The Big Debate

This past weekend was very busy between soccer, pictures, field marshal duty, blood donations, library, etc. We took the entire day Sunday for a little fun.

We went to Six Flags. Something we had promised the kids earlier this summer. We met up with some friends at the park and needless to say, we all had an exciting time if not tiring.
In the past, we have had season passes but it had been two years since our last trip to the park. I have to give props to Six Flags. Places where there were previously large, open, unused spaces, they found ways to incorporate even more rides.

I finally got to go on a couple of "big" rides with my buddy as we left our wives with the kids. What a rush that Titan gave us!

As we were leaving, the kids talked us into some ice cream. The vendor had something called "The Pink Thing". Have you seen this? I asked him what flavor it was and he said he didn't know. As I glanced over, I saw six little kids sitting on a bench all eating a pink thing, so I asked each of them if they thought it was strawberry, cherry or maybe bubblegum flavor. With varying answers I moved on to their parents. Again no one could give me a definite answer. Once our kids got theirs open, I helped myself to a bite. The general consensus . . . . It's called "The Pink Thing" because you can't pin down just one flavor.

Although I thought the kids would give me trouble this morning getting up for school, they went about everything like normal.

Stay tuned for more travels with us.

And That's What I Think.

The Big Office

It is official, I have just received confirmation that I have become a Notary Public.

Now I can preform your wedding ceremony and then notarize your documents.

I will also begin advertising my mobile Notary service. I will come to your office and notarize your documents for a flat fee.

Once I get this ball rolling, who knows where it can go.

That is all for now.

Pray for the hurricane victims.

And That's What I Think.

The Big History

The past Labor Day weekend we decided to check out some local history in my old hometown of Nacogdoches, Texas.

The story is that there was a Caddo Indian chief living on the Sabine River. His twin sons were ready to start tribes of their own so he sent one three days towards the rising sun and the other three days toward the setting sun, when they arrive, they should set up their villages. The one that went East was called Natchitoches, which is the oldest town in Louisiana. The one that went West was named Nacogdoches, and that town became the oldest in Texas.

Located in the Piney Woods of Deep East Texas, Nacogdoches has lots of charm from it's downtown brick streets, to it's pine tree lined college campus. There is hunting and fishing nearby and lots of nightlife for the locals and college students. El Camino Real goes through town (Hwy 21).

Four signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence are buried here. The Sterne-Hoya House (circa 1830) and the Durst-Taylor House (circa 1835) are the oldest structures still on their original location. Sam Houston was baptized here, Thomas J. Rusk was a frequent visitor and Davy Crocket stayed in town on his way to the Alamo.

The Marx Brothers visited in 1912 where they performed in the Opera House as a singing group. When someone from outside yelled that there was a runaway donkey, the crowd ran outside to see the excitement. Frustrated, when the crowd returned, Groucho made snide comments about the town. Instead of being angry, the audience laughed and the Marx Brothers slowly switched from singing as the forefront of their show to comedy.

In 2003, Nacogdoches was the center of media attention as the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over East Texas. Many of the shuttle's pieces were found in and around town.
Old Stone Fort, 1885
Our first stop was the Old Stone Fort. Built in 1779 by Don Antonio Gil Y'Barbo as a house, it has been a court house, grocery store, candy store, saloon and fort. Before it was torn down in 1902, it was the oldest structure in the state and the tallest building in Nacogdcohes for over a century. The original stones were used to rebuild the structure in 1936 on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University. Texas' first newspaper was printed in the Old Stone fort.
Old Stone Fort, today
Our next stop was west of town at the settlement of the Caddo Indians. They occupied the sight, 6 miles west of the town of Alto, between 800 A.D and 1300 A.D. The Caddo Indians were a self sufficient tribe. At the sight there remains three mounds which have been partly excavated.

The Burial Mound was used when a tribe member of high importance died. They would lay him down with a spear and some pottery and then his assistant and a member or two from his family would volunteer to be sacrificed to go into the great beyond with him. They would cover them with dirt and slowly, with each passing, the mound would grow.

The Burial Mound
The other two mounds at the sight are the Temple Mound and the Ceremonial Mound. The Temple mound had a large hut for worship. They only worshipped one God. During a religious ceremony, they would light the temple and celebrate it's burning. Afterward, they would cover the area with dirt, thus building the mound higher, and build a new temple.

What the village may have looked like.
The Ceremonial Mound, which is currently half it's original size due to excavation in 1939, was used when the chief needed to speak to all those in the village and surrounding villages. This Caddo village had about 500 permanent residents, but during an important speech, as many as 2000 people would attend.

They had an extensive trade connection as many artifacts found in the village were not native to the area. These include shells from the Gulf Coast and copper from the Great Lakes. At their high point, about 1100 A.D., they were the most highly developed prehistoric culture known in present day Texas.

When Spanish explorers first encountered the Caddo Indians, they were greeted with "Tejas" which meant "friend". The Spanish thought they were saying that their tribe was named Tejas and therefore they were originally called the "Tejas" Indians. Subsequently, the state of Texas is named after these Indians.

From there we continued west to Grapeland to visit the drive thru animal safari. This was the first time the kids had ever been this close to "wild" animals and been able to feed them.



Nosy camel
Our encounter was fun and nothing hurt us or the vehicle, unlike a visitor before us that had a run in with the water buffalo and unlike mine and Jenny's experience in Missouri when a ram attacked our car.

Hand feeding a donkey
This Lama had an eye on Jenny
They even had baby rattlers
Overall, we had a lot of fun this Labor Day and learned a few things to boot!

And That's What I Think.

The Big Zoo

So it seems as though I'm falling down on the job again.

The weekend before school started we took the kids to the zoo. We hadn't been to our local zoo in a year and a half or so. We spent the entire day there, arriving just after they opened and leaving about an hour before closing.
Unlike our last visit, we were able to see ALL of the animals and get lots of pictures. My favorite animal still has no presence at our zoo. :(

From what was there, I enjoyed the meerkats the most.
The important thing was, the kids had a good time.

And That's What I Think.