by Joni Hauck
(NOTE: Clicking on most photos will show larger view.)

Texas East

Saturday May 1st

We took the back roads through Arkansas looking for the most direct route to Texas via Oklahoma. The perfect blue sky was filled with swirly white clouds. We drove for miles and miles without seeing another car. The roadside view consisted of pasture and fields bursting with yellow flowers and every so often a little house dotted the landscape. We felt peaceful and content as we drove along.

We approached Foreman, Arkansas whose sign declares home of Tracy Lawrence. Who the heck is Tracy Lawrence? We crossed the Oklahoma border and drove through Howarth, population 300. Their town hall is in a garage.

The route started to get a little hazy but we were not lost, Fred informed me. I was driving and Fred looked perplexed as he double checked his maps. Our Pep Boys compass, confidently stuck to the windshield before we left home, has failed us. The first day driving to Pittsburgh, it read south. After day two it had fallen off the windshield. Fred used velcro to reattach it and sometimes it works and other times it doesn't. That compass is driving Fred crazy.

It is time to get serious about finding our Oklahoma beer. None of the towns on our route through Oklahoma are big enough to be listed in the AAA book. Idabel, the first town in bold on the map, proves to be futile. They had package stores but we did not see any place to get a burger and beer.

Garvin, the next town only had 5 houses. Fullerton was a little bigger, but no luck. By now we had gone about 30 miles and were ready to give up. At the Jenny Cafe, which was a diner, I asked a trucker in the parking lot where we could find a bar. This guy was from Texas, with tight jeans, cowboy boots and a cowboy hat. He spit (habit I'm sure, but it grossed me out) as he was telling me that we could find a place called the Alibi in Valiant, the next town up.

After about 10 miles, we still had not found it and had turned around to head back to the highway that would take us into Texas. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted it: a metal building with two trucks parked out front.
"There it is Fred, The Alibi" I yelled excitedly, "That's where the guy was talking about." We were already past it and had to turn around again. A sign on the open door announced the band that was playing that evening. We ventured inside, not knowing what to expect.

Shorty & Margie, the owners, were preparing for the evening crowd. They only served beer, no hard liquor and were obviously proud of the bands they booked. They draw people from miles around but don't put up with any crap from their customers. A sign on the wall proclaimed, if you have a bad attitude, take it somewhere else, it's not welcome here.

Fred and I ordered Bud Lights and while we drank them, Shorty entertained us with his stories. Shorty, a good ole boy, worked in construction all his life and had traveled extensively. He and Margie spent a year in El Salvador while Shorty worked building a power plant. He has been to every state in the US, most more than once.

Shorty and Margie,as they opened their second pack of Marlboros, shared with us some of the trials and tribulations they had to go through to open the Alibi. They had previously run another bar and the landlord decided one day that she wanted her place back. Since they didn't have a written contract, they had to pack up their inventory and get out. They couldn't sell their inventory without a license location, so they gave it away from their front porch until they could reopen. They figured every beer they gave away was one less that their former landlord would sell. They were the most popular people in town. Their friends pitched in to help them get their new building up and ready for business. Shorty and Margie were obviously touched by the support they received from their friends and customers during that difficult time.

Before we left, Shorty took our picture. He is going to put it up on his wall with our city and state.

TRIVIA QUESTION: supplied by Shorty from the Alibi in Valiant, Oklahoma.

Which state is the only one allowed to fly their flag the same height as the USA flag and why?

As soon as we crossed the state line into Texas the speed limit, even on a two lane highway, changed to 70. We stopped at a grocery store on our way to the timeshare which turned out to be a good thing because the Holly Lakes in Big Sandy is located in the middle of nowhere. It was actually fun shopping. We are so excited to be buying fresh vegetables, strawberries, rice and pasta in anticipation of cooking again. We miss our low fat meals. It will be good to reduce our fat intake for the week. It's fun eating out, but too much of anything gets old.

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Sunday May 2

We are at our timeshare in Big Sandy, Texas. Things were not quite as we expected. Rustic is the theme. All the timeshares we ever traded for had a phone, washer and dryer in the unit and we expected the same here. On a normal weeks vacation, we could care less about laundry or telephone, glad to be away from it all. However, on this trip we were sort of counting on them this week.

