This year, Todd went to his first Texas State Fair and saw Texas and Oklahoma showdown in their annual epic event!
He went with his father-in-law, and the pair left San Antonio at 2am this night before the game. The fans predicted BCS rankings and amped themselves up for a contest that would surely be memorable as they drove to Austin. They got into Austin at 3:30am and hopped on a bus full of UT fans, headed for Dallas. Todd caught some zzz’s as the 2005 National Championship played on the bus’ TV and the group rolled into Dallas a few hours later.
Energized and ready for game day, Todd and Mark purchased a couple corndogs and a few brews and toured the fairgrounds. There was fried food as far as the eye could see, and Mark and Todd noted that Fried Butter was for sale as well as Chicken Fried Bacon. There was a buzz as College Gameday was covering the contest that week and the duo got to their seats, eager for the game to begin.
The energy of the place was undeniable as Texas fans and OU fans alike roared for their teams. It truly is like no other game in the college season and has the feel of a bowl game.
While the offensive production was not what they expected (the game became more about Texas’ powerhouse defense), Mark and Todd had a blast as they ate fried food, drank beer, wore orange, and watched their favorite team in the world beat OU 16-13.
Hook ‘em!!! And thanks to Mark for the one of a kind experience!!!
This past weekend, T&R drove up to Austin (one of their favorite things to do) for their Godson’s Baptism. For those of you who haven’t seen him in a while, here’s the Lukemeister General:
Luke seemed to be having a pretty good time at his baptism until Todd scooped him up. You could just hear the little dude saying, “Todd, you have no idea what you’re doing, do you?”
The weekend was a blast, as Todd and Rachel got to hang out with a bunch of their closest friends over the weekend including John and Mica and RyJack.
We had some good times, Ryan and Sarah!
Thanks for having a kid!,
T&R.
P.S. Thanks for allowing us to use these pics even though we didn’t ask!! Sorry.
This year, Rachel’s firm went all out and worked their butts off to create a really wonderful piece for the 2009 CANstruction event built at North Star Mall in San Antonio.
As we detailed last year, CANstruction is an international event that showcases architects and designers around the world by allowing them to build amazing pieces out of canned food items. All of the cans go to the Food Bank, and many of the teams spend hours upon hours raising the money and just as many hours designing the pieces they will build.
Rachel’s firm decided to build some cowboy boots this year and the public response was huge. Take a peek at these impressive pics!
All their hardwork paid off, and the group was thrilled to receive 1st Place this year! The group did an amazing job! These delicious Pork and Beans cans are among the Food Bank’s favorite donations. Congrats guys!!!
This year, T&R got together with a ton of their friends and celebrated Rachel’s 29th birthday as they also celebrated the Labor Day weekend and RyDog’s 30th birthday. Todd and Rachel drove into Port Aransas Friday afternoon and checked into a condo they had rented that would sleep around a dozen people. The couple snoozed for a bit, charging up their batteries for a weekend of sunny, drinky madness. That night, T&R& RyJack went to one of Rachel’s favorite seafood joints Snoopy’s, and indulged in shrimp sandwiches and curly fries. They got back to the condo (after a notable liquor store run) and welcomed Mike and Anna as well as Jesse and Gloria. The group decided to take it to the beach for some late night boozy-beach fun. The group returned to the condo later to find that Rachel’s cousins had arrived, and the group went off to bed.
Saturday morning found the group ready to hit the beach with the summer sun beating down. Anna was nice enough to make Rachel a cake out of sand and the group chilled in the bliss of Labor Day weekend.
That night, the group had a sausagefest cookout (though there were a few girls there) and the group played Catchphrase into the wee hours. Thanks to RyDog and Sarah for these pics!
The next day brought John and Mica to Port A and the fun continued. The group skipped the beach scene that day and headed out to the pool, where they played a game called Bottle. Mike and Anna introduced us to this mad game and sadly, Todd’s team was easily defeated by John, Mike and Meagan.
That evening took the group to a nearby bar, Sharky’s. The group that went would soon redfine the word Bootyjam, as they danced their butts off to today’s pop radio hits as well as some Michael Jackson favorites.
The final morning took R&T to Whataburger for a celebratory end to another successful trip to Port A.
Thanks to all that made the trip a lot of fun! Happy birthday Rachel and RyDog!!!
(And Thanks to Ry and Sarah for some of these pics!)
This last pic is taken outside Port Aransas Brewing Company, where the group sampled some nice beer and one of Texas Monthly’s Top 50 Burgers in Texas. And yes, it was amazing.
On Saturday, the couple jumped out of bed and headed to The Chinati Foundation, a museum in Marfa that is unique in that it houses a permanent art collection of several artists’ work, instead of constantly rotating pieces. Donald Judd birthed this artisitic creation and since his passing in 1994, The Chinati Foundation has kept his vision alive. More impressive than the actual art is the expanse of land that is designated for the art and the architecture that houses the art. Some of this architecture is quite old and has been preserved; some of the architecture is quite new. It was a beautiful day when we were there. Here are some of the shots we got:
The four hour tour left the couple beat and they went back to the room and caught some well deserved vacation zzz’s. Later that night the couple had dinner at a great Italian food restaurant called Maiya’s, where Rachel had some epic Vodka Pasta. Stuffed and merry, the couple hopped in the car and headed out a few miles outside of town in an attempt to view The Marfa Lights. As the local radio station played the Rolling Stones and Dock Boggs, the couple geared themselves up for the possibiliy of seeing the lights.
