Texas... what else is there?

So, I reconnected with the best kid ever from college at ISU - my friend Joel.

He is living in College Station, TX and going to Texas A & M to get his masters.

We got to spend Memorial Day weekend with him, his girlfriend Kelly, Kelly's dog Hank (Bowser's newest best friend and close relative by the looks of it), and their HORSES. That's right - sorry to Jake (owner of ducks), Gordon (owner of chickens and goats) but I think Joel and Kelly WIN. They have HORSES. Let's see if I can remember - Paco, Taco, Slim and Cowboy. But Taco belongs to their friend Cole. Or was it Paco....

We got to town in the 91 degree heat and Kelly and Joel showed us the ways of living in Texas - GO INSIDE, IN TO THE AIR CONDITIONING, EAT, DRINK and WATCH MTV. Maybe I like livin' in Texas? :)

We went to a bar called Chicken and had burgers and beer. The tables are all carved out with initials (see picture), there are more stuffed animals hanging on the wall than in a BASS PRO shop and there is a LIVE rattle snake in a cage inside the bar. As far as I know, drunk college kids and poisonous animals don't mix - but remember we are in TEXAS!

On Memorial Day, we did what all good Iowan kids do - find a lake and go swimmin'! We went to a nearby lake called Summerville Lake so that both the dogs and ourselves could COOL off. Turns out, lakes in Texas are HOT. I would say it was about like bathtub water, maybe a little warmer in spots. We got in anyway - how could we not? It was very bizarre.

And, just like all Iowan kids - I got a nasty sunburn. First one all trip. You think I would have learned by now that I need SPF 80.

Last but not least, we went to Martins. This is a BBQ place that opened in 1925. That's right - it's so old and such an institution that Texas deemed it a historical point of interest and gave Martin's a fancy plaque outside. That's us standing in front of it. The food? Let me just say I was half tempted to peak behind the kitchen door as I was suspicious that my Grandma Kinyon might be back there making the wonderful potato salad I ordered.....