A New Twist on Tourism

Ahh Tornado Alley. I live in it. YAY!

For those of you who do not have this privilege, let me tell you that from an early age (elementary) we are given instruction on what to do in case a tornado heads our way. Believe me, if you haven't spent some time in the school hallway, on your knees, bending over with your arms over your head, during a tornado drill, you have not lived.

Can I get an Amen? HA! Anyway, I tell you this so you understand that I have a healthy appreciation (and fear) of tornadoes. When spring comes around, which is traditionally the beginning of storm season (though this year it seems to have started in winter), you can be sure that my mind automatically and unconsciously calculates the most internal space available in whatever building I'm during a storm. (It really does, just like my brain automatically calculates Italian time when I look at the clock.)

Now, don't be thinking I'm all obsessive or take cover whenever there's even a slight chance of tornadoes. I don't do that. However, I have been through one and it makes an impression. But normally, I am not that nervous during the season, just keep a watchful eye on the weather. My Italian on the other hand, did not grow up with extreme weather conditions. He has a tendency to "freak" out a bit when severe storms come our way. (shhh don't tell him I said that) I am completely surprised he has not yet built a storm shelter in our home. HA! I will admit though, he has gotten much much better =) But with his fear comes a fascination with tornadoes, that I cannot conceive. Evidently, he is not alone in that.

Over the last several years, it has come to my attention that a new tourist attraction has been created. Storm Chasing. People from all over the world descend upon our fair states looking for the awe-if not fear-inspiring onslaught of tornadoes, hail and severe storms that roam Tornado Alley. These are tours folks. Tours which have the ultimate goal of seeing a tornado spawned from the sky.

For me "storm chasers" are trained people who work with the weather centers and news meteorology teams to let them know what is developing. They are quite an organized group, full of HAMM radio operators, many with in-vehicle radar screens and whatchimacallit weather related gadgets. But not anymore. Recently, we watched a BBC produced show of a group of English travelers on a tour. In Italy, out of the beautiful town of Teolo, you have these guys who ride along with experts from OU every year. My Italian explains that while of course these storms bring about terrible damage and heartache for the people involved, it is one of the very unique "American" experiences a foreigner can have. Kind of like visiting the Southwest. It is the awe-inspiring raw power and sometimes terrifying beauty of nature.

In light of this, he dragged me to a severe storm seminar. *sigh* You would not BELIEVE how many people were in attendance! I am not even exaggerating when I estimate around 400. The place was packed. All of us were there to learn how to identify characteristics of severe storms, possibly tornadic storms, in the cloud formations. I learned a lot. As much as I griped (internally) about not wanting to go, it was actually very interesting. I even found myself a little excited about the phenomena. Anticipating severe weather so I can put what I learned into practice. What is wrong with me? lol

I am such a nerd.

More later...

2 Days in a Life…

I’ve been crazy busy the last several weeks! However, as this is a full disclosure blog, I thought I would share with you what the last two days of my life have been like. Here we go…

An afternoon of culture at the Dallas Museum of Art (DMA). Sitting around waiting for people to climb into this Hummer. That thing is about as long as an eighteen wheeler. Frankly, you have to bend over to walk to your seat and it has a kind of “porn lounge” feel to it; but I tried not to think about that. HA! As a side note, I am very excited to report that the DMA is one of the few American museums that is on the King Tut exhibit tour. It starts Oct 3 and I can’t wait to see it! WOOHOO.

Next on the agenda – dinner at the 6th Floor Museum. A somber venue dedicated to the assassination of JFK but very interesting. Now located in the legendary Texas Book Depository, the exhibits are fascinating if not a bit morbid. They lay out actual known facts, cover conspiracy theories and currently have a very cool exhibit of home movies sent in from people who were there (with brief bios of the people who shot the footage). That exhibit is only there until mid-Oct so if you are in Dallas, go. I know it seems an odd place for dinner but even Dallas locals fail to visit the museum and it is very, very interesting. I did have to laugh at the poor museum worker who was being cross-examined by a visiting Canadian on whether the French audio tour was in proper French. Like that Texan knew! HA!

