Oh boy it's been awhile since I updated the blog but I just thought that I would save this update for when I got back from Texas with my sledge hockey team. I figured too that this one could be a little more entertaining than previous entries since I always thought that reading people's travel logs are more interesting than the usual banter you read in other blogs online. So without any further ado here is my trip to Texas which occured on the week of March 11th to 19th.
Enjoy!
Saturday - Left London for Detroit to catch my flight @ 7am. The flight didn't leave till 12:01 pm but we wanted extra time to make sure that if there was excess traffic at the border we had that time to use. Of course once we got to the airport we had to get through security we had to try and find and (eventually) meet up with the others who are flying with us too. We were in Detroit some time maybe close to 9:30-10am. The flight left at 12:10 or so and then it was off to Memphis for the first half of our flight!
I don't really remember what time we arrived in Memphis but it was definately late afternoon. I can safely tell you though that Memphis was unusually hot for this time of year because it was like summer temperatures. I was told it was somewhere in the high-high 80's maybe near 90 degrees but the humidity was awful. I only felt it for the few moments I had when I walked off the plane to go get my wheelchair and then into the airport. We were only in Memphis for an hour and then we caught our connecting flight to Austin. We borded an hour later and this time our flight was going to be late because there was some kind of minor issue with the plane so we were sitting with the door to the plane open, no AC running on the plane and the sweltering heat from ourside getting into the plane .. it was awful! No matter, the inconvenience didn't last that long but it felt like forever though. Despite the problem people were still joking about and goofing off with the stewardess. Once everything was sorted out we took off to Austin and everything was back on track! I believe we arrived in Austin some time about 5:30pm and didn't make it back to the hotel till some time around 7pm. Why did it take so long? well, the directions we got were sort of hard to follow and the road system in Austin was confusing at first but the more we travelled the less complicated it seemed. I would imagine that's par for the course to any new city but nonetheless we made it to the hotel and we ordered a late dinner and sat on the hotel patio (with that late night warm weather to boot) till late in the night. Needless to say it was an exhausting and long day!
Sunday - No rest for the weary (or for those who stayed out late on the patio!) since we were up early and on the road to San Antonio for the day. Of all the places I had always wanted to visit in Texas, San Antonio was one of them and now I have my wish! It was pretty neat to travel outside of where we were staying in Austin and see other towns along the way to San Antonio because well .. it just is! It was another warm day in Texas, more summer type heat but who cared because it was all about adventure. Anyhow the gang made it to San Antonio and we had the opportunity to wander about. Myself and my crew (Cameron, Claire,Lane) went and checked out the MASSIVE shopping mall called the
River Center Mall . It's probablly unlike anything I had ever seen before. Of course while I was there I bought myself my new San Antonio Spurs jersey and what made it ultra cool was that it was on sale! I believe I paid maybe $55.00 when it sold for $75.00 normally. No complaints here really!
But before that I had the chance to check out the famed Alamo. I didn't wait the near 2hrs to get into the main building but I did explore the outer walls and checked out the displays that they had at certain points within the compound. It's hard to believe that I rolled on the grounds of one of America's most historical and well known battles. The story of the battle for the Alamo and Texas's independance and how it was told was simply amazing.
Monday - A free day today. A day to sleep in and take advantage of the really great weather that we had that day. Of course the summer type weather kept rolling along and it was a really beautiful day. That day too we had our first BBQ in Texas and the BBQ was fantastic! We had the usual fare for BBQ (hot dogs, hamburgers) but our hamburgers were made out of Longhorn! And I must say it was tasty! Later on in the afternoon myself and some of my team mates played some wheelchair basketball on the hotel court and had a pretty good time. However for the evening's entertainment the gang all saddled up and went to the near by rodeo to take in the sights! While at the rodeo I am proud to say that I bought my cowboy hat!
So here I am with my hat. It isn't quite the best pictures ince I had pretty much been up for 12hrs and the growth was starting to grown in not to mention I had a sunburn going across my brow from playing basketball that afternoon.
Shortly after I had bought mine, one of my team mates, Cameron, bought his as well. Shortly after that a good number of other team mates and coaches bought theirs as well! The hats turned into a pretty good investment because when we went out we all wore our hats. The rodeo itself wasn't too much because they were just bringing in the animals so I gues you can't call it a rodeo .. ok .. scratch that! I have no idea what we were at really .. maybe a fair then? who knows but everyone really seemed to have a good time regardless!
Tuesday - Off to Corpus Christi we go for the second leg of our journey across Texas! We left some time early in the morning and made it at some point in the early afternoon. It's quite the trek to Corpus, almost 3 1/2 hrs away. Quite the trip but pretty and once you get to Corpus you will see the the oil refineries lined up along the side of the freeways. I see why when Hurriance Rita hit Texas they were so concerned! It's quite the site to see though when you come in. But once you get into the city of Corpus Christi it was absolutely GORGEOUS! A really beautiful city by the Gulf of Mexico. I must say too that if you want really good food at cheap prices when in Corpus, try this place it's called The Executive Surf Club and try the "Executive Burger" .. you won't be disappointed .. TRUST ME! Oh and go Tuesdays because it's $2.00 pint day! ;)
Oh and here's a picture from outside of our hotel in Corpus Christi. I had said that I wanted a picture of a palm tree so I got what I wanted. Actually, I got the Holiday Inn flag, the state of Texas flag, the US flag and a palm tree and a truck. Yeehaw! :)
Wednesday - It was team dinner night and we tried this really great place called the Water Street Seafood Company. If you like seafood this place is for you! Oddly enough it's right next door to where I went to lunch the day before. Some really tasty food and kick butt desserts! After that myself and a few others walked back to the hotel and then a little later it was off to bed and then ready for the trip back to Austin.
