order eggs, think Omelets. Only problem is that it cost 17 manats which is dollars in the Azeri currency. The current exchange rate is about 1.25, so that’s about $22.

At any rate, we have BP drivers scheduled to pick us up and take us to work each morning and pick us up again in the afternoon. Which is the only way to travel. You could not begin to drive here. It is crazy and volatile. Lines between lanes mean NOTHING. Cars will ride the stripes, and even go on opposite side and if there’s a car co coming they honk and tell the other guy to go around him – on the wrong side of the road. Courtesy is not performed in even 1% of the drivers. It’s all about getting to your spot first. Honking horns and flashing lights are used by all drivers.

There are some very nice cars in this city and the most surprising of all is that there are no wrecked cars. Somehow someway these people know how the system works and they just do it correctly. Parking? Everywhere. They pull on sidewalks – doesn’t matter. Saw one today parked in front of a traffic light between it and a Stop Sign. Nuts.

And pedestrians? Oh my. There’s lots and they step off curbs and cross the street in a blink of an eye. They are fearless. And understand they have NO right-of way, no priority. People crossing 6 lanes of traffic, in and out between cars, good Lord. Sorta resembles the original Frogger Video Game. You expect to see one of them get smashed, but no. Now, the old Auditors, we are very careful. When we’re going somewhere around the Hotel, we always ask – do we have to cross the street?

And now you understand the peril of the Mother Duck and her 3 chicks trying to find the “next corner.”

Still lots of things to tell and will do so later.

It's already Wednesday Night of the First Week...

In Baku, and yet this is my first post. Time has flown since Sunday Night – literally. 16 of the first 19 hours were spent in the air and I have to say…they flew by. (You’re free to bail out now if you want…OH QUIT IT!)

(Caution: This may be very long, and very Seinfeldish in its intricate details about NOTHING. If it drives you to drink that’s fine, but feel free to eject at any point.)

Flights went as scheduled with no glitches. When I landed in London Monday a.m., I’m sure I walked a mile across the terminal to a place where I caught a bus to another terminal and then walked another mile to my gate. But. It was good exercise after sitting for 9.5 hrs on the plane. It wasn’t like DFW where you are walking in basically a straight line between gates. It was lots of turns and electric sidewalks and more turns, etc. But the signage was good…always showing the “Connections” in one direction and the “Baggage Claim” in the other.

When I got to my gate (and the “Traveler’s Lounge") I expected to find my two colleagues from Houston since they were due an hour before me, but they weren’t there. I found a recliner and proceeded to begin resting (one of my favorite things to do since it was now Noon London time and I still hadn’t been to bed Sunday Night).

Lo and behold the guys show up about 30 min. before our flight to Baku. They had decided to go to the Continental Airlines Hotel where they could shower and rest for 2 hrs but then got to talking and missed their exit off the bus, and were headed to Paddington Station in London before they were able to get off and head back to our terminal. You can imagine the glee I had when I showed them the “cabins” available in the Heathrow Traveler’s Lounge where you can shower/shave/etc. Oh well, at least they made it.

The flight to Baku was non-stop and Business Class but not nearly as fancy and leisurely as the American Airlines BC. The rows are just 2x2 as opposed to 3x3, but are still comfortable. TV/Movies are limited. AA has a nice size tv screen on the back of the seat in front of you and it doesn’t move. (Not going to try and explain). And, has nice menu that you can choose Movies, TV, Documentaries, Classic Movies, etc. Going to digress but on the AA trip to London I started watching a Curb your Enthusiasm show and had to take my pillow and hold it over my mouth to keep from laughing out loud. It was hilarious. It was the episode where it was their 10th Wedding Anniversary and the promise that Larry’s wife had made when they were engaged if they were still married at 10 years. Before the trip was over, the guy next to me also watched it – Copy Cat! and I laughed again when I saw the funny parts – couldn’t hear the sound but knew what they were saying.

Anywho, had some pink champagne on the flight to Baku and we landed on time around 10:30 pm Local Time (12:30 pm Dallas time). (Is that a run-on sentence? Me thinks so.)

