Lake, Steak, Cake and Shake - Sunday, Nov. 20, 2016

Thank you to everyone for the Facebook and blog birthday wishes. They mean a lot to me. My birthday was awesome!

Lake: Sunday morning, Bob and I went our separate ways as he had a half-marathon training run and I was doing a 10k Volksmarch worker's walk with Susan M., Rick and John. 

Southside Lions Park is where we started our walk. The walk will be an event sponsored by the Randolph Roadrunners Volksmarch Club (the one I belong to). The weather this morning was magnificent--clear, cold and dry. 

The first mile of our walk was around Lions Park Lake where we saw great white egrets, geese and American coot. A few fisherman were out vying with the egret for rainbow trout that are stocked in the lake in fall and winter.  (Catfish are stocked in the summer.)

John, Susan M., and Rick at Lions Park Lake

After the lake, our route took us on the Southside Lions Park Trail for a 5.2-mile, out-and-back walk along Salado Creek and through Comanche and Covington Parks.

Entrance sign to Comanche County Park

Rick, Susan M. and John - Covington Park

John, Susan M. and I - Covington Park

J Street Turnaround Point for the walk

Types of trees we saw included, but were not limited to, live oak, cypress, and pecan. There are also palmettos and bamboo along the path. 

Trees draped in Spanish moss

The bike path

Susan M., John and Rick

We saw a North American black vulture eating a raccoon beside the creek

Below, in the tree, we have  a committee (wake, kettle, or volt) of vultures which had all been feasting on the raccoon.

North American Black Vultures at Salado Creek

Salado Creek

When the walk was over, Susan and I wanted to see "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," the precursor to the Harry Potter books. Bob had finished his walk and called to see what we were up to. He's not a big sci-fi/fantasy fan, but he wanted to be with me for the movie I chose for my birthday. The movie was starting in 20 minutes, so he met us at the theater. Susan M. and I loved the movie. It is funny, creative and has a good story and acting.

Steak and Cake: Lunch time was way past due by the time the movie let out. Off we went to 54th Street Grille and Bar. One of the meals I wanted on my birthday was steak. When we sat down at the table, lo and behold, the special was a 6 oz. Filet Mignon served with salad and steamed vegetables. It was meant to be and it was very good. Because it's my birthday, they gave me a free piece of chocolate lava cake with ice cream. I shared with Bob. (Susan had dessert as her main dish, so she didn't want the cake.)

Shake: After lunch we went home to relax. Once it was dark, Bob and I went to Six Flags Fiesta Texas for their "Holiday in the Park." We had a good time, saw two of the shows, walked around and saw the lighted Christmas tree and other Christmas decorations.

Bob with a "holly"-day princess

One of the shows we saw was called "The Majesty of Christmas," and was the Christmas story told entirely in song. It was pretty impressive. Mary came riding in on a donkey. There were two angels flying on a track up in the air. A multitude of people visited Jesus at the manger and a herd of goats, two kids and a sheep all made their way up on stage from the theater floor. When it came time for the wise men to arrive, they came down the center aisle of the theater. 

After the first wise man, Bob said, "So is there going to be a camel?"

"No way!" I replied.

Well the joke was on me, because not a minute after I said it, I turned around, looked back up the aisle, and sure enough, a wise man on a camel was riding through. 

I poked Bob and I said, "No way! There's a camel coming down the aisle." We both totally cracked up.

After that show, we made our way over to the Christmas tree lighting with lights set to music. The first song we heard was by Trans-Siberian Orchestra, one of our favorite bands.

Behind the tree was the Rockville High Theater which was where the next musical show would be. We found seats and relaxed until the show started. This was a Christmas song-and-dance extravaganza with lots of classic holiday songs.

 

 

A classic carousel

We went for a ride

On the carousel, I chose the cheetah. Unfortunately, it did not go up and down. That's what I get for choosing the feline.

Poltergeist coaster and the Ferris wheel.

The park was amazingly uncrowded. Possibly folks are waiting until after Thanksgiving to go. Lines were very short for the rides. Bob and I went on Pandemonium Coaster. After that he was done with rides for the night. 

I wanted to go on Iron Rattler. The line was so short I was able to snag the front car for an unobstructed view. However, it was so dark I couldn't see much anyway. I loved it!

On the way out of the park we snagged two Choco Tacos for our late-night treat. From Six Flags we headed home. 

Thank you, Bob, and Susan M. for the fun birthday.