Weekend Road Trip Sights

What would come to your mind if you saw this roadside sign on a lonely country road in south Texas?

If you're like me, you would think of a museum dedicated to Sasquatch.  Like me, you instantly would be interested in the quality of a Sasquatch museum located three miles off a lonely country road in south Texas.

I'm sorry to disappoint, but I did not find a south Texas museum dedicated to Bigfoot.  A little online research revealed that the Big Foot Museum is actually a replica of a cabin owned by Bigfoot Wallace, the namesake of a small town in south Texas.  That's too bad, because I may have driven the extra six miles roundtrip to see a second-rate Sasquatch museum.  I can't say the same for a replica of a cabin.  

A Bird Watcher's Paradise

Today, Chris, Doug, and I visited Bentsen State Park.  Bentsen State Park is unlike any other Texas State Park I've visited.  The park is full of elderly people, likely due to the numerous retirement villages located outside the park's entrance.  More significantly, the park is dedicated to birding.  Birding is the hobby of bird watching.  As it turns out, the Valley is a popular destination for bird-watching eco-tourists, admittedly a very narrowly defined niche of people.  Besides consumerism-crazed tourists from Mexico, I think bird-watching eco-tourists are the only tourists flocking to the Valley (no pun intended!).

Because Bentsen State Park's primary purpose is birding, vehicles are not permitted to enter.  Instead, the park's nicely paved paths are full of elderly people on bikes.  Along the paved paths are small clearings designed for bird watching.  All of the clearings have a number of bird feeders with different types of food.  Some of the clearings have comfy swings a safe distance from the feeders.  Other clearings have bird blinders, which are man made partitions designed to camouflage humans as they approach the bird feeders and allow humans to observe birds up close and with the naked eye.

Upon entering Bentsen State Park, Chris and I sat down under a tree near some bird feeders to eat a picnic lunch.  Immediately thereafter, all of the elderly people sitting quietly in some nearby swings stood up and walked away.  I think we violated an unspoken rule about quietness and proximity to the bird feeders.  Later, we stepped behind some bird blinders to pose with our dog, which I am almost certain was a violation of birding rules.

The climax of our visit was the hawk observation tower, which is actually a very long handicap accessible ramp gradually inclining to a two-story, open air observation deck. It was actually very cool, and I am certain that we did not violate any bird watching rules while we were up there.  Phew!

Bic for Her

Over Christmas, my high school girlfriends and I were all in town at the same time (!!!!!).   We spent an evening together and even exchanged a few small gifts.  I couldn't help but share Bic for Her pens with everyone, which was inspired by an earlier chain of emails between us regarding an amusing Ellen Degeneres bit on the pens.   My friend Sonya blogged about the pens and posted the Ellen Degeneres video, which you can see here.  Finally, someone else besides myself is blogging about me.

Hugo Chavez, Part 2

As you may recall, Chris purchased a washer and dryer from Craigslist when we moved to San Antonio in 2010.   The washer and dryer were warrantied by none other than Hugo Chavez (see here).  The machines were ridiculously tiny, but they worked well.

My new house in the Valley came with a washer and dryer, and the new washer and dryer are nice and big.  I can now wash a set of bed sheets and a blanket at the same time!  I can also wash more than three towels at once!  Initially (i.e. for a very short amount of time), doing laundry in the new house was actually exciting.  

With the advent of a new washer and dryer, the tiny machines from San Antonio wound up on Craigslist once again.  An elderly couple purchased the machines for their winter RV.  A few days later, the couple threatened to return the machines because "they didn't work."  The couple later recanted and stated that the machines were working well.  Thank goodness, because otherwise I was going to refer them to Hugo Chavez.  In fact, I found Hugo's warranty during our move and I would have gladly given it to them.