So the two biggest steps at the Baku Airport would now be – purchase a Work Visa and find our BP Driver once we cleared customs and got our baggage. As it turned out I was supposed to have 2 extra passport photos for my Work Visa – and I had them – only problem was they were on Myerwood Lane because I thought I needed them only for Angola. Oh well.

While standing in a line there’s one of these official looking guys in uniforms and I asked him about my photos – would I be able to get my picture made – he immediately leans over and starts whispering…” Give me a tip and I will get you to the front of the Visa line.” I said that’s okay I’ll have to check that out with my boss. In the meantime my boy that went to the Continental Hotel and almost went to Paddington Station started wringing his hands about me not having my 2 photos. For once, I exhibited patience and remained calm. When I ultimately got to the head of the line I had all my “other” paperwork and passport and told the guy that I didn’t have the photos. He then directed one of his cohorts to take my passport to the backroom and shoot two copies of my passport photo. I asked him if that was it, and he said yes, they just needed two photos and now they had them. How great is it when bureaucracy responds so smoothly!

Now to find the BP Driver. My Continental Hotel/Paddington Station friend says we should go over here and get in the line to get on this BP Bus. I go, “but we have a car ordered for 3 of us only” and he says, “but all these guys were on our plane.” DUH! Doesn’t mean they have the same arrangements as us…so I shepherd (sorry James) them back thru the terminal because my instructions are that we are supposed to look for a guy named Samir who would take care of us. Now, understand all these transportation folks at the airport speak little to no English. Also understand I speak basically East Texan. It’s pretty much a big disconnect. But, I start asking for “Samir.” “Do you know Samir?” “Are you Samir?” Luckily the BP Transportation guy had sent me a document that had photos of each of his people including Samir. Finally one guy went running to bring back someone who said he was Samir and he matched the photo! He then turned us over to one of his drivers and he put us in his big SUV (which is the vehicle of choice over here) and drove us a good 30 minutes into the city of Baku to our hotel. Sorta like Denver. DFW now seems not that far from Dallas Central. The temperature was great – probably in the 70’s with a nice breeze and felt really good. I tried to tip Samir’s driver but he wouldn’t take it. How cool is that? We proceeded to check into the Hyatt Park Hotel which is the nicest hotel. Very modern, big and comfortable. If I gotta be in some room for 3 weeks it might as well be this one. I enjoyed unpacking. Usually when I go just for the week I take one suitcase and live out of it. This time I took two and had them cram-packed with everything imaginable. So I took my time – bear in mind it was after Midnight but was only 2 pm my time – nevermind I missed a night’s sleep – and enjoyed getting ready for the next day. Went to bed at 2 a.m., didn’t go to sleep until around 3 and then got up at 6.

Next story: My first 2 days in Baku.

It's about time I left the states

My first trip is to Baku Azerbaijan. You can google maps, see my really high level map in an earlier blog, or read this for a little background. http://www.answers.com/topic/baku

Today: DFW overnight to London; 3 hr layover and then non-stop to Baku. Flight is 9 1/2 hours to London; 5 1/2 to Baku. Actually arrive at 10:30 pm Monday in Baku - they are 10 hours ahead of us - and will get to the hotel after midnight with morning meetings Tuesday starting with breakfast at 8:00. God only knows what my body clock will be. One good thing - flying Business Class though with the way American Airlines is these days I'll probably have to pay for a drink and a pillow.

Remember the 10 hours if you want to get in touch with me or wonder why you haven't heard from me. When you're going to work I'll be getting off. When you come back from lunch, I"m going to bed. When I get up the next morning, you'll be getting ready for bed. We'll figure something out.

My audit is for 3 weeks and am looking forward to doing something fun and Russian over the weekends - like go look at rugs and probably some mosques.

My return trip is Thursday Sept 3, but have to spend the night in London and catch flight to DFW arriving at 2:30 pm Friday - JUST IN TIME FOR THE BEGINNING OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL SEASON. Who would have thought that I will actually be looking forward to seeing an OU game! Rick's been instructed to pour my jello-like body in the back seat of his car and take me to the game Saturday.

Another more eventful thing that's happening today is that Laura Jean has moved to Austin meaning that Cindy along with Kristin and Nathan will be holding down the fort. Everyone should make a point to call Cindy every couple of hours to check on her well being...JUST KIDDING. She's just fine.

