Partying with Dave in Dallas-- JVD
Partying with Dave in DallasI decided to take last weekend (May 1-3) off and go somewhere warm - I visited Dave Humphreys in Dallas.
I went home from work at 6:15 am Friday after a gruelling night of testing, coding, re-testing, writing help, and generally working like hell to get Indigo's new product, TaskMaster 98 Professional done. We had been working on a rediculous schedule for a month and a half to get the product finished.
That gave me about two hours' sleep before I had to pack and leave for work to get a ride to the airport. I left Toronto at 12:50 Friday aboard an American Airlines plane with a psycho pilot (at least I think he was). The plane made a ton of noise as well, making it hard to sleep. Our pilot was doing continuous "S" turns all the way to Dallas - I have no idea why. As we got closer, he really started cranking the plane side to side. We then proceeded to do a nose dive (I have never been in a plane that headed on a downward angle to the runway - usually the nose is up a bit, and the plane just glides in). Then the plane revved up to pull the nose back up just before we landed. Either the pilot was bored or psychotic.
Was it ever nice to get out of the airport into the Dallas air. It was very warm and sunny - I was actually relieved to get into the car with air conditioning. On the way to Dave's we went down highway 75, which used to be a street in Dallas that they are in the process of lowering below the rest of the surronding ground. That's right, they're digging the whole highway down about 20 feet. That's gotta cost some $$$.
When we got to Dave's we had a few Ciders, and then headed to the bars with his friend Gary. We met up with Robin and friends. This is when I tried my first Texas beer - Shiner Bock, recommended by Robin. It was a good dark beer - I was pleasantly surprised after all the crappy beer I was used to in the US. Later, we went bar hopping, shot some tequila, and I taught a few texans what boatracing was.
Saturday we went out to "On the Border," a local food joint with excellent Fajitas and Marguaritas. We spent Saturday afternoon with a bunch more of Dave and Gary's friends shooting the shit in the warm Texas breeze. Now that was relaxing!
At around 5:00, we went to a place called the Speed Zone. It's a go-karting place for big kids. They had go-karts that could go 60 MPH. The track was very twisty, so you could only get up to about 35, but there was tons of power - so much so that I ended up with hair full of rubber bits from the tires. It was a hell of a lot more fun than any go-karts around here! They also had Drag Racers. They had a short strip with five dragsters that could go up to 70 MPH. The dragsters had V8 engines, and anyone could take them for a spin (for $15 - ugh).
After the go-karts, we headed over to Dave & Busters. It's a huge bar the size of Kmart. The first section of the building is a normal bar with pool tables, shuffle board, and the bar with TVs. We watched the hockey games there (Ottawa and Dallas both won!). The second section of the building was a relatively classy restaurant where we all had dinner. After dinner, you walked to the third section, which was a giant arcade. There were bars in the arcade, and little buttons beside the games so you could order a drink while playing. We had a blast!
Speaking of a blast, Sunday was our day at Six Flags, the big amusement park down there. We went on a roller coaster called Mr. Freeze. LET ME TELL YOU, THIS IS NO ORDINARY ROLLER COASTER. Hill? Who needs a hill. The thing uses a compressed air catapult to slingshot the coaster to 70 MPH in 3.7 seconds. It used to go to 90 MPH but people were passing out! After the slingshot you go straight up, then around a bend and down to the ground, through another bend, and up a 23 story tower. When gravity finally slows you down you fall back down the tower and do the whole ride backwards. What a rush! (Oh yeah, the line-up area is air conditioned - hehe). We also went on the "Texas Giant." It's a huge wooden roller coaster that's rated the best wooden roller coaster in the world. I could tell why. The thing was awesome. After those two, we hopped on a couple of other rides including a coaster exactly like the BAT at Canada's Wonderland.
We left the park and went to see Black Dog with Patrick Swayze. It wasn't the best movie, but it was OK. Later, we visited a wicked texas steak house. The place was hilarious! If you wore a tie there, they cut it off with scissors and hang it on the wall with your name. The walls were plastered with half-ties. There was a big dance floor for line-dancing, and a slide from the second floor onto the dance floor that even old fogies were using. It was really bizarre, but the steak was AMAZING.
On Monday I left Dallas at 8:00 am sunburned with a pile of great memories, a sombrero, and a set of 40 inch wide genuine cow horns for my wall. It was a great trip!
And that's what I did on the weeekend.
Jason