Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo

Today I went to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo!  Aunt Linda and Uncle Bob found themselves in the possession of 6 tickets to go see Sugarland, so I -along with my friend, Dezarae- were able to tag along!  We arrived, ate a loaded baked potato and funnel cake, and sat down to watch the cowboys ride!

After some heart-pumping action, Sugarland took the stage and gave an amazing performance.  It's events like these that make me glad I'm from H-town.  :)  ..a little bit of country meets city.

Our stadium converts into a rodeo utopia!

Linda asked me to take this pic- Bob's company is a rodeo sponsor

Bullfighters work as clowns to help the riders dismount after they ride-

Buckin' broncos and ragin' bulls!

Covered wagon races!

The teens getting ready for the calf scramble...

...catch a calf and you get to raise one!

Sheep readying themselves for the kiddos-

My favorite part- the mutton bustin'!

5 year olds hang on for a wild ride!

Yep... we do fireworks INSIDE!

Sugarland was AMAZING!

Jennifer and Kristian were completely dynamic

Check out this great vid to learn a little rodeo history: http://sugarlandmusic.com/news/26383

Guess who's coming to town?

I had to laugh as I was driving down the feeder road to the highway today.... miles upon miles of horse droppings.  LOL!  There was nothing to do but drive right through them just like everyone else!

You might wonder why there was not only horse droppings on the main streets of Houston, but MILES of horse droppings.  Well, ya see folks, it's rodeo time!  Every year, when the rodeo comes to H-town, there is a parade of horses and covered wagons that take the main roads into the city for the big shows.  That is what I was following (along with a few other traffic-lodged vehicles... traveling horses are just no competition for an automobile, I'm afraid.)

Hopefully I'll get to make it out to one of the shows this year.  It's amazing; the rodeo has broadened it's horizons and not only offers huge country stars as a source of big-show entertainment, but artists such as Janet Jackson, Kid Rock and KISS will be performing this year.  (Pretty cool, huh?)

Eating out

After supporting my Aunt Linda at her choir concert this evening (The Houston Choral Society put on their annual “Christmas Potpourri”), we all went out to eat at a local Mexican restaurant (as you so often do in Texas).   

Aunt Linda made a comment about how cultured this week was turning out to be: Mexican tonight, South African cuisine tomorrow morning to celebrate my birthday, and a sushi date on Tuesday.   I reflected a moment; I am so grateful there is such a diverse representation here in Houston.  Besides those I just listed, there are Vietnamese, Indian, Italian, Mediterranean, Brazilian, Ethiopian, Jamaican… the list goes on and I just love it!  It gives me hope that people are becoming more open-minded to other cultures… a small step to accept someone else’s food, but a step, nonetheless.

As I was thinking these thoughts of an ultimately accepting and Utopian society, my uncle called out to our waiter, “Hey Pancho!” to get his attention.  Oye.  “Mortified” is a good word to describe my reaction... I'm pretty sure that showed.

Water, water everywhere...

  Have I mentioned it's hurricane season?  No?  Well, it is.  To be honest, I'm not too concerned about it -just seems like a waste of energy being afraid of the unknown.  It does, however, mean that it's also rainy season.  I hadn't noticed it any more rainy here than it is in Houston- we were getting LOTS of rain before I made the move- but I guess the difference is in how people adapt to the weather.

  In Houston, you really only have to worry about the rain when going to and from your mode of transportation- drive carefully when it really starts to pour.  Most people carry umbrellas for that 20ft dash... In Playa, people are much more pedestrian- cars are completely unnecessary if you are staying in town.  People also tend to travel a bit lighter- there are some umbrellas and a handful of raincoats- but most people just try to avoid going anywhere when the water starts to fall.  Of course, if you really need to go somewhere, you just rough it.

  This is exactly what happened to me and the roomies as we were walking to pay the internet/ phone bill.  The three of us were wearing sunglasses when we left the apt, by the time we were around the corner the sky had become overcast... by the time we'd walked a block it began to rain... it was pouring within moments.  We just laughed and trudged on; what else could we do?  Here are a few photos of the rain we encountered:

La Quinta had a little flooding...

It was past my ankles when we crossed the street!

The sky was beautiful by the beach.

Dos Ojos Cenotes

  Today I visited the Dos Ojos Cenotes; it was absolutely amazing!  For those of you who are unaware of what a cenote is, it is an underground cave system filled with freshwater- an experience unlike any other!  Imagine this, donning  snorkeling gear (for the third time ever), slipping into cool, crystal-clear water, and swimming into the darkness with only a small flashlight to show you the way.  Yipes!  I'm glad we had a tour guide!  We dove in and did our best to avoid those enormous stalagmites and stalactites... and those huge columns that exist when stalactites grow into stalagmites.  It was like a wonderland... and we didn't have to be so careful as when snorkeling over reefs, because everything was rock- no wildlife to harm.

  Every now and then we would look up and see sky through the cave ceiling.  Light poured down in a cloudy beam- illuminating the rocks at the bottom of the pool like a mini-spotlight.  Beautiful.  A few bats clung to the top of the cave, and small fish swam about our legs.  We took a few pictures, but of course the underwater photos did absolutely no justice to the beauty we saw- a few panoramic shots will give you an idea of what I'm talking about though.

PS- I forgot to mention that we met some girls from the US while we were visiting the cenotes.  One girl was actually from Houston and went to Booker T., but they all met while going to school at Morris Brown College in Atlanta, GA; they were celebrating a 30th birthday- man, what a way to celebrate!  Heh... funny how it's always nice to talk with someone from home.