After I'm home for Labor Day Weekend and THE BEGINNING OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL SEASON I will be home that week and then take Trip #2.

Monday, Sept 14, I have a noon flight from Houston that is 15 hours non-stop to Luanda, Angola. With the 6 hour time difference we arrive there at 9 a.m. Once again I'll have a 3-week job but will not be out/about too much on the weekends, though sounds like a trip to the "beach" is something that might happen. Still a ways off.

I return on Thursday Night October 1 and get to Houston at 8 a.m. on Friday. Just in time for UT OFF-WEEK IN FOOTBALL. Damn. Oh well.

Anywho, that's it. I"ll post things here as I can and hope to hear from all of you. In Baku I'm staying at the nicest hotel - a Hyatt Hotel (The Park)- and will be working downtown so it looks like I"ll be in the middle of a metropolitan scene. Population is over 1.8 million. Sorta like Plano and Collin County.

Adios and Boy Voyage!

Woodstock - 40 Years Ago

I did not have a Violent Decade - but as Baby Boomers we experienced the violence of the 60's and 70's. Nevertheless this is a fairly sweet video on the taking of the picture that is on all our Album Covers. Albums were for records that were played on these "record players" that could play at 3 different speeds...33, 45, 78. Oh forget it.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/89599/nbc-nightly-news-with-brian-williams-woodstock-photographer-i-had-a-very-violent-decade

We really need to post some music on here also so we can hear what was really the best music concert - nevermind the social implications of the event - that surely has ever been. Well, outside of a Willie Nelson Farm-Aid Concert.

I think if you go here you can listen to each song: http://www.amazon.com/gp/recsradio/radio/B000002J07/ref=pd_krex_listen_dp_img?ie=UTF8&refTagSuffix=dp_img little 30 second snippets. you may do like I did and just order the "album" (on CD of course) from Amazon.

This makes me really warm and fuzzy

Reading this will get you ready for the season. As someone has told me (inside sources: barber's neighbor's mother's girlfriend) notice how Tebow has not exactly chummed up with Colt and Sam...or the Mannings as far as that goes. He may feel he's just a tad better than everyone else.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/preview09/columns/story?columnist=maisel_ivan&id=4391994

Here's looking at Baku, Kid

Actually the map that shows London - Baku and what's in between. Hopefully as close as I ever get to Iran or Iraq.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=route+from+london+to+baku&sll=45.886624,24.949496&sspn=36.747544,57.919922&ie=UTF8&ll=40.245992,24.521484&spn=40.028715,57.919922&z=4

Secretary of State does advance work for me

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090809/pl_nm/us_angola_clinton_6

What an unexpected cool day in sports - 8/9/09

And why isn't everyday is sweeter than sweeter than the day before?

Rangers club Angels 7-0 with 3 hit complete game shutout from peachfuzz Rookie Derek Holland, Tiger comes from 3 shots back with Shot of the Year on 16, complete with triple bogey from Co-Leader Harrington, TO vs. Vince in first freaking football game of year (TO with 2 catches on one possession only vs. 1 TD from VY) and A-Rod with solo shot to give Yanks temporary lead in 7th with Rangers battling Sawx for lead in Wild Card race. Yanks lose lead, but Big Tex gets it right back. You go Ex-Rangers.

Not bad for an August 9 that started the day in Beavers Bend, by gawd, Oklahoma.

Hip, Hip, Hooray!

Neftali Perez

Saw the Major League debut of this phenom Mon night. K'ed first 4 batters he faced. Pitches ranged 98-101 mph. Egad.

Media reaction has been so wild it's like he's ready for Cooperstown now...after 2 innings. The Tigers have a fireballer that killed the Rangers last year with 100+ heaters. He went on the DL recently with a "sore shoulder." Stuff happens when you throw the ball that hard, though Nolan Ryan may disagree.

Now, if the guy could hit, the Rangers would really have something.

