Throw Down in Funky Town.

This blog entry is being sponsored by DOS EQUIS.

My favorite Canadian paid a long overdue visit to Funky Town March 5th-12th. We did our best to show her a good time and highlight some of our favorite things about our town. She came bearing gifts: A Roots baseball cap and a Doc Walker CD http://www.docwalker.ca/ for me, A barenaked ladies hat and CD http://www.nettwerk.com/media/ram/BarLa_EasSp.ram for Lisa, and species appropriate toys for the canines and felines. All items continue to be enjoyed by all parties. Thanks, Case, for your generosity and thoughtfulness.

After picking her up at DFW airport, we made a pit-stop at Fox River to reaquaint her with our animal kingdom and brainstorm food options. We decided on the Mellow Mushroom and enjoyed a delicious veggie pizza. http://www.mellowmushroom.com

My recollection of what immediately followed isn't great, but it was some combination of visiting, drinking Dos Equis, talking about what we might want to do for the rest of her stay, and more visiting. Probably we listened to some music....as it is a favorite pasttime when we get together. The theme of the night was "full disclosure."

The next day consisted of some uneventful breakfast like Cheerios, followed shortly thereafter by shopping at Old Navy, Hulen Mall, and lunch at Jason's Deli where we enjoyed broccoli cheese soup and some salad and fruit items. Case adequately filled in for Lisa by stealing me a hardboiled egg from the salad bar. Thanks to both of you for your willingness to put yourselves on the line for me.

Next on the agenda, and one of my very favorite memories, was shopping for a guitar. For those of you who don't know, Case plays the guitar a bit....and she came without one. We checked out one Guitar Center with no luck, but we struck gold on our second attempt. The picture below represents to the best of my ability, the guitar she purchased right here in the Metroplex. WooHoo! It was most excellent! At one point, as she was noodling on a couple of guitars trying to decide which one she wanted, she commented that she wished she had a pick. It was with great pride and excitement that I announced that I, in fact, had a pick right there in my wallet. It was one that she had given me during her last visit (SotaBash '04, or My 30th Birthday Party) and while it has had a couple of different homes since then, it has most recently been residing in my wallet. So, I pulled it out and away she went and a guitar was chosen.

Guitar Center-baby Taylor
At Central Market we shopped for groceries a plenty, but no artichokes. Purchased some flowers for my girl and had a little lunch consumed in record time to avoid being late to the airport to claim Lisa following her business trip to Tampa.

A trip to Dallas yielded some excellent purchases from my two favorite gift type shops.
Ye Olde Moon-I purchased some snazzy yellow earrings made of glass and a beautiful black cat figuerine (in memory of our sweet, sweet Echo).

Casa Mexicana-I purchased a funky painted dog that now sits on our mantle.

We dined at Cafe Brazil where we sat outside and soaked up the sun.

We made several attempts to procure Lucinda Williams tickets for the three of us, but in the end it just wasn't meant to be. Our search led us to CD World where a few purchases were made to include a very old Bonnie Raitt cd and some Weary Boys music.

Of course we enjoyed the fare at our favorite taco shop. At Fuzzy's Taco Shop we consumed veggie and fish tacos and washed it down with the best dos equis in town. http://www.fuzzystacoshop.com

Yet another swell dining experience was had at Ocean Rock where we enjoyed a Perfect Margarita and near-perfect bloody mary's. We did eat, and the food was good, but not better than the margarita and bloody mary's.

Of course we took her to Ol' South Pancake House where the experience is always consistent in both food, service, and conversation.

A lovely afternoon was spent at the Fort Worth Water Gardens

We had a pre-game meal at Panera prior to Friday night volleyball. Then after a quick stop at home, actually went to volleyball which turned out to be far more enjoyable for the spectators than it was for the participant. http://www.divadallas.org

The naming of Shamus occurred during the visit as well. I purchased this lovely, long, pink dog to decorate the back seat of my new car and to keep me company while on the road. We brainstormed some options, Case threw out "Jake" but Lisa put the kibosh on it for one reason or another, and I was left to choose. I chose Shamus after seeing the name in the lyrics of a song in Case's songbook.

The visiting plumber, now that's a story to tell...but I don't remember much of it. Maybe one of my comrades can elaborate in the comment section. I know that we required the services of a plumber at about midnight on Friday night and I know that I never actually saw the plumber, but he was there.

We spent some time cruising the Stockyards-searching for a belt buckle, watching the cattle drive, enjoying a dr. pepper and some ice cream.

Speaking of ice cream......