The July trip to Corpus Christi gets filed under "success". Freddy, Gumbo, Jason, and Mo (the new recruit) joined me.
Clowning Around With Wait Staff
Friday Afternoon, Freddy and I stopped for lunch at Hooters on the way to the beach. Our table happened to have a tiny pile of lettuce. The waitress carefully swept it into her hand before tossing the greens on the floor.
"I saw that," I joked, "we're from Corporate."
She suddenly looked concerned. Apparently throwing lettuce on the floor isn't in the employee handbook. I reassured her that we were just joking around.
The waitress spent a lot of time with us. She even told us we were her favorite table. Was it because she though we worked for Hooters Headquarters? Or was it because Freddy and I are hilarious pranksters? The world may never know.
Good Winds
The leftovers from hurricane Dolly provided great wind for most of the trip. Friday and Sunday were great planing days with winds from 20-30 MPH. Saturday wasn't as windy, but it still gusted into planing speeds.
Freddy took the beach start class, spending almost an entire day popping out of the water. He also practiced the harness, which will come in handy since he's getting close to planing speeds.
Mo had a downwind adventure his first day, but he quickly got up to speed. On his second day he took the harness class. He managed to stay upwind and to get lots of time hooked in.
Jason started to attempt the front foot straps while rocketing around on plane.
I spent more serious time with both feet in the straps. I'm getting pretty comfortable sliding into the back strap, although my technique could still use a little refining.
The Birthday Cake
On Friday night, Freddy and I split a big bottle of Duvel before visiting Havana for a meal of Tapas and Mojitos.
Our waitress was Michelle, and she remembered us as "the fun table" from months ago! The pressure was on: we had a reputation to maintain.
We munched on "El Infidel", goat cheese, and fried yucca. A birthday party gathered at a nearby table. Ideas started to form.
When Michelle returned to ask if we needed anything, I requested a slice of birthday cake.
"No," she claimed, "we don't have birthday cake."
"But they do," I pointed to the nearby table. Michelle laughed, but the answer was still no.
When Michelle came by again, I eyed the cake and requested forks and plates.
"No," Michelle laughed, "you can't steal their cake! It's theirs!"
After Michelle left, I ran to the birthday table. I snagged two discarded plates, complete with cake crumbs and forks. I placed one in front of Freddy, one in front of myself.
When Michelle returned, she laughed hysterically, "No! You didn't!"
Mission accomplished.
Cover, No Cover
Freddy and I strode to Katz 21, still laughing from our prank at Havana. Inside, two ladies told us there was a $5 cover. Freddy handed over a five just as I insisted that they should let cool guys like us in for free.
"That's true," Freddy chimed in. Freddy's five hovered over the cash register while we bantered. We both went back and fourth with the ladies, joking about how awesome we were and how we were good for business.
Finally, one of the ladies actually returned Freddy's money, declaring "No cover."
Again, it wasn't clear if we got in for free because we were cool, or because we were annoying. I'm going to hope that annoying people don't get discounts at clubs. Either way: victory.
Aristotle and the Hostess
Saturday night, Freddy, Jason, Mo, and I ate at the U & I Steak House. When we checked in, the hostess asked for a name for the waiting list. Freddy developed a wicked grin and answered "Aristotle."
The hostess started writing down "ARI..." before giving up on the spelling. She crossed it out, laughed, and walked away. A few minutes later, she returned. "Okay Aristotle, you're table is ready."
We enjoyed a fabulous meal of mesquite-grilled steak and seafood, and orange juice Mexican Martinis. When the waitress came with the check, she asked "Aristotle" if he was married. She handed Freddy a slip of paper with the Hostess's phone number. Freddy had a new friend.
Crazy Ladies
Freddy and I had some strange encounters with the Corpus ladies. First, an older lady with giant punched-in-the-mouth lips fell in love with Freddy.
Between spells of dancing, she would sit down with us and pout at Freddy. Whenever she left, she was careful to leave a drink or bag near Freddy to mark her territory.
On Sunday, Freddy spent several hours at Agua Java with the world's most talkative woman. Freddy was kind enough to introduce me. The millisecond we shook hands, she launched into the most incredible stream of consciousness narrative I've ever heard. Car accident, ear-locating metal detectors, legally dead, ball-bearing elbows, glass eyes, world records, and so on.
It was an incredible experience, but I didn't know what to make of the odd carnival sideshow narrative. It was odd, delightful, confusing, and nerdy all at the same time. What exactly does one say to a pretty lady who happens to be crazy?
Freddy and I said goodbye to crazy lady and picked up some burgers from What-a-burger Headquarters. As we drove back to Austin munching our food, we pondered our many adventures this weekend.
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