Another reason not to work out

That's what I'm talking about...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090805/ts_nm/us_pennsylvania_shooting_4

Good Dreams Can Be Bad

Had this dream that I was at this big group meeting at BP and I saw Stout and Pam across the room in attendance. I couldn't believe it. So after the meeting I sat down with him and said you are really here! He said he had gotten sick in Australia but was okay now. Really made me feel good.

Then I woke up. And just like when you have a bad dream and are so relieved when you wake up, it was awful when I realized I was waking up from a dream.

Has there ever been such a fruitless Blog?

Looking at the number of "Comments" I haven't seen this many zero's since I accidentally looked at my Tax Accounting Professor's Grade Book. B-O-R-I-N-G!!!

Oh well. Nobody said I was entertaining.

Walking on the Moon

Where were you 40 years ago tonight?

Me? I was flying home from spending the weekend in New Orleans. Flying some airline like Trans Texas, affectionately called Tree Top Airlines. And the pilot asked the passengers - all 8 of us - if it was okay if we land at Lake Charles so we could go in and watch the moonwalk on tv. Needless to say, the response was unanimous.

We went into this small terminal where we gathered around a small television and watched this monumental event. It really was breathtaking.

I'll never forget re-boarding the plane, sticking my head into the cockpit and asked the pilot if we could see the astronauts on their radar screen. No astronauts, just lots of stars and a magnanimous solar system that all of a sudden didn't seem so far away.

Hard to believe it's been FORTY YEARS! Yi yi yi!!!!

Walter Cronkite

It's funny how a guy that's 30 years older than me can feel like he's part of my generation. But, maybe it's because his career coincided with my generation's moving into adulthood.

If you didn't see CBS's tribute to Cronkite tonight, you missed a good show. If you didn't DVR it hopefully it'll be available online somewhere. It chronicles not only Walter being the news guy for a nation but him being on the air during the most major of news stories: the JFK Assasination, Man walking on the Moon, Martin Luther King, the 60's Unrest with the Hippies and the Protestors, the Viet Namn War - and Cronkite going into the war with our troops and then later going on the Nightly News and calling for the end of the war.

He wasn't our age, but he may have been our voice. The fact that CBS has Robin Williams and George Clooney narrating the tribute in fact shows that our generation was the one that "trusted" Walter despite the fact he was from our parents generation that we protested against. And this little known fact...he interviewed the Beatles on Nov. 22, 1963 which was to air on the news that night except for the tragic events in Dallas that day. A day my generation will never forget - especially everyone who calls Dallas home. But, later in December Walter decided that the country needed an uplift that only an interview with this new goofy band from Liverpool could bring. And it was after that show that Ed Sullivan called and started asking questions about this band called the Bugs or Beetles or whatever...Go figure.

A wish for my kids and all their peers: to never have to experience the assasination of a U.S. President. It will rip your guts out.

It wasn't until retirement that Cronkite did a series of "We're Texas" commercials for the University of Texas - the school he attended for two years working on the school newspaper and discovering his love for journalism. He also ran for Class President as a freshman and lost to Joe Greenhill who became Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court. Whenever these come on tv they're worth stopping what you're doing for 30 seconds...the booming voice of Walter plus the pride of all things UT coming thru loud and clear.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQNYmdgny2g&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STphfid-PWQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFRnwJ84znU&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhvSl0-I-N4&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=456M_nveGek&feature=related


And that's the way it was.

So What's the Deal With: Restaurant TV's with Non-Sporting Event Shows?

I mean - restaurants are loud. There's music playing with no sound on the TV's. They're only on for visual stimulation. So, why would one think C-Span, Supreme Court Nominee Interviews, CNN or even CSI-New York should be on their TV's? Hrmmph.

So What's the Deal With: Organic Milk?

You buy most cartons of "regular" milk and it has at most a one week expiration date. BUT, with the organic milk it has about a 6-week expiration date. What gives?

Are Horns a Team of Destiny

There will be tons of anticipation for this Texas/LSU series - just great, great, great. I say that and LSU will probably blow us off the field - 9 HR's, zero errors and great pitching in 3 games is pretty damn good. Texas will have to use everything in their book to pull this off. Can't wait!

just happened to be in Austin this weekend and read the local columnist - has a bit of burnt orange flavor but good observations nonetheless!

http://www.statesman.com/sports/content/sports/stories/longhorns/2009/06/20/0620bohls.html

Hook'em!!!

