Remembering Texas Stadium

I just finished watching a news video of the Texas Stadium implosion that took place in Irving, my hometown, at 7am their time this morning. (See video here.) And I'm more emotional about it than I thought I would be. There are several posts from people on Facebook who are complaining about the amount of news coverage and talk that the implosion has garnered, but I hope they take a moment to realize what the Texas Stadium meant to the people of Irving, surrounding cities and, most of all, to us Dallas Cowboys football fans. Even though they've got a glitzy new field over yonder in Arlington, the original Texas Stadium has become an important symbol for so many of us.

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A few facts from various online sources:

Texas Stadium was a football stadium in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. Built to replace the aging Cotton Bowl, it was the home field of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, and had a seating capacity of 65,675. The stadium opened on October 24, 1971.

Texas Stadium was to have originally been a stadium with a retractable roof, but the stadium could not support the weight of the entire roof. This resulted in most of the stands being enclosed but not the playing field itself.

"Texas Stadium has a hole in its roof so God can watch His favorite team play."
~Cowboys linebacker D.D. Lewis

In addition to football, the stadium hosted concerts, pro wrestling events, and religious gatherings such as Promise Keepers and Billy Graham crusades (a Graham crusade was the first event held at Texas Stadium). On 29 May 2004, Alan Jackson, George Strait, and Jimmy Buffett put on a concert at the stadium, which was later made into a CD. The two "bridges" that were connected to one of the support arms were installed to support the stage effects (rain) of Garth Brooks tour. They are referred to as Garth Bars. The supports had remained until the 2010 demolition.

Owned by the City of Irving, the $35 million dollar structure was finally closed in December 2008, and demolished on April 11, 2010. After more than 6 months of planning, an estimated $6 million and over one ton of dynamite, it took roughly 25 seconds for the stadium to fall.

The new Dallas Cowboys stadium, opened in 2009 and located in Arlington is the largest, most technologically advanced entertainment venue in the world. Designed by HKS and built by Manhattan Construction, the $1.1 billion stadium features two monumental arches, the world's largest HD quality video board, an expansive retractable roof and the largest retractable end zone doors in the world. Features of the stadium include seating for 80,000 and expandable to 100,000, 300 luxury suites, club seating on multiple levels and the Dallas Cowboys Pro Shop, open to the public year round. In addition to being the new home of the Dallas Cowboys and the annual AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic, the stadium will host the 2011 Super Bowl, the 2010 NBA All-Star Game and the 2014 NCAA men's basketball Final Four as well as high school and college football, concerts and special events.

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Every time we drove by the Texas Stadium when I was a kid, I would press my face to the glass to get a better look at this gigantic venue where I knew the Cowboys were often playing when I watched them on TV. I remember the Cowboys' glory days just as well as their not-so-glorious days... and I remember as a child telling my dad, also an avid Cowboys supporter, that I would always be a Dallas Cowboys fan even when "they didn't play so good and win." And growing up through the years and moving out of town, seeing the stadium loom into sight as I rounded the bend on I-35 never failed to bring a smile to my face. What a wonderful view.

"Even in the dawn, (driving in) we slowed down and took a real good look at it. You get a little lump in your throat," said Jerry Jones, who bought the team and the stadium lease for $160 million in 1989. "It was beautiful."

(Quote from http://wcbstv.com/national/Texas.Stadium.implosion.2.1625203.html)

My husband played his highschool playoff game at Texas Stadium during which he scored his first playoff touchdown. How many kids can get a memory like that? To know you've scored a touchdown where the idols of our time - like Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin - played their hearts out for a game they loved in a city that supported them.

Mike was generous enough for me to drag a few words out of him to share his memory about that day for the blog: "I was kinda surprised myself when it happened, it was a really long pass. After the touchdown, I was 50 yards from any of my team and I was running toward them and they came running towards me to congratulate me."

Any time he sees Texas Stadium, whether driving in town to visit from college or nowadays driving in from Houston, Mike says he remembers that day as well as all the great moments created by the Dallas Cowboys. (Mike's younger brother also played his highschool playoff game at the stadium.)

In a tribute to the Texas Stadium and all that it stands for, I found these great photos and captions at DallasNews.com and wanted to share some of them through my blog. All photos and photo captions are from DallasNews.com by DMN Staff.

"Construction of Texas Stadium is shown in this 1971 photo."

