Mark and James visit the museum at Washington on the Brazos - Birthplace of Texas

Update section: Mark went to the movies with friend Bruce. They both enjoyed it. Mark returned home drained of energy, no color, sat on the sofa not moving, no expression, but he can't give up his small outings. Seeing friends, having an adventure, reading the blog and seeing that people have visited the blog are the glue that holds Mark together. When he has a good day, Mark says it is because people have prayed for him, visited him, or visited the blog. or are thinking of him. You are part of the glue holding him together. Last night Friday the 14th he went for a snack with friends Dave and Frank. He reported that a girl at Walgreens gave him the eye and that excited him and reved his engine. He was so happy that he can still be attractive to the opposite gender even though he has cancer. Tonight (sat. the 15th) his friend Allen comes from Reno for a visit.

Mark's Lucky Day -On Saturday (9-8-07) we left Austin for Houston. We arrived in Houston at the Veteran's Administration Hospital at 12:30 pm the exact minute we were due for Mark to drink the liquid 2 hours before the actual CAT Scan. We got an early check-in at the motel. Mark got a rest and was back for the CAT scan at 2:30 pm. The CAT scan technician called Mark within minutes and got into a vein with one stick which is very unusual; this was a vein Mark says he had not seen for years. He thinks all his recent days of pumping iron have helped strengthen his veins. We were told that last Sat. there was a five hour wait for a CAT Scan due to vets with head injuries coming into the emergency room. We were lucky that Mark got a CAT Scan this week instead of last week. Mark found two lucky pennies. He also believes that all of you were thinking of him and praying for him and that is why he had a lucky day.

Mark catches another armadillo or it catches him.

The only unlucky event was a trip to Goode and Co. Bar-b-que. The place was packed which means lots of people in Houston love this bar-b-que, but the ribs and brisket were terrible: no where near as good as Artz or the Iron Works or Rudy's in Austin. The bar-b-que sauce was like marinara sauce and the meat was tough. The only good thing was that there was a giant armadillo at Goode and Co. (See earlier blog with picture and story about Mark catching an armadillo.)

Sunday we headed back to Austin, driving a few extra miles to Washington on the Brazos State Park which has an excellent Texas history museum with amazing artifacts. Washington on the Brazos is the birthplace of Texas.

Bicyclist line the street in Chappel Hill (click to enlarge picture)
On the way to Washington on the Brazos, we saw what seemed like thousands of bicyclists at Chappel Hill, a beautiful little historic town. All over the countryside as well as in town, we saw bicyclists.

Will wonders never cease? When we got home, we saw someone from the small town of Chandlerville, Illinois, close to the Sangamon River, had been on the blog. Years ago we had a cabin on a bay off the river here. We had fun with kayaks and a home-made raft from styrofoam and wood and a five horse motor. My great-great grandfather and his descendants farmed here. My great Uncle managed a duck club near here that Al Capone frequented. My mother's first cousin was pastor of the Mount Olive Baptist Church near here for over fifty years. How exciting to find that someone from Chandlerville was on the blog...we don't know who it was. So far 7329 people from 65 countries have visited the blog.Mark thanks you for visiting his blog.