Dunkin' not Dinky in Boston

One note that went unposted:

Dunkin' Donuts are on EVERY corner in Boston. As our ConDUCKtor man said, "Dunkin' Donuts is #1 and that coffee company - Starbucks - is a distant 2nd." Don't know if that's true, but it would appear that way. Afterall, he said, Dunkin' Donuts donates lots of money to children and charities, while Starbucks gives you a little brown cup sleeve so you won't burn your fingers.

Right on.

Scattershooting while wondering whatever happened...

to all those little things that should have been posted but weren't.

The best desert, hands down, especially since it was probably the only one we had, but nevertheless would have defeated all comers: at the Hurricane in Kennebunkport...Warm Chocolate Banana Bread Pudding with Grapenut Ice Cream with Bourbon Sauce. I'd give my first male child to have that again.

Sometimes you hear people complain about Toll Roads, especially "up East." The ones we experienced were very harmless...New Hampshire = 1 Toll Road for $1.50...Maine = 1 Toll Road for $1.00. Newport's Pell Bridge = $1/axle, which was fine, but Cindy said, "how many axles do we have?" Made me think...Texas should have a Toll Gate at the borders...$1/car. What an awesome revenue stream once the oil/gas royalties dry up.

Prices in Maine (for everything) should be about 4 times higher than they are. People are only there 3 months out of the year - at best. Some big nice house that is a Bed & Breakfast? To recoup the cost of that requires LOTS of boarders and HIGH fees...but, nobody's making me go there and invest in anything so I guess I'll just keep my mouth shut.

Legal Seafood in Boston? Numero Uno. Was planning 2nd trip but unexpected diversions prevented it. If you ever fly hungry into Providence there's one right outside the airport.

There's so many nice and friendly people in the service/travel industry that when you run across a sourpuss it really sets you back. They need to go find another job.

How lucky are we to have a son-in-law and a boyfriend that went to BC and escorted our daughters through Boston and then have the 4 of them recommend so many fun, nice places to go see in New England. Here's to our kids! (hiccup!) James, I tried drinking all the beers you recommended, but think it'll take another trip.

I totally recommend the Duck Tour. Thanks Nathan for suggesting that. Our ConDUCKtor was one funny and informative dude. I would have liked to have gone around with him again since he might accidentally have some different material. Oh, who am I kidding. It's probably just rote, but, he was a combination History Teacher plus stand-up comedian. The one "other" couple that was staying at our B&B in Kennebunkport that last night was from the Boston area. May have been older than us/me. And when I told him about the Duck Tour, he goes..."I've always wanted to go, but she says, we live here, blah, blah, blah..." I told him some weekend when she's out of town, he oughta go. Lady goes, "thanks." I have such a way with the women.

We met some nice people at our various stops. Always fun meeting people from other parts of the country/world. Cindy latched on to Young Phil at a bar in Boston. I made the mistake of giving him my business card with my email address at the end of the night. Have already heard from him. Pretty sure Cindy will recommend we adopt him.

It's pretty funny what people that have never been to Texas think it must be like down here. Even if they have. Residence Inn Manager said he'd been here and been to the restaurant where they "cut off your necktie." That's his image of Texas.

Gift Shop Owner in Kennebunkport asked me what would his family do on vacation in Dallas, especially since there are no mountains or beaches. Told him I'd never been on vacation in Dallas, so it was a bit of a tough question. Ended up telling him they could go to 6 Flags, water parks, Ranger Games, J.R. Ewing's Ranch, 6th Floor School Book Depository...and he can go get his necktie cut off.

Newport, we hardly knew ya

Gosh, how fast can 4 days go? We made our way to the Residence Inn about 5 miles from the Wharf area of Newport. Lots of fun things to see and do there and since we had so much time we tried not to get in a hurry about anything.

