Aruba Trip Part One

There I was........sitting at Gate D22 at Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall Sheila Dixon Rawlings Blake O'Malley Mikulski Obama International Airport in Baltimore......waiting to board our plane. We would be flying off via USAirways to the island of Aruba......but we would have to change planes in Charlotte. I got my Ravens cap on and ready to go.

I wasn't alone on this trip.....of course Supernurse was with me.......along with about 45 others as part of the Chesapeake Medical Staffing group. We were the first batch to head off to Aruba.......four days later the rest of the group would join us. All in all, there were a total of 89 assorted nursing professionals with spouses and friends on this trip. It is always a pleasure to travel with this group of people.

So we boarded the plane, changed planes in Charlotte, and we were off to Aruba.....it's a fairly long flight. We all get situated on the plane and all in all, everything was good.......except for two very odd things.

First odd thing............

.........no........Robin Williams was not on this flight.......BUT.......there was this flight steward to looked and acted eerily like Robin Williams in Bicentennial Man. Same robotic movements, same smile, same walk, same blank stare. Downright scary. I wonder if this guy knows how he appears.

This was was I saw from my seat........as you can see........there he is, sitting there.

Here is a little closer look. I apologize for the lack of clarity in the picture........but surely you can see the resemblance.


Okay........now that was the first odd thing.

If you have never been in an airplane......this is what I could see as we were ascending. Looking down, everything kept getting smaller and smaller.

Up and up until we were above the clouds.............it is amazing.......and it gives you a view of things from a different perspective.

Once we level off.....we are so high up that it seems that if we went any further up we would be in space. Yes, you can see the curvature of the earth at this point.

Now the Second Odd Thing.............

It isn't odd that some people take their laptop computers with them on trips........but what was odd was what I saw on the laptop between the seats in front of me. Can you see what that is?

Have another look...................that's right......

..........it was the cockpit of a plane......much like the cockpit of the very plane that we were on......and it was on a laptop. Okay, okay......so there are games for computers and there are even flight simulators as well......no big deal.........BUT............

........that wasn't all that was on that laptop................I couldn't help but read what was on the screen.............holy smoke!..........it appears to be some serious technical questions about controlling a plane.

Indeed..........it was some sort of program from Oxford Aviation Training..........in this day and age, stuff like this gets my attention in a big way. There were two men in the seats in front of me.........both had reasonably dark skin.......I could not tell whether or not they were Arab, Aruban, or Hispanic.......and they spoke in a foreign language............and one of them came across as if he was in charge of the other. The other seemed younger and was extremely jittery in that he couldn't seem to sit still. And he kept looking over the back of his seat at me. I didn't like this at all........this kind of stuff makes for an uncomfortable flight......how does one relax seeing this stuff?

I kept an eye on these guys while Supernurse slept. I sat there thinking about various scenarios.....what if these guys were terrorists and started to do something?.......I knew I most assuredly would not be able to count on any help from Bicentennial Man, the flight steward. I pointed out the two to some of the others sitting nearby.........they would watch them too. And that one guy kept looking back at me and grinning.............and I kept staring right into his face to let him know that at least Signtopia would be in his shit if he tried anything. Who knows what he was doing on this flight?......I surely didn't.........and I wouldn't have trusted them regardless of how innocent their purpose really was. They were whipping out 100 dollar bills to pay for snacks and wine and being sarcastic with the female flight attendant. The attendant didn't seem to notice what I had.

So what to do about this situation.............I was thinking........if something was going to happen, I am on it.........then again, if it could be prevented maybe I should step up to the plate and say something to someone in charge and have them deal with it............then again, if it was all much ado about nothing, then I would be the cause of delaying this trip because surely, the pilot would want to land somewhere and the nearest place at this point was Miami........I would open a whole can of worms......................what would you do?

So what I did was nothing.........I just kept an eye on them. I opted to believe that these were just some morons that had been attending a flight school, probably in Charlotte.....who knows?....and were reviewing their tests.............then again, I couldn't help but remember about some of the facts about those terrorists that brought down two planes on 9/11. They were young too. They also had participated in some flight training at a school in the US. This was all not only odd, but very uncomfortable.

