Dallas

The trip to visit Mark in Dallas was a lot of fun. (Mark's recap of the trip) The trip began at Port Columbus. Kim was early for the flight (although not too early, the new traffic patterns at the airport slowed her down). Now, not only did she get a CBJ sweater to wear at the game, she actually wore it down on the plane! Pretty sure she was trying to get some free advertising for the team.

The game was a lot of fun. The boys got behind, worked hard, tied it up, got the lead, began our trademark march to the penaly box for stupid penalites, and gave the lead away. Then, the hockey gods smiled on us. They allowed us to tie the game and then win it with 20.6 seconds left in overtime. Basically, with a less skilled and disciplined team, the Blue Jackets were somehow able to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. It was awesome!

On Saturday, we took the train into Dallas to have a look around. We had all decided to go see King Tut at the Dallas art museum. Now, I have wanted to see this stuff for as long as I can remember. So, I was pretty excited. We took one 'heavy rail' train, one 'light rail' train and a street car to get into the museum's neighborhood. Then, the curse of Tut struck again. We weren't able to get tickets! Sure, it's not the same as getting hit with a curse that kills you but come on! All that way for nothing!? Ugh! Tut eludes me again!

We went back to Uptown for lunch. Now, the Red River Rivalry game between Texas and Oklahoma was in full swing. We sat outside for lunch and watched all of the Texas and Oklahoma fans going from bar to bar. None of the rude, vulgar violence of an Ohio State / Michigan event. Of course, that may be because we were in what appeared to be an affluent area where the coed's were driving daddy's Land Rover.After that we went to Dealey Plaza to see where JFK was assassinated. Mark continues to be skeptical of the official goverment report. Mark seems determined to try to debunk the report with fact and common sense. Now, I like to tow the party line just like the next guy. But after standing there in the plaza and visiting the museum, I have to say he may be on to something. All of this happened before either of us was born, but it is amazing how it still resonates.
We finished the day by putting our feet up and watching the Jackets game against Phoenix...it was ugly! (not our feet, the game)

Mark also took us on a tour of the pharmacy and optical lab. Both were very interesting, but the optical lab was my favorite. Having worn glasses most of my life, it was fascinating to see how the lenses start out the size of a hockey puck and then end up super small and in a pair of glasses. If you make it to Dallas to visit Mark, definitely go to the optical lab!

Mark was an excellent tour guide, especially given his short time in Dallas. I think I can speak for Kim when I say we especially enjoyed the part of the tour that enabled us to ride along in Mark's super fly ride. Think 'hey MTV, Pimp My Ride'! Mark has added quite a few technological upgrades - I am definitely falling behind! The best part was flying through the streets and highways of Dallas - think Mr. Toad's wild ride, except Mr. Toad is taking speed and washing it down with Mountain Dew AMP! The time between stops allowed me to evaluate my life (it was easy since it was flashing before my eyes) and promise - if we survived - that I'd try to be a better person. (Just kidding Mark - we really appreciated you taking us everywhere!)

On a final note, you gotta love a place so in touch with their identity that they have longhorns on the tops of the cranes....