The most unusual aspect of Newport are all the Mansions that exist. The real deal. Not only magnificent, but really beautiful. Built in the Gilded Age by the "Captains of Commerce." Think Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, the Waltons,etc. in the 1800's. They lived in New York or elsewhere for 9 months of the year amassing great fortunes, and then moved to Newport for the summer. Their families lived a life of luxury, especially the children. The wives were the CEO's of the house which was quite an organization in itself with all the staff required to operate the house. Not to mention she may have 7 changes of clothes during the day for the various activities like riding, tennis, tea and entertaining. One can only imagine how stressful that might be.

There is a 3-mile trail called "Cliff's Walk" that can be walked along the coastline where the mansions overlook the ocean. Cool, misty day made it seem very "New Englandish." We toured the Vanderbilt mansion ("The Breakers") and one other. We sorta had the picture down after that, though there are many others that could be toured. Additionally, there are still mansions where people live today - obviously off limits to tourists.

Day #2 (Friday) we had wanted to take a ferry trip out to some island in the area, but rain had moved in overnight and rained most of the day. So, we went to Plan B. Took the "Ocean Drive" around the perimeter of Newport which was beautiful. We drove to Ft. Adams which is an historical part of the War of 1812. We looked at it from the outside and moved along. Someone had mentioned the Eisenhower House that was close by and drove out to it. Only one problem. It isn't open to the public. Used for private functions like weddings. Pretty sure the lady there thought we were crazy when we drove up to the front door and walked up on the porch.

The International Tennis Hall of Fame was our next destination. (See rainy days are okay.) Think Cooperstown and Canton except for everyone that's ever played tennis. Plus they have grass courts on site there and play an annual ATP tournament not to mention all the local tennis tourneys. It was really fascinating. Far more than I imagined. Great displays of all the people who are inductees with video boards that are self-guided. Lots of rooms set up with historic types of equipment and "outfits" that have evolved over the years. Okay, I'm not presenting this as very exhilarating, but if you're ever in the area, check it out. Four stars.

That night we decided to do a nice dinner...and no seafood. Gils and fins were starting to sprout on us. So we went to a really nice steak restaurant called "22 Bowen" on the Bowen Wharf and not named for the Boarding House I lived in Austin...that would be the Bowen House. And we dun good on dinner. Each had a steak we loved with some good fresh spinach and a little mac and cheese thrown in for good measure. Now all we needed was a sunny day for our last full day there.

And we got it. And actually the rain had worked to our advantage, because the location we thought we'd catch this ferry was really not operating until late June. Thus, we were able to get to this other location - Pt. Judith - by 10:30 Saturday morning to catch the ferry to Block Island. High speed ferry took only 30 minutes to get there, but was adventuresome in that it was high speed with a little choppy water. But, not Barking Crab choppy. :) Thank goodness.

Block Island is this 10 square mile island...that would be, I'd say, 2 miles wide by 5 miles long. So we'd seen the map of Block Island, it's roads around the perimeter, up the middle, various cross roads, etc. Someone had said, oh it's flat land so you can ride bikes all over. Plus there's mopeds/scooters you can rent. Once we got there and started walking a ways, we realized we needed some form of transportation. The terrain was actually very hilly. The guy that said it was flat must have been smoking something. Bikes were not going to do it going up all the hills. Mopeds were definitely a possibility, though we ain't kids any more so that appeared a little dicey. Then we saw it.

A Smart Car. One of the rental places had stashed behind their lot some Smart Cars. $25/hr for 3 hours. OUTSTANDING. We had motorized transportation, plus it was comfortable, had a radio and a convertible top. Now, that is the way to see an island. Had a great 3 hours scooting around in that. Had to replace the gas. Took one gallon. Went to really good restaurant for lunch on the far side of the island called The Oar. Cindy with one more lobster roll. I had some blackened mahi mahi, which I'm sure they had caught earlier that day in Hawai'i.

Caught our ferry back to Newport at 4:30. Went exploring down some little back streets of Newport and came across a neighborhood Pub. Really was. 3 TV's in the place all showing Futbol. Headed back to the hotel with plenty of time to leisurely pack and get ready for early Sunday flight from Providence.

