– As I begin typing this blog entry it’s 10:12 PM CDT in North Texas.
– That makes it 11:12 PM EDT back home in America’s Riviera.
– I got in to DFW just before 5:30 PM CDT.
– The airport has more germs per square foot than any other place in the world.
– It doesn’t really matter what airport I’m talking about.
– I take that back because airplanes are even more germ-infested.
– Cough. Sneeze. Cough. Sneeze. Cough. Sneeze. It’s the soundtrack of my flight.
– Backpacks and suitcases of all shapes and sizes should be banned as carry-on.
– Those should be mandatory check-in items.
– I listened to my hits on my iPod Shuffle while inflight 7 miles above the ground.
– I even took a short cat nap.
– My brother and his wife picked me up, and we went directly to Fuddruckers.
– I haven’t eaten there since – the last time that I was here in the Dallas area.
– I had a half-pound bacon swiss cheeseburger with lettuce, tomatoes, pickles.
– That’s shredded lettuce, two tomato slices, and a mound of pickles.
– I don’t add any ketchup or mustard to Fuddruckers burgers.
– Tomorrow morning me and my brother are headed to the Dallas Zoo.
– Both of us plan to take a lot of pictures of us with the animals.
– I plan to pull a Kelly J. by posting an all-picture blog entry to mark the event.
– Tomorrow night is ‘Blogroll Review’ night.
– You’ve gotta be in it to win it.
– Make sure that you get your blogs updated between now and then.
– One of you reading this will win this week’s covetted ‘Major Bloggie Award’.
– Will it be you ?
– Well I’ve had a real long day today.
– I woke up shortly after 5 AM EDT this morning.
– That was nearly 19 hours ago.
– I’m ready to call it a day.
– Until we blog again peace be with you.
– And also with you.
Category: Travel
Here are today’s top stories:
1. Hola mis amigos. Hoy es el Cinco de Mayo. Go forth and enjoy some delicious Mexican food tonight to celebrate this muy especial day that marks the grande victory of the Mexican army over the French army in the Battle Of Puebla in 1862. ¡ VIVA MEXICO !
2. In just about 50 hours I’ll be arriving at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport to begin a long weekend vacation con mi familia. I’m planning to continue the ‘2009 Economic Stimulus Tour’ (of tourist attractions) this weekend with a visit to the Dallas Zoo. It’s the largest zoological experience in Texas !
3. I never got to go to the zoo when I was a little kid, and I actually had an Uncle that worked at one (as Security). That’s right – I was totally deprived of the zoo experience as a kid. Since I’ve pretty much outgrown the traditional amusement parks (and wild rides make me dizzy) I’ve gone back to basics by visiting the animals as much as I can. I love the animals ! The’re just like you and me !
4. Speaking of amusement parks with wild rides – and animals – me and a buddy may visit Sea World up in Orlando during the upcoming Memorial Day holiday weekend. It’s been a long time since I’ve been there. We may also visit nearby Gatorland. I haven’t been there since they rebuilt the place following the devastating fire of November 06TH 2006.
5. Are you ready for the upcoming rainy season aqui en America’s Riviera ? It starts within the next couple of weeks, and based on my analysis and research I’m forecasting an extra wet rainy season this year with southerly, southwesterly, and westerly wind flow the norm. That means that all of those strong thunderstorms that develop over the Everglades should drift eastward over us rather than westward towards Naples. I’m also forecasting a below normal hurricane season with most storms staying away from us due to our westerly wind flow and the long-awaited reemergence of our good friend ‘El Niño’. We’ll see how this forecast works out for all of us.
Take good care of yourselves my friends. THANKS for reading what’s on my mind.
– My ‘2009 Economic Stimulus Tour’ continues.
– For the 2ND Saturday morning in a row I went to Everglades National Park.
– But this time I went to the north part at Shark Valley off Tamiami Trail.
– Me and a buddy got there shortly after 11 AM.
– We took the 2-hour / 15-mile tram tour starting at 12 noon.
– Our tour guide was a crazy lady who was a child of the 1960s.
– She took us on a tour of her ‘office’ – The Everglades.
– She was good, as she definitely knew her stuff.
– She clearly demonstrated that she has an intense adoration for the ‘Glades.
– She was totally passionate about her ‘coworkers’ – the wildlife.
– She introduced us to all of her alligator friends.
– The gators were just chillin’ in the shallow water tryin’ to get some sun.
– Some showed off their teeth as if they were smiling.
– The gators are just like you and me !
– We saw a whole bunch of baby gators.
– It’s breeding season dude !
– If the gator is less than a foot long then it’s less than a year old.
– If the gator is between 5 and 6 feet long then it’s an adult.
– Most gators stop growing in length after that and start getting plumper.
– The gators are just like you and me !
– If you see a gator that’s 8 or 10 feet long then it’s well fed !
– Female gators never lose the ability to give birth to baby gators.
– In addition to the 15-mile tram tour we also did a whole lot of walking.
– I’m talkin’ several miles of walkin’ in the hot and dry Everglades.
– We hit up this tower:
– The 18-mile panoramic view up top was really cool.
– That tower is about 27 miles due west of The Falls Shopping Center.
– I thought that I saw Macy’s from afar.
– The sound of the Everglades – incomparable to anything else in Miami-Dade.
– The smell of the Everglades – it’s pure nature – as natural as can be.
– Man has already destroyed much of what used to be the Everglades.
– But the Everglades is tough – so tough that several million acres still exist.
– I will respect the Everglades.
– I will also visit again sometime real soon.
– If it’s Thursday night then it must be time for some mini thoughts o’ mine.
– It’s the 14TH edition of these ‘Thursday Night Mini Thoughts’.
– It’s the sleeper smash hit series of the season for this blog !
– Last night I spent nearly 3 hours with some good friends at the White Lion Cafe.
– They officially close ‘when the fat lady sings’.
– She sang last night, and we shut the joint down just before 10 PM.
– As promised I ate ENORMOUS quantities of food.
– I stopped eating at around 9:30 PM.
– That was over 19 hours ago, and I haven’t eaten a morsel ever since then.
– I may grab a snack after I post these Mini Thoughts.
– I’m not really hungry though.
– I also ate an ENORMOUS Lunch at Sonny’s BBQ 8 hours prior to Dinner.
– I may have consumed nearly 10,000 calories yesterday.
– Some of my friends didn’t like their food at the White Lion Cafe.
– Greg eats just like me – EVERYTHING on his plate !
– It just takes him a little longer to do so.
– My food was absolutely scrumptious from start to finish.
– Of course this is coming from a dude who cooks absolutely nothing at home.
– I only eat real food in restaurants and in other peoples’ homes.
– I was in meetings pretty much all day today at work.
– They were very productive.
– Over the past 21 months I’ve enjoyed a purpose-driven career.
– It just took over 22 years to get to that point in my career.
– Next year I celebrate my 25TH anniversary working with the USAF.
– The first 22 years were pretty much forgettable.
– At least I wish to forget most of that time.
– My little brother turns 34-years-old this Sunday.
– I remember when he was born.
– I also remember all of the fun times that we shared together as kids.
– My brother is my favourite person in the entire world.
– I’ll see him LIVE and in person next Thursday night.
– That’s because I’ll be visiting North Texas next weekend.
– We’ll be celebrating his birthday on the first night.
– And his 2ND anniversary with his wife on the second night.
– And my birthday on the third night.
– And Mother’s Day on the fourth night.
– That means that there will be more MASSIVE meals in my future !
– I am so looking forward to that !
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