Sunday Church Walk With Sikes Lake Geese Before McDonald's Cheeseburgers

This Sunday morning, with going to church not an option, unless I wanted to go to the Cowboy Church on Jacksboro Highway, a reality I learned later in the day, I opted to join the throngs of former churchgoers enjoying one of God's local outdoor temples, that being the trail around Sikes Lake.

The Sikes Lake geese seem to have found a new level of liking the humans, what with so many of them visiting their Sikes Lake home due to the COVID-19 increase in visitors.

In the first of today's photo documentation I had just joined the promenade of walkers following the biggest goose family living at the lake. Mom and dad hatched 17 babies this birthing season.

Mother goose has become so used to the humans she no longer does her threatening hissing if you get too close to her babies.

Above we have stopped for a closer visit.

And closer.

And even closer.

That first goose family was walking the trail near the parking lot on the east side of Sikes Lake. The above, much smaller, goose family was on the south side of the lake. These babies were closer to being newborns than the first ones we saw. And their mother was a bit more protective, doing some distant hissing when my co-walker reached out to pet one of the fuzzy goslings.

After walking around Sikes Lake the hiking crew returned to the motorized means of transport so I could drive us to the nearest McDonald's drive-thru to acquire a bag of cheeseburgers to munch on during a drive which ended up driving by that aforementioned Cowboy Church on Jacksboro Highway, south of Wichita Falls.

And now, what with the outer world seeming still, as in not windy like it has been for days, methinks I will go on a bike ride to Lake Wichita and join the throngs social distancing there...

Wholotta Takeout Not Muy Bueno In Wichita Falls

About a month into the COVID-19 lockdown I went along with doing what many recommended doing, as in supporting a shuttered restaurant by getting a takeout order to go.

Well.

I do not remember if I have made mention before of the restaurant aversion I developed after watching too many Kitchen Nightmare episodes.

That and my first ever case of food poisoning happened after a burger at a cafe on the Parker County courthouse square. It was that poisoning episode which enlightened me as to what the term "projectile vomiting" meant.

Now, I have had the pleasure of enjoying many Texas restaurants since that food poisoning incident happened. But, til this Coronavirus thing happened I had not eaten at a Wichita Falls restaurant since I moved to town.

I think it was early on reading in the Facebook Wichita Falls Rants & Raves page a posting about cockroaches infesting a local Sonic Drive-In that made me wary.

Totally irrational, I know, but I really do prefer my own cooking, or the home cooking of someone I trust, particularly in Texas. I could not name all the Arizona restaurants I have been subjected to the past few years. Most of those have been franchise chains, except for Fiesta Burrito in Scottsdaale, and Big Wa Chinese in Tempe. Both excellent, with no Kitchen Nightmare issues.

So, the first of my COVID takeout experiences had me driving the crew through the McDonald's drive through and ordered a lot of cheeseburgers. I have always liked McDonald's cheeseburgers. I do not know why. Maybe they have always reminded me of a Kow Korner cheeseburger. Only Skagitonians will get the Kow Korner reference.

For the second takeout week I agreed to phone in an order to a Mexican restaurant, non-franchise, which is a stone's throw from my abode. Prior to the lockdown this restaurant was always real busy, and I figured it had to be real good, that the locals were likely excellent judges of good Tex-Mex.

Well. Worst Mexican food ever. Horrible. The big bag the food was stuffed in was a mess of containers. My choice was Lunch Combo #1, because it included a chile relleno, my go to favorite Mexican food, and by which I judge a Mexican restaurant. Blindfolded I would not have been able to guess this was a relleno. Disgusting is not a strong enough word to describe it. And nothing else in the combo was good either. Horrible taco, stale chips, dried out rice, runny beans. Horrible.

So, the next week I did not give the crew a choice. It was the McDonald's drive through or I opt out.

And that takes us to this week's takeout woe. One of the crew had an advertisement which advertised something called a Wholotta Box, from a chain restaurant called Taco Bueno. I don't think this is a national chain. I looked at the advertisement advertising fresh ingredients, special recipes and the photo of the Wholotta Box looked okay.

So, I drove the crew through the Taco Bueno drive through, ordered two Wholotta Boxes, and then drove to Lucy Park to have lunch at a covered picnic table overlooking the Wichita River.

I sat a Wholotta Box on the picnic table, opened the box, and saw that which you see above. Extremely blah tacos, extremely blah bean burritos, containers of rice, re-fried beans, salsa and bags of chips. The salsa was okay, the chips were stale. All in all it was a Wholotta awful.

And so this week I am not gonna be democratic with the takeout choice. It will be where I wanna drive to takeout, or I don't drive to takeout anything.

On a lighter note, after a Wholotta aggravation, a long walk along the Wichita River put me in a Wholotta better mood.

That is the Wichita River you see on the right, with the color of the river pretty much the same color as the trail though the Lucy Park forest, which explains where the river color comes from.

A Wholotta land must regularly be eroded to to provide the Wichita River its signature color...

Throwback Thursday To Mom's Final McDonald's Cheeseburger

Since this is Thursday I guess this can qualify as one of those "Throwback Thursday" things.

I had not managed to talk to sister Jackie since mom joined dad, last Friday, until yesterday, when I called and asked if sister Jackie wanted to ride to ALDI with me.

This was the first conversation in years during which one of the primary subjects was not something worrisome to do with our parental units.

I mentioned to Jackie that I'm having a little trouble adjusting to the new family reality, that I had had myself thinking I was returning to Arizona in November, during the Thanksgiving time frame, to help take care of things, and to be there at the same time as my Tacoma relatives, Michele, Kristin, David, Theo and Ruby.

