Lockhart

Lockhart is just one of those small Texas towns that we passed through on our way to the Watermelon Thump in Luling. The thing that caught my eye about this town was the downtown courthouse, which looked like something out of an Eastern European country. Once we got closer though, it seemed the entire downtown area was a ghost town. Most of the streets completely lacked any sign of life.

(Pictures: "Historic" Lockhart, TX)

Luling Watermelon Thump

Every year in the small Texas town of Luling, they have what is called the annual "Watermelon Thump." It's basically just carnival rides, some live music, people selling trinkets and other crap, random food stands, and lots and lots of watermelon. There's watermelon eating contests, watermelon spitting contests, and other watermelon activities.

When Christy found out about this event and suggested we should go, I wasn't very enthused about it. Walking around looking at watermelons in 110 degree heat isn't my idea of a fun Sunday afternoon. I relented and decided to go anyway. Not because Christy convinced me it would be fun, but out of sheer boredom. Had we not gone to the "Watermelon Thump", we probably would have just gone to Wal Mart or Target and spent more money than we should. So...the Thump it is!

My expectations of Luling were that of a watermelon town. I thought everything would be painted green and red, and watermelons would be sold everywhere. In Taiwan, there's a town called "Dahu" that is famous for its strawberries. This city goes all out to promote its main attraction. Everything in the entire town is strawberry and strawberry related products. In Luling, however, I had a hard time finding any watermelon at all. It took about 10 minutes after we arrived before I finally found a stand selling watermelon juice, and there were no signs advertising it. What the hell? And no, we weren't exploring some back streets of the town. We were right in the heart of the "Watermelon THUMP." So where were the watermelons?

To be honest, we did see some watermelons in the "Central Texas Oil Patch Museum", and as we were driving out of town, we saw a stand selling watermelons for $3 a piece (so we naturally bought one.) But other than that, I would have never known this was a watermelon town.

Fore more information on the annual Watermelon Thump, go here:

http://www.watermelonthump.com/

(Pictures: 1. Sara poses by the Luling sign. 2. The Central Texas Oil Patch Museum 3. Sara poses among the watermelons (which were not for sale) at the museum. 4. One of the many stands at the Watermelon Thump (the Democrats didn't have a stand, unfortunately). 5. The "Watermelon Thump" band.)

R.I.P. Michael and Farrah

Today was a pretty big day for dead celebrities. We lost both a 70's icon and an 80's icon.

Michael Jackson is dead. This one came as a complete surprise to me, and many other people I work with. I was told by a nurse that a patients blood pressure spiked once she heard the news. I knew that Jackson probably wouldn't do the 50 concerts in London that he was supposed to start next month, but I didn't expect the guy would drop dead. He was only 50.

I was never a big fan of Michael Jackson. I liked some of his songs on "Thriller", and his duet with Paul McCartney ("Say Say Say") is kinda catchy, but shortly after that, the dude just drifted off to Never Never Land, never to return to Earth. I expect over the next several days you're going to see news coverage on the same level as when John Lennon died.

Farrah Fawcett, on the other hand, was expected. She had been dying for quite some time, so it wasn't much of a surprise. I never got into the Farrah craze of the 70's because she was a bit before my time. I was only 5 or 6 when her famous poster came out in the mid 70's. My brother had the poster, though, and I remember it being on our wall. I'll remember Farrah more for her role in "Logan's Run", which was one of my favorite movies of the 70's (before "Star Wars" came out).

So, who's going to be the new King of Pop, now that the old one is gone?

The Cheating Spouse

So, currently the top news story on CNN is the divorce of Jon & Kate Gosselin, the couple featured on the popular reality show "Jon & Kate Plus Eight." Apparently the reason for the divorce is that the husband was cheating. This seems to be drawing more attention than anything going on in Iran or North Korea right now. We seem to be very close to war with North Korea, but this is what people want to read. Go figure.

