Bryan & College Station, Texas

We love the library. Each week we go and check out on average about 40 books. The limit per is 50 at one time, which we’ve never hit, probably because our library bag can’t hold that many books.

The Bryan and College Station (Larry J. Ringer) libraries are connected, so you can return your books to either library. They told me they make a round trip every morning for various reasons.

Both libraries have a 7 movie limit (DVD and VHS), and the movies are due back in a week. The late charges are pretty steep, so get them back on time.

We like the Bryan library most, although for convenience, we end up at the College Station one.

The Bryan library has the most children’s books of the two, in fact, there’s a whole second floor dedicated to children’s books. They also have a “new books” section for children’s books that is where we go first. We love the new stories and new illustrators featured in the new books.

The College Station library used to have a new children’s book section, but they got rid of it. I asked them about it and they asked me to fill out a request form, but nothing has happened since.

Both libraries have internet, and everything else you’d expect at a library.

Their movies are pretty good. They don’t have a huge selection, but it’s OK. We actually found “Meerkat Manor” the other day (which is great, if you haven’t seen it, check it out). They’ve got a bunch of “Reading Rainbow”, (remember LeVar Burton?), and although you won’t find too many new releases, if you are patient, some of them make it to their shelves. We’ve checked out the TV series “24″, the BBC series “Planet Earth”, March of the Penguins, various National Geographic episodes and Veggie Tales to name a few.

Something really cool about these libraries is that with your library card number, you can go online and manage your account. You can search for and request books, you can reserve copies of books (if there’s a wait, you can set up how they tell you it’s available…either by phone call or email). You can even renew checked out books and see when your checked out books are due back.

The one thing I have to go to their website for is their hours of operation. It’s all over the place.

Here they are:

Do you see the confusion? I don’t know how many times I’ve forgotten the hours and gone to one or the other and found it closed, only to have to drive across town to get to the other one.

And what’s up with Fridays and Saturdays closing at 5? I guess Librarians need some “personal” time too…I guess.

Besides the silly hours, the librarians are all very nice and very helpful. At the College Station Library, there’s a librarian there named “Autumn” who knows her way around the children’s section like nobody’s business. Ask her about anything and she’ll have a book for you, in fact, she’ll most likely have 5 or 6 books for you to have a look at.

We love the library.

It seems that children’s books can be late without incurring a fee. I haven’t asked them what the deal is with that (and have actually been pretty late and not been charged), but the movies are expensive if you go over. I think it’s like $1.50 per day over the due date. Ouch. Regular books incur a late fee too.

We just recently accidentally ruined a book (someone spilled water on it) and had to pay for a new book. That was a bummer.

I guess I’ve been talking all about the children’s books, but it’s where we spend most of our time. Both libraries also have a toys section with puzzles and legos and puppets. Pretty nice of them. But the rest of the library is great too. Again, everything you’d expect from a library.

The Bryan Library is in Downtown Bryan, and looks more like what a library should look like, whatever that means, and the College Station library is more modern, higher ceilings, more light, etc.

We’ll be there this week I’m sure.

jorge

There are 9 Starbuck’s in town, and about as many non-Starbuck’s Coffee Shops.

As far as other “chains”, there’s an “It’s a Grind” on University (which have a great “perks” program where you get deep discounts at least once a month - like $1 specialty drinks, buy one get one free, and free drink on your birthday), the standard coffee shop in the Barnes & Noble, and the Hastings on Texas and Holleman has a nice cafe too.

Our favorite Coffee Shop is Sweet Eugene’s. Couches everywhere, free Wi-Fi, Great Coffee, an outside patio area, a drive thru, good prices, and a donut shop inside the store. The staff is very nice and very calm considering how crowded it gets.

Their Mocha drinks have chocolate sprinkles in them…yum.

There’s a place called “Coffee Station” on Harvey, but I’ve not been there. There’s also another called “Java Joy” way over on the other side of town by the Wal-Mart that has a couple of meeting rooms and good coffee as well. There’s a little Shack called “Java Jitters” behind the IHOP on University, but we didn’t like their Iced Mocha so much. We know people who say this is the best place in town, so don’t take my word for it.

Our favorite Starbuck’s is on Texas and Villa Maria. The servers there seems like they know what they are doing better than the others, and it’s fairly convenient with it’s drive thru. They once accidentally gave us caffinated coffees instead of the decaf we ordered (it was 10:30 at night…and a Venti) and early in the morning, we called and told them that their mistake had made it so that we didn’t sleep all night, so they gave us a free (decaf) coffee. Very nice of them.

The Starbuck’s in Northgate (on University right across from the campus) made the best Mocha Frappuccino I’ve ever had. Apparently I was what they called a “Once-A-Week Decaf Frap”, so instead of making a mix they would have to throw out at the end of each day, they have to make them special. They brewed a strