Arrived safe and sound in Dallas/Forth Worth Airport on Friday afternoon 2pm - an Aussie friend Philippe was due to pick me up around 4pm from the airport, so I thought I'd go down to the shops and sort out a SIM card and other odds and ends for the trip. This turned out to be an adventure in itself as the Mexican driver didn't understand my request so I somehow ended up at a resort named the Gaylord Texan. Aside from trying to stop my childish giggling at the resorts name, I was pretty impressed - the place was like a frickin castle. Eventually I established with the driver that I wanted to go shopping so I ended up at a big mall where I did find all the things I needed - lots of cheap brand name clothing and lots of food... all out American.
Philippe was able to pick me up at 6pm, so we headed into Fort Worth to check out some of the town, mainly the 'Stockyards' which is the cowboy district of town. We went to a few bars, which of course included 'Billy Bob's' (The World's Largest Honky Tonk for those of you who are uneducated in such matters). The night's entertainment was Uncle Kracker - unfortunately he had one chance to impress and a Kenny Rogers cover just wasn't going to cover it. We trooped down to 'The Colosseum' which is a western exhibition centre - saw a bit of barrel racing, roping and bull riding - frequented a few more bars and eventually got home at around 12pm. I've stayed at the Weatherford Equine Hospital(WEH)(Weatherford is a town not far from Fort Worth) with Philippe for the past couple of nights and will stay a couple more before heading off.
Saturday was a relaxed affair - a big sleep-in and then got picked up by Jeffrey and Lee Ann Hall who are clients from Dubbo (they have been working at the world Painthorse Show). The Halls took me out for a Mexican lunch which was delicious and then back to the Stockyards for a look at the daytime activities. Very touristy - the longhorns take a walk down the street and cowboys all dressed up with nowhere to go, mechanical bulls and petting zoos. A nice afternoon in the sun though, and then came home to the equine hospital and had pizza and beers watching the college football (second only to church in these parts).
The plan today is to visit a few of the cutting horse ranches serviced by WEH and then had back to watch the NFL this afternoon/this evening. Tomorrow the Halls are taking me out to do a similar thing with their Painthorse friends which will also include a trip to Justin, as in where the boots were originally made.
At present it looks like I'll drop Philippe off at the airport on Tuesday night and then borrow his pickup for Wednesday and Thursday and head down to Houston and Galveston on a mini-roadtrip, then head back to San Antonio on Friday to meet up with Philippe and the rest of the conference for a start on Friday afternoon/evening - very excited!
Not too much to report otherwise - Al vs. jetlag is not even a contest thus far though my beers Friday night/sleep-in Saturday probably put the odds unfairly in my favour ;) I'll try and put some photos up sometime soon.
