This past weekend Jason and I made the trek west to Dallas, along with the other 80,000 some-odd members of the traveling Tiger Nation to watch the LSU football team play its season opener against the Oregon Ducks in what was dubbed as the "Cowboy Classic". While the the game lived up to the hype, the new grandiose Dallas Cowboy stadium, along with its larger-than-life jumbotron, were equally impressive. I think we both spent more time watching the game from the jumbotron, rather than the action down on the field. A convincing Tiger victory was the perfect ending to a fun week.
On Wednesday, Jason and I celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary with dinner in New Orleans and Thursday we traveled on to Houston to pick up our New Zealand trophies, which only took four months to arrive and clear Customs (that process in itself is a lesson learned, but I will spare you the details). For all the driving we seemed to do this past week(end), it sure beat staying at home and watching it rain.
Speaking of Mother Nature, our trip home on Sunday was forced into a slight detour as drought-stricken areas of eastern Texas were ravaged by raging wildfires. So much so, that portions of I-20 East were closed for an extended period of time; thus, an 8 hour drive home turned into a 10+ hour crawl through the country roads. In one such rural county which we came upon, black smoke could be seen billowing in the sky for miles. As we approached this area, the scenes were heartbreaking for the people whose homes were in the path of the fire. All we could do was pull over and say a few prayers for these poor people. Our hearts and prayers go out to all of the victims of these fires.
Unfortunately, I left my camera at home, so below are a few photos taken from our phones.
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| The JUMBOtron! |
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| LSU Marching Band from Tigerland! |
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| The ESPN/SI pre-game activities were the perfect escape from the blistering Dallas heat! |
Brazil Update: FINALLY, we have a departure date--this Sunday! Jason and I will fly from New Orleans to Houston and then on to Rio. From there we have a three hour drive to Macae. We will keep you posted on this adventure...ha!
Also, a special shout-out to my hubby who celebrates his 31st birthday tomorrow. Happy Birthday J!
