Schertz Independence Day Parade

We went down to witness the Schertz Independence Day parade on Monday. It was cute, if a little spartan.



Cars, cars, cars. I have always loved Corvettes, especially the old Stingray body.



But I think I got the biggest kick out of these two groups of grown men driving these teeny cars.



and these teeny cars:



now what Texas parade would be complete without a truck with a gun. This might be excessive, even by distorted Texas standards:



Good fun. Small town parades are so quaint - it's hard to imagine a time when they were competitive enough with other available forms of entertainment that everyone would have been there.

hot Texas nights

dinner tonight was prepared mostly outside to avoid heating up the house on these hot Texas nights.



I took the sauce pot outside in the afternoon and simmered it for two hours on the patio instead of inside the house. and the pizza dough was pretty happy out there in the 100 degree heat, too.

I gave a shot to grilling some calzones. not such a great idea. I think if I still had a stone, we would have been ok. Or if I had been watching it closer. But as it was, I burned the first batch pretty thoroughly, then had to heat up the oven inside anyway.

then we made cinnamon chips with strawberries, chocolate, and whipped cream:





now for a swim and some Shiner Bock!

Six Flags/Fiesta Texas

Took the kids to Six Flags/Fiesta Texas yesterday afternoon. We all had a good time. S & N, my oldest, walked around with their respective friends, while Little K and I spent some quality Father/Daughter time.

Unfortunately all I had with me was my phone cam yesterday, so the pictures aren't very good.

A view of the "board walk" from the ferris wheel:



(yes, it looks a bit like a painting - that is the result of the "dry brush" filter I applied in Photo Shop.)

I love ferris wheels as I've said before. They're not thrilling or even scary. But every time I ride one I can't help but think about the technology behind the ride, and how far we have come as a species that we can afford to waste it on simple pleasure.

Little K and I also rode the giant swings, which is another of my perennial favorites:



She had a lot of fun. I was sitting on the swing next to her, hoping I wouldn't drop my phone while trying to take the shot, spinning around at whatever blurring speed that was.

I love photographing amusement parks - so many colors, so many interesting shapes, so many happy emotions.

Parking Lot Armadillo

Parking Lot Armadillo, a photo by Mark Bonica on Flickr.

They paved paradise and put up a parking lot. And this poor guy can't find his way home!

We saw him scurrying around under this car in the parking lot of a restaurant down the street from our house.

Trinicakes at the Quarry

Kandie indulged me by taking me to the Quarry for Five Guys burgers, then we went looking for the bakery that made the cake for yesterday's graduation ceremony for the Baylor Students from their didactic year. Unfortunately we couldn't find that bakery, but we stumbled upon Trinicakes.



Kandie got the coconut and I got a chocolate banana. They did have about a dozen clever looking cupcakes. She said hers looked better than it tasted.



I was pretty satisfied with mine. Not sure it was a particularly good value for $3. The frosting was rich and creamy, but still light. I guess you pay for the privilege of shopping in Alamo Heights.

Flying Saucer Draught Emporium

We went out to the Flying Saucer Draught Emporium last night. Outstanding selection of beer! Huge selection on tap at very reasonable prices.

A couple of stand outs - Stone IPA, Young's Double Chocolate Stout, Left Hand Milk Stout - but my favorite, hands down, was Breckenridge Vanilla Porter. OMG - wicked good! Nice chocolate tones with a vanilla finish. Phenomenal!

We were there for a party, so we didn't order food from the menu, and so I can't really comment on that - but I'm kind of thinking you don't really go to the Saucer for the food.

Unfortunately it's across town from us - as it seems everything I'd like to do is - but it wasn't hard to get to - right off of 410 - so I'm thinking we'll have to make another trip soon!

REO Speedwagon at the Cowboy Dancehall

We went to see REO Speedwagon last night at the Cowboy Dancehall.



I only had a little pocket point and shoot with me with no manual controls, so I couldn't adjust for the light, so not many shots came out. If I'd had either my Nikon or N's camera, we would have been able to get some great shots because were were standing only about 75 feet from the stage. We could have been closer if we'd wanted to be. The Cowboy Dancehall is a good, moderate sized venue for a show like this one.



Despite the white hair, REO still put on a great show. They didn't try to push any new music on the crowd - it was all the classics from the start.



They did take a break mid-show to perform a little "Illinois Boogie-Woogie" that showed their musical talent - and a little ageless sound that isn't tied to teen-angst lyrics.

K. and I enjoyed the show and would definitely go back to Cowboy Dancehall for another performance if something other than country music ever comes there.