Happy January and a couple of additional thoughts from the Texas trip

January is almost half-over and I still feel the desire to pat myself on the back while silently saying "Well done,  Geoguy.  You made it through another holiday season."  

Let me state right now that I'm not Scrooge, nor am I the Grinch.  I appreciate Christmas as much as anyone and certainly don't have any animosity toward the season.  However....

It starts way too early.  The commercial emphasis wears on me.  The stress of trying to find a great gift for Geogal (although I avoided it this year as I had a creative gift idea early enough).  The disruptions of schedule and daily routine.  And on and on.  (I won't even get into a tirade about what I believe are horrid holiday songs one hears throughout the day--that could take a whole blog entry itself.)  

To be sure, there's still plenty of things I do like.  Christmas Eve candlelight service (not to be confused with midnight mass).  Genuine appreciation of gifts given.  Hot apple cider.  Cooking prime rib for the Christmas Day meal.  Spiked eggnog.  Non-spiked eggnog.  (And some really good holiday songs.)  

Yet the positives and negatives of the Christmas season go quickly once the calendar turns to December 26.  New Year's Day reinforces the need to take down the tree and decorations.  

For me returning to the regular week routine is therapeutic.  Wow, that's quite a perspective switch from when I was a youngster and dreaded returning to school!  I again feel useful and the house, while often peaceful, can get a bit old after a few days of leisure.  

Just a couple more things to add to the preceding entries on our Texas journey:

1)  Is Oklahoma trying to compete with Nevada in how many casinos the casual traveler can visit along an Interstate?  

Think I'm joking?  Just drive I-35 between the Red River and Oklahoma City.  You'll see what I mean.  

2)  I didn't think I'd get another chance, but I did.  

When visiting Seguin in March 2016, following a mission-trip house-build in Ciudad Acuna, I noticed something "not quite right" with highway signs at a particular intersection.  At the time I didn't stop to get a picture, probably thinking I would do it later.  Then I forgot.  

Given Texas Department of Transportation has a long history of consistent, accurate signage on its highways I figured the district office would catch the error and correct it.  

But two and a half years later, the "boo-boo" is still there.  

This is the intersection of Court and King streets in southeast Seguin:  

For those of you who are not map/highway sign nerds such as me, the top marker should be a U.S. Highway shield, not a Texas state highway design.  A graphic of how the Alt 90 shield should appear is on Wikipedia's page.

Saving a trip to the map for the curious, the actual Texas state highway 90 runs between Navasota and Madisonville, much to the northeast of this location.  

That's all for now.  See you much more in 2019!