The Marfa Lights are a famous and unexplained grouping of lights that appear from time to time in the night sky just outside of Marfa. Some say it is UFO’s. Others say it is the ghosts of the people that once inhabited the land. There is a popular viewing area about nine miles outside of town, and as the couple approached it they found dozens of fellow sky-gazers lined up to see the lights. In the end, Rachel and Todd didn’t see anything except for headlights from a nearby highway. They were not dissapointed, though. Between the collection of rednecks next to them who swore that a blinking cell phone light was a UFO, and the the fact that the sky was clear, beautiful, and filled with thousands upon thousands of stars that one only comes across when one goes out that far into the country, the couple had a very nice time. After a half hour or so, T&R packed up and drove back to The Thunderbird, where they tried their hardest to figure out a way they could quit their jobs and move to Marfa.
What can we say, Marfa hypnotized us. It was an amazing trip and an amazing town. Thanks Marfa!
This past weekend, R&T drove to the famed Marfa, Texas to behold a diamond in the rough. If you are not aware of Marfa (as Todd wasn’t until recently), it’s a town of 2,000 people in the middle of deserted West Texas famous for an insanely active arts community. There may be only two of three gas stations in the town, but there are at least three times as many art galleries there. The couple was told that the average Marfa resident is either a Willie Nelson type character or like a Brooklyn hipster. Both types are close to T&R’s hearts, so they hit the road Friday morning to get a look.
The couple drove 7 hours west of San Antonio on highway 90 and drove into Marfa at around 2PM. This was a good thing because a food cart that is popular among locals shuts down at 3PM, and the couple was very hungry. “Food Shark” is a cart set up downtown Marfa serving up sandwiches, hummus, falafal, and the like. Rachel was bummed to find that they were out of falafal by the time the couple pulled up, but T&R both enjoyed their turkey sandwiches.
After they filled their stomachs, the couple went into Marfa Book Co., a great bookstore filled with good fiction and premium books on art and architectire. After that, they checked into The Thunderbird Hotel. They took their shoes off, laid back, and enjoyed the amazing hotel that was like nothing else on Earth.
The hotel is simple and stripped down, but loaded with modern perks like an iPod dock, unique art in each room, and a larger than expected bathroom. Check them out at http://www.thunderbirdmarfa.com/ and plan your trip to Marfa now. It is a life changing experience.
That night, T&R went to Padre’s, a local bar, to see Quintron and Miss Pussycat. They are an act out of New Orleans, but the eclectic and completely insane group fit right in with what R&T were hoping Marfa would be all about. Quintron and Miss Pussycat’s performance starts out as a puppetshow. Believe it:
After the puppetshow, the duo come out and create a sonic sound with electric piano, drum machine, and various recorded rock instruments. Both of them sing, and the unique sound sent the crowd into a frenzy:
T&R were sitting at the bar staying comfy as the cowboys danced to the mad rock and roll. All of a sudden, the couple was surprised to see Quintron and Miss Pussycat get off stage in the middle of a song and jump on the bar. They danced around up there right in T&R’s faces for a few moments:
The show was amazing. After it was over the couple wandered out into the dark streets and found their way back to their home away from home. What would the next day bring for Todd and Rachel in Marfa? Stay tuned friends…
So, T&R have this agreement that they are going to take turns planning the anniversaries. Last year Todd was pretty happy that he could surprise Rachel with a night out on the San Antonio Riverwalk. This year, Rachel blew that out of the water by kidnapping Todd and taking them to NYC!
Todd arose early that morning (4:30am), thinking he was driving his wife to the airport so she could catch a flight to Dallas for work. This has been happening quite a bit in the last year so Todd had no idea that something fishy was happening. So, Todd threw on a shirt and some pj pants and sleepily hopped in the car to drop Rachel off at the airport, not even bothering to brush his teeth. It wasn’t until Rachel asked him to park when they arrived at the airport, and she popped the trunk to reveal their packed luggage that Todd realized they were both going on a trip!
Inside the airport, Rachel revealed that the couple would be spending a long weekend in New York and the couple grabbed a snooze on the plane as images of pizza and taxis danced in their heads. Once in NYC, the couple rode the subway (who needs an f’ing car!) to Rachel’s friend’s place on the Upper West Side, where the couple would be crashing. After a quick change and a freshening up, the couple hit the streets.
That night, they headed to Brooklyn and watched a movie under the Brooklyn Bridge at Brookyln Bridge Park with a dazzling view of the Manhattan skyline. Check it out:
After a few weeks of 103 degree record breaking heat in San Antonio, it was nice to experience a 65 degree summer night outdoors! Later that night, T&R were reunited with their friend Will from Todd’s Books of Wonder days. They hit their favorite West Village bar, Spain, and had amazing tapas as Will filled T&R in on all of the acting he has been doing Off Broadway and for TV.
