Houston International Festival

"Out of Africa" was the theme for this year's I-Fest downtown. Al & I went on Saturday and had a great time checking out the exhibits, vendors, food & drinks, and of course the music. Here's a few photos . . .


The chimney was part of an exhibit on historical archeology in the 4th Ward.


We are all in debt to Ethiopia for giving the world coffee!




Jamaica Zone (complete with pirate ship for the kids to climb on)






Neville Brothers rocked the house!


The me & Al did, too! :P

Dickens on the Strand

This Saturday I met my parents in Galveston for Dickens on the Strand. Check out some photos below and see them all here on my Flickr page.

Lotus Garden Festival

I dropped by the Buu Mon Buddhist Temple in Port Arthur Sunday for the 9th Annual Lotus Garden Festival and Vesak (Buddha's Birthday) Celebration.


My brother Al's meditation group was [unsuccessfully] attempting to sell hot links. They were doing a brisk business in cold water, though - it was hot as Hades.


The gardens were pretty nice. I've started a photoset and hope to upload a few more tomorrow night.

Mardi Gras - Beaumont

Sunday we went to Beaumont's first Mardi Gras to see Baz, Nikki, and the kids throw some beads. I think Al & I were pretty much partied out from the previous day in Port Arthur, so we didn't go to Cajun Invasion day - then again if Wayne Toups had been playing, I might have mustered the energy. Too bad the Neville Brothers cancelled.

Anyway, on to the parade . . . [Click images for larger versions.]




Baz had taken the kids down by the tracks to play until it was time to get on the float. Just throwing rocks into a puddle was entertainment enough.


The Crockett Street Entertainment District, part of Beaumont's downtown redevelopment effort. It's a cool little strip of bars. But as you can see the crowd was very light for this first Mardi Gras.


We sat down to wait for the start.








Bunch of off-road vehicles celebrating "Muddy Gras."




The police officer near us was making sure nobody got hurt - and distributing loot that didn't make it all the way to the crowd.


The krewe of motorized ice chests was advertising a website.


Here they come . . .




Baz points us out for Emmy to throw . . . she got them maybe a yard away from the float. :)




The boys had better luck - we caught their throws. Naturally they were the best beads. :P




Looks like he's throwing her overboard, hehehe.

Well, that was my first Mardi Gras in many years. Can't wait for next year.

Port Arthur Mardi Gras - Part II

After being under the weather the last few days, I finally got around to posting the rest of my Mardi Gras photos . . . click through to Flickr to see larger sizes.


Mr. T's Famous Pork-a-Bobs




The only place we saw beads being thrown from a building like in New Orleans and Galveston.


This dog had a neck full of beads by the end of the parades.


First came a motorcycle parade.




Then the Red Hussars alumni drum & bugle corps started off the main parade.








Woodland String Band from Philly.


Boys are ready for beads.


As you can see, it was cold!


One float's music was too loud for Emmy.


Baz had these awesome shrimp beads. He wouldn't give them up, but he did give me some cool gator beads. Plus Nikki gave me all the big ones she was wearing. :P


Al got so many beads . . . probably because he's tall and he kept asking for them.




Gettin' there . . .


Memorial High drummers














Baz's friend from work, aka The Bead Connection. I ended up with one of those gator beads, hehehe.


The Valero float was lit up with lots of neon.


One of the concession stands set up along the parade route.




Al stopped to ask the monk about meditation classes.

Unfortunately I went overboard during the parade and used up all my battery, so I didn't get any shots of Rosie Ledet or Robert Earl Keen. Will I ever learn???