turtleman

turtleman doesn't like his indian name

poor fucker

it'll grow on you 

or you'll work yerself out of it

ready to dip?

yep

a few finishing touches

a slight rise in temperature

and the first two of 2011 are done

bitchin' agate shot

irons in the fire

I've been hitting a lotta new irons this year

why I have no idea, but it has been fun...

I have no intention of replacing what I'm playing 

whimsy strikes me at odd times though so no telling

my five faves...

#5 callaway razr

I expected to like these more especially given I play callaway irons

#4  ping G15

these surprised me since I don't much fancy ping irons

very solid and consistent

#3 titleist AP2

absolutely loved these

#2 adams idea  CB2 black

beautiful and responsive - a dream to hit

#1 cobra S3

we want some yes we do

intensity

I do enjoy doing this, but it can make me head hurt

texaz grill

way back when in 1985 a restaurant called lonestar steakhouse opened up

located in the corner of a strip mall in the former home of carlos o'brien's 

a wildly popular and fun though mediocre mexican food joint

which moved on to bigger (better?  nah) digs

this means that I've been going to texaz grill for 26 years now

wow

 the place has its kitschy charm no doubt

decorated in an all things texas scheme it is fun to browse all the memorabilia

juke box is well stocked w/ old school country honkytonkin' swing music

anyways once the national chain lonestar arrived in the valley a name change was forced

a contest was held and texaz grill declared the winner

a much better name if you ask me

as usual I start my meal w/ one of these

great stuff served in a little glass we call a jumbo back in wisconsin

I used to order a celis white but they stopped offering it...

shiner bock is a pleasant and suitable replacement

dining with us the lovely tanya tucker

this place is renowned for their chicken fried steaks and rightfully so

I challenge anyone to find better anywhere in town

might be able to chase down a better one in texas somewhere

I'm not sure

since we showed up for lunch

(again a relatively late one so the rush was over)

I opted to have the (surprise!) chicken fried steak

just look at the size of that thing!  fork tender as always

and also as always quite filling and satisfying

I only order this for lunch as you get TWO(!) if you order it for dinner

alas w/ no corn : - [

two of those monsters is just too much for one sitting though it does make for a viable leftover lunch option the next day

if I'm eating dinner (and it's available) I get the smoked prime rib

another best in town dish

the smokey tenderness is nearly impossible to describe

though it does distinguish it from all other prime ribs around

the lunch special on this day was a texas dip snad

presumably prepared from last night's leftover prime rib

anita wisely decided to get that...

she would normally order the cfs

good choice 

it was wonderful

w/ steak fries au jus and bbq sauce

damn good shit

service as always is prompt friendly and welcoming

I cannot say enough about how good this place is

it's all good no great

texaz grill is located on the ne corner of bethany home and 16th street
get yo ass over there and get some

stupid is as stupid does

so I got a new golf club in the mail today

19* #3 hybrid

I take it out back to knock a few balls into the basspond

first ball was a little fat but flew a good ways and arrow straight

you'd call that a good miss on the course

second ball I topped

it hit the concrete curb of the lake and ricocheted back into my knee

yougottabefuckingkiddingme

it really really hurts is swollen and likely bruised

will spare you pics

tomorrow's round is in jeopardy

*addenda* well we played and the knee held up despite being rather sore
pace of play was a nightmare though
billy and I did manage to finish playing #18 (a short par three) in the dark
or the gloaming as shakespeare would (perhaps) put it

today's lunch visit...

more later...

rito's

this is the coolest restaurant I know of

not the best mind you, but the coolest

they do serve up what I consider to be the best meal in town

red or green chile burrito enchilada style 

so fugging good I was a regular customer for about four years or so

stopping by every wednesday to endure the unbelievable line

yesterday I returned for the first time in over two years

manohman I missed this place...

what makes rito's so cool is there is no sign no advertising no dining room

just a kitchen a lobby (usually jam packed in a snaking line) loaded w/ anticipation

of the savory goodness soon to be delivered to yer hands

a patio courtyard w/ a smattering of picnic tables is yer only seating option

yer best off just taking yer food home or to work

especially in the summer

menu choices are rather limited

which is fine and dandy because if you order a burro yer golden

anyways, yesterday I stopped by w/ my mom for lunch

we arrived around 1pm  and there was no line!

apparently the lunch rush was over

I don't remember ever not standing in line before...

I ordered my standard red chile burro enchilada style

mom got green chile enchilada style

ten minutes later we sat down to the best got am burros in the valley

hell the whole country

I've never had better anywhere

I will be back and damned soon

you owe it to yerself to find out for yerself 

unless you already know

if so, I'm merely preaching to the choir...

rito's is on the corner of 14th st and garfield

coming soon...

a culinary tour of the town

today we'll visit this place...

which is simply fuggin' awesome

I used to eat lunch there every wednesday

but it's been a couple of years since I've eaten there

that will be remdied today

you betcha

more to follow...

ganked (kinda)

I saw this series of posters on another fishing blog

and while I don't like doing this kinda thing

(poaching material - something I've been doing far too much of of late)

I just love this image and plan on purchasing the poster...

hey - I've been there

and will be back soon...

anyways I should provide a link...
get you posters here...

http://www.mgtu.org/2010/12/trout-fest-banquet-posters-available/ 

niche rods and shitty fly swaps

I don't really know where I'm gonna go here

I read some crazy shit sometimes penned by warped minds

what is a niche rod?

a rod that fit you niche?

if that's the case why is it an anomaly?

sounds to me like the right rod for the job

you could say my first string bamboo fly rod is a niche rod

cause it fit my itch - whoopsie niche

7ft 3wt is perfect for me nearly everywhere I go

I was unfortunate enough to watch a fly swap evolve over the course of a year

and finally come to fruition

the whole thing was ridiculous

and nearly half the flies are hideous

which is the problem w/ fly swaps

don't get me wrong I'm not dissing the efforts of lesser tyers

they are doing the right thing strengthening they game playing w/ the big boys

shit needs to be acknowledged as shit and not praised

take off the kid gloves and tell it like it is

shit work needs to be improved upon and not lauded or encouraged

there's a lesson there I could learn maybe

I fuck things up from time to time

but try to always make them better

I may write more on this because there's more to the story

on the practice green...

after missing my second putt by about half a turn

I drained a bomb w/ number three

willis said, "you just wasted one"

to which I replied, "I usually putt well here"

HAH!

so within the first six holes I had two three jacks from inside eight fucking feet

stupid game

oh yeah...I got a spey rod yesterday
cool

it's on!

need I say more?

one

and because yesterdaze chickadee looked like a fuggin' doll...

these gals appear to be real fans

I cannot wait...

two

another kinda silly one...

no stoop-it story w/ this one

big score

can you tell me why?

it's winter - yeah right

the past two mornings I've awakened to ice on the backyard bass pond

in arizona

get outta here!

fortunately I think that after this winter is over

three

this one's kinda silly...

erin andrews as clay matthews

c'mon mang - I'd rather see her through a keyhole

anyways, my sister was showing me her ipad yesterday

looked at the superbowl program - pretty cool

she opened up her photos

I saw a picture of her looking a little rough around the edges

told her she looked like clay matthews

"fuck you michael," she says

arizona wood

a buddy dropped off a piece of wood he found out in the desert here in az

said it may be cottonwood

all I know is it is quite pretty and should turn to some pretty nice reelseats

we'll see...

four

superbowl countdown