40th Anniversary



Nancy and I have been blessed during our marriage, which - as of June 1st - has reached the 40 year mark! Things have been very busy, so we (mostly me, I guess...) decided rather than leave town on some trip, we would play tourist and do some things around our home area which we might not normally do. This mini "staycation" began Friday by heading to the local movie theater for the first matinee showing of Iron Man 3. It was a good one!

 

After the movie and a quick bite to eat at the nearby Schlotsky's, we headed to Arlington. We had a room booked at the Howard Johnson hotel about 0.6 miles due north of the Texas Ranger's baseball stadium. We got checked in and relaxed a bit, and around 5:30 caught a free shuttle bus that delivered us to the stadium. Apparently, we were the "first stop" on the shuttle, as we were the first group to board. By the time we made a few more stops on the way to the stadium, it was standing room only...

Once at the game, we found our seats which were in the lower sections about even with 1st base. It was a nice evening so it didn't get too hot. We were in our full Ranger's regalia ready to root them on to victory!

 

Of course, time was spent by the grounds crew to make final preparations to the field following both teams taking batting practice.

The first pitch of the game! Anyone want some peanuts?



 

The Rangers proved themselves up to the task, as they came from behind for a 7-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals. Here they all give themselves a hearty pat on the back and say "good game, good game" to each other...

 

As is the custom for all Friday night home games, about 15 minutes following the end of the game a nice fireworks show is put on for all the fans who wish to stay. It was a pretty good show, lasting 20-30 minutes.

We decided to just walk back to the hotel following the game. With everyone letting out at one time at the end, the shuttles can be pretty slow making their rounds. Given the distance was so close, it took little time at all to cover the distance back to the hotel.

 

 

We had a good night's sleep and really "slept in" the next morning. In fact, we slept so late, we missed the continental breakfast down in the lobby! That was OK, though, because it was nice and cozy in bed under the covers with the A/C blowing a refreshing breeze right over us. We finally dragged ourself out of bed and got ready for the day. I found an IHOP just on the other side of the I30 freeway and we had a nice leisurely brunch.

 

After brunch, we decided to head on over to the Dallas Cowboy's football stadium for our VIP Guided Tour. Our reservations were really intended for 1:30PM, but we checked in with the ticket office and they said we could catch the 12 noon tour w/o problems. Well, we went inside and discovered that we WERE the 12 noon tour. So, our VIP tour was extra special as Lamont guided us around through the stadium - just the three of us!

 

Sorry for the poor picture quality, as I was just using my phone and the lighting was not the best. This is a shot of the tunnel which the Cowboys walk through to get from their locker room directly out onto the field.

And here we are standing on the famous "Dallas Cowboys Star" at mid-field.

Had to get a shot with our special tour guide, Lamont!

At the end of the tour we sat for a while in some seats near where we were about to exit and sipped on some sodas. You will notice that only about half the field turf has been re-installed. Taylor Swift had a concert in the stadium two or three days ago - and all the turf is removed and stored in the bowels of the stadium when they put on a concert...

The weekend has been great - spending time with my true love, doing some things we might not normally get around to doing! We'll top it off by going to the Texas Road House and indulging in a steak dinner this evening...

 

Tom