4th of July

We went to San Antonio to visit family for the 4th of July weekend. It was nice to hang out with family and celebrate the holiday. We went to the Missions (AA baseball team) game on Saturday evening with my parents and sister. IT WAS REALLY HOT!!! It was still fun and a good excuse to get a snow cone. After the game (the Missions lost), Robert Earl Keen played a concert and there were fireworks. No matter how old I get, fireworks never get old!

The whole weekend was great! The only downside was when we were headed back home. We got about half way to Houston and there was a huge traffic jam. It eventually cleared but then there was another one. For miles before both jams, we had seen this unusual cloud of smoke rising ahead of us. We weren't sure if it had to do with the traffic or not. We eventually decided to take a detour and head up to 290 to get into town instead of staying on I-10. It turns out that there was a forest fire along the highway (near Columbus) that had been burning for a couple of days and that was where all the smoke came from. Even as we came into Houston, you could see a gray haze coming from the west. The usual 3 hour drive back home from San Antonio turned into a 5 hour adventure but we eventually made it home safely.

Here are some pictures:[caption id="attachment_281" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="Lisa, Mom, and Dad enjoying the concert after the baseball game"][/caption]
[caption id="attachment_282" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="Robert Earl Keen plays on a stage behind second base after the Missions game on the 4th of July"][/caption]
[caption id="attachment_283" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="Evan and I enjoying the concert after the baseball game"][/caption]
[caption id="attachment_284" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="The smoke we saw while driving back to Houston on July 5th"][/caption]