We tried to do laundry. This place has one tiny laundry room with two washers and one was broken. As someone was already there using the one available washer, we decided to go find the tennis courts.

The tennis courts had grass growing up between tiny cracks that lined the courts like a broken hard boiled egg shell. We volleyed the ball back and forth, but within 5 minutes it began to lightning and thunder. It started pouring down rain so we headed back to our unit. This is the first rain we've seen since the second day of our trip.

We needed to make some phone calls but there are no phones in the units. All the pay phones are located outside and using the phone during a thunderstorm is not my idea of fun. The cell phone, you ask. Yes, I'd love to use the cell phone, but no network available. Gee what a surprise!

After the rain stopped, we went back up to the laundry but the one washer was still in use. No laundry will be done today. (don't sweat the small stuff) Turn that underwear inside out and wear it again.

It continued to rain throughout the day but it was cozy in our unit. Rain dripping off the trees is a comforting sound when you don't have to go anywhere. Our supper of salad, rice, peas and fat free hot dogs was deliciously low fat. This is what we like to eat. (The fresh strawberries on our cereal this morning were yummy.)

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Monday May 3rd

We left Holly Lakes at 8 am for the 2-1/2 hour drive to Arlington. Today we went to see the Texas Rangers play in the Ballpark in Arlington. The Ballpark has only been open for 5 years and it is spectacular. Located in an area surrounded by lakes and a linear park, we did not feel like we were in or near a big city. The outside of the stadium is a granite and brick facade decorated with cast stone Lone Stars and Longhorns. These alternate with scenes depicting Texas history.

The Fridays Front Row Sports Grill can be accessed without a ticket even on game day. Our comp tickets, compliments of the Texas Rangers, were not available until 12:30 so we headed on up to Fridays. Comfortable seats, a view of the field, cold beers and pepperoni picadilly's (a type of pizza) and we were all set.

Inside, the stadium holds 49,000 fans in seats all the same dark green color . Fred remarked that having the seats all the same color makes the stadium look and feel more intimate. There were plenty of restrooms and food vendors. They even had an ice cream sandwich named The Big Kahuna. We got a kick out of the vendor going up and down the aisle yelling "BIG KAHHHNUUUNA, GET YOUY BIG KAHUNA HERE"

In right field, a wall of glass and three levels of white balconies hid office buildings. That is a clever idea. This section of the stadium was atractive to look at from inside the stadium and no doubt costs an arm and a leg for companies to rent. I hope when there is an afternoon game, the employees are permitted to stop working and watch the game..

Our seats were between home plate and 1st base. There was a nice breeze blowing and it was an enjoyable afternoon to watch a game. The opposing Cleveland Indians went on an offensive rampage, winning 10 to 4.

We have been back at our Days Inn for less than an hour. In our first room, which was no prize to begin with, the air conditioning blew out spewing smoke and scary electrical popping noises. We finally got the clerk to understand that we needed another room so he moved us down the hall to 318. As I sat here typing this, a lady using a key opened the door and walked into our room. I called down and the clerk told me to send her back down. One minute later someone else tried to get in the room. .

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Tuesday May 4th

Wow what a day we had-culture, sports and history.

We started off in Fort Worth, Texas at the Kimball Art Museum. Someone at the ball park recommended we go there. A special temporary exhibit titled Matisse & Picasso, A Gentle Rivalry was the star attraction. We purchased the audio tour which was extremely informative. I am probably the only person in the whole world who never heard of Matisse (shows how artsy I am) but I found the exhibition extremely fascinating. Now I not only know who he is but could probably identify his work.

This exhibit examined the challenge and rivalry between the two artists as shown in their work from 1930 until Matisse's death in 1954. Over 100 pieces were on display from public and private collections. We spent over two hours in the museum and I feel like I learned so much. Fred's comment on the exhibit-Informative yet bizzarre. My favorite painting by Picasso, Still Life on a Pedastal Table painted in March, 1931, was over 6 feet high. Fred and I both enjoyed Interior with Egyptian Curtains painted by Matisse in 1948.