I also got this post on my Taiwan blog today, from a guy called "Lucky Dog":

"I married a lovely 21 year old filipina woman when I was 38. About 17 months later she got her visa and we came home to the good old USA. We had a beautiful daughter and everything went well for about 5 years. Then I started seeing the signs. Girls night out without husbands became more and more frequent, Lack of desire for sex with husband, Five year old daughter talking about going to lunch with mommys friend-who was/is a boy and has a dog named Ghost, Two valentine cards in her truck...well you can guess the rest.
DON'T BRING YOUR ASIAN BRIDE TO THE US!
They are great wives in their own country where their men are undesirable and cheating on husbands is a family disgrace, but when they get to America there are many desirable and tempting men in a society that allows them freedoms they have never experienced before...freedoms that are hard to resist."

This post basically gives you the answers as to why his Asian bride cheated on him. She's 21.

Had this guy written to me sooner, I most likely would have advised him not to marry a 21 year old, especially since he's 38. 21 year olds are clueless as to what they want in life. Look at my own life as an example. I was married to my first wife when I was 21, and she was 19, and it ended in divorce. I responded to "Lucky Dog" by telling him he should go for the older Filipino women, closer to his own age, like, say, around 33 - 36. Chances are, they've already been around the block and had their fun, and are more likely ready to settle down.

I'm not too worried about Christy cheating on me. I mean, I can't guarantee 100% that she'll never do it, but she just doesn't even remotely seem like the type that would. After I showed her this post, she informed me that she thinks American men aren't much different from Taiwanese men (which is a big insult to American men, let me tell you.) She also seems to think that Filipinos are more apt to cheat than Taiwanese. I asked her why.

"Because a lot of Filipinos are married to Taiwanese men." she replied. Makes sense, I guess.

The Barsana Dham in Austin

On Father's Day, after visiting "The Salt Lick" BBQ restaurant, we came upon this Indian temple just a few miles down the road. It did seem out of place amongst all the cowboy ranches, so we decided to stop and check it out.

This is what I found out about this place just by going to the official website:

"Barsana Dham is the main U.S. center of Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat. With the Gracious blessing of Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj (Shree Maharajji), Barsana Dham was established by H.D. Swami Prakashanand Saraswati (Shree Swamiji) in 1990.

The temple and ashram complex of Barsana Dham is situated on a beautiful 200 acre property. Designed as a representation of the holy land of Braj in India where Shree Radha Rani and Shree Krishn appeared about 5,000 years ago,all the important holy places of Braj like Govardhan, Radha Kund, Prem Sarovar, Shyam Kuti and Mor Kuti are represented in Barsana Dham where the natural stream, named Kalindi, represents the Yamuna river of Vrindaban.

Shree Raseshwari Radha Rani Temple is the only temple in the world that represents the true nikunj darshan of Radha Krishn as described in the Radhikopnishad and the writings of the Great Masters of Vrindaban.

Anyone who visits Barsana Dham experiences the same Divine serenity that was found in the ancient ashrams of the Saints of Vrindaban. It has become a place of pilgrimage for millions of devotees living in the western world."

(Pictures: The family explores the Barsana Dham)

Father's Day at The Salt Lick

Last year on Father's Day, we were living in an Extended Stay Hotel. Neither Christy or I had a job, and it seemed like we were soon destined to head back to Taiwan. Luckily, that didn't happen, and this Father's Day was far more upbeat than the last one.

Christy is often going on about how she wants to try the "local cuisine" of Texas. Not just chain restaurants like Marie Callendars or Mimi's Cafe. She wants real, Texas homestyle BBQ. One of my colleagues at work told me about "The Salt Lick." "The Salt Lick" is located about 30 minutes south of Austin, out in cowboy territory where everyone owns a ranch. "The Salt Lick" is a large BBQ restaurant that sits among all those ranches. If you want local, Texas cuisine, this is the place to go.

We arrived early, just before 5, thinking the place would be less crowded, but it wasn't. It was packed. We had to wait 30 minutes to get, not a seat or a booth, but a bench. This restaurant was more of a picnic/BBQ atmosphere than a restaurant.