The next day, R&T went up to the Bronx to check out The Bronx Zoo, something the couple never did while they lived there.
While there were a lot of cool animals to see (check out this sleeping Polar Bear and this sleeping lizard dude),
the coolest thing about The Bronx Zoo by far was the fact that they work very hard to make you feel like you are in the middle of an animal habitat (as opposed to a man-made place built so you can look at animals in cages). There was lush greenery all around and the barriers between man and animal were in most cases a lot less obvious than the big freaking bars we’ve grown accustomed to at most zoos.
That day, R&T also had the chance to ride back up to 125th street and see their old apartment in Harlem, as well as sample some of their favorite NY pizza at Pizzeria 123.
Still the best…
The weekend was full of a ton more (including a crazy night on a Battery Park apartment building roof with three British dudes, a stop into Books of Wonder, brunch at City Bakery, and a lot more) and the couple had a blast. Congrats Rachel on planning an excellent anniversary! It will surely be impossible to top next year. Todd is gonna have to get pretty damn creative.
Thanks NYC, and thanks Rachel for an amazing 2nd Anniversary!
As you all know, Todd’s mother passed away on June 26th, 2009. While it is so difficult to believe that she has left us, we are grateful that she no longer has to be in pain. She was a wonderful woman and changed the lives of everyone she knew with her kindness and encouragement. The most important thing to Karen was her family. Along with Todd and Rachel, she had been planning her family reunion set to be over the Fourth of July weekend.
We all knew that one of mom’s favorite things was to see her family come together and have a good time, so Rachel and Todd decided to continue with plans to host the family at their house. There was Rudy’s BBQ, a keg of beer, a margarita machine, a crystal clear swimming pool, and a hot summer day that all helped to brighten the spirits of the family and with all of the kids running around having fun, it was hard not to have a good time.
On June 26th, 2009 our good friends Sarah and Ryan had their first baby, Luke Issiac Loyd.
Todd and Rachel were so happy to be asked to be part of the boy’s God-family. Luke is a sweet and innocent little dude. Let the corruption begin!
Seriously though, we are so excited for the Loyd family. They already have two dogs in the family, now they have a son, and Sarah can drink alcohol again! Things are looking great for them!
Recently, Todd and Rachel flew out to California to visit Kara and Charlie in Fremont. As you know, Rachel had been there some months ago, but this was Todd’s first venture to the West Coast. Now, T&R will probably always be East Coast folks after their time in New York, but California was good to them.
The couple flew into Fremont and spent the evening having incredible Indian take out and playing Wii. It was a nice, laid back night after traveling all day. The next day, the group hit the road and drove to the famous Napa Valley, home to some of California’s finest wines. May is a beautiful month in Napa, and the quartet’s day in Napa was no different. The sun was out, not a cloud in the sky, and the day’s high temperature was somewhere around 70, with cool winds all day.
The group took a tour of the famed Rubicon Estate Winery, owned by director Francis Ford Coppola. The grounds are massive, with rolling lush greenery and picturesque mountain ranges making it a truly amazing sight. Inside is a small museum dedicated to the original winery owner, and some of FFC’s directoral credits. Before it was bought by FFC, this winery was under many other names, but first opened in 1880, and has been an important part of California wine history since then. T&R and K&C took the tour and had a wine tasting (excellent!), and finished off their afternoon leisurelybasking on the estate’s meticulously trimmed lawns.
Another highlight to this trip included an evening in Oakland, where the group indulged in sushi and BOTTOMLESS sake. This was followed by a brisk walk to a South Korean Kareokee bar, where the group spent the evening singing 80’s tunes off key. This kareokee place was unique in that they gave you a CD of your performance at the end of the night. The group ate lunch the next day (In-N-Out burger…awesome) listening to their own singing talents. Let’s just say that it’s a good thing that the burger joint’s food is so good. Otherwise, the entire group would have lost their appetites. As Rachel put it, kareokee should never be documented. It’s an experience that should be had, and celebrated, but not documented.
Other highlights include a trip to San Francisco for some Burmese food (who knew the Burmese had it goin’ on!?) as well as taking a peek at the Golden Gate Bridge!
The group also ventured to Berkeley to see Kara’s school. While in the college town, the group hit up a pizza joint called Jupiter, that was also a brewhouse with a pretty mean selection of beer.
The trip was capped off by Kara, Rachel and Todd jumping in Kara’s car and making the 24+ hour trip from San Jose to San Antonio. It was a helluva car ride as anyone who’s made one of those knows, but the group entertained themselves with a novel called Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, a genius book that takes the original Jane Austen English masterpiece, concerning womanhood, decorum and love, and features all new “bone-crunching zombie mayhem”. On a drive that took us from San Jose to Los Angeles and east through Pheonix, Tucson, Las Cruces, El Paso and finally to San Antonio, the halerious novel was just what the group needed. Oh, and a little card game called Set.
