Our first stop on Friday morning was Fuel City, which Texas Monthly has given the distinction of the best taco in Texas (the picadillo). We all had breakfast tacos at the giant gas station that looks up at Interstates 3o and 35 while sitting in our cars since strangely enough there wasn't any seating, and a couple of us had the picadillo, which was nice and spicy. Four of us, my dad, Alicia, Brandi, and I, then went to Six Flags.
Six Flags is suffering from a serious case of theme confusion. Originally, Six Flags was organized according to the six flags over Texas---there was a section for France, Spain, Mexico, the Old South, Texas, and the United States. Now we have all six of the original sections plus Gotham City, which I think doesn't exist in the same sense as those other places. Also, there's an affiliation with Looney Tunes, so there's always a chance you'll see Wonder Woman walking past Porky Pig.
We started out with the Runaway Mine Train, which is kind of the classic roller coaster for me. Then we did a lame river ride where you have to capture a paint-chipped old timey animatronic Yosemite Sam, the Titan, with its giant drops and intense speeds, and the Texas Giant, which is like a cross between ridinig a giant wooden roller coaster and running the gauntlet. We left that one feeling bruised and battered; I kind of thought it was fun, but I was pretty much alone. After lunch, Brandi and I rode the Batman ride, which leaves your feet dangling as you go upside down, and I tried the three-point shooting contest. You get four shots from each of three different spots, which, with a money ball on each rack, gives you a possible total of 15 points. I got six only after sinking my final three shots and won a UT basketball.
We met my dad's sister and much of her family at the Rangers game that evening. My aunt and uncle, Martha and Ralph, showed up with my cousin Monica and her husband, my cousin David and his wife, my cousin Maria and her husband, my cousin Jon and his girlfriend, my cousin Anne, about 8 or so little kids, and about a billion hot dogs. They even have four more kids that weren't able to be at the game. It was great to be with them as they were one of the reasons we decided to do a trip to Dallas.
The game was a 6-0 shutout with a Beach Boys-themed fireworks display after. And the wind was crazy! There was more trash blowing around on the field than I've ever seen.
Saturday for my birthday lunch we went to Sonny Bryan's, a great, tiny, old smokehouse in Dallas that is in my top 5 of all time BBQ joints. We had their great brisket sandwiches and onion rings in their little desks and then made our way to the race track. I made everybody place at least $10 in bets, and the person who netted the greatest amount on their first $10 in bets would receive a prize pack, concocted earlier that morning during Brandi's and my morning jog and conveniently put together at the 7-11 half a mile from our hotel. Cristina, who was going with her heart and picking the best horse names, hit on an 11 to 1 underdog for the win, so she won easily at $23.40 on a $2 bet. My parents and Alicia got back between $3 and $7, and Brandi and I lost all of ours. Let's just say that a $2 trifecta box is a colossally stupid idea.
We found a nice Mexican restaurant called Avila's for dinner---we thought we were going to a place I had discovered online, but I forgot the name and brought us to a restaurant contained in a smallish house, but still good. We went back to the hotel and played some crazy word-making card game of Alicia's to finish off the night.
On Sunday after church we had lunch at i Fratelli, where my cousin David is the manager, and headed on our separate ways, Brandi and I to Austin and my parents and sisters to Houston. My birthday was a fun, family-filled weekend that included not only Six Flags but included a tribute to the Beatles with gifts of the Cirque du Soliel performance of Love and funds towards my anxiously-awaited purchase of The Beatles: Rock Band.
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