End of Day One.

Day Two begins with a classic Dallas pastime. SHOPPING at a very posh store with Dallas roots. May I just say to the man in the lime-green Lamborghini - DUDE, the black shirt with flames along the buttons, open to your navel is NOT a good look. (I know, lime-green, it’s criminal! Sigh) Lovely afternoon sitting under a tree watching the “Haves” shop, until a bird decided to poop on my shoulder. Nice and classy. I am nothing if not classy ☺ Cleaned up and then onward to Ft. Worth (FW).

A perfect Texas evening with a cool breeze on a rooftop terrace bar. Reata is a cool restaurant with a story and almost as locally famous as Joe T. Garcia's. (ohhh Joe T's. makes me want to move to FW just to be close to it) Sorry I digress. They serve delicious food and are located in downtown FW in Sundance Square. Man, I wish I could’ve stayed there all night! But no, alas, I am but a working woman and it was off to meet the star of the evening.

Here he is! This is Gus (short for Augustus) and though he may not look like it - he is 100% real! A really pretty Longhorn and he just stood there patiently while people took their picture with him, or ON him as the case may be. I am totally a city girl and I was AMAZED how huge Gus was. Taller than his handler and wow, he's massive.

Not a bad way to end the evening. How much more Texan can you get? I'm exhausted. hehe

More later y'all...

WHOA

Look at the size of this hurricane! It takes up almost the whole Gulf!

Well, Ike is on his way and Houston and the coastal cities have been evacuated. It's supposed to be a big one folks! You'd think being in the northern part of the state and 5+ hours away from the coast, we wouldn't have to worry much in Dallas. But, I've heard a wide range of scenarios, from heavy rain and wind to hurricane strength winds and 6" of rain in a short amount of time. (thats A LOT of rain) Hopefully no tornadoes will head my way =)

Wish us luck and keep everyone in your prayers.

more later...

Man! She is good

I've posted about her before but dang, I wish I could sing like this. There are few singers that can sing this well at 7:00am, especially after partying at a festival like SXSW. Seriously ya'll you should get her album. (sorry, this is live so you have a bit of the radio show before the song starts).

Love her...

Welcome to Texas Food

Now we come to the food portion of our Welcome to Texas (WTT) series. I must tell you upfront this section will have multiple entries as we have several "Texan" foods. But to start us off, I thought I would begin with our German/Austrian roots. Did you know that Texas had a lot of German immigrants back in the day?

Yep, primarily in Central Texas, also known as the Hill Country, you will find quite a bit of German influence - with towns like Fredricksburg, New Braunfels, Boerne, well, how could you not? And so of course with this migration, came the comfort foods of home BUT now with a Texas twist. So with no futher ado, I give you -

Lesson #2 - Chicken Fried Steak (aka, delicious goodness)

Chicken fried what you ask? Is it chicken? is it steak? well my friend it can be both! But traditionally it is steak. This has become a very southern food but according to Wikipedia, it originated in Texas. All because of our German settlers. In Germany (and Austria) they eat what is called Weiner Schnitzel. which is very good and traditionally made with tenderized veal. Well, beef is something Texas has a lot of and thus our chicken fried steak was born.

Normally, this dish is made out of cheaper cuts of beef which are then tenderized, battered and fried (like chicken). It is usually about the size of a big plate, served with mashed potatoes and covered with cream gravy. additional sides are beans (my favorite and the most common in my opinion is green beans) and a roll to sop up the unused gravy. I THINK in other parts of the south, they may use brown gravy, which is delicious in its own right, but here - its cream gravy with specks of pepper. YUM!

As you can see by the picture, I rebelled against the norm by ordering these fried potatoes, just because I wasn't in the mood for mashed. It's ok my friends - it can be done. and believe me those fries were GOOD. Other variations are chicken fried chicken or the CFS in sandwich form (yes, really. a sandwich). They are good as well and the chicken looks pretty much like the steak but it is not original. hehe

Now a word of caution - not all chicken fried steak is created equal. You must, I repeat MUST, purchase your first CFS by a reputable restaurant or a good home cook. There are some nasty CFS's out there and I would hate for you to miss this deliciousness by coming across them. So ask the locals or check things out on the internet cuz a bad, gristley CFS can scar you for life.

