Horseshoe Trails, Lake Grapevine, New Gas Low & Extreme Home Makeover

Well, I've had me a day. Did my usual early morning swim thing. Done with that by 8am. Then I put my new bike seat on my old bike. Pedaled around testing the seat. I liked it. Then I hit a bump and the seat came loose. Back to the tools for some better screw tightening.

A bit after noon I headed up to Southlake and Grapevine. I was hungry so I went to Costco for their extravagant free sample lunch. Today was the best ever. A lot of very good cheeses and breads. Giant shrimp. I had the sweet chili shrimp. Beef stroganoff, pork tamales, cheesecake, fudge, chicken pot pie and other stuff that I can't remember.

After eating too much at Costco I went to the Horseshoe Trails Park on Lake Grapevine. I used to mountain bike the Horseshoe Trails a couple times a week. I used to live closer. That's the view from the Horseshoe Trails, looking out at Lake Grapevine in the photo above. It has been very windy today here in North Texas. It made for a fun hike in the wind. Gusts to 45 mph.

We hiked for about 5 miles, 7 if you factor in the extra exertion required to make headway into a heavy wind.

After hiking I went to Sprouts Farmers Market in Southlake. Got a lot of good stuff, like oranges and broccoli and apples and ham hocks. I'm making pea soup tomorrow.

I mentioned a couple days ago that if I were in the area I might try and find the Extreme Makeover Home Edition house under construction up in far north Fort Worth. Well, I was sort of in the area. So, I left Sprouts and headed west on Southlake Boulevard for a few miles. Took a right on 377 and then left on to Keller-Hicks Road.

Keller-Hicks Road is where I'd read the new house was being built. This area is where I first lived when I moved to Texas so it's familiar territory to me. Except so much has changed. As in new houses as far as you could see.

Eventually I came to a detour with cops blocking any further driving on Keller-Hicks. A sign said "No Walk-Ins." Following the detour I came to another guarded access point to the TV production.

I could see a lot of cars, tents, light poles and someone being loud over a sound system. It did not sound like Ty Pennington.

Finally I got out of the detour on to a main road. That main road was the main access point for "volunteers" working on the new house. They had to drive a bumpy field of dirt to get in and out.

I could see across the field to a better view than the one by where the cops were blocking the road. I could see a lot of people and I think the new house. You can see that house in the photo to the right of the big white tent.

After all that excitement it was time to head back here. Horrible traffic on I-35. So, I got off the freeway at Western Center Boulevard and made my way to Beach Street, stayed on Beach til Randoll Mill, which leads me to where I am now.

I forgot to mention, on Beach Street, near the Beach Street Super Wal-Mart, I saw a new gas low. $1.42 at a Racetrack station. I didn't need any, so I got none, so Mom didn't get a gas call.