Lunch, at the Railhead Smokehouse Bar-B-Que Pit was average; I've had better ribs. As we got up to leave, the wind picked up and hail the size of peanut M&M's came pouring down from the skies. George Bush ate here, but I wonder if his driver went the wrong way down the one way street when he pulled out of the Railhead parking lot. Fred did and freaked us both out.

On our drive to Irving, the Big Kahuna was pelted by rainstorms. The area around Dallas Stadium is difficult to manuver and the signs were no help. There are so many highways leading to other highways that we could not figure out how to get to the stadium. Fred stayed very calm as we drove around and around for miles finally arriving at the stadium 10 minutes too late for the 2:00 tour. We hung around the Dallas Cowboys gift shop and patiently waited for the 3:00 tour.

The Cowboys stadium is actually owned by the city of Irving and leased back to the Cowboys. It is impressive. All the seats are painted blue and the roof is cut out in such a way that the fans always stay dry, but the players have to deal with the weather. Angie, our bossy tour guide, said the #1 reason people guess for it being that way is so that God can watch the game. These Cowboys fans think an awful lot of their team.

Angie took our picture on the Cowboy star in the center of the field. It's for my dad; he's a die hard Cowboys fan. We brought our Bud football and I asked if we could throw on the field. Angie said go for it.

The game is on the line. Fred and Joni throw a few passes to warm up. They huddle. Fred, the star quarterback calls for the post play. The superstars line up on the 20. Fred drops back and throws a perfect pass which finds his favorite receiver, Joni. She catches it on the one yard line and momentum propels her into the end zone. TOUCHDOWN. She spikes the ball and breaks into her touchdown dance. Fred runs up and high five's Joni. The Haucks win the Super Bowl by beating the Cowboys in their own stadium! The crowd goes wild.

Our tour continued up the tunnel and into the locker rooms. Everything is painted Cowboy Blue. Fred got yelled at for going into the bathroom. What? Did Angie think Fred was going to pee where Troy does?

The Cowboys prima donna players, Troy Boy, Neon Deon, & Emmit park in the tunnel. Aren't they special!?! All the other players have to park out by gate 8.

The super boxes are owned by the original investors. Instead of the city financing the entire stadium ($24 million), private investors were asked to buy bonds. Anyone who put up $50,000 received a box, which they could keep or sell. The going price these days for a box is a quarter of a million dollars.

Next stop is Dallas to look for the Book Depository. Fred recognized the building as soon as we got off the highway. The museum on the 6th floor about President Kennedy was very informative, educational and disturbing. Fred remembers clearly being in class at Sacred Heart on that fateful day when a priest walked into the classroom and whispered to the nun who in turn told the class.

The 6th floor of the Book Depository is the #1 visited attraction in Dallas. Consequently, the area around it has been developed with brick streets and lots of bars and restaurants making it a very popular spot. I had a world famous chicken salad sandwich at a place called the West End Bar. The chicken salad, a secret blend of spices mixed with light mayo, was delicious, . I wonder though, how does a place get to call a sandwich world famous?

We received our first parking ticket. Fred realized while we were in the Book Depository that our time had run out on the meter. I didn't want to leave because I still had much to see, so I basically shooed him away. Our generous contribution to the coffers of Dallas was $20.00.

Fred went to the MAC because we were running low on cash. He came back to me and said, "Look at this card, what do you see." It expired 4/99 and today was May 4th. Uh oh, maybe that is what the lady at the bank wanted, who we have not been able to reach. Hopefully, the replacement card will be in the mail my Dad is sending.

We arrived back at Big Sandy late that night.

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Wednesday May 5th

The news and paper is full of the Oklahoma tornados. Oklahoma City is about 200 miles to the north of us. The devastion is shocking and so sad.

I am still struggling to get my license replaced. I received a form from AAA, but I have to get my signature notarized. How do I do that when I can't prove who I am?

Fred got me out of bed at 6 am to go play golf. The Holly Lakes Course is the best bargain around. Less expensive for us to play 18 holes than Four Seasons at home and we could walk! First course we have played that we have been allowed to walk.

