Computer Conference in Texas

It was an interesting couple of weeks before our trip to Texas. I went to the doctor and had three moles removed from my back and had the stitches taken out the day before we left on the trip. Unfortunately, one of the spots broke open in the doctors office. Once the wound opened up there isn't much they can do to close it back up. So, off we went to Portland, Oregon to catch our flight to Texas. We decided to stay overnight in a motel before catching our flight the next day. As I slept that night, I knew something was wrong when I rolled onto my right side. The other wound opened up as well. Anyhow, I was very glad that Tracy came along and helped me deal with changing my band aids twice a day.

We spent two days before the conference began down in the Corpus Christi area. As you can see from the picture below, "Everything is big in Texas."

The USS Lexington was open to the public to explore and learn about.

Unfortunately, we had to choose between seeing the Lexington and going to the Texas State Aquarium. It was a hot and windy day. So, we decided to enjoyed the cooler environment of the aquarium. It was a lot of fun to watch the dolphins as they were being trained.

We spent the night in Portland, Texas and ate at Bad Brads Barbecue. It was great! The next morning we got up and traveled south to San Padre Island. The dirty water of the gulf at Corpus Christi was a real contrast to the beautiful blue waters off San Padre Island. This beach along the San Padre State Park shows a State Park employee cruising the beach guarding their endangered turtle population. The sign on the back of his rig says, "Turtle Patrol."

The next stop was back to San Antonio where I attended the National Education Computer Conference. It is a large conference with over 17,500 in attendance. One of the evenings the convention center was set up for a buffet, western songs and other types of fun. The computer screen in the upper right part of the picture was an avatar of the singer in "Second Life."

The convention center was a building the size of a city block with two levels. And with 17,500 educators running around it was wild! The festivities were done in true Texas style. As we walked around the convention center we kept finding characters right out of the Alamo. This is my favorite picture.

Second Life was the rage! Many of the sessions dealt with how to navigate in this digital environment. The closing keynote speaker was introduced by an avatar in Second Life representing the current NECC president.

In the evenings we enjoyed the riverwalk and parks around the convention center. Tracy visited the Alamo during one of her day excursions and I took the picture below one evening as the sun was going down.