The Real Deal

Moni and I ate barbeque today, and I swear I heard trumpets of angles. It's a small place down the road from the apartment and I can say it's the best BBQ I've ever tasted. I'm not the greatest with words but if I was, I'm sure I still wouldn't be able to find the right ones to describe the experience at Dave's Rib Shack. We ended up sitting outside by the smoker and Harvey (the guy in the photo) came out and chatted with us. He's the cook and he's perfecting his craft for 'cue about 27 years. Harvey said, "If you're going to eat good barbeque, you've got to eat it where the smoke is at." So we did. We sweated it out in the hot Houston sun and ate ribs by the smoker where they cook the food.
Harvey was telling us about his days as a basketball player and the time he dunked on Joe Dumars (he has photo proof) of the Detroit Pistons. Great fella.
Anyway, if anyone that reads this is ever in Houston, Dave's Rib Shack is a must-stop destination.

Huntsville

This was in a small town just North of Houston.

Seger

They say all great things must come to an end. Soon my favorite, super cool Bob Seger t-shirt from 1978 is about to come to an end. It's not one of those shirts that are made to look old, it's the real deal. It celebrates a musical event that took place four months before the day of my birth. After I bought it five years ago on e-bay, I knew it's days were numbered. My decision was to either find a way to preserve it or to wear it loud and proud. In a way I've done both.
My decision was to wear it. I've spent some great times with friends, enjoyed many a delicious beer and relaxed in the Traverse City summer time in this shirt. And of course cranked up "Against the Wind" while driving with the windows down and wearing this t-shirt. But it's threads are wearing thin and the holes are not getting smaller so it's time for retirement is upon us.
So now I sort of get to preserve it. Although I'm bummed it's on its way out, I'm happy to be able to post it on my blog in all it's colorful glory.

Turtle

This is the rescue-turtle that Moni and I saved yesterday. It's been HOT, even by Texas' standards, so when we saw this dried-out dude at our front walkway, we knew we had to act. There's a pond a few miles away where it's kin live so we let it free at that location. In case you can't tell by the face, it was super excited and thankful by our act of kindness. It has arms and legs they're just in the shell.

Station

There are a lot of gas stations around here that look like they've been around for some years. This is one that caught my eye south of Houston.

Painting

Walking through Galveston, there was this woman who decided to hand-paint her Nissan Altima for the heck of it. The downtown area of Galveston is like a walk back in time, except for people hand-painting their cars.

Cattle

Driving through the backcountry today Moni and I spotted a field of longhorn cattle so I had to stop to check it out. This one seemed relaxed but it was too hot to do anything else so I don't think it had much choice.

Roofing

These are some roofers that were hard at work the other day. It truly boggles the mind how fast these guys finish roofs. Don't be fooled by the guy chugging a soda, these two had this section of roof done in no time, and there were about 20 workers total. They've never heard of OSHA though and there was a flurry of shingles and debris flying off the roof. Everyone kind of knows this so no one leaves their apartment until the roof is done. It's annoying, but smart if you want to stay safe.

Wonders of Nature

This was from today when Monica and I went to the Brazos Bend State Park. This place is incredible. There is a walkway that goes along some ponds and around each corner is some type of exotic wildlife. At least it's exotic to a Michigan guy like myself. There were alligators all over the place and it was amazing to see such creatures in their natural habitat instead of in a zoo.

Junk

This was taken while driving around and exploring one of neighborhoods near the downtown Houston area.

Bugs

I've been shooting mostly film this year because the camera I use it with is tough as a tank and all manual so the photos give me a little more gratification. Lately though the funds, and time, have been low so it's back to digital. Back to the 21st century. These are bugs I've come across. The big one attached to the door frame is a cicada. They look so prehistoric, I think they're cool. There is nothing to give it scale. It's just a large insect. The other photo is of a leaf-cutter ant that was looking for some leaves.

walking

I took this a few miles from my apartment. It was a warm day and I don't know why this fella was wearing a suit and athletic shoes while carrying an armload of stuff.

Building

Downtown Houston from the other day.

Tune that banjo

This was near downtown Houston and this was during the Art Car Parade. After I took the photo I walked in one direction and when I returned he had a nice pile of money in his banjo case.

Art Car

This was last weekend during Houston's Art Car Parade. There were lots of crazy cars and people. And one ferret, the one in the picture here. A fun event.

Downtown

This was from some of my wanderings through downtown Houston. The angles of light change all the time throughout the day down there. The fact that I can return to so many locations at different times of the day and have a totally different photo intrigues me.

Plane

A little ways away is a small airport which I sometimes drive by. There are these rows of airplane hangars that catch my eye and sometimes there's people taking their planes out for a flight. I decided to stop by to take photos so I asked a police officer and an airport employee and they said "go for it," which was cool. I like to include people in my photos but after walking around for a while I just wasn't seeing anyone. Around a corner though I saw partially opened hanger door with this plane sticking out and the flag blowing in the breeze so I took the photo and here it is.

Gulf of Mexico

These posts are part of some type of barrier that will be placed in front of the homes that are built along the Gulf of Mexico in Galveston. I didn't take the photo 'cause I think posts are cool, I was just drawn into the dark skies and the scene itself. And no I don't have swine flu.

Waterfall

This is from San Antonio just like the last post. San Antonio has a lot of water downtown due to a river that runs through it.

Sweet Shades

I spotted this Chihuahua with sunglasses in San Antonio. The lady that owned the dog said she bought the glasses from New York City. They're funny glasses but what gets me is that they're clear. They should at least be coated with some type of UV for the dog's eyes.