Jack, the guy we played with is in the Pawn business. At one point in time, he and some partners owned 200 pawn shops in Florida and Alababama. Now, he and his wife sell silver jewelry in a shop in Tyler and live at Holly Lakes. He was full of interesting stories.

We got our mail from home this afternoon, and I even read the newspaper that my Dad used to stuff the box. Dad you taped up that box like you do our Christmas presents. I could barely get it open.

We finally got to do our laundry. Hooray, the one washer was open.


Thursday May 6th

We finally talked to someone at the bank. Bad news. Our MAC card was returned to the bank because MAC's do not get forwarded. Dad to the rescue again. He is going to get our card and overnight it to us in Houston. I hope we don't run out of cash.

We walked about 1-1/2 miles to the tennis courts. Along the way, a cute little brown and black dog joined us. He hung out at the tennis court grabbing our balls and putting them in a pile. Later some other people walked by and he went off with them. A girl down by the lake was going to adopt him since no one knew who he belonged to. Why would someone let their dog run loose?

Serving is the weakest part of my tennis game. Fred gave me a few pointers, but still beat me every game. We had some good volleys and a great morning of exercise.

Late afternoon, we still had enough energy left to play 9 holes at Holly Lake Trail.

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Friday May 7th

We played Meadow Valley Golf Course in Linwood today. The Dogwood course (they also have Hummingbird) was listed in our golf book with 3-1/2 stars. Lots of trees and two beautiful lakes made for some interesting holes. There were lots of dogwood trees and extensive azalea beds which would make the course gorgeous in spring. We played with an older couple from Texas.

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Saturday May 8th

The road from Big Sandy to Houston provided various scenes. We saw waves and waves of yellow flowers along the roadside, a three-wheeler junkyard, a working oil drill in someone's front yard, and steers grazing. All this while traveling 70 mph down a road like Millersville Pike (except less houses).

Very disturbing was a Klan rally along the highway near Patton Valley, Texas. Three cowards in hoods were waving at traffic while another guy in dirty jeans and no shirt was holding a rebel flag. We really wanted to stop and tell those jerks what we thought, but decided better of it. We are staying at the Holiday Inn in Houston. From our room, we have a view of the Astrodome. How cool is that?

We went to the zoo in Memorial Park which was a 10 minute drive from the hotel. We wanted to see Henry and Hennrietta Hippo, but they were not in view in their exhibit. We don't know where they were hiding. The Bengal Tiger was more cooperative. He was washing his face and was gorgeous.

We went for a run at the park on a golf course that was undergoing renovations. It was fun to imagine what the holes would look like when it was finished.

After a shower, we decided to check out the hotel bar. Not a soul in the place except us and the bartender. It is supposed to be a sports bar and did get more crowded after the game let out at the Astrodome. We met Stuart and Linette from Louisiana who were visiting Houston for the weekend. Stuart works off shore on an oil rig, 14 days on, 14 days off.

We also talked to two guys from Puerto Rico. They were young, both into volleyball and the one guy wants to go to Penn State. He tapes all the PSU games to watch and rewatch. He was excited to talk to Fred about Penn State.

Sadly, they were each here to support someone receiving cancer treatments. Houston must have a good medical facility. These guys fascinated us with stories of Puerto Rico. It sounds picturesque.

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Sunday May 9th

We went to the NASA Johnson Space Center and missed the entrance the first time past. We have decided the signs in Texas stink. We are having trouble in this state finding our way around.

At NASA, we saw the Flight Control Center. Since it was Sunday, no one was working but during the work week they run simulations of various scenarios that could happen in space. Amazingly, all control of the space craft after lift-off happens from here. We could envision our nephew Kevin working there someday. We also saw where the astronauts train for their missions. They had mock ups of the shuttle and the modules of the space station.

The IMAX presentation was spectacular. It was actual footage from space taken by astronauts on missions. In one scene, the camera was located in a satellite being deployed and showed the shuttle floating in space with the earth in the background. Another scene showed the surface of Mars. Is there life on other planets? With the advances in space technology being made, we may soon find out.

