Ducks or Pigeons

This morning I looked out from my second floor bathroom window to the roof of the house next door.  And what did I see but Mr. and Mrs. Duck on the roof!

I ran downstairs to get my camera.  When I'd come back up, Mr Duck was standing and Mrs. Duck was still lying down.  She soon got up and they both flew off.

What are ducks doing on the roof of a three story building?! 

Texas Rangers Stadium

Got a chance to go to a Texas Rangers baseball game last night.  Would not pass up that kind of event.

The stadium is enormous.  Which is what you would expect in Texas.  It was built in 1994 but still looks new.

It is also right next to the new Dallas Cowboys $1 billion stadium.  The Cowboys stadium is quite the site.

The Rangers Stadium is open-air and seats a ba-zillion people.  We had seats way up but a great view of the entire field.  We were directly down the first base line.

It was $1 hot dog night.  Lots of people.  Lots of hotdogs.  The wind really kicked in late in the game and the hotdog wrappers were flying all over the place.

The Rangers won big with lots of homeruns.  It was lots of fun.

P.S.  My apologies to Twins fans but I was a Rangers fan for one night.

A busy week of travel

Catching the early flight to Dallas today.  Then this evening flying from Dallas to Cincinnati.

In Cincinnati on Tuesday.  Back to Dallas Tuesday evening.  Then home late on Thursday.  I hear there is rain expected in Minnesota this week.  I just hope the weather doesn't catch up with me and interfere with travel.

From 90 degrees to a chance of snow

It was almost 90 degrees when I left Dallas yesterday.  And this evening there is a threat of snow in Minneapolis.  We've had a cold, rainy day today.  I took the bus downtown for a meeting and was shivering at the bus stop.

But this evening I'm enjoying my new fireplace.

Kay at the grassy knoll

My friend, Kay, is in Dallas for a convention.  I picked her up at her hotel and we went on a little sightseeing tour.  Of course, the first place we stopped was the sight of the JFK assassination.

That's us with the former Dallas School Book Repository building in the background.  The square window at the top of the picture is where Lee Harvey Oswald "allegedly" shot John F. Kennedy.

There were several tourists, including us, walking around the area with the many conspiracy theorist tour guides.

From here we drove through downtown, through the arts district, through uptown to Cosmic Cafe for dinner.  Cosmic Cafe is a vegetarian spot decorated in a sort of Indian theme.  I've been wanting to go for a long time but wanted a veggie expert.  Kay happens to be a vegetarian so it was perfect.

Life on the familiar road

The one great thing about traveling by same old Minneapolis to Dallas-Fort Worth route is running into all the familiar faces.

There was Tom at the American Airlines gate in Minneapolis.  We chatted about the United - Continental merger and mostly about flying small regional jets.

Rita from Iowa walked up to take the same Dallas flight.  I usually see her on Thursdays on the return trip.  This was the first time I'd seen her on a Monday morning.  We got caught up on travel stories.  We rode the rental car bus together in Dallas and did some more catching up on work stuff.

I contacted Aneela at the Hilton Anatole.  She invited me out for drinks at the new Media Bar in the hotel.  There were some other Hilton clients with her so I got to meet new people.  Aneela picked up the tab for all of us including dinner.  She is so incredibly nice.  We all laughed and told stories.  I was able to burn off some steam about work.  It was great.

And this morning I got to see Donna and Soledad in the 25th floor Executive Lounge for breakfast.  They are always so friendly and helpful.  Donna commented on my new glasses.

Life on the road that is frequently traveled does have its advantages.  Seeing familiar faces and hearing stories.

You had to figure this was going to happen...

Heading back to Dallas, Texas for the week. Same client but slightly different project.

It is actually nice to go back to familiar territory.  Both work-wise and city-wise.  Friend Kay is also in Dallas this week for work.  I'm hope we can get together one evening.