Home Times 2

We actually got back home just in time on Sunday to watch the last inning of the game on TBS. The Red Sox lost 6-5 after getting off to a hot start, 3 run dinger by Lowell, but Clay held to his typical form of late, by squandering it and getting pulled with no outs in the 4th. As we were driving 80mph on I-37 to San Antonio, I was hoping to get a cell update that the Red Sox were coming back and they did get a couple of runs in the 6th, but got shut down by Dotel. I didn't like him as an Astro years back, and now I have further reason to continue that forward.

Last night's game was important so that the road trip wouldn't be a total bust. Going in the team was even on the road this time, and wins away from home have been hard to come by for just about every MLB team this season. Commander Kick-Ass took the mound and brought the heat with him with 8 strong innings. Through 6 frames, it almost looked like we were seeing a repeat of what Lackey did to us a couple of weeks ago, with Danks pitching perfect. Youk and Drew took care of that, with one out-top of the 7th, with a bloop single and a strong double, with a Lowell walk in between for a 2-1 lead. Throw in some runs in the top of the 9th for a nice cushion for Paps to get some work and we have a 5-1 victory, and a 4-3 road trip.

Now the Rangers come in on a quick turn around tonight for a three game set. Checking the schedule, there's no off day until Aug.21, with the Jays in town over the weekend, before heading to Baltimore early next week. Whew guys! Keep swigging those Monsters and Red Bull.

Now, some commentary on Sunday after we checked out of the condos down south. We went to the Aquarium in Corpus which has continued to grow through the years. I don't think we've been back there since the kid was a toddler. Us guys were given the option of the Lexington or the Aquarium by the ladies. Which would you choose in 95 degree heat, and 100 percent humidity? Thats what I thought.

So, the Aquarium was nice. Not neccesarily $15 nice for a couple of hours, which was the approximate fee to get in, but hey, they preserve stuff and its a good family environment, so I let that go. It's around lunch time and no one wants to make a 3 hour trip home on an empty stomach. Within walking distance, we find a couple of places. One nice place is packed with folks, with a long enough wait that we decide to move on. We end up at a place right in front of the Lexington, with an outside deck area. Not to bad since its covered and not in direct sun to keep you from being baked.

There are some expectations that I carry when I visit a restaurant:

1. I shouldn't have to wait for a menu, or for a server. Hey, I'm there to eat. You want my money. Let's work together on this. I can understand if the place is super busy and people are running everywhere, but this is a Sunday late morning-early afternoon, and the place wasn't hopping. Like my sister-in-law said, maybe that should've told us something in comparison to the other place we'd passed by earlier.
2. You should keep enough common things in stock. I say this because I'm from Texas and we're notorious for drinking beer, especially when its hot, we're on a deck, and about to eat a meal. These jokers were out of Miller Lite. I was agast. I'm typically a Bud Light/Corona/Sam Adams drinker, but sis-in-law wanted a light beer from the 2nd most popular and easiest to get beer producer in the country. And they're out!
3. Make sure the food is cooked and served warm. Bro-in-law noted his meal was alittle chilly, but he's still among the living, that I know of so far. Maybe I should check on that.
4. Present yourself as a clean establishment. Serving drinks with crap floating in them, and disgusting bathrooms isn't the way to do that.
5. Don't force me to tip you by adding gratuity for me. We split the check among families and it isn't like we were taking you away from other customers. Our waiter was sitting on his ass most of the time with someone at another table. He must've been aware that we weren't happy with the place or his service by tacking on gratuity to the checks. A-hole!

I'm probably missing a couple of other things, but thats enough. You get the point. We did eventually get out of there and get on home. It was a good weekend time, and kudos to the Johnson clan for the invite and being gracious hosts. We'll have to do it again sometime sooon. I think the wife is already planning......