Meaher State Park - Mobile, AL

I had meant to post this awhile back and it got sidelined. Better late than never!

Boy Scout Troop 101 was planning a trip to visit the USS Alabama and to head down to the Gulf Shores area to swim in the Gulf of Mexico. We needed a place to stay and Meaher State Park was the spot we chose.

We were tent camping so I will describe the tent area first. The tent area is a small area near the boat ramp with a few picnic tables and grills. There is no electricity and no running water, although water is nearby.

We were camping very close to Mobile Bay and can hear the traffic all night crossing the interstate over the bay. There is no privacy for the tents since we were all packed into such a small area. We were also surrounded by a huge chain linked fence.

I hate to be so down on an area but it really is just a place to put your tent. It had nothing that I liked for tent camping. A few positives were it was relatively quiet, other than the interstate, and the bathouse and park were extremely clean.

The RV section of the park was beautiful with a view of Mobile Bay, clean pads, water and sewer hookups, and grills.

If you are RV'ing or fishing then this park would be ideal for you. If you are looking for a place to tent camp, not so much the best location. It will do, but just be prepared to listen to the interstate.

From the website: "This 1,327-acre park is situated in the wetlands of Mobile Bay and is a day-use picnicking and scenic park with modern camping hook-ups and bathhouse facilities for overnight visitors. A boat ramp and fishing pier will appeal to every fisherman. A self-guided walk on two nature trails includes a boardwalk with a up close view of the Mobile Delta.."

For more information on Meaher State Park visit: Meaher State Park

Dallas-Richardson Holiday Inn

Recently, while at a convention in Dallas, TX, my wife, I, and a friend stayed at the Dallas- Richardson Holiday Inn. This was a nice hotel for a great price.

We rented a room with two double sized beds. I am not a fan of double beds but this seems to be the standard in most hotels. The room was functional albeit a little small.  The standard hotel furniture was present: TV with HBO, dresser, nightstand, alarm clock, ironing board, beds, etc. The room was clean and the AC functioned well.

The area of the hotel seemed and felt safe. The hotel itself was clean and the staff we encountered were friendly. I always travel with a fan and run it while I sleep so I did not hear any noise that was bothersome.

I had the opportunity to use the weight room which was a nice. It had various weight lifting machines as well as treadmills and bikes.

Afterwards I joined my wife at the Indoor Heated Pool. The pool was comfortably heated. It was only about 4 ½ foot deep so no diving and of course there was no life guard present. I did not see any pool towels but fortunately I was able to grab some out of the nearby weight room.

There was also an outdoor pool but it was too cold to swim outside.

At $100 per night I would recommend this hotel if you are ever in the Dallas/Richardson area.

For information and reservation for the Dallas-Richardson Holiday Inn visit:

http://www.ihg.com/holidayinn/hotels/us/en/richardson/dalrs/hoteldetail

Twisted Root Burger Company - Dallas, TX

Buffalo Burger

I recently took a trip to Dallas, TX with my wife and her friend Angell. We were headed to an Empower Me Pink Tour for our Magnolia Charms Paparazzi business.  I’ll blog about the Empower Pink Tour later. In this blog I want to tell you about a side trip to a restaurant we took.

We were able to eat at the Twisted Root Burger Company. If you are ever in the Dallas, TX area be sure to check this place out. One word describes these burgers and that is AWESOME. They certainly are not your momma’s burger.

Enjoying the conversation with friends

I had a "Buffalo Burger". I have always wanted to try one of these and several times while I was out west had intended to try it out. I found it funny that I finally got one so close to home. I am a pretty plan kind of guy so my Buffalo Burger had just cheese and bacon.. It came with lettuce and onion but I left it off. I added barbeque sauce and ordered and extra a side of french fries. I split my burger with my wife and Angell. They had ordered a “The Western.”  It was a half-pound of beef, American Cheese, Bacon, Fired Onion Rings, Jalapenos Ketchup and Mayonnaise. They also ordered fried green beans. Yep, l said fried green beans. 

Western Burger and Fried Green Beans

Both the burgers were seasoned just right and cooked to perfection. The fried green beans were delicious. I was surprised by the green beans and would definitely order them again and again! The french fries were the least impressive thing on the table and even those were good.

For drinks I tried watermelon tea and a cream root beer. I am not a big fan of root beer. I love the smell but I can do without drinking root beer. I went ahead and got a shot of root beer and tried it. I’m still not a fan of root beer but this was one of the better root beers I have tasted. The watermelon tea tasted just like it sounded. I finally just went with water but that was mainly because that is what I usually drink with a meal nowadays. They also offered the regular variety of drinks.

There were so many unusual items on the menu I wish I could tell them all to you but I just can’t remember. What I can tell you is go check this place out and try their burgers. You will get hooked. The Twisted Root Burger Company we visited was located at: 2615 Commerce St Dallas, TX 75226. You can also visit their website at: http://twistedrootburgerco.com/menu/

Warning: Visiting their website will make you hungry!

Big Time Rush and Olivia Somerlyn - Houston, TX

Big Time Rush prior to start

It took me a little while to get this blog post up but I definitely wanted to blog about this trip. This trip all started with my daughter, Kaia. One of her favorite bands is Big Time Rush, an all boy band that from my teenaged years would compare to New Kids on the Block. She has told me multiple times that she has wanted to go see them in concert.

