Saturday, June 28, 2008

Summer in a suitcase...

Yeah, the summer continues. As most of you know, my typical summer consists of 80% work, 15% home, and 5% golf. I'm not sure which percentage I want to increase more, home or golf, but I'm pretty sure by next summer the home part will take over the leading % (since 7 months from now my life home life will change drastically).

Although we just got home yesterday from vacation, Vanessa and I leave tomorrow morning immediately after church services to go to Dallas for 4 days. We're taking 8 high school juniors, seniors, and graduates for a mission/fun trip. I plan to update the blog each night with highlights from the days' activities.


Pray for us as we travel. One plus is that we won't have to worry about any flight cancellations since we're driving. Check back tomorrow night.


ctb

Friday, June 27, 2008

Home Sweet Home

Since travelling through Guadalahara last night, everything went well. We made it into OKC around noon today. Vanessa was able to take a short nap and so was I after being at the office for a couple of hours. So, I will update further with final thoughts on our trip after I'm able to recover a little more.

In the meantime, I thought I'd leave you with what I missed the most while away:
  1. Good toilet paper
  2. Our bed/couch
  3. Quality sleep
  4. Habla Ingles
  5. Taco Bell
  6. Non-Fine Dining food
  7. Water from the faucet
  8. Real Coca-Cola

There's probably more that I've forgotten, but that's not a bad list.

ctb

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Delayed

After a great start to the day (we went to the flea market and I ate the three best tacos of my life), we went to the Puerto Vallarta airport at about 3 o'clock to head home. Upon arrival, we checked our luggage and made our way to the terminal. We were told that our flight was delayed due to bad weather in Houston. So we waited, and about an our later were told that our flight had been cancelled. We were told that it was due to mechanical problems, but I'm quite certain that it was really because there were only 40 passengers booked for our flight into Houston - not nearly enough for Continental Airlines to justify all that money for fuel. Anyway, there were no flights going out of Puerto Vallarta the rest of the evening with any seats available, so we were stuck.

To make matters worse, once we heard the announcement that our flight had been cancelled, Vanessa and I were one of the first passengers at the desk to book a flight for Friday. We were told we would be put on an American Airlines flight at 9am. Then after 45 minutes of waiting (at the front of the line) and being told that we could leave at 9am tomorrow, we were told that we would have to go back downstairs to collect our luggage and book our flights there.

Here comes the good part. Since we were the first in line upstairs that meant we were one of the last in line downstairs. When we finally approached the ticket counter we were told that we could fly out of Puerto Vallarta on Friday at 4:54pm and arrive in OKC after midnight. Needless to say, I was furious...I told the lady that she was crazy, seeing as how she was the one upstairs who told us (before everyone else) that we could have a 9am flight. After insisting that there was no other alternative, she came back and said, "Well, I checked again and now it seems we can get you out at 1:45pm Friday." Again, I told her she was crazy since that wouldn't put us in OKC until at least 10 o'clock Friday night. After much arguing and complaining (I had to switch my bracelet at least a dozen times - but I didn't care), she told us we could fly to Guatalajara (a city of 7 million people - still in Mexico) tonight and fly out at 6:20am Friday morning, putting us in OKC around noon. Given the circumstances, I was quite satisfied and proud of myself for defying the lying Continental employees who had earlier stated that there were no other alternatives.

After getting this all sorted out, we still had several hours of waiting to do. My mood was lightened drastically when I made a new friend - Sam Adams. No, seriously...his real name is SAMUEL ADAMS! We made fun out of the situation as you can see in the picture below. It gave us a good laugh - Vanessa didn't even get on to us when we decided to play around in the wheelchairs.

Me & my "beer" buddy...

Anyway, it's now it's after midnight (Friday morning) and we're in a hotel in Guatalajara (a very nice one I might add - free to us), 12 hours after arriving at the airport and 3 hours past the time we were supposed to be back in OKC. We have to wake up in about 3 1/2 hours and I can't sleep. It could be worse, though...we could still be in Puerto Vallarta.

Since we've had an extended day, I thought I'd give you a treat. A bonus "Random Mexican of the Day." This one's good...

RMOTD (bonus)


Hopefully, the next time you read a blog post from me it will be written from my couch or my office, speaking of how pleasantly event free our Friday trip home was - we'll see.

ctb

No Quiero Taco Bell


I just had the three best tacos of my life. They were from a low-budget taco stand around the corner from our resort. I'm trying to talk the dude into moving to Oklahoma.
ctb

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

The Last Days


We awoke this morning at about 8 o'clock to the sight of a huge Carnival Cruiseship making its way into the marina about 1/4 mile from our resort. It's amazing how massive these things are. It was a pretty cool sight to see.