"Texas Stadium became a sea of white as fans were encourage to wear something white to the game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants in the second round of the playoffs on Jan. 13, 2008. The Cowboys lost the game, 21-17. The Giants went on to win the Super Bowl that season."

"Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman, running back Emmitt Smith and wide receiver Michael Irvin celebrate during a playoff game during the Green Bay Packers at Texas Stadium on Jan. 14, 1996. The Cowboys won the game, 38-27, to advance to Super Bowl XXX."

"The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders take the field under a blaze of fire during the last Monday Night Football game at Texas Stadium between the Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 12, 2008. The Cowboys won the game, 41-37."

"American flags wave during a pre-game ceremony on Sept. 23, 2001, at Texas Stadium honoring the men and women who died September 11 in terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, D.C. This was the first day back for the NFL after the attacks. The Dallas Cowboys lost to the San Diego Chargers, 32-21."

"Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith celebrates setting the all-time career rushing record in the game against the Seattle Seahawks on Oct. 27, 2002. Smith broke the record with an 11- yard run in the fourth quarter. The Cowboys lost the game, 17-14."

"Dallas Cowboy wide receiver Terrell Owens greets members of the military after making a catch in pre-game snaps prior to their playoff game against the Giants at Texas Stadium on Jan. 13, 2008. The Cowboys lost the game, 21-17."

"The Tom Landry statue and the banner celebrating the Dallas Cowboys' Super Bowl wins adorn the front of Texas Stadium on Nov. 17, 2008."

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Blast from the Past

Good ole Facebook. A friend of mine posted some embarrassing pictures of us as kids, and I thought I'd oblige you with a quick trip down memory lane. Apparently as a small child, I actually sported a mullet. Sweet.

I'm next to my mom (who's looking fashionable in all red!), with my, uh, mullet.

That's me with the poofy white bow in my hair... and dressed identical to my mother!

I happen to love this photo. It looks so artistic and I remember these days well. We loved feeding the fish at the Japanese Tea Garden.

Skip a few years forward, and that's me in my "boat hat" as Secretary of our local 4H club. Fashion statement or incognito? Who knows.

Hope everyone's having a nice weekend. We slept in (it was wonderfuuuuuuuul) and I woke up to homemade breakfast tacos at the ready. And all the dishes washed and dried. Love that husband of mine! It's one of our last lazy Saturdays for awhile, so we're soaking it in. Fortunately the sun is out shining, too, which we enjoyed on our way to the gym. Now we're sipping some Crown (brought from home by a friend) and just finished watching the John Smith's Grand National - what a nail biter! Out of the 40 horses that start the 4.5 mile, 30-hurdle race, only 15-20 finish. It was really intense, but the guy that won had raced the Aintree championship 15 times. So he certainly deserved his victory.

Day one of the races.

Here's to a sipping, shining Saturday!

It's Raining Bananas!

The sun was shining when I left the flat this morning, and it was still sort of shining when I walked home from work at 5pm. It was still shining when it started raining on me at 5:01pm. Dang it!

But by the time I'd arrived home at 5:15pm, it was shining sans any water. So I took these pictures:

The weather - it's glorious!!

Now just 40 minutes later, a leaky mass of gray cotton has positioned itself above my living room bay window, clouding my light source and my mood. Bugger. (Yes, that's not a word I usually say. No, we're not starting to talk like "them." It's all for kicks and giggles, nae habit.)

I have been so wiped out this week between recovering from being sick, getting back in the gym and putting in full-time hours plus keeping up with my freelance writing... that... gasp, I haven't cooked a darn thing. You know I either don't feel good or I'm completely exhausted when I can't even muster up the energy to put skillet to stove.

The husband, however, has been dying for some banana bread so I did manage to throw together a loaf of that last night. It was so good that when it came out of the oven at 10:30pm, I'm pretty sure we scarfed down half of the steaming thing right then and there. So tonight I'm out to get more bananas after a trip to the gym, as promised, so I can make two loaves this time because "one wasn't enough banana bread, Amber!"

Here's the recipe I used should any of you folks be interested, it turned out pretty tasty if I say so muhself.

Now mush away clouds and bring me back my sunshine!!

East Coast meets West!

The dull gray dome of clouds has lifted! Sunshine is happily filling the sky, chasing the ground in amongst fluffy white clouds drifting lazily along. It's days like this that make me feel like spring is sprung, and summer isn't far behind and we won't see more rain for a long time. But it doesn't fool me anymore! It may look nice and warm out, but I'm still toting along my rain jacket for when it threatens. (I swear, one of these days I'll make it through a blog entry without mentioning any gloomy weather!)

