6.13.12 Greenbelt Blues

A complete day off and with us hitting Blues on the Green tonight I thought Ky and I could go check out the Barton Creek Greenbelt. I had been wanting to check it out for some time now. We parked by Barton Creek Springs and went out from there on the trail. We immediately found a hidden spot to get wet. With all the snakes I am hearing about lately the area made me nervous. But we splashed around snake free for a minute then headed on the path. I have to say it was really hot. I felt bad for Ky. We went quite a ways and all I could see of the creek was that is was swampy and algaeish. Not enough water for us to play in. We also so several birds and lots of frogs. After a while of sweltering heat we passed some guys walking the opposite way and I asked them if there was some water reprieve up ahead and they agreed that there was about half a mile further. So we trekked on. Soon after we ended up in a more shaded area that included large rocky areas that looked good for climbing.

 I would say that we only went about a quarter of a mile before we found a spot that was spring fed and looked like some secret watering hole off the path. There was a homeless guy and a bunch of kids. The kids were jumping off some small cliffs. We got int he water for a bit to cool off. While we were there a cute guy pulled up on his bike and he was stopping for a rest. After just a few minutes of talking with him I realized he was a little strange so Ky and I  went further along the path to see if we could find anymore hidden spots. We finally came to a place where the water was mostly dried up. There were cliffs on the far side and there was a hollowed out spot close to the top where some guys were hanging out in lawn chairs. Ky and I made our way over some very large rocks and followed a large flat rock a ways before I decided we should probably try and head back so we weren't late for the concert.

So we turned around and headed back the way we came. Stopping again to cool off at the not so secret pond (by now there were more people.) On our way back we ended up following a guy whose dog wanted to play with Ky. He didn't seem to want them to play so we kept having to hang back to stay far enough away that the dogs weren't trying to meet up.


We got back to the Jeep to take a break and change clothes.

    

 I started getting calls from everyone that they were getting to the park so we went over to where we had sat the last time. Xander and I went over to one of the booths so he could try and win a bag for his mom. I went and got my face painted it took a while and didn't look like much but I liked it. We sat and listened to the music. Ky found a puppy friend next to us. The only problem was Ky's butt kept ending up in the puppy's owners food. Xander played with Ky a bit. Manny, Patrick and Liz were also there too. It seems when I have Ky with me I end up watching her more than talking to people but then again without her I think I talk to people less.

 The walk back to the car wasn't as bad or dark as the last time. I also found out that Barton Creek is open late and is free at night-good to know!

6.7.12 A Double Day

Today I did a double at work so no fun having. I did go get new running shoes from Rogue Running in Cedar Park on my break though. The guy I talked to was very nice and friendly and it was his birthday. I tried to talk him into coming to Bellini's for a birthday drink and he said he might stop by after work. I tried on several pairs and he educated me on different types of running shoes (I didn't realize there was that much of a difference.) Eventually we found a pair that fit. Did you know that you want your running shoe to be smaller than the size you normally wear? This whole running thing is new to me. My friend Angela wants me to try a triathlon next year so I wanted to get started on it. Rogue Running seemed like a neat place. They have a huge calendar on the wall because they do classes and group runs. The only thing that was weird was the place where you sit to try on shoes is old authentic mining carts and the one I was on wasn't very stable.

I still had time left before getting back to work and I wasn't excited about eating at work again so I decided to check out ZTejas. I am pretty sure I had eaten at one of these restaurants back when I lived here before but I couldn't remember what their food was like. It was kind of quiet (it was around 3) I went up to the bar because I hate eating alone at a table. I got some water and took a look at the menu. Everything on it seemed fancy and a bit pricey. It took a while for me to decide but I chose the seared ahi in spicy raspberry chipotle sauce. They served me some cornbread while I waited. It was yummy! The ahi was so amazingly good. I was really impressed. To top it all off I at most of a slice of Peanut Butter Cream Pie. It was a very rich over sized slice of heaven.

6.5.12 Places for Pups

My friend Jamie wanted to walk Town Lake with me and Ky today. So I picked her up near Bellini's and we went downtown. Jamie and I seem to have a lot in common. I met her at my work so normally those conversations are pretty short as I am running around waiting on people. So it was nice to get a chance to have a real conversation with her. We stopped at Auditorium Shores so Kyleigh could play for a while. Both of us got our feet wet because it was so hot out.

 After the lake we went to Uncle Billy's on Barton Creek. They allow dogs out on their deck. They even have water bowls and water that you can get on your way in. Kyleigh enjoyed sniffing around. Jamie had BBQ and I had brisket quesadillas. They are so good! There was a bird trying to get into a Sweet n Low packet on one of the nearby tables and it look like it was snorting cocaine. It had white powder all over it's bill. Also two different guys came buy to pet Ky which hardly ever seems to happens. One of them was actually very cute :)

6.3.12 It Is All About Comaparisions

Same spot in March

Dry creek

Kyleigh and I went to Turkey Creek hoping to find some shade and water in the growing summer heat. Instead we found a lot of rocks and not so much water. We left later in the day because I didn't have to work. I figured there would be more people out and about because it was later and a Sunday but I was wrong. It was about the same as it usually is during the week. I was sad to find that the creek is drying up pretty quickly. There were a lot of completely dry spots. We really need some rain. Fortunately there was still some water and what was there was relatively clean. When we reached the upper level part of Turkey Creek I noticed that there is a whole different variety of flowers growing up there. I never really thought of the life of flowers before because I have a black thumb. I do know that bluebonnets are always a big thing in Texas and in Colorado there was a short span of time where we we go look at flowers kind of like we did for fall leaves. In this same spot in Turkey Creek the bluebonnets covered everything, then there were yellow flowers and now there are purple ones and yellow and red ones. But the previous flowers have vacated the premises. All very interesting.

We met a lady and her dog Hoachi along the trail. She was very nice and I talked with her while the dogs played. It is also very interesting to note that women are more likely to stop and hang out for a while with me while our dogs play than men do. Maybe it is because men are on a mission-walked dog -check! Who knows.

March Bluebonnets

Chris

 

Later on mom and I went to see the Avengers. It was really good. I like the way they combined characters from previously released movies into this one.
Thor's brother Loki is back to wreak havoc. He uses Stark tower to open up a worm hole to his alien army.  The Avengers save the day. Most of the movie is about bringing everyone together and making them a team.
 Although I do think Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth) The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo)and Ironman (Robert Downy Jr) are all very cute, I am partial to Hawk Eye(Jeremy Renner) in this one. Jeremy Renner seems to be in a lot of movies lately. On another note he looks kind of like this guy I know -Chris.

6.2.12 Private Party

I worked a double at Bellini's because one of my regular families requested that I work their daughter's graduation party. It was a lot of fun. Their daughter Megan graduated high school and had been accepted to Texas Tech. Everyone was so proud of her. I already new most of the group because they had been in before. They had brought all their children which was different. There had to be 15 kids between the ages of 3 and 7 running around the bar. It was definitely different but not bad. They all had a good time. Megan's dad and sister had spent a lot of time putting together a slide show video of her life. It was a surprise for Megan. We played it up on one of the TVs. The highlight of the party  was the giant Snickerdoodle cookie that they had had made that was decorated in Texas Tech black and red. It was a good but long day.