The food was pretty good, provided you like to eat meat. Christy liked the ribs, but I would recommend the brisket. There were a lot of Asians there, which surprised Christy. She thought she would be the only one there. I wasn't surprised. This place kind of reminded me of some of the places I used to go in Taiwan, although the food was better here.

Texans seem to be very proud of their BBQ restaurants, and their beef consumption. A popular T-shirt that I've seen at these kind of establishments say "I didn't claw my way to the top of the food chain....to eat vegetables!" I wasn't aware that humans were ever at the bottom of the food chain. It seems that from the dawn of man, we've always been eating animals.

If you want more info on "The Salt Lick", click here :http://www.saltlickbbq.com/

(Pictures: The family enjoying BBQ at "The Salt Lick")

Six Flags Fiesta Texas

This weekend we drove to San Antonio to experience "Six Flags Fiesta Texas." At work, I can get discounted tickets for $29.99, so it's significantly cheaper than buying them at the park entrance (where they are $49.99 each). So, this little amusement park trip cost us about $100 less than Disneyland.

Six Flags, of course, isn't quite as fun as Disneyland, but it's not bad. They have a children's section called "Wiggles World", although Kyle was only able to go on one ride in "Wiggles World." The first ride we tried to go on together (an airplane ride), Kyle was told he was too small to ride." He then proceeded to throw his hat on the floor in a fit and then go on a temper tantrum. This wouldn't be the first temper tantrum he would have on this day. He was able to go on quite a few rides throughout the day, though.

Apparently, the temperature out in San Antonio got up to 112 F. It was insanely hot. We decided to buy their $12.99 "all you can drink" souvenir mug, and we surely ended up getting our money's worth out of it. We probably filled the thing around 10 times throughout the whole day.

I was able to break away a couple of times and experience some of the better rides at the park. It didn't seem to be that crowded on a Saturday afternoon (because it was too hot? or maybe because Six Flags recently filed by bankruptcy and people thought the park would be closed? who knows)

My only real complaint would be the price of food inside the park. It's at least double what you would pay if you went anywhere else. A slice of pizza? $6.99. A two entree meal at Panda Express? $9.99. A bottle of water? $3.50? Why is it that in places like airports and amusement parks, the management feels it's okay to totally gouge its customers? Just because we're stuck and can't leave?

(Pictures: The kids at Six Flags Fiesta Texas)

Healthcare

I've been reading a lot of stories lately about President Obama's health care reform plan. There's also been commercials on the news here in Texas urging people to fight it. Urging people to fight Obama's plan and let it fail, just as it failed during Clinton's administration. Hillary Clinton attempted to bring universal healthcare to America many years ago, but the giants of the healthcare industry bought her out.

Similar events are happening now. The healthcare industry will go to any length to avoid making universal healthcare a reality. It's really quite despicable. Healthcare is not something that should be "for profit." Healthcare should be a basic human right.

Having lived in different countries, and experiencing universal healthcare, I just don't understand why America can't adopt this policy? I took my daughter Sara to the emergency room in Taiwan when she fell down and snapped her fingernail off. I paid nothing. I took Sara to the emergency room here in the US when she had a high fever. They gave her some Motrin. Then I get a bill for SEVEN HUNDRED DOLLARS. Is this right? Is this fair? Hell no. What is wrong with this country? When a hospital is charging a hundred dollars for a friggin' Ace Bandage, you know the system sucks.

I support what Obama is trying to do with the healthcare system here in America 100%. Sure, it's going to cost a lot. But this is something that should have been implemented decades ago. Universal healthcare is long overdue.

Main Event Entertainment

Main Event Entertainment, which is a bowling alley, miniature golf course, arcade, and laser tag all in one building, is located all throughout Texas. Since we got a coupon in the mail for "$10 off one hour of bowling", we decided to check it out. I began to wonder, if they are giving us a $10 discount, how much would an hour of bowling actually cost? I hadn't gone bowling in the US since I left for Taiwan in 2004, and the last time I went, I don't remember it being particularly expensive. The website for "Main Event", doesn't mention their prices, and now I know why.