Beverage of choice with this dish - Beer. Wine? come on, really? look at that grease and gravy - beer, iced tea or coke (soda, for non-Texas speakers) are best.

Don't forget to sop up the gravy with the roll (which I didn't get, but whatever) and chase it down with some good pecan pie or cobbler. hehehe

Buon appetito ya'll

More later...

Welcome to Texas

Since I am a native Texan, I have a tendency to overlook peculiarities that we have. It has been interesting to see these characteristics through the eyes of my Italian husband. So, I thought I would share some with you as they pop into my mind. Just in case you ever visit or move to Texas. Please know that there will always be some regional differences (aren't there always?) and even though I have a North Texas perspective, I am going to generalize anyway. hehe Feel free to "correct" me.

Lesson #1: Weather - Extreme Sports, Weather Edition

"If you don't like the weather in Texas, just wait 10 minutes."

We have weird weather. Huge storms throughout the year, tornadoes, completely bi-polar temperatures, etc. Let me give you an example:

Today was a beautiful day. Blue, clear skies, mild temps in the 70sF (21.5C). I had my house open all day =) Tomorrow - high of 45F (7C). A high we will hit IN THE MORNING. afternoon temps - 35F (1.7C). Cold rain mixed with snow expected =) and this is the second time in a matter of 4 days that we've had this scenario. We actually had big fat snow Monday night. it didn't really stick at my house but I sure had fun watching it.

I will be honest - this is not the biggest temperature swing we've had. We can have a variation of 30+ degrees over a course of hours. (seriously) And usually in the winter we will have some wintry precipitation - mostly in the form of ice. Not this year though - except during this first week of March.

Not only do our temperatures change drastically in a short amount of time but we also get big thunderstorms. Always in spring, but also just randomly throughout the year - anytime our warm gulf air hits with something arctic. thunderstorms you say? beh - big deal. Yeah they are a big deal. The thunder is HUGE (rattling the windows), the lightening is fast & scary and usually you hear at least one circuit box explode.lol have you ever seen a lightening storm? Just lightening, streaking across the sky - no rain, no clouds, just streaks of light crackling through the sky. Its beautiful and terrifying.

Now, along with the thunderstorms we get tornadoes. and hail. not ordinary hail - though we can have pea or quarter size hail, we also get baseball-softball size hail. I remember saving a piece in the freezer once, because S. did not believe me when I told him the size. It had shrunk a bit but he was a believer after he saw it with his own eyes. hehe

Tornadoes are something else. I remember doing tornado drills in elementary school in the spring. We'd all line up against the walls in the hallways. sitting cross-legged, bending over with our arms over our heads. Did any of you ever do that? lol teachers would open the windows in the classrooms and we'd all be waiting in the hall. I don't think kids do that anymore, though I need to check. I've always had a fear of tornadoes but it was just part of life.

My Italian on the other hand is not used to these extremes in weather. The 100+F (38C) temps in the summer kill him - when we bought a house, it had to have a pool because he refused to live another summer here without one. He does not like thunderstorms AT ALL and completely freaks when tornadoes are around. hehe

Weather and a good thunderstorm is something I will really miss when I move from here. I know my Italian will not miss it one bit. But to me it is exciting and wild, kind of an adrenaline rush seeing the power of Mother Nature. maybe its just part of my Texan blood? It's probably because we are a bit crazy. hehe

In conclusion - when in Texas, layers are a must (except in summer). keep an umbrella in the car. wherever you are staying, always scope out the best place to run in case of tornado. during a thunderstorm, enjoy the thunder but unplug your computer; take out the candles/matches & flashlights - JUST in case lightening hits something and the power goes out.

And remember... if you are having crappy weather - be patient. more than likely, it will change in a matter of hours.

More later...

::Update:: Well, it is 10:00am and we've already hit our high of 42F (5.5C). Yep, by 7:00am we were already headed into the 30's. WooHoo Here comes the snow!!