Ian and I met Bob around the same time while training at the jiu jitsu gym. He was a tattooed dude who immediately with whom we became embroiled in a three way rivalry. For years, I chased Bob on the mats vowing to one day D’arce him into submission.
When he told us that Toyota was moving their North American headquarters to Plano, Texas we knew we had limited time to train together in CA. On a whim, I got Ian onboard to purchase tickets to check out how he was settling down in the Lone Star State. Work is good, he’s a homeowner, he’s got a good woman by his side, and now he’s got two dogs instead of just one…and he still whips around in those fresh Lexus/Toyota’s on the company dime.
Bob picked us up in a red Camry at DFW International. After a hugs and a short drive we pulled up to a brick house in a suburb city known simply as “The Colony”. We met his girlfriend Michelle and headed off to the pub for some drinks.
Side note: The humidity in Texas is no joke. Couple that with the scorch of the sun and you’re in for swamp ass and sunburns 24/7 if you’re not careful.
One blurry night later.
With bleary eyes, we woke up to bacon and eggs sizzling in the kitchen. And another huge dog running around the house. Put plainly, Michelle is a serious dog person. Aside from Atticus and Ruby, they dog sit for clients and soon Maso, a huge Mastiff/Cane Corso is in the mix.
Soon enough, we are off to a local mall to try our hand at flowboarding which is some weird version of finless surfing that you can do at a mall. It sure wasn’t surfing but the difficulty level was a solid 7/10. Each one of us took some nasty spills complete with whiplashing into the ground while the wave spits you out into the drain on top.
A taste of Texas BBQ
In case you didn’t know, BBQ is big deal in Texas. We headed to a spot called Hutchins BBQ where there was meat aplenty. I ordered a 1/2 pound of ribs, a bacon wrapped cream cheese stuffed jalapeño, mac and cheese and brisket bbq beans. You know you’re at a heart attack factory when there is free desert; And it wasn’t just soft serve, it was full on peach cobbler and banana pudding. I literally had to bump through and hold my ground with 10 overweight customers to get a serving of peach cobbler when it came out.
Fun Fact: I am now a card carrying member of a gun club in Garland.
Bob brought out his guns for us to shoot. Among them a Glock 9mm, a 30-06 hunting rifle and a 12 gauge shotgun. Between blasting bullets at targets including clay pigeons, we watched on as local Texans fired off round after round of deafening gunshots. There was one Asian dude there flying solo who had half of an armory out while he sat around in a sweaty Under Armor shirt. Another older woman told us between puffs of a cigarette that she’s going to convince her husband to get her a new scope for their anniversary. All in all, these people, however crazy about about guns were friendly and I felt safe. I was pretty stoked that we all actually hit the clay pigeons within a few attempts. I got 3 of 4 on my last attempt!
Until next time Bob and Michelle!