Only one thing unexpectedly happened. Texas played Boston College in baseball Saturday Night, was not on tv, but was on an internet website and they played for a while longer than one would expect. Let's just say that I gave myself a 1:00 a.m. curfew for a game that began at 7 p.m. so that I could get 4 hours sleep. Thus, I got to see up to the beginning of the 22nd inning. OMG. It was mesmerizing. The opposing pitchers were mowing down batters one after the other. (And just now in real time, Texas scores EIGHT in the bottom of the 9th to eliminate the Army Black Knights and advance to the Super Regionals).

At any rate, one of the beauties of flying Southwest Airlines across the country is that you have plenty of opportunity to sleep and we did. And we made it. All flights were on time, going and coming.

Lots of catch up on the trip. So, probably will have a couple of more posts maybe. And my pictures. Got a gazillion. As always, you don't have to look at them, but hey, if you read all my crap, you probably want to see what the heck I was really talking about.

Love to all and see you soon.

Hooking on to Newport

Up till now weather had been pleasant in 60's and 70's, but on Tuesday night wet cold front blew thru dipping temps into 40's with rain most of the day. But, no prob, this is travel day to Newport...took Hwy 1 North so that we could go thru beach (New England definition) towns such as Wells and Ogunquit (picture above). See you later in Newport.

Here's where the Bushes live...in the summer

Hanging in Kennebunkport

Can understand why anyone would want to come up here for a summer retreat, regardless of their political persuasion. Very cute little town. Boats, water, big houses, restaurants, bars, shops... Cindy and I had a very comfortable 2 days here, even though we weren't here the entire time. Took a day trip to Portland along the coast...Highway 9 or 1, beautiful drive.

Their beaches? Are.not.swimable. But are beautiful to view and in middle of summer are eligible for picnics or wearing a wetsuit and getting in the water.

Best restaurant? The Hurricane. Great soup. Great salads. Great cocktails. Great service. We asked our waiter, Wally, if they stayed here year-round, and he said 9 months. Gone Jan-Mar. Said restaurant is over the water and it's impossible to heat the building, so they close down. In fact, there's hardly anyone who stays around here for 12 months. Hard to believe that people choose to live in places that is that desolate, but this is one.

Our B&B is really nice. Comfortable. Great bed. Nice sitting area. Good view looking out over the back yard towards nice acreage and water/boats in the distance. On 3rd floor, top room, skylight to the stars. And on first night, we're the only people in the house. 15 bedrooms. Second night - population doubles - another couple arrives from outside Boston.

This is typical of our entire week in New England. Vacation population is down. You would think after Memorial Day, traffic would increase, but not so. Everywhere the recession is hurting tourism.

On Tuesday, the day trip to Portland we are heading for Cape Elizabeth. Kristin has told us about a place to have lobster rolls at Cape Elizabeth; LJJ told us about cafe in Portland. We decided we can only have lobster roll at one place and Cape Elizabeth is the closest. I checked my notes. I got "Lobster Shack at Cape Elizabeth." On the road, the only place I see is "Two Lights State Park" at Cape Elizabeth. Haven't bothered anyone at home prior to now...bowl-hugging or no...and decide I should call KLF...and, God bless her, she's sitting at her computer, fires up her Google and goes, "...Go to the State Park, but don't go in; take the road to the left and it should dead end into the Lobster Shack." At that point we lost phone contact and lo and behold we drive straight into the Lobster Shack! Guess what? Best frickin' lobster roll you could imagine...well, unless you wanted to match it up with the Legal Seafood in Boston that James insisted we eat at, and then I'm not sure how in hell you would pick a winner. Somehow I didn't get a picture of the Lobster Shack, but did get the Lighthouse outside and shown above.

Definitely recommend Kennebunkport. Oh and we did see the Bush Compound and will had that picture above also. As a rule when people ask you where you are from here, and I can't imagine why they do that, and then we tell them "Texas" they want to know if we're with the Bushes. There's all sorts of responses we could give them...choose your own punchline...but, we just said, "no." (If you don't see a picture of the Bush home with the Texas flag (feintly seen lower than the US Flag next to Maine State Flag) it'll be on the next post.)

On to Newport. Though you may be watching Leno right now...Can't beat Letterman repeat last night with Tom Hanks - most outstanding performer in my lifetime, slightly ahead of Dustin Hoffman - but, best part of Leno tonight...James Taylor. What fricking goes around, comes around.