Day 2, part 2 - weekend away

After we went shooting Saturday, we decided to find a sports bar to watch the Twins game. We called around to places to see if anyone would have it on along with the sound and found that most of the sports bars in town were packed with Astros fans watching the game there. We finally found one place that said they'd have it on at least one TV for us even if the Astros were still playing - the Carlos Beer Garden. What a great name. I just envisioned Army of Dad and I being the only white folks in the place, but we got there and instantly fell in love. It reminded AoD of the beachfront bars in Cocoa Beach. It was open air, the weather was lovely and it felt great. We also learned a trick while we were there - if you fill a baggie with water and hang it from the doorway, it discourages the flies from flitting around. It apparently worked. Throughout the two or three hours we were there - we saw only ONE fly. Amazing.

We had a good time despite the Twins loss. The crowd was eclectic, the way we like it, with some bikers and their bitches with them. (am I allowed to say that? is that the right way to say that?) Some guys left over from the Astros game, some barflies and some chicks looking for men. It was a lot of fun, though. They had cheap food, as the sign shows, cheap beer. They had dominos on the table, too, which was sort of a fun diversion.

Later that night, we went on a quest that left me feeling, well, totally blonde. Alvin, hometown of one my all-time favorite sports figures - Nolan Ryan - was just seven miles from where we were staying. I was so excited that I wanted to go visit the town. I had always heard that he had a few restaurants in town and knowing that he sells steaks to grocery stores, I assumed he had a steakhouse. That sounded good, so we decided to trek into Alvin and find it. Well, we didn't see anything along the main strip, so we stopped in a Haji mart and he tells me that Nolan Ryan owns Joes' Barbecue and the Casa Ole. Oh joy. So, we go find the BBQ place. Doesn't look much like a shrine to Nolan Ryan, but the food was good and cheap. It did have one wall of Nolan Ryan photos and clippings, but my guess is that he doesn't own it. *shrug* So, AoD ate dinner with a smug look on his face all evening, much to the redness of my face.

That was pretty much it for the evening. We really felt old, but we crashed every night before 11 and woke up about 6:30 each morning.