I looked out of the window......at this point we had gone far enough over open water that I could see an island................we must be getting closer to Aruba at this point...............nothing has happened so far and I thought........if they were planning any nefarious stuff for this flight it would have happened while in US territory.

So......nothing happened.........and we landed in Aruba about an hour later...........and I could finally relax.

Our group of people stood outside of the Aruba airport and prepared to board the two buses that would take us to the resort. This party was getting started.

Me and Supernurse on the bus..................go ahead.......ask me if I am tired and just a little stressed.

The infamous Aruban police................halfway into our vacation, I would discover firsthand, how inept these folks can be. It does not surprise me now that Natalee Holloway was never found and those responsible for her disappearance just danced with the authorities. More on that later.

Here we go.............

............to be continued.........

Jehovah's Witnesses Go Trick Or Treating

I just got back from an eight day trip to Aruba with Supernurse. Fantastic beach, beautiful sunsets, iguanas, spending each entire day drinking Balashi......feasting on unlimited assorted food........and gambling in the casino every night.............needless to say........I had no election, no problems, no stress, no aggravations, no nothing to pester me..........I was one happy man on one happy island. A man has gotta like this stuff.

In the next few days or so, I will be writing here about the trip to Aruba. Unfortunately, as with all vacations, those wonderful days are far too short and we must return home. We returned to Baltimore around midnight Wednesday. I cannot say that I was tired, but I can say that I was exhausted.......I guess my adrenalin decreased rapidly as we approached Baltimore Washington Thurgood Marshall Dixon O'Malley Obama International Airport. I went from mid-80s tropical weather to a very cold 40 degree vacation ender.........blahhhh.

So I spent Thursday "resting".......getting things in order......yakking on the phone.......and giving attention to the dogs. It is good to be home........but it is not always so good to be where home is. Home is in Baltimore and I am back to the world in which I live. The election is fast approaching and just maybe I will get to actually vote this time. Two years ago my absentee ballot was never sent to me........can you say "rigged" election? This time around, I am here and I will be at the polling booth on Tuesday.........I will be right there in line at the poll......standing in line behind the homeless, illegal aliens, non-residents, felons, deceased, illiterate, brain damaged, uneducated morons....that will also be voting. This is the Maryland political tradition and it seems that the rest of the country has followed suit...............ain't it wonderful?

Okay....okay.....I have veered off course and went political on you...........let me get back on track.........after resting on Thursday and getting stuff in order at home, I began Friday with tending to grandkids because their schools were closed. This was not a bad thing.......I love my grandkids and I did miss them while I was away. It was about 10am Friday morning when I looked outside my window and noticed a car had pulled up and parked across the street from me. Three women and a child exited the car and began to scatter and head for the homes in the neighborhood. "Oh yeah!......make my day!"..............this was gonna be fun.......well, maybe not so much fun for whichever one of these people head my way...........let's just say this was gonna be one of those moments where somebody was gonna get an educational experience. Education should be fun, right?

The woman with the small child headed towards the front of my house........and she never got to knock on the door.......I popped the door open and stepped outside before she could even get up the front steps...........this was gonna be interesting.

Here is Signtopia doing one of the things he does:

She says: "Hello"
I said: "How ya doin'?"

She says: "Fine"
I said: "Let's see, you must be one of two things.........either you are with ACORN and you want to get me to vote for Obama.....or you must be trick or treating dressed as an alleged Christian"

She smiles.
I said: "Seriously.....I know.......you are a Jehovah's Witness.......it IS Halloween"

She smiled some more.
I smiled as well.