Fortunately, it seems that whenever we do leave the Granite City, we're graced with better weather and that's just what happened on our four-day road trip. It was forecasted to be a horrible, snowy, stormy weekend. But after much consideraton we decided that Scotland's weather changes almost faster than a heeland coo Highland cow can moo, so we hedged our bets and loaded up the little Micra. Our trek was simple - start out in Aberdeen, drive down to the bottom of Loch (Lake) Lomond for a scenic detour, stop overnight in Oban on the coast, head to Mallaig to catch a fairy to the Isle of Skye, circle around Skye and see all the island has to offer, then head back to Aberdeen by way of Inverness. It was roughly 500 miles and 10+ hours of driving to get across the country and back and we made it with no flat tires, engine trouble or major car sickness. (Let it be known that a penchant for getting car sick in itty bitty vehicles combined with the UK's windy roads and never-ending roundabouts is a recipe for... well, you know.)

Loch Lomond was gorgeous and the bright blue skies, icy blue snow-capped mountains and dark cerulean waters set quite the stage for some scenic shots. The loch is the largest surface area freshwater lake in Great Britian and is featured in photographs and songs all over the UK. It also has some well-known golf courses near by like Loch Lomond Golf Club (which will host the 2010 Scottish Open Golf) and Carrick Golf Club.

As I mentioned above, our first night's stay was in Oban at the Oban Bay Hotel. I absolutely loved it here, the coastal town of 8,000 was fairly quiet and nestled right on a horseshoe bay feeding into the Atlantic ocean. Like a crown sitting atop the city, Oban's McCaig's Tower is made completely of granite and bulits in the late 1800s. it was commissioned by wealthy banker John McCaig, who wanted to create a monument to his family and provide work for the local stonemasons in the winter months. We checked in then headed to a seafood restaurant on the wharf and had grilled haddock on top of mashed potatoes with a cheesy sauce and sampled two of the local Oban brews, Skelpt Lug and Skinny Blonde. My ale was very much like a lager and I really liked it!

After dinner came a nice treat - the hotel's outdoor hot tub, which closely resembled a giant cask, overlooking the Atlantic. We ran outside to see if anyone was in it, found it empty, raced upstairs and changed into our swimsuits and then back downstairs with plastic cups full of wine, shivered into the cold outdoor air and ooh'd and aah'd our way into the luxuriously warm water and jets. Heaven in a barrel, bliss in a bucket. It was so wonderful and so relaxing that it completely escaped my mind to take any pictures. But here's one from the hotel's web site and one of our view across the Atlantic:

The next morning we met up with our friend, Ryan, who'd taken the late train in the night before, and grabbed some breakfast at our hotel. I followed that up with a Swedish massage then packed up our bags and away we went! We drove up to Mallaig, where we caught a ferry across to the Isle of Skye. It was only a 20 or 30 minute ride and the sun was shining the whole way. Once on the island, we made our way to Skye's capital town of Portree and bunked there for the night. Though it wasn't my favourite place, it was still neat to spend so much time in coastal areas.

We found a local hotel with availability and a good rate and stowed our bags then went in search of dinner. Afterwards, we dropped in at a local pub just in time to warm up by the fire on some comfy leather couches until two guitar players came in for some live music. We were expecting something "Scottish" but they ended up playing mostly American songs, like Brown Eyed Girl, instead!

From there, a few raindrops threatened our little caravan of one but we never suffered much in the way of bad weather as we headed to the Northern most point of the Isle and then back down again. It was amazing to see the craggy cliffs, Highland cows and wildlife, waterfalls and moutainous views. We even watched a sheep waltz across the road to join its mates. It was so nice not have an agenda, nothing to pressure us to hurry or rush our way around. If we saw something we wanted to investigate, we simply pulled over and did it!

We had intended to see the Isle of Skye Brewery, but when we found it in Uig it was little more than a plain-faced building with a souvenir shop inside. They didn't offer tours, so we took a quick look around and then got back on the road and made our way to Dunvegan castle. But they didn't allow pictures inside, so we only got a couple exterior shots!!