We then went for one final round of golf - again at Marina Vallarta. But, this time Vanessa was with me, unlike Sunday when I played alone. I warned her ahead of time, but it was still pretty funny to watch my paranoid wife keep her distance from the native crocodiles of the course. Although she was a bit uptight, Vanessa was able to get a couple of good pictures.



Again, we enjoyed the amazing scenery of this course located right on the ocean. For a second I felt almost like I was on the PGA Tour playing at Pebble Beach or something...but then I hit my tee shot on the par 3 that's nearest the ocean and was bluntly reminded that I'm horrible. Oh well...


Unfortunately, I started feeling sick to my stomach yesterday evening and it progressively got worse throughout last night and today. So, after golf I retired to the room for a bit while Vanessa got a facial and a pedicure at the spa. We had a great dinner and went to a show, now it's bedtime.


We're going to go back downtown tomorrow to get a couple of things from the flea market. We'll leave the resort to head to the airport at around 3 o'clock and, hopefully, be back in OKC around 11 o'clock tomorrow night. Keep us in your prayers as we travel. We consider ourselves very fortunate to have enjoyed such a great vacation for the last week, but we are looking forward to being able to sleep comfortably in our own bed.

Although this will be our final "Random Mexican of the Day," there will be some more photos to come when we get home (will be posted either Thursday night or Friday morning).

RMOTD

ctb

I'm sorry sir, you're to big for this slide...

Vanessa and I got to go to a water park today. It was pretty nice - about half the size of white water. It cost us $20 for a taxi one way and about $18 a piece to get in. We were pretty excited about getting to watch a dolphin show and enjoying some water slides. However, after watching the show, I went and got us a couple of tubes. We climbed the tower and got to the top where we could go down a slide and the guy told me that no one over 6' tall could ride. So basically we paid about $80 to get to enjoy the lazy river. After talking to the lady at the information desk, they politely refunded us our money. My main issue was that we never would have paid that much to go to the park if we would have known I couldn't enjoy most of the slides. Nonetheless, we did have a good day. We pretty much just relaxed for the afternoon and evening and had a very nice, late dinner.


RMOTD

Only one full day left...we're running out of time here. We've been having some problems with a really slow internet connection, so hopefully I'll be able to update again tomorrow. Peace out...

ctb

Monday, June 23, 2008

Another Day in Vallartadise

Today was good. I was able to play another round of golf. I thought the course I played yesterday was beautiful and challenging - it was nothing compared to this one. Today's course, Vista Vallarta, has hosted numerous PGA, Champions, Senior, and Ameteur Tour events. But, the best part about golf today was that my favorite caddy was with me. Her name is Vanessa...you may know her.

Me & Vanessa...

My hot caddy...


Action shots...

After our round of golf, we went for a swim and took a short nap. Since we've been drinking more than our share of bottled water provided by the resort, we caught a cab after dinner and visited the local Wal-Mart (mom would be so proud!). It was a very successful trip, especially because it resulted in a successful "Random Mexican of the Day" picture:

RMOTD

We're pretty much exhausted now, so we're going to hit the sack (even though it did nothing to us) and look forward to tomorrow. Tomorrow after brunch we're going to a water park. It should be lots of fun. Another update tomorrow evening...

ctb

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Random Mexican of the Day

I know you've been waiting for it, so here it is...

RMOTD - Sunday
Here's some more pics from our evening...

Vanessa hates it when I mess up pictures...


I can't believe our trip is almost halfway over. We're having a great time. Sorry I post these so late, but I want to get all the updates in for each day and we don't get back to our room from our evening activities until around 10:30 normally.

Hope all of you back home are doing well. We miss everyone, but would rather be here for a few more days...sorry!

ctb

Marina Vallarta

I just finished a round of golf at the Marina Vallarta Golf Club. It was a beautiful course and, by far, the most difficult I've ever played. I sweat like a fat guy in a sauna, but it went well - I shot in the 80's and was able to see some spectacular scenary. Here are some pictures to give you glimpse of my experience:

The most spectacular view on the course - a
par 3 that runs right alongside the Ocean...
Beautiful fairway...

Another beautiful hole...

My favorite shot - a caddy cleaning my clubs...

At this very moment, Vanessa is at the spa getting a massage. It's amazing how much we're getting to do this week for so cheap. Just about everything is included in the all-inclusive plan, and what isn't included is dirt cheap. I'm hoping Vanessa comes back relaxed, refreshed, and ready for a dip in the pool. I know I am!

ctb

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Saturday in Vallarta

Well, we've now spent an entire day in Puerto Vallarta. We slept in this morning and had breakfast in one of the several restaurant options here at our resort. After that, we headed to the flea market where we encountered more salesmen than I ever knew existed. If what I've experienced every time I've been to a Mexican flea market is symbolic of the rest of civilization here, then I'd hate to have to visit a car dealership. These people are ruthless. Everyone has something to sale and, typically, it's something you could make at home for 50 cents or less. However, we enjoyed ourselves and got some much needed exercise (we've been eating like Cale at a buffet!). We also took some good pictures today...I'll show you a few.