I said: "What brings you out today?"
She begins to pull a two page tract out of her bag.
She says "We are just here to give out these......."
I said: "I don't want one of those, thank you."
She just keeps it in her hand.
She says: "Its just some information for you about some things......."
I interrupted her and said "Yeah.....but I have some information for you though and I am glad you stopped by to receive it."
She smiles.
I smile.
She smiles some more.
I say: "How old is your child?"
(the kid was standing next to her and kept looking up at me as if he had no clue why he was here)
She says: "Two"
I said: "Two?......He really should not be outside...it is very chilly and he could catch pneumonia"
She nodded and smiled.

She begins to turn around to walk away but she is on MY time now and I plan on continuing the conversation.

I said: "I am very familiar with Jehovah's Witnesses"
She smiles and her eyes light up.
I said: "I have two sisters who were Witnesses......one was for over 30 years....but they are both out of it now."
She says: "Oh.......you had some bad experience"
I said: "No, I always have a good experience.......I have never been a Jehovah's Witness"
She smiles.
I smile.
I say: "Let me ask you something."
She says: "Yes?"
I said: " I have conversed with Jehovah's Witnesses countless times. I have had many discussions, particularly on the internet, around the world......and I have noticed that the majority of Jehovah's Witnesses do not seem to realize a few things that they are being taught."
She looks at me curiously and smiles and says "Oh?"
I said: "Yes.......it seems that the rank and file Jehovah's Witnesses are not fully aware that they have a very peculiar view of Jesus. Aside from believing Jesus is NOT God and that Jesus is also Michael the Archangel, they don't seem to realize that they are taught that Jesus is also the fallen angel of the abyss named Abaddon."
She smiles and says "You must have had a bad experience"
I said: "No.......I know you have studied the Revelation, It's Grand Climax Is At Hand book......it is in there........and the Insight book has it as well.......and maybe one or two other of your books that you have studied."
She smiles and says "Yes"
I said: "But you never realized that the Watchtower view of Jesus is that he is the fallen angel of the abyss?"
She says: "You must have had a bad experience"
I said: "Not at all.......I do not "study" those books, but you do"
She smiles.
I said: "For your information, you can read about Abaddon in your bible......it is found in Revelation 9.
She smiles and says "Maybe you have a different translation of the bible"
I said: "No......I can use any bible"
(that line had to send a chill up her spine)
She smiled and said "We have a translation......."
I interrupted her with "I know.......but I would question the validity of that translation since they keep the translators names anonymous. It is hard to verify any qualifications of anonymous people, wouldn't you agree?"
She smiles.
I said: "One other thing I have noticed........your organization has this thing called a Memorial every year."
She smiles and says "Yes....the Memorial"
I said: "Yes......the Memorial......The Memorial is the only ritual, I have found, that is exercised.....where the symbolic flesh and blood of Christ is rejected by all. In fact, your organization very specifically encourages and advises its members to reject it."
She ain't smiling any more.
I said: " I cannot find ANY Christian organization that would teach rejection of the symbolic flesh and blood of Christ. I can only find Satanic groups that would do that. Isn't that a bit odd?"
She says: "You must have had a bad experience"
I said: " In your bible, if you look at John 6:53-56....you can see where Jesus was speaking and said that those who do not partake of his flesh and blood have "no life in them".........and he wasn't speaking to just his apostles......he was speaking to a crowd."
She smiles.
I said: "I found that to be very interesting.....you might want to research that."
She smiled again.
I said: "Oh......and another thing.........How is it that Venus and Serena Williams can do what they do and participate in patriotic stuff like carrying around the American flag at the Olympics, but YOU cannot get away with even reciting the pledge of allegiance in a school?"
She smiles and says: "I am sure they will be dealt with......Jehovah sees everything."
I said: "I am sure Jehovah DOES see everything.......even I could see them with the flag. I wouldn't think that He is asleep at the wheel, do you? I mean he would treat the Williams sisters equally as He treats you, right? He wouldn't give them different rules than He would give you, would He?
She smiles and says "No"
I said: "Do you suppose that it is because they are celebrities and have donated tons of money to the organization?"
She says: "It was nice to speak with you."
I said: "Before you go.....I have one other thing I need to ask you"
She smiles and says "Yes?"
I said: "You came here to day to my door.......was there some sort of message that you wanted to bring? Is there something you would want to tell me.....share with me.....some sort of message?"
She thinks for a moment and says "It's a message of hope for life from the bible."
She smiles.
I said: " Ahhhhh.......hope for life from the bible."
She nods.
I said: "It seems to me that it was ME that gave YOU that message and it is found in John 6:53-56 and the last time I checked...........yep......that's from the bible!"
She smiles.
I said: "Well, you have a good day now, and get that kid out of the cold air before he catches pneumonia."
She walked away.
I said: "God Bless ya!"

