From Wetsuits to Weddings

I thought I'd go over what I've listed as the top 5 experiences of my trip to Texas last week, as well as some photos. So here we have, in no particular order:

1. I swam in a wetsuit. It was about midnight when my friend Heather suggested we go swimming in her pool. I said, "Are you crazy? I'll freeze my butt off." Heather said, "You can wear my wetsuit." ?!?!? Who but Heather would just keep a wetsuit hangin' around the house? So I wore it, and thus had my first-ever wetsuit experience.

2. While fighting off fear in a completely cricket-infested office, Heather and I designed the entire wedding program for our friend Erin's wedding. We finished AN HOUR BEFORE THE WEDDING STARTED. Did we get thanked? NO. It was a darn good program too, if I say so myself. Albany (the small town where the wedding was held) has a serious cricket problem. You might think I'm talking about those small cute chirpy things that make a little noise in the summertime. I'm not. I'm talking huge honkin' black cricket-beasts that not only fly, but bite too. Maybe Moses plagued Albany with crickets after he finished with the Egyptians, I'm not sure. There's a town square, okay, and all the shop owners put out pesticide pellets in the afternoon, and then the following morning they sweep the dead crickets into gigantic mounds. It's GROSS, and it's a never-ending cycle because there's always just as many the next day.

3. Amanda and I snuck out the house window to TP and shoepolish the cars of Heather's brothers and their friends. It was so 11th grade all over again, only I never did that in 11th grade. I was a late bloomer in the prank department.

4. I ate REAL Tex-Mex food again!! This crap they serve in VA will never, ever compare.

5. Heather's car broke down halfway between Abilene and Dallas on my way back to the airport. For those of you who have no clue where Abilene and Dallas are, well they're about 3 hours apart. And the car just died about halfway between the two. It was pouring rain, which didn't help me at all because of course I had to pee. After calling Triple A (or is it AAA?) we waited a good hour for the tow-truck to arrive. It didn't, and so we thought we'd try starting the car one more time. And it worked, miraculously. If you were to see Heather's car, you'd say it was a miracle too. Anyway, what had happened was all that rain had gotten everything wet under the car hood and caused the car to die. If you're wondering how this can possibly happen, just get in enough accidents to where your hood doesn't rest flush against the body of your car and then let it bounce around a little. But the story has a happy ending... I caught my plane just as they called for final boarding.

Say goodbye to Erin, who joined the ranks of married people last week at her wedding. Sad but true.

A cool photo, I thought, of the place where Erin's reception was held. Enlarge this for a much better view.

This is the courthouse in Albany. It's also the "center" of town. Notice those stormclouds rolling in.

This is a shot from inside of The Prairie Star - convience store, deli, and grill. This place is one of four eating establishments in town. Albany boasts a population of about 1900 people.