The gardens weren't exactly in bloom, since winter is just now relenting its hold on the seasons, and there was a great deal of scaffolding and work being done on the castle itself. So it was hard to take it all in. But Dunvegan is the oldest continously inhabited castle in Scotland, and is the home of the Chiefs of MacLeod for the past 800 years. It was a built atop a rock and has survived many a battle, we even took a peek into the dungeon. It was sobering to think of someone getting thrown into an underground rocky prison with no windows or light source! It was a single opening in the floor of one of the castle's rooms, with a severe drop off into the dungeon below. Cast aside next to the opening was a very heavy stone seal, to keep the prisoners locked away.

Looking through some of the historical artifacts, I was able to read an original letter written by Sir Walter Scott, thanking the lady of the house for such a nice stay during his visit. Queen Elizabeth II also graced the castle with her presence. Before leaving, we stopped in the visitor shop and bought a CD of the Red Hot Chilli Pipers. When we got back to the car, we popped it in and didn't realize the speakers were already up really loud. Our little Nissan Micra start blaring "We Will Rock You", but in bagpipes (or "bagrock" as their CD claims), and the people around us started laughing at these foreigners jamming out to the Scottish instrument. We ended up listening to it the rest of our trip!

We drove for a couple hours from Dunvegan all the way back onto the mainland, intending to stay in Kyle of Localsh. But the city looked a little dead so we kept on driving, running our gas tank to within 15 miles of running out!! Gas stations are NOT easy to find here! I was prepared to have to hike it across the highlands to find some when our Micra finally stuttered to a halt. Thank goodness it gets upwards of 40 miles to the gallon.

I had read about the Eilean Donan castle but wasn't sure it would work well on our route. However, it wasn't much of a detour at all before we ended up in Dornie, looking for a B&B for the night. Turns out, the castle was right in front of us! It was absolutely gorgeous and we gawked at it and took some pictures (it was already closed for the day) before heading across the street to find a room. We ended up with a heckuva deal at a little B&B owned by the nicest couple. Our room even came with an extra big bathtub, and I enjoyed a long soak and some good book reading time the next morning.

Our evening included dinner at the local restaurant, and it was so good. I had leek and tarragon chicken with fresh veggies and roast potatoes, and some whisky! The former fishing village is literally one main street with a pub or two, a couple hotels, and a few small shops. In 2006, the census waas 360 folks! But for such a small town, it had a lot of appeal. After dinner, we "popped" into the neighborhood pub for a couple of drinks and had fun people watching, looking through pictures of our trip and talking to some of the locals - including a nice gal from California who'd moved to Edinburgh last year and married her very own Scotsman.

The next morning involved sunny blue skies again (see? whenever we leave Aberdeen the weather always improves!) and we bought our tickets into the Eilean Donan castle. It was absolutely spectacular. I think we spent a good 30 minutes outside the castle entrance taking pictures of the mirror-like placid waters, which perfectly reflected the surrounding mountains, bridge, castle and clouds. Inside, it was full of gorgeous still-standing architecture - much of which had been carefully restored. It's one of the most photographed castles in the country and I also learned that the castle had been used in several films:

Highlander

The location where the MacLeod clan sets off to battle.

Made of Honor

Yep, it's the castle used for the wedding!

The World Is Not Enough

It is used to depict M16's exterior operations center at "Castle Thane."

Elizabeth: The Golden Age

Eilean Donan castle is used in place of the Fortheringay Castle depicted in the film.

Click on images to enlarge!

Happy with our beautiful photos and seeing such a nice sight at the end of our trip, we hoofed it back to Aberdeen by way of Inverness, admiring all the absolutely adorable baby lambs that have been born in the past few weeks. They are so cute tottering around in the fields next to their mommas, or basking in the warm sun. When they're laying down, all you can see is their spindly little legs sticking out and a big head with floppy ears! I kept trying to find a good place to stop and take some pictures but never found one. (Mike mentioned we might go on the search just outside of Aberdeen this weekend, I haven't given up hope yet!)

Our road trip turned to be a great success, and I'm so thankful we were blessed with good weather and a good time. I think the hot tub in Oban and the Eilean Donan castle were my two favorite highlights from the trip. Truly spectacular!

“There are two seasons in Scotland: June and winter.”

~Billy Connolly

Paris in Print

Hello friends! I wrote a story on our December visit to Paris for Upbeat magazine and it just came out this month, so I thought I'd share. If you're on my blog, click on the images to enlarge, then once again to zoom in and read. Enjoy!