Sunday night back at the hotel, we watched the X-files movie. No, we had not seen it yet. They showed parts of Texas that we have yet to drive through-miles and miles of nothing except tumbleweeds. We can't wait!

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Monday May 10th

We took a mini tour of downtown Houston today. The Tunnel, a collection of shops and food places built underneath the huge skyscrapers, must be a welcome relief from the summer humidity for downtown workers. The prices in Houston were surprisingly reasonable for such a large city. We ate lunch for less than $10.00 and saw parking lots advertising $5.00 per day. With downtown buildings named One Shell Place, Chevron Tower and El Paso Energy, it is not hard to guess who the big players are in Houston.

We took a look at the new baseball stadium currently under construction downtown. It appears to be in a seedy part of town, but rumor has it that developers have already snapped up much of the real estate around that area. The new name will be Enron Field, named after Enron Energy, one of the world's leading natural gas and electricity companies. The new stadium is scheduled to open April 2000.

Before leaving for the game, we stopped in the hotel bar. Michelle, our same bartender from Saturday night, recognized us and remembered what we were drinking. (made us feel like we were back with Rob at Hot Z's, except for the prices)

We met Kenny who was on his way to Louisiana from San Antonio. Kenny works off-shore as a field engineer for Schlumberger doing testing. He is an Astros fan and had snagged a single 3rd row ticket for tonight's game. As guys do, Kenny and Fred launched into a discussion of various sports teams. I am constantly amazed at the stuff Fred remembers about sports teams of the past.

The old saying Father is the necessity of invention--No, No I mean Necessity is the Father of Invention (I keep twisting that up much to Fred's amusement), was certainly true in the case of astroturf. When the Astrodome was first build, the roof was clear and the field was real grass. However, the glare made it impossible for players to field fly balls so they painted the roof. Consequently, the grass died so astroturf was invented for the playing field. Hence, the name ASTROturf.

The Astrodome was impressive when we first walked in. It's huge. The upper deck seats are painted in rows of rust, orange, yellow, orange and rust which is the color of the Astros old uniforms. They must have been ugly! There are two manual scoreboards to keep fans posted on away games and we watched the progression of the Cardinals/Phillies game with keen interest.

Fred remembers watching the Phillies/Astros play-off series in 1980 when Gary Maddox ran in to make the last out of the series, in extra innings for the Phillies to win 1-0. Hr related to me that all the games in that series were one run and the last four all went into extra innings, with the Phillies having to win the last two at the Astrodome. It was the most gut wrenching series Fred has ever watched and is forever etched into his memory.

Our seats were past the third base line and after 3 innings we got up to walk around. There was a picnic area at ground level in left field where fans can go during the game. It was an interesting perspective for watching both the view of the field and the boisterous party people in this section. These fans were here to party first and watch the game second.

The crowd was thin, maybe because it was a Monday and the Astros had just lost two out of three to the Expos over the weekend. We kept running into Kenny up at the refreshment stands and finally watched the last three innings from seats near his section. Houston beat Pittsburgh 6-0.

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Tuesday May 11th

The Big Kahuna got an oil change today. That was exciting for all involved. Before we left, my Dad gave us 5 envelopes each marked for an oil change. One down and 4 to go. We have logged 5,000 miles so far.

We played Tour 18 of Houston. All the holes are simulations of famous holes that the pros play on tour. The Bay Hill Hole, a complete dog leg around the lake was beautiful to look at and challenging to play. From the tee, you have to decide how gutsy you are, how much lake you want to hit over. Fred and I both had great tee shots, neither of us went in the water. The most fascinating set of holes were the simulations of Augusta's 11, 12 and 13. That's the closest we will ever to get to playing Amen Corner. Overall, a highly recommended course.

On the way back from Richland Street, we looked for Skybox which was supposed to be a huge sports bar. We could not find it, so we went to Dave and Busters. There is a Dave & Busters in Philadelphia but we have never been in it. This place was huge with pool tables, shuffleboard and a game room to make any video junkie happy. Our meal was good but expensive.

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