The woman then walks across the street and tries knocking on some more doors. Needless to say, nobody was answering their doors. All she could do was leave her pamphlet. Hopefully, her conversation with me would click..........nothing else to remove it from her mind.
After a few more doors.....she headed back to the car and, with her child, sat out of the cold air waiting for the other two women.

About fifteen minutes later, the other two women got back to the car and they drove away. I wonder if the woman with the child told of her conversation with me.

I am sure the others couldn't help but notice how much time she spent speaking with me. Maybe somebody gets the message...........then again........maybe they were disappointed that they didn't get any candy on this Halloween.

You have to wonder about people.

I Gotta Say This Stuff

I find myself accumulating certain thoughts about stuff and I have to get some of it off my chest,.....so here we go.........

As taxpayers, each and every one of you should be sick of the way things are. It's about time that each of you take action and let your voice be heard. NOW is the time for the FAIR TAX and get rid of the ridiculous tax system we have currently. Unfortunately, neither the Democrats nor the Republicans are entertaining the Fair Tax plan. This means that you need to tell them. Unfortunately, the politicians, even though there may be overwhelming outcry, will usually vote or act in the complete opposite of their constituents. This makes you wonder just WHO their "constituents" really are.

Case in point.....the Bailout of Wall Street. Where is OUR bailout?

If you or I rob someone, there are tremendous odds that we will be fully prosecuted when caught. When politicians rob us, nothing happens to them as a result......they were just doing their jobs.........imagine that!.........just doing their jobs. Well, they are not doing things right by any one of us. The overwhelming majority of politicians have continually worked against the people. It is about time that we take back control of things. If we do not..........we are doomed.

If you are not registered to vote and you just sit on your ass on election day, YOU are a major part of the problem. I would agree with you however, if you said "There isn't anyone worth voting for." The problem with that, though, is we need to think outside the box. The candidates may not be the best possible folks to elect, yet, each of us need to vote for ALL of us. You wouldn't be voting for the politician, you would be voting for YOU. If that sounds confusing, it is.
We have so many issues to deal with.....crisis after crisis. In the bigger picture, you might want to think about certain main underlying issues that, if those are not dealt with NOW, all of the other issues are moot.

In case you haven't noticed, our politicians have taken huge steps towards embracing Socialism.
This must be stopped in it's tracks. This issue alone should be enough reason to vote AGAINST Barack Obama and vote FOR John McCain. Some of you might say that we have to choose the lesser of two evils.........I might agree with that since I cannot justify voting for anyone completely evil.

Just think how out of control the politicians have become. Did anyone notice that your Senators and Representatives are supposedly acting and reflecting the people of their respective States? Ha!.........I cannot come up with one thing my own Senators have done for me .......ever. But I can CAN come up with tons of stuff that they have done TO me and you. Consider back during the Democratic Primary..........remember?......Hillary Clinton was battling Obama.........and she overwhelmingly was supported by the Democrat people in the State Of West Virginia. Even though she whooped Obama's butt in West Virginia, that ancient moron.......you know the one.......the old, blubbering, senile, career politician Robert Byrd gets on tv and announces that he supports Obama. What?

Again, when the people were against the bailout....overwhelmingly...........the politicians, overwhelmingly voted for it. Now I am thinking that something is very amiss here. Is it that the overwhelming majority of people are morons?........or is it that the overwhelming majority of politicians are morons? Take your pick............

