Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Heather and I went over to AMC Grapevine Mills to see the latest Pirates movie.  It was a lot of fun, even without the leads from the previous three.  Jack’s just as gleefully amoral (Heather’s words) as ever, and the Spanish are a hoot when they finally get some screen time.  We saw it in 2D, in one of the Fork and Screen theaters, and enjoyed a good pizza and some delicious hummus while the movie played.  It was definitely a good successor to the previous installments and is worth the time and money to go see it.  Yummy brain fluff.

By Schism Rent Asunder

The second book in David Weber’s Safehold Saga, [amazon_link id=”0765353989″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]By Schism Rent Asunder[/amazon_link], picks up right where the first one left off.  The upheavals are spreading, and I like where the story’s heading.  There were a few pretty big surprises and plot twists, including one just about exactly half way through the book that I was not expecting.  Lets just say that Charis has more allies and help than they thought.  And don’t be expecting a neat wrap up like the last book, this one ends on a cliffhanger!

Better to Beg Forgiveness

Now that school’s out for the summer, my reading is getting back on track, and I should have the rather large stack reduced considerably soon.  The first one was Michael Z. Williamson’s [amazon_link id=”1416591516″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Better to Beg Forgiveness[/amazon_link].  A fun roller coaster ride through a private security team’s lives before, during, and after getting sold out.  They doesn’t pull any punches, and the body count shows just how ruthless the bodyguards can be to keep their man safe.

More ICR Points And Pie

I didn’t get as early a start as I would have liked, but I was rolling by 9:00 this morning, heading south and west of Dallas/Fort Worth to pick up some more points.  The first stop was Cresson, where I snapped a shot of the post office.  From there I went on to Granbury to find Jesse James’s grave in the old city cemetery.  It was down some gravel/dirt roads, but nothing too difficult.  I’m not sure if it’s really him, but the marker is there.  After that it was off to Tolar to get a picture of the Windmill Farm bed and breakfast.  They’ve got a great view of the Hill Country there!  Next on the list was the Greenwood Saloon in Bluff Dale.  It looks like an interesting place to be at on a Saturday night.  I goofed setting the waypoint for it, confusing the north and south sides of town, but got that sorted out quickly.  I then stopped off at the Hard Eight BBQ in Stephenville, where I got a good whiff of smoke as they were firing up the smokers while I was taking the required picture.  Multiple points in Dublin were next, including the Dr. Pepper plant and Doc’s Soda Shop, where I enjoyed some real Dr. Pepper (sugar, not corn syrup).  Then a quick detour over to De Leon to get a picture of the Terrill Antique Car Museum before heading back to Hico to meet Heather for lunch at the Koffee Kup.  Lunch was good but the pie was better.  I had the key lime and Heather had the peanut butter cup pie.  Finally, a picture of the Billy The Kid statue in Hico finished off the to-do list.  We then worked to outrun the thunderstorms brewing up as we headed home.  We just got sprinkled on a little, nothing serious, and pulled in just after 5:00 PM.

Thor

We met up with some friends to catch the latest comic book movie, Thor, down at AMC Grapevine Mills.  This was my first time in the renovated theaters since they’ve converted half of them to in theater dining, and I wasn’t disappointed.  The food was good and the service was ok.

The movie was a lot of fun, with some (so I’m told) good eye candy for the ladies, humor, action, and great special effects.  I didn’t read too many of the comics growing up, but got the basic story down.  And the cross-overs with Captain America, The Avengers, and more of the Marvel universe were nice to see.  The volume was a little high, and judging by what others have said, that wasn’t specific to the theater we were in.