Vanessa & her salsa partners...

Me & the quietest woman in the world...

Taxi ride...

After our time downtown and at the flea market, we attempted to take a nap, but ended up swimming in the pool. What started as a very cloudy and windy day ended up being clear and sunny - perfect. We ate some great shrimp for dinner and went to a Disney show at the resort's nightly activity facility.

Me & my lovely wife after dinner...

We're having a blast and I'm looking forward to tomorrow. I get to play golf at a course that's been around since the late 1800's. It's located near the marina, right on the ocean. It should be interesting since I'm a horrible golfer and this will probably be the nicest course I've ever played.

Vanessa just gave me a great idea. I will now leave you with a picture. This is the first edition of "Random Mexican of the Day."
Random Mexican of the Day...

ctb

Friday, June 20, 2008

The CV3 is Puerto Vallarta!

We made it into Mehico a little after 4 this afternoon and got to our hotel around 6. I have to say this...my wife did a fantabulous job of planning our vacation. Our room has a balcony and an ocean view. The beaches aren't the perfect white sand that you see in some places and the water isn't as perfectly clear like in some places, but even so, Puerto Vallarta is beautiful. I didn't know this until we got here, but it is surrounded by beautiful mountains. We're definitely going to enjoy our time here!


One of the funniest things about Mexico is that there are always people trying to sale you stuff. As soon as you exit the doors of the airport you find Mexicans trying to give you free stuff so they can get you to come check out their resort and listen to their sales pitch. I thought I'd give you some examples of things I had to say today:

"I'm not interested in going to your breakfast and listening to you talk for 90 minutes." "No thanks, I don't want to buy a fake silver bracelet for $20." "No, I won't buy a hand-carved wooden turtle." "I don't want to go parasailing with you tomorrow." "No thanks...not in the mood for a horseback ride." "Nope...never been scuba diving and my claustrophobia won't allow it."

All that being shared, I am looking forward to going to the flea market downtown (possibly tomorrow). I love Mexican flea markets! You can always find the most useless stuff really cheap. Plus, I love bargaining!

Everyone who's interested can check this each day as I will be updating it regularly with pictures and experiences. We'll probably miss everyone for the next week, but the three of us will be enjoying ourselves!

ctb

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

The day I thought I'd been waiting for...

Well, we had a blast at the Braves/Rangers game, but it didn't end up as I'd hoped on the scoreboard. Chipper didn't play 3rd base - he was the DH - so that wasn't cool. Nonetheless, I got to see the braves in person and I got to see my favorite nephew for about 15 minutes before going to the game. I hope there will be a next time, and when there is, I hope it will be a victory for the God-loved Atlanta Braves rather than a victory for the Rangers in the heart of God-forsaken Texas.

ctb

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

The day I've been waiting for...

Today is the day I've been waiting for most of my life. We are leaving OKC at around noon to go to the Ballpark in Arlington and watch the Atlanta Braves play the Texas Rangers.

When I was just a young lad, I would spend many of my evenings in front of the television watching the Bravos play on TBS. Since TBS will be hosting playoff games at the end of this season, they are not allowed to show any bias to any one team during the season. Thus, the Braves have not been on TV much this season and I haven't been able to see many games. However, I lucked into some tickets and am thrilled to take the drive down I-35 to finally watch them in person.

There is one thing that's making me nervous, though - RAIN. The forecast isn't looking too hot right now, so we'll just have to see how it goes. I hope I get Chipper's autograph.

ctb

Monday, June 16, 2008

Yes, I am going to be a father...

Isn't it scary? Poor kid. Well, I'm very excited. I'm fortunate to have a great wife who I know will also be the best mother. I'm looking forward to making her be the disciplinarian and me being the good guy who spoils our children. Ok, so maybe she won't allow that, but it would be nice. Everyone asks if we want a boy or a girl. Naturally, we have to give the token church response of "We don't care what it is, as long as it's healthy." Come on, everyone knows they have a preference! I would rather have a son...even guys like me who suck at sports want a son so they can teach them to throw a football or baseball and to take golfing. However, I wouldn't be upset about having a daughter either. I'm just scared to death to have a teenage daughter in about 15 years. Nonetheless, we WILL be happy with a boy or a girl...as long as it's healthy.

Anyone know where I can get a shirt that says "There's a Bun in the Oven"?


ctb

It's about time!

Sorry it's taken me so long to add another post. I know it's been exactly a month, but every time I've tried to post a new blog it has told me that there's an error and it won't work. But...now it is working...finally. And I have lots to share, so keep your eyes open. A new post is coming within the next half hour.

ctb