(continued from Part 1)

Friday, May 29

Simon, Amy, and I stretch sleep from our joints as Shannon returns from taking Benjamin to school. Carefully eying a package Moksha Gren had shipped to our house with explicit instructions not to open it, we scarf some caramel rolls (the kind packaged like canned biscuits), get presentable, and hit the road to retrieve Moksha and Moonshot.

We miss the airport photo op because they already are waiting at the curb with their bags. I maneuver into a somewhat parallel position, but a shuttle bus comes along to urge me out of the way.

Click any pic to enlarge and sharpen.

We stop for lunch at the Gaylord Texan, a hotel and resort featuring a lobby with a very high glass ceiling and large replicas of famous Texas sites.

Along the fake San Antonio Riverwalk, we stop at a restaurant that features a close-up magician and a gourmet buffet.

I eat brie for the first time ever; it’s so good I nearly shed tears. Kind of like when Remy on Ratatouille accidentally combines two food ingredients, along with a lightning strike, to create a new flavor.

Back at our house, we all watch while Moksha slides a knife across the taped top of the package he had sent. Inside the box rest three styrofoam cubes the size of two combined fists. He hands one to each of the guys. Each of us pulls the cube apart to reveal a custom mug bearing the logo Moksha designed and the words Blogfather II, in a very Godfather-looking typeface.

The logo combines the Canadian Maple Leaf, the Texas Star, and the St. Louis Arch. Unable to imagine a more perfect graphic for the occasion, I think maybe Moksha missed his calling.

   

That afternoon, Benjamin drops in for a visit after school. The guys have no problem playing with him when he pulls out his Star Wars toys. We marvel at how many more joints move on the newer action figures.

Our surprise for our visitors is the next thing on our agenda. Forgetting that it’s Friday and most workers in the area don’t have the day off, we dawdle just long enough to ensure our journey to Forth Worth takes us through rush hour traffic.

And I’m using the word “through” very loosely. Or, rather, tightly. The point is, we sit at a standstill for much of the time and park with less than five minutes until the show starts.

The improvisational comedy sketch act called Four Day Weekend is aptly named for us. And, although the show is different every time, one thing is exactly the same as the first time Shannon and I saw it — it is hilarious.

For a sketch in which two of the players can say only randomly chosen lines the audience wrote before the show, one of my lines is picked. The emceee reads it aloud and, having just spoken to a couple who met on match.com, he asks how we met our visitors.

“On the Internet,” I reply.

“Oh, match.com, huh?”

“No, we were all married when we met.”

“Oh, so you were looking for some swinging action?”

We all laugh along with the audience and wait for the sketch to start.

One of the guys, who has been out of the room and is unaware of which lines were chosen, walks across the stage and sits in a chair. Two other men approach.

“Hey, what’s up?” the seated man says.

“The Canadians and the vegetarians are here,” replies one of the approaching guys, gesturing to himself and his buddy.

After the show, we walk around downtown Fort Worth a bit, the city bustling with live music on every corner and some spots in between. Our only stop before the car? The Godiva Chocolate shop.

We buy a few pieces and stroll in the cool night air, where the AMC Theater’s marquee catches my eye. The stacking of two movie names makes it seem that there’s just one, called “Angels and Demons Drag Me to Hell.”

Rock Band rounds out the night perfectly, and the guys continue to jam after the ladies turn in.

For more pictures, see the online album.

(to be continued)