Thursday - Today we drove back from Corpus Christi to Austin to get ready for our game against a team from Austin and Dallas. The game was at 9:45pm and at all places .. yes .. a shopping mall in Austin! It felt odd to play a sledge game in a shopping mall but as long as it has ice who cares right?
But either way it did feel odd and the Blizzard prevailed 4-1. Once the game was done we were back off to the hotel and to bed with another long day ahead since we had a game at the same venue tomorrow moring at 9am but had to be at the mall .. err .. rink for 7:30am (UHG!).
Friday - The early day started at 6:30am for myself and my roomies. Thankfully the .. ah .. mall .. wasn't that far away from where we were staying. The team made it's way down and were treated to a nice breakfast provided by the Austin team. For the first time ever I had a breakfast taco and it was pretty tasty! I had the egg and ham taco w/orange juice. We got ready for the game and played at 9am as scheduled. I think the final score was 3-3 at the end of it all. We all changed and whoever wanted to stayed behind and shopped at the MASSIVE Sports Authority store at the mall. Of course myself and my roomies stayed and we shopped. I picked up a pair of matching shorts for my Spurs jersey that I bought Monday in San Antonio. After that it was back to the hotel for me and a nap and get ready for another BBQ! (YAY!) The BBQ was just fantastic again.
Saturday - Our last day in Austin or Texas for that matter. It was another one of those days when you can do what you liked. I chose to sleep in but went and did a little shopping later on in the afternoon. The weather was a little cloudy and a little wet too but it was still pretty warm. We didn't stay too late shopping because we had a final team get together for dinner at this great placed called
Rudy's . It's supposedly called the "worst" BBQ in Texas but I don't agree with it. I would go as far as to call it some of the best BBQ that I had ever had. If you ever want to try a interesting dining experience you must try them out when you're in the southern states. Why is it so unique? I wish I could express it clearly here but I just can't because it's something I hadn't done before. What I can say is that if you ever wanted an excuse to eat with your hands this is it! Here's the link again:
http://www.rudys.com/index.html One more thing to mention .. whoever was staying on the 4th floor at the Staybrige Inn and burnt their popcorn and was DUMB enough to open your hotel door and figured that is the best way to fix problem .. way to go! (yes, that was sarcasim) You did a great job! But hey .. it added to the final night in Texas and a great trip. Oh, and trying to carry a wheelchair down three floors isn't really suggested especially when you're trying to get out as fast as humanly possible in case where you're staying is burning to the ground. To one particular person (she knows who she is!) the image of me carrying my chair down the stairs and out the side door was funny. I'm glad you got a laugh out of it! ;) :P
Sunday - It's time to go home. It was one of the same things as the Saturday before .. a long trip home except this time the weather wasn't anywhere near as sunny and warm but rather just overcast and rainy since there was a storm that passed by the Austin area overnight. I was up at 7:45am and we left the hotel at 9:30 en route to Austin International airport. Our flight was alittle late because of the weather but our flight attendant, Angel, was pretty entertaining and she helped pass the time while things fixed up with the weather. Once the flight got going everything was just fine. It's funny how the flight to Memphis went by so fast. But once we got to Memphis we didn't have that much time to sit and relax like we did before because this time the trip to Detriot was going to be on a much bigger plane and obviously, more people to board. So we boarded the plane, it took off and within a few hours we were landing back in Detroit and then the drive back to London. I will say though that I was amazed that there wasn't any traffic at the border since you would have though with all the Spring Breakers coming back that day. I guess we must have missed them by a few hours I guess.
No matter! We were on the road back to London and arrived in London at 9pm and I was home by 9:45pm and in bed probablly by 11:30pm that night. I didn't think I would be in bed taht early but ah .. after a long travel day it would be suspected that's for sure.
Overall: It was sad to leave Texas because I really enjoyed my stay in the "lone star state" but at least myself and my team mates will have memories of a fantastic trip and a great time had by all! I look forward to the next trip and the plan has it that the London Blizzard in two years would like to travel to where the great game of sledge hocky was born in ... NORWAY! Would be very interesting to say the least!
Last but not least ... 
I will just say right now that I really like Donald Fagen's new CD "Morph The Cat". Would it surprise anyone that I do like it? No? didn't think so! At the moment my favourite two tracks are "Security Joan" and "H Gang". It's hard to imagine I missed Donald when he performed in Toronto on the 13th of the month when I was in Texas .. darn .. hopefully this fall if Steely Dan tours I will be able to catch them if they come to Toronto or maybe (or am I dreaming here?) come to London. I'm betting more Toronto if they tour in the fall. Anyhoo the new Fagen CD is great and I reccomend it!
