It's the Final Countdown!

This will be the final post in the blog. We are currently in New York’s J.F.K. Airport for a brief layover before we take the short flight back to Rochester.

Though we were fairly tired, we made the best of our last day in Texas, attending an NFL game between the Houston Texans and the Cleveland Browns.



Touchdowns by rookie running back Chris Taylor and former street bum turned defensive lineman Anthony Maddox were enough to propel the impotent Texan offense past the turnover prone Brownies who could only manage two Phil Dawson fieldgoals. Silly Brownies. TOUCHDOWN’D!!



For a tailgate, we went the pre-packaged route. Thankfully, Sonic serves their entire menu all day and I finally got to taste heaven. It’s called a Chili Cheese Frito wrap. More Cheesecake Bites and Tater Tots were like icing on the proverbial chili cheese wrap.

The tailgate afforded us another opportunity to ride the MetroRail and to eulogize the poor Houston Astrodome. Originally called the Harris County Domed Stadium, the building had transparent roof panels that allowed grass to grow. Unfortunately, the glare was so intense that Astros outfielders had trouble catching fly balls (Maybe it wasn’t the roof? They still have yet to win a World Series and only got to their first in 2005.). In response, the panels were painted white. This set in motion the ruthless chain of events that resulted in dead grass, deader knee joints, and the birth of Astroturf as we knew it when Elton John was still mistaken for straight but quirky.

The Astrodome made a comeback as hurricane refugee shelter in 2005, a far cry from its glory days hosting the 1986 N.L.C.S., multiple Oilers playoff games, and the Texas Livestock Show and Rodeo. We salute you Astrodome. The venue with the balls to be home to a baseball team that wore rainbow colored jerseys at the same time as a football team who wore powder blue.



On the topic of sports, I really blew it, Ben Roethlisberger-style when I tried to dig the Eagles fans who this blog was sent to. The Eagles lost the Super Bowl in Jacksonville, not Houston. The Carolina Panthers lost here. Not that it really matters, both games served to stroke Bill Belichick’s ego and cement Tom Brady’s heartthrob status.

On our way back to the airport, basically only a half mile from the runway, Tia snapped a shot of REAL TEXAS LONGHORNS! Big steers! Horsepower is horsepower! Giddy up!



We close by saying that we loved it down here, but like Arizona, probably could not deal with the summer heat. We are glad to be going back to where grass is grass, the Buffalo Bills are the rising hopefuls, and a garbage plate is considered culinary cuisine.

Speaking of plates, this one you’ll never see in New York.



See you in 2007!

-Bob and Tia