Barney Frank...........Can somebody please explain to me how this fat blubbering, toothless moron, not only gets elected......but gets appointed to serious positions of power and control, and is NEVER held accountable for his contributions to the destruction of our economy? It's about time that people of the ilk of Barney Frank are thrown in jail for their crimes. At the very least, let's get him out of office and let him go to work for his money.

Remember?........I tried to warn everyone a long time ago when the Democrats took control of the House and the Senate. Pelosi and Hoyer have done zilch in the two years they have led.....until now. Their first action is the bailout........and the majority of the people were against that. I do not need to see any more. Let's vote these morons out of office.

So who am I going to vote for?

Arrrggghhh. Right now, the only breath of fresh air to enter the scene is Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin. I am willing to give her an opportunity to get her foot in the door to try to make changes. Of course, she would only be the Vice-President and be limited to her abilities, but it would be a step in the right direction. Obama is out of the question, he may be a relatively new face on the scene, but he is a Socialist. I cannot trust him one bit. He offers "Change" alright.

Third Party candidates?......hmmm......they are tempting.......but only because they would upset the cart. Problem with them is, not one of them stands out in any way , shape, or form. Perhaps by the time the next election comes around, maybe there will be someone that steps forth.

So......I am left with John McCain. I like McCain.....always did. I do not always agree with him and I don't like the idea that he is older than the hills.........but.........I think McCain has the ability to really change some things.

My vote goes for McCain and Palin.

Regardless of what happens......it is still the End Of The World!.....hehehe.

But seriously.........that time is soon.....and I surely wouldn't want to get to that day of judgement after having sat on my ass and not even bother to vote to make things better and hold politicians accountable and then get asked the question "What have you done to take care of the world that I loved so much?"

Think about that.

Run For Your Lives!

Okay, Okay....I apologize for not blogging lately........but stuff happens.....and boy oh boy has some stuff happened.

Gee.......I had so much to share with everyone.........the latest Sexton Family Reunion, crab feasts, music, baseball, football, lots of good stuff to write about............but the blue screen of death entered into the picture and there was nothing that I could do to make that go away. For those of you who are sitting there, reading this, and saying "What in the hell is the blue screen of death?"....well.......it is something that happens when your computer gives up the ghost. As it happens, Supernurse had been pestering me to find a way to convert some audio from a cassette tape to mp3 form so that she could listen to it on her mp3 player. I am ashamed to say what that audio was..........I will tell you in a bit.

As it was, I managed to discover a program called Audacity, managed to hook up the cassette deck to my laptop computer and proceeded to convert an hour and a half of the audio. It was a long process, but I did it. Unfortunately, my computer decided to go bonkers before I could save the sound files to a disc for her to use. Ultimately, my laptop's hard drive went kapooey.

I had taken that computer with me on every vacation, every trip, every country that I visited.........I used it extremely often................I did get my money's worth out of it for over five years or so............one would think that putting the laptop through those rigors of travel.....airports......x-ray scans.......well.......maybe it should have died a long time ago. Countless viruses and trojans were never able to completely conquer it, and I was always able to find some way to take care of those problems.........but I believe what really took the cake was not so much the long process of converting some audio, but was what exactly the audio was. Not only was I in agony of having to listen to that audio in real time as it was recording, but my computer obviously took it in as pure, unadulterated sewage.

So now you must be wondering exactly what was on that cassette tape................

well........

....okay.........now I have to tell you.........but first I need to set the story up.

When Supernurse wants something, I find it difficult to say "no". As it was, Supernurse is obsessed about weight and even though she may have a little bit more weight now than ever before, she is hardly "fat". In fact, she is NOT fat at all. In her mind though, she is obese.....hehehe.......and while I have never complained, she has. So she tries to firm up this part and that part of her body, lose a little here and there..........she exercises......does the Pilates dvd routine fairly regularly. Of course, this doesn't satisfy her. Not enough progress to her. So gets gets a wild hair and decides to get her paws on two cassette tapes from God knows where and she plans on listening to those cassettes while exercising. Okay.........this is all well and good.......but...............for the love of God........why, oh why.............somebody tell me..........how on earth is it possible that the cassettes are called "Taking A Hike" and "Taking A Walk" by none other than...............................