Olivia Somerlyn wowing the crowd

As the fates would have it and my pocketbook too, three tickets showed up for Big Time Rush under the Christmas tree. One for Kaia, one for Lucrecia, and one for me were delivered by none other than Santa Claus!  Her friend and friend’s mom found two tickets under their tree from Santa as well.

The concert was in Houston, TX, so we booked our hotel and set our plans in motion. We left on Saturday,

February 8^th and headed for Houston. We arrived early enough to check into our hotel and get freshened up. The concert started at 8 PM so we planned to arrive around 7:30 PM at the concert venue.

We arrived around 7:15 PM, ahead of schedule, and valet parked. We easily entered the concert venue and found our seats on the second tier in the middle. The concert venue had only two levels, the ground floor and the level we were seated. Our seats were great because we could remain seated and enjoy the show. Everyone on the floor stood up for the entire concert.

Big Time Rush with giant balloons. The kids loved it!

Now, on a personal note, I never in my entire life expected to see a boy band in concert, much less come out of pocket for one. I am a My Chemical Romance, Garth Brooks, Lynyrd Skynryd, Rush kind of guy. A wide range, but boy band is not on that list.

Big Time Rush on the scaffolding!

There was an opening act by someone I had never heard of, Olivia Somerlyn. Most of the kids in the audience seemed to know her and enjoyed this portion of the show. She got them up off of their seats and jumping around. She really worked the crowd and from a middle aged guys perspective this portion of the show was nice.

Kaia at the meet and greet with Olivia Somerlyn

When Olivia Somerlyn left it was time for the main act, Big Time Rush. We had to wait a little while and someone with the band kept coming over the PA asking everyone if they were ready and pumping up the crowd. For me, this went on way to long. It seemed like forever. At first I was into it myself, hollering and screaming for the band, but by the time the band came out I was kind of done and more in the mood of let’s get the show started.

Big Time Rush finally made their entrance and the crowd went wild. Boy, do these kids in the audience have energy. I thought Elvis had entered the building!

The show was interesting. They had built multilevel scaffolding on the stage and these guys in Big Time Rush were all over it. In the center they had place a trampoline which band members repeatedly jumped onto and off back onto the stage scaffolding.

I actually knew some of their music from hearing my daughter listen to it and seeing the band on the Nickelodeon show Big Time Rush.  The songs were pleasing to hear and these guys can really sing. They played a variety of their music and even included an acoustic session where they played multiple songs.

The concert ended with two encores much to the enjoyment of the kids in attendance. 

Afterwards Olivia Somerlyn was taking pictures, meeting and greeting fans, and signing autographs. Kaia and her friend wanted to meet her so I waited at a nearby table as the rest of our group waited in line. It took about 30 minutes for them to finally meet Olivia Somerlyn. She was very friendly and seemed to be genuinely interested in her fans.

My daughter and her friend said the concert was great and they had a lot of fun.

On a personal note I never would have done this if not for my daughter. Having done it I have to say it was enjoyable but not something I would want to do again. Unless of course my daughter says Pleassssse!

Cotton's Famous Hamburgers - Lake Charles, LA

Cotton's Famous Burger & Fries

Recently I was traveling through Lake Charles, LA on my way to Houston, TX with my wife, daughter, and some friends. As we approached Lake Charles I realized it was close to lunch time and we began to discuss what to eat. The usual fast food choices such as McDonald’s, Popeye’s, and Burger King were thrown around.

None of these choices interested me. I was in the mood for something a little different. Then it hit me, “If my Daddy is the King of the Grill then that must make me a Princess!” That famously annoying line from a commercial in the 1980’s for Cotton’s Famous Hamburgers was resounding in my mind. My wife had eaten at Cotton’s Famous Hamburgers before and was all for it. The others were easy to convince as we began to tell them how great the burgers were at Cotton’s Famous Hamburgers.

It was around 12:30 PM on Saturday when we exited the Interstate to go to Cotton’s Famous Hamburgers.  I was a little concerned that we might not be able to find any parking. The last time I had tried to go on a weekday the parking lot was overflowing and I was unable to find a slot. I was disappointed on that day as I had to find somewhere else to eat. This was not the case for this trip as the parking lot was only ¾ full.

We went into Cotton’s Famous Hamburgers and had to wait in a short line. The cashier was friendly and I easily started up a little banter between us. I ordered a Bacon Cheeseburger with French Fries and Fresh Squeezed Lemonade. My wife ordered the same with a Dr. Pepper and my daughter ordered a Shrimp Burger, French Fries, and a Sprite. 

We sat ourselves at a table and within ten minutes my name was called out and I went and got our food. All of the food was hot and fresh. My first bite of my burger was great. The fresh beef flavor of a “real” burger was fabulous. The fries were good and the lemonade was awesome. My wife and daughter both said their food was great. May daughter especially liked the Shrimp Burger. 

If you are ever in Lake Charles, be sure to make a trip to Cotton’s Famous Hamburgers and try out there famous hamburgers. The prices are reasonable; the service is fast and friendly, and the food excellent. 

Cotton’s Famous Hamburgers is located at 2001 Oak Park Blvd., Lake Charles, LA 70601. Their phone number is 337-477-9759.  You can find them on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cottens-Famous-Hamburgers/160547449980 and remember “If my Daddy is the King of the Grill then that must make me a Princess!”