While I was there, just for a few minutes, I actually messed with Texas.

His marital plans dashed, The Kize decided to use his planned week of vacation to visit his old college buddy Dave Theisz. Dave is a Naval officer stationed in Corpus Christi, Texas, which is about a two-hour drive from San Antonio, where Pace Picante Sauce is made by folks who know what picante should taste like. WTM Kize has emerged from its hibernation to share with you the following observations and anecdotes from that trip:

• The George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, the site of one of my many transfers during the journey from C-ville to Corpus, is easily the most confusing airport I've ever been to. Democrats, feel free to insert an Iraq joke here. Like many major airports, IAH has several terminals that you must ride a shuttle to get back and forth between. Unlike other airports, you've got to leave the secure area to get to this shuttle, meaning that you've got to go back through a security checkpoint to get to your plane.
  
  Added to that hassle was the fact that the airport couldn't have been less clear as to which gate my flight to Corpus Christi was leaving from. It seemed to randomly sometimes appear on the large "Departures" video screens and sometimes not. And when it did show up, sometimes the actual gate number wasn't included. When I finally got to the correct gate (as directed by Continental Airlines staff), the destination of another flight was posted there instead of mine.
  
  
  
• Dave was quick to tell me about Texans' exaggerated sense of pride about their home state. Everything's bigger in Texas, you know. I got to witness this firsthand, during my conversation about football with a cab driver. He was insistent that Houston's Reliant Stadium was the biggest in the NFL (it's around 20,000 seats smaller than FedEx Field, the real biggest). He also informed me that a Superbowl between the Cowboys and the Texans would be the biggest ever, because Dallas and Houston have a bigger rivalry than New York and L.A., since each one wants to prove that it's the "biggest city" in the "biggest state." So, you can imagine how fierce the Juneau-Sitka, Alaska rivalry must be.
  
  
  
• As soon as I realized that I was going to be just two hours from San Antonio while Game 2 of the NBA Finals was being played, I checked eBay to see how much tickets would be. I found some that were pretty affordable, so Dave and I made plans to drive up for the game. Sadly, the Navy called Dave away on his ship at the last minute, meaning that he'd have to miss the game and that I'd have to find a way to San Antonio.
  
  So, I called up Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and soon enough I was heading up a Texas highway by myself in an SUV with an extra NBA Finals ticket. As I figured it, I had three options to take with the ticket. A) I could see what I could sell it for; B) I could try to trade my two tickets for one in a better seat; or C) I could find a cute girl looking for a ticket in the parking lot and take her to the game. Despite the many encouragements from friends and family I talked to on the phone to take Option C, I ended up trading my two tickets to a guy for some money and a slightly better seat.
  
  
  
• It's a pretty strange feeling to be at a big game like the NBA Finals and not have a team to root for. First of all, it allows you to objectively see how weird being a sports fan can make a person look. I spent almost the entire first quarter thinking that the guy sitting next to me was an obnoxious jerk, until I realized that he was acting exactly like I do at a UVA game. Secondly, not rooting for the home team really makes you feel like you're a fan of the visiting team, even if you're not. When I got up to leave, I told the guy next to me "good game." As if his team had just beaten mine. I have no idea why I said that!
  
  
  
• Now that I've been to the NBA Finals, I realize how well UVA puts on a game at the John Paul Jones Arena. It really is an NBA level experience. Our starting lineups for the regular season (with the pyrotechnics and flames displayed on the ribbon board) are actually cooler than what the Spurs did for their Finals game (basically, they just turned out the lights and shined a spotlight on the team). And the halftime show was actually an act that UVA had at a game earlier this year. The one, the only Red Panda Acrobat.
  
  
  
• If you've ever wondered why the characters in movies and TV shows seem so confused when they go into a hall of mirrors, it's because it's really hard to find your way around in one.
  
  
  
• I experienced my first bit of airline delay when my plane back to Charlottesville had to remain in a holding pattern for an hour while a thunderstorm near the airport ran its course. The worst part of the whole ordeal was the lady one row back from me, whose flight earlier in the day had been cancelled and who was now complaining non-stop. When someone asked her if she lived in Charlottesville, she snapped back, "No! I don't think I could stand the hassle of getting here!" Good point, lady. It is a real pain to wake up every morning in Charlottesville and then fly into Charlottesville. I don't know why I do it!
  

And that pretty much sums up Texas. Thanks to Dave for having me out there!