.........Richard Simmons!

You can imagine the suffering I went through to convert the audio..........and now everyone knows what Richard Simmons audio does to a computer.

So there ya go............that's the deal. My computer is dead. So now I have to resort to using Supernurse's computer until sometime in the future when I get myself a new laptop.

I promise I will make a greater effort to write more often.....okay, okay, I know you have probably read that before...........but stuff happens.................and speaking of "stuff" coming up......there is Aruba in October and Florida in November............Life is good, despite what those idiot politicians on tv are trying to say.

Stay Tuned!

Sea World - San Antonio, Texas

There I was sitting.........kicking back and relaxing......enjoying the views........and I am waiting for the rest of the gang to get their fill of assorted water rides and a wave pool.

We had taken the drive from Austin to San Antonio to visit Sea World. We spent the entire day there in the blistering sun.........damn it was hotter than hell.........but I would do my best to find a shady spot and wait while the rest of the gang had their fun. Me?.......well.....I do not participate in life-threatening, vomit inducing, masochistic shenanigans disguised as entertainment........no, not me........but I fully understand that the kids wanna have some "fun". I simply enjoyed absorbing the scenery and establishing a makeshift home base where everyone in the family knows where to meet up later.

Did I mention that I was relaxed?

Hehehe........you didn't think ole Signtopia was gonna be walking around a place as huge as Sea World.......in this hotter than hell sun.........and take the risk of collapsing so far away from home.....did you? I, of course, rented the forty dollar motorized cart..........and after I obtained mine there was only one more left.............whew! I would have been absolutely miserable if had to to hobble around this place..............hey, years ago.....no problem.......but these days, my leg and upper thigh start killing me within about fifteen minutes of walking. Oh well.......I suppose it is something I have to live with. Things could be far worse.

Try to figure out what this is.

I was looking up.

Signtopia Expansion Pack 2.1 and Supernurse had a pretty good time........and I know full well that both of them probably could have used a decent nap at least twice that day. When I think about it, why bother with getting all excited to see killer whales and sharks, when I can just sit there and experience moments like this.

Everybody loves dolphins.............I read somewhere that there is a list of things to do before people die...........at the top of that list, the people surveyed said that they would want to swim with the dolphins. Well........you can't swim with the dolphins here..........but you can get really close to them.

Signtopia Expansion Pack 2 (Noodle) and Princess Fartknocker tried to get the dophins to swim close enough so that they could touch them.

She would have shit herself if a dolphin would have popped its head right up at her.......but it didn't..........and she waited and waited.
Meanwhile.........the rest of us walked over to see some sharks.

Oh yeah.............sharks........and nobody wants to pet them.

Nobody wants to pet them because they have mouths like this when they smile. I see this kinda stuff and I lose all interest in swimming in the ocean. Okay......so enough of this......we go back to the dolphins.

You never know what you will see while watching others try to pet the dolphins. Smile for the camera!

This one got real close.......Princess Fartknocker was enjoying this.

My two grandsons...........they came close to touching a dolphin. I know they really enjoyed themselves here. Notice the other people that you see in these pictures.........now just imagine being the cheese on a giant taco........hehehe.

Gee.......20 years.......where has the time gone?

I can remember taking my kids, when they were knee high to a grasshopper, to Sea World in Orlando, Florida.........and I can remember when we went to Fort Lauderdale and petted the dolphins at the now defunct Ocean World. Twenty years ago, I never imagined one day that I would be at Sea World with my grandchildren........but here I am........it is like a deja vu all over again.

Sea World has this huge "stadium" that houses the Shamu show. It is impressive. At one end is a jumbotron and at the other end......

........this is where the whales enter the large pool.

The place was crowded and this was the last and final show of the evening. See these people?...........you know them...........there is Hector, Paco, Chico, Consuela, and the rest.........the Gonzales, Rodriguez, Lopez, Diaz, Cabrera, and Chavez families............it was like seeing the Orioles on vacation........hehehe............seriously though.........it was a nice crowd but I found myself wanting a taco.

