Cousins Round VII

0 - 305 (10415 - 10720)

And off we go! Part II of Ted's Excellent Adventure begins, taking me to Denton, Texas.

Here I am at Mile Zero (of Part II) in Houston, packed and ready. I am definately going to miss Ella and Ruby, my lab companions through this whole interesting experience in Houston. Oh, yeah, I will miss sister Sarah and brother-in-law Murray, too.

My cousin Roger lives in Dallas, so seeing him was almost a requirement. I have managed to see all but three of my many cousins on this trip, many of which I had not seen since childhood.

Roger is a network and website consultant; in other words, a computer geek. He has some impressive clients, like Marriot. But his real passion is flying small planes, and he has combined that with his photography skills to become an accomplished arial photographer. Seems there is quite a call for it in Texas with folks with huge acerages. Another great example of following your passion.

Roger knew of my beer-tasting penchant on this journey, so we met at BJ's Brewhouse. BJ's is not exclusively Texan, with locations in 11 states, but it did not stop me from trying their sampler (Blonde, Red, Porter, Hefewizen, Pale Ale). Of these, BJ’S Jeremiah Red was the best.

.I made the short drive to Denton, Texas to see my niece Sinclair, my nephew Will, and Will's girlfriend Lauren.

Sinclair is my sister Ellen's oldest, and is a studio art major. After dinner at Rooster's Roadhouse (gotta have some Texas BBQ), we headed to Denton's quaint town square and the Hydrant Cafe. Sinclair had had the closing of a showing of her art there the night before, but as it was still hanging we had a chance to see it. Nice work, Sinclair! And we were treated royally by the owner, who treated us to coffee.

I really enjoyed meeting Lauren. Will (my sister Sarah's youngest) has never had much trouble attracting the ladies, but it was great seeing him with someone he had to pursue, and who did not pull any punches with him. More than once the three of us ganged up on him and left him sputtering; not a normal experience for the exuberant Will!

As I have been throughout this trip, I have been pleased and impressed how open and candid these young people have been with Uncle Ted. I cherish it.

Tomorrow I am crossing into the Texas Panhandle, connecting with Route 66 east of Amarillo.