Ocean Lounging

With a long holiday weekend and the summer heat upon us, it was time to pack up the car and head down to the Gulf Coast to introduce our new furry hellraiser to the sand & surf.  Galveston's Stewart Beach, with its sand parking lot, legions of kid-toting families, and dog-friendly ways was the destination of choice.  Despite eating a bunch of sand and getting dirtier than a little boy playing in shitpiles, everybody had a great time.

Faithful Hound

Meet the newest Texpatriate!  Although his name is still in testing phase, he is definitely already a part of the family. A great pyrenees/blue heeler mix with a noted oral fixation and fear of his reflection, this lil guy has already increased our sense of responsibility and "parenting" anxiety by 1000% in just a few days time.

On the his first night, we broke out a wine we had been saving for the occasion, "The Faithful Hound" by South African producer Mulderbosch.   Rated 4 stars by wine guru John Platter, it paired perfectly with our low brow pizza and helped us try to forget the wailing pup back at the apartment suffering from a bit of separation anxiety.

So bienvenidos to our new companero on the journey and feel free to send more good wine our way to help us cope with the joys of training our faithful hound...

Nerd Alert!

Those who know me well are aware that I have some, shall we call them, "less than cool" tendencies, especially when it comes to epic journeys across Middle Earth to defeat the forces of evil. 



Geeking out in full force on the LOTR tour in New Zealand

So needless to say, upon arrival in Houston, we promptly made a pilgrimage to the Hobbit Cafe, a Houston institution since 1972.  Apparently, there are some unenlightened Houstonians who frequent the cafe just for the food, but fellow "Ringers" out there will appreciate the LOTR themed menu (hungry for a Strider sandwich, anyone?) and 60's era paraphernalia lining the walls of the restaurant

So should your quest lead you across the Misty Mountains, through the forests of Isengard and beyond the eerie outskirts of chain restaurant infested greater Houston, plan to meet us at the Shire-on-Richmond and we will celebrate your arrival in proper hobbit fashion!