I was a bit dissappointed with the Shamu show..............we sat through several minutes of what basically was some cheerleading by this girl and the character next to her.......and lots of loud music pumped over the sound system that they tried to get you clapping and dancing to.

It was filler.......it was boring for me........let's get the show on the road..................I don't wanna dance, I don't wanna sing.........I want to see Shamu. Oh no.......not yet......we have to have a dance competition and the winner will get a free stuffed Shamu toy............so I sat there as everyone watched the jumbotron as the camera zoomed in on the contestants in the crowd.........they even filled up the time with a "kiss cam" kinda thing like they do in between innings at a baseball game. Eventually..........the real show began and there were maybe five or six kiler whales.............Shamu must be one of them........I don't know......I don't believe I heard them mention any of their names. Okay.......so they come out and jump up into the air a few times and get fed by their handlers on the decks that are placed at the edge of the pools. Then......and I suppose this is the big deal for everyone...........each of the whales begin to use their tails to splash gallons and gallons of water into the crowd............I would have been more impressed if a whale jumped up out of the water and pissed on everyone...................but it seems the kids really enjoyed this show. After all is said and done.....it is all about the kids. As long as they enjoyed themselves, nothing else matters.

By the way...........

......here is a picture of a whale.....................the whale is on the left.

Texas Visit - Round Rock Express

As it was, we were in Texas visiting my second eldest, and we all went to see a minor league baseball game between the Round Rock Express and the Oklahoma Redhawks. Round Rock is the AAA affiliate of the Houston Astros and Oklahoma is the AAA affiliate of the Texas Rangers.

The game was at Dell Diamond, in Round Rock. I had never been there before but I had heard of the team, especially since we have some Orioles back home that played here. The ballpark is done right and the locals here should be proud to have such a facility.

This was Family Night and kids would get to run the bases after the game. We had great seats near the field on the third base side, the home team side. The atmosphere was great.......this is a great place to see a game. These photos shown here are not in order so do not be confused that you see a night sky before a daytime shot.

No matter where you sit in this ballpark, you have a great view of the game.

Beyond the outfield fence is a slope where people could sit on bankets and watch the game........this was neat.

I was impressed at how well kept and clean the facility is.

This is a gem of a ballpark.

Just beyond the right field fence is where there is a picnic area, special events, and a pool with lots of playground equipment for kids.

This is a modern facility, yet it has an old time feel to it.........a bit reminiscent of Camden Yards in Baltimore. I was particularly struck by how there is a wealth of vendors strategically placed within easy distance from wherever you happen to be seated for the game. No need to walk halfway around the place for anything.

Decent sized scoreboard and jumbotron. I forgot to mention that this was also the night that every fan recieved a Round Round Express watch from Dr. Pepper. Dr. Pepper is very popular in Texas.............Texas is the only place I have ever been able to get a CAFFEINE FREE Dr. Pepper.
Imagine that!
It is interesting that while watching television during the previous visit to Texas, there was bull riding being broadcast from the Arena in Baltimore, of all places. On this night, I am in Round Rock at a baseball game and seeing two former Baltimore Orioles on the field playing for the Express. This was the first game for Val Majewski and most of the folks probably knew hardly anything about him. He was the designated hitter on this night and showed everyone why he is a good acquisition.........he smacked the ball harder and further than anyone else on the team...... which kind of made me proud in a way.

Also on the team is catcher J.R. House. I am still trying to figure out why the Orioles managed to let this guy go. The Orioles current catcher is Ramon Hernandez and he has gotta be the worst catcher I have ever seen.

Supernurse and Princess Fartknocker even enjoyed themselves................and THAT is icing on the cake, folks.

All in all, we had a good time on this night and I am glad I had the opportunity to have been there. Just another one of those things I have gotten to do that I had never imagined or planned on.

Did I mention how lucky I am?