I told Jackie that my last time talking to mom was a bit poignant. Sister Michele had texted me, telling me mom was being lucid, thus a good time to call. I think this was the Sunday before mom's final Friday. I called and managed to talk to mom for a couple minutes.

Mom managed to ask her usual "When are you coming back for a visit?" question. I replied that I think I will be there in November, around Thanksgiving. Mom replied that this will be soon, or something like that.

After I told Jackie this she tried to think of what had been the last conversation she had with mom, before Jackie and Jack left for Nevada at the start of mom's final week.

And then Jackie remembered.

It was the Saturday visiting mom before heading west. Mom was not wanting to eat anything. Had basically shut down on the eating thing. Jackie asked mom is there was anything she wanted to eat that she would like, anything at all.

Mom replied "A cheeseburger and fries."

Jackie replied "I will be right back."

Jackie then scooted to the nearest McDonald's and soon returned with a bag of cheeseburgers and fries.

Mom took several burger bites, seemed to be enjoying it. Along with a few fries. And was sort of smiling as she was enjoying what was to be her last McDonald's cheeseburger.

Jackie quickly realized this needed to be photo documented, hence the photo at the top, mom holding her last McDonald's cheeseburger....

Dallas Cheeseburgers At One Of The World's Most Unique McDonald's

Lunch today at one of my favorite fine dining restaurants.

McDonald's.

Specifically lunch at one of the World's most unique McDonald's, that being the McDonald's in North Dallas, at the Monfort Drive exit off I-635, also known at the LBJ Freeway, slightly east of the Galleria Mall.

There is something about McDonald's regular cheeseburger that I have long been fond of.

Is it the dill pickle? The utter simplicity?

Til today the last time I had the McDonald's cheeseburger delicacy was whilst on the move to Wichita Falls, on the last day goods were moved. I was hungry. I stopped at the Haslet McDonald's, off I-287, south of Decatur, north of Fort Worth. Got myself three cheeseburgers, fries and a large Coke, and then got back to rolling the road.

My other favorite McDonald's delicacy is the fish sandwich. Too messy to consume whilst driving. I remember when this item of fine dining cost something like 60 cents. Now one fish sandwich costs somewhere north of three bucks.

The last time I had the McDonald's fish sandwich delicacy was multiple times in the Phoenix zone, in March of 2012, with the first instance soon after my mom and dad and sister picked me up at the airport. Within a few minutes I found myself in a McDonald's where I had, for the first, and only time, a double fish sandwich.

The last time, til today, that I was at the Dallas McDonald's that is known as one of the world's most unique, was in early January of 2009, when my mom and dad were visiting.

Above you are looking at my mom and dad, in their cowboy hats, outside the aforementioned Dallas McDonald's. I do not remember if I had a cheeseburger that day. I do remember my dad getting us all hot fudge sundaes. I also remember this was a stop gap feeding prior to motoring west to Roanoke to have the classic Babes's chicken dinner.

Today is the first time I have successfully done the blogging thing on the road, using my phone's Google Blogger app. My previous attempt to do so, two years ago, did not work. Partly due to, I think, me not being all that used to doing the typing on the phone thing. That and the app has improved.

I think I will be able to make it back to Wichita Falls without needing another McDonald's cheeseburger break.....

The Queen Of Wink Was Lost But Now She Is Found With McDonald's Cheeseburgers

Well.

We can quit worrying. The Queen of Wink has been located.

Calling the Wink Police and asking them to do a welfare check was no solution to the Mystery of the Disappearance of the Queen of Wink.

If I did not suffer from slightly addled memory problems I might have realized there was no mystery to solve.

I'd forgotten that the Q of W had told me she'd dropped her phone into a watery grave, rendering it useless and she incommunicado. I'd forgotten as a consequence all stored numbers were lost. You would think a light bulb would have come on in my memory banks after getting the Queen's voice mail more than once.

And then there's me forgetting about the date of the Queen's San Antonio trip. I thought she was heading to SA in late July for a Top Secret Operation. Instead it was late June for the Top Secret Operation.

I was on my way to Wal-Mart this morning, driving in the heavy, hike-preventing rain, when I decided to call the Queen of Wink again. This time she answered. I told her I'd been worried sick. And then she hung up on me. Or the call was dropped.

With my number now available to her, the Queen of W called me back. It was during the course of the following conversation I learned she was heading west on Interstate 10, leaving San Antonio, after a successful Top Secret Operation, and heading back to her Wink Realm.

For some reason the Queen of Wink mentioned Cheeseburgers. Ever since then I've had me a craving for a Cheeseburger.

I am not too embarrassed to admit I like the basic, simple McDonald's Cheeseburger.

When I finished talking to the Queen I went into Wal-Mart where the first thing I come to is a McDonald's. I was sorely tempted, sorely tempted, I tell you, to get me a McDonald's Cheeseburger. It is a testament to the extreme strength of my willpower that I resisted the temptation.

For now.

I have not had a McDonald's Cheeseburger since the first week of 2009, when my mom and dad were here and we went to one of the World's Most Unique McDonald's, in Dallas.

A couple years ago I made a blog for a pair of poodles who have since run away. Those poodles liked McDonald's Cheeseburgers. On and on they'd go about their McDonald's Cheeseburgers.

Before the pair of Cheeseburger loving poodles ran away, I made a video of them trying to get a bite of a Cheeseburger from me. Now, when Betty Jo Bouvier. the Wild Woman of Woolley, saw this video she thought it was terribly mean to tease the hungry poodles in such a manner. Rest assured, in the end, they got their Cheeseburgers...