Thank a Soldier!!!

We flew home from Ft. Worth yesterday and unfortunately, we didn't have seats together. We had two middle seats, one in front of the other. So, I was bummed, but figured, oh well, that's how it goes. A nice lady sat in the window seat next to me and a soldier sat in the aisle seat. Turns out, he was coming home (to Richland, WA) from Iraq. He had flown to Kuwait, to Germany, to Georgia, to Ft. Worth, then Seattle, then Richland. So, this poor guy was probably on a plane for the last 30 hours! In fatigues and boots. Didn't look so comfortable. But he was so nice, talking about his family and renewing his vows with his wife. When he noticed me asking Jeff over my shoulder for my book, he offered to switch seats. I said "oh, you don't want to spend the whole flight sitting in the middle do you?" and he said "not really, but I'd also rather be sitting by my spouse" and proceeded to switch with Jeff! What a great guy! He was willing to give up a comfy aisle seat to sit in the middle for four more hours. And all I could do was say thanks.

A Few More from Fort Worst........I mean, Worth!

Here are some more photos of my day in Fort Worth. Yippee. First, our hotel - The Omni. It just opened last weekend so it's very new and nice. And huge! The next photo is of me and Jeff at the Ft. Worth Water Gardens (we were trying to find a geocache, but were unsuccessful). Then, the courthouse. Notice Texas flag. The plaque tells the story of this photograph of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid, taken at a photo studio on Houston Street. The photographer didn't know the well-dressed gentlemen he was photographing were infamous criminals. A sherriff noticed the photo hanging in the photographer's window, but by the time it was investigated, the gang had left town!

Fort Worth on Saturday

Today Jeff attended meetings for his conference all day and I set out in the morning, coffee in hand, eagerly awaiting the treasures that Fort Worth has to offer. Well, I believe I was duped! There is NOTHING to do in Fort Worth, unless you're hungry. In all fairness, we are in downtown so maybe it's not the best part of town for shopping (but all other metropolitan downtowns I've been to have been shopping meccas). But I found only a small handful of stores, a lot of closed restaurants and shops, and a ton of construction. No gift shops, novelty stores, shopping malls, nothing. The best place I found all day was Barnes and Noble. I spent about $11 on books from the 75% off table, and $8 for chocolate at a chocolate shop I found. So, I guess Jeff's joke about me spending only $20 on this trip was pretty accurate! Man, what a boring town. And to top it off, it was 32 degrees when I set out this a.m. and didn't get much warmer. The wind blew hard all day so my face was frozen and even my legs were numb in my jeans! I did manage to find two geocaches, so at least I can say we found a couple in Texas. I was back at the hotel in the early afternoon after spending over four hours walking all over town. I took a nap, then a bath to warm up (I was still freezing) and finally went out to dinner with Jeff, who was gracious enough to skip tonight's conference dinner to spend some time with me. Next time he takes a trip, I'm going to make sure it's somewhere fun! But I did manage to snag a few photos. The first is Bass Performance Hall. The angels blowing brass trumpets reminded me of the angel Moroni on top of the Mormon Temple! HAHA! The next photo is St. Patrick's Cathedral, which was very old and beautiful and I would have loved taking photos of the stained glass windows, but there were four people praying in the dark church and ominous warning signs to "BE SILENT! JESUS IS PRESENT IN THE TABERNACLE!" I didn't want to piss Jesus off, so I only snuck one quick photo of the stained glass, not using the flash and took some outside shots. The next photo is a statue that was the site of my first geocache and the fourth a mural in town that was the site of my second geocache. Enjoy!

Fort Worth, TX

Jeff and I are in Fort Worth, TX for the weekend. He's attending a leadership training for the American Chemical Society as chair-elect for the Puget Sound region. We arrived around 2:30 to our hotel only to find our room was delayed - by two hours! Jeff went to his meetings while I enjoyed Starbucks and some Facebook time in the lobby. Tonight he had a dinner to attend so I chose to eat dinner in the restaurant by myself. Honestly, I think this is the only time I've ever eaten in a restaurant by myself! It was fine - I got the buffet and read my book, so I was pretty oblivious to everything around me. I even had a Cosmopolitan. But drinking alone is no fun! Anyway, we are here for the weekend and tomorrow I plan to go explore Fort Worth (as far as I can get on foot!), perhaps get a pedicure or massage at the spa, and do some shopping. This hotel just opened up five days ago so the pool and hot tub are not open yet - lame! But the workout room and spa are up and running and it's a very nice hotel. So, I'm enjoying a weekend away, even if I am just blogging in a new place!