An hour of bowling now costs $29. Times have really changed. Even with the coupon, $19 even seems a bit pricey to me. They say they have "$10 bowling" Monday through Friday from 10am to 4pm, but who the hell can go then, except for the unemployed and the slackers?

Still, we played anyway, and about 30 minutes into the hour, I realized that this wasn't a very good place to take the kids. They can't even pick up a ball, let alone play. I thought maybe they'd enjoy watching me and Christy play, or trip out at the giant disco ball on the ceiling. Sure enough, they liked it, but only briefly. By the end of our 60 minutes, both Sara and Kyle had become a pain in the peegoo.

So, unless you have a coupon, Main Event is just not worth it. Too overpriced. If bowling is your thing, stick to the less trendy bowling alleys, where disco balls are nowhere to be seen.

(Pictures: Main Event Entertainment)

The Continuing Search for Good Chinese Food

My wife seems to be on a quest to find a decent Chinese food restaurant in the city of Austin. It's turning out, however, to be very elusive.

This past weekend, Christy suggested we go to a place called "Dynasty." She had read somewhere online that Asian people who lived in Austin thought this was the best place for Chinese food, and the best place to find "Kung Pao Chicken." Now, being a fan of Kung Pao Chicken, I thought we should give it a try.

In Taiwan, there are countless places where you can get good Kung Pao chicken. Even places that look like total crap on the outside, often have pretty good food inside. American Chinese restaurants are different, though. Even though the place may look decent, the food is usually mediocre at best.

"Dynasty" was really no different from most American Chinese food restaurants. Their "hot and sour soup" (swan la tang - in Chinese), was good, but everything else was pretty typical of what you can get anywhere here.

Christy's review of "Dynasty"? - "So so." she told me. So there you go. I should come to the realization that it's unlikely I'll ever find great Chinese food in Texas. The best Chinese food I've had here is the food that we've made at home.

(Picture: the "famous" Dynasty restaurant)

Kiddie Acres

In our ongoing quest of finding something fun to do for the whole family, my wife found out about a kids amusement park in Austin called "Kiddie Acres." Unlike other places, it's free to park and to actually get inside, and tickets for each ride are $1.85. The rides, naturally, are pretty lame, and any kid older than 6 would probably think the place sucked. But...this place wasn't meant for them. It was meant for 2 to 4 year olds. We're planning to check out Six Flags Fiesta (San Antonio) sometime in the coming month. I imagine that will be a little better than this.

(Pictures: Sara and Kyle on the various rides of "Kiddie Acres")

Escaping the Mundane

Some of my small handful of readers have mentioned that I haven't posted anything recently. Yes, I've been giving the blog a little break since nothing particularly exciting has happened in the past couple of weeks. The most interesting thing was probably the visit of Christy's colleague from Taiwan, Dexter Wen. Christy and Dexter worked together at Elan, in Hsinchu. We had no idea he lived in Texas until Christy suddenly discovered found him on Facebook, and he was living in Houston. He came out to visit us a couple of weekends ago, and told us that he's quitting his job and moving to Toronto. Oh well, that's too bad. It would have been nice for Christy to have a friend that's fairly close.

The weather is getting hotter and hotter out here. It's now lingering around 100 degrees every day. It can be a struggle sometimes to think of something to do on the weekend. We've been going to different parks, hoping to find something nice, but most of the local parks are pretty bad. It's mostly just a space for people to sit on picnic tables and bar-b-que. And the weather is so hot, I start to feel uncomfortable the minute I step out of the air-conditioned car.

Christy has told me that she wants a better job, and I don't blame her. She's completely overqualified for the job she's doing now. She wants to get into the health care business and learn how to operate an "ultrasound" machine. So she wants to be an "ultrasound technician." I think it's great for her. There's always demand for that sort of job. Healthcare seems to be the one industry that's hiring, and not firing these days.

So that's the latest news. Our second summer in Texas is upon us. I'm not looking forward to it.

(Picture: Christy, the babies, and her friend, Dexter.)