What to do in the middle of summer

in Texas?

How about getting up EARLY to ride our tandem before the heat and humidity makes it unbearable? Actually we could do that at home, but exploring is always fun and we appreciate a change of scenery.

Speaking of exploring, at the suggestion of our friends, Linda and Mike, we found this very Texan greasy burgers place.

Notice the little sign to the right of the door,

Texans aren’t known for sugar coating, and they tend to speak in a way that is easily understood. 

 (The burgers were outstanding!)

While in College Station, we were roped into invited to be judges in an IBCA sanctioned BBQ contest at Lake Somerville.

Don't we look official?

The ribs were worth spending the day outdoors with a heat index well over 100 degrees. 

A most interesting cooker 

Yep, it's obvious, we are in Texas

Thanks Scott and Lisa for the invite.

We stepped briefly out of the Texan culture for an fun evening with friends eating Italian food, drinking wine at Luigi's

and listening to the amazing Alemay Fernandez singing with a local jazz band.

Of course “book club” at Carney’s meets year- round.

We always look forward meeting up with this group every Tuesday when we are in town.

Summer in College Station always means birthdays to celebrate. We were lucky to celebrate with sister-in-law, Anna on July 4th.

We have had our Texas fix and are headed back to cooler home where the weather rivals Texas at its hottest.

(Because of the almost unbearable heat, Mom didn’t have much on our to-do list. She’s a good mom.)

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Gems in Aggieland

You know how it is; you live in a town but don’t see its gems. Let a new person arrive and you discover some surprises. That has been the case as ABN explores College Station on foot.

More than one local mentioned they didn't  realize it is a very walk-able and bicycle friendly city. With the large number of students who choose cycling over driving, bike parking lots like this one can be found throughout the A&M campus.

Of course, not everyone uses a bike parking lot.

Some locals don't know about the multi-use path around the perimeter of the campus.

A&M golf course with Kyle Field in the background from the multi-use trail

Did you (the locals) know you can walk to the campus from almost anywhere in the city entirely on a sidewalk? This delights ABN as she doesn't like to drive (bet you didn't know that, did you.) She took advantage of the sidewalks to stroll over to the MSC (Memorial Student Center) to visit the art galleries. A Rodin exhibit is featured in the J Wayne Stark Gallery.

Unlike the Rodin Museum in Paris where one sees famous sculptures like The Thinker, The Kiss and Gates of Hell, this exhibit is mostly busts of historical folks 

in which multiple originals were made from the sculptor’s first conception in plaster or clay.

Upstairs in the Forsythe Gallery, is a nice exhibit of works by founding members of the influential Taos Society of Artists.

If you do wander over to the MSC, remember to take your hat off before entering.

(No worries if you forget, no doubt an Aggie will tap you on the shoulder and remind you.)

The true gems of College Station are the A&M students who are very much a part of the community.

And this is how the green-ways are kept immaculate.

So what did Captain do while ABN was out exploring?

Repaired a gate,

washed windows,

grilled

and met up with friends for donuts or beer. Main topic of conversation? The Aggies' chances against the powerful Crimson Tide.

Leaving Faculty Club on Thursday evening, we happened upon Aggie Yell Practice.

So, what about the game? (Alabama 33, Texas A&M)14) Can we just move on? 

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How's the cycling?

Not bad; indeed not bad at all.

Since College Station is a university town it is bicycle friendly with lots of bike lanes and bike paths.

.

The terrain is flat.

It appears to be a large cycling community. We joined a couple hundred other cyclists for the Rotary Charity Bike Ride last week.

Even though there are about 60,000 students on campus, cycling around the campus was not crowded.

One of the many bicycle parking stations around campus.

 The massive 100 year plus Live Oak on campus is a favorite spot for photos.

Seeing the Corps around campus is a site of which we never tire.

We would like to say it is a beautiful place to ride, well..., in addition to the campus, there are a few pretty views.

The Tide is rolling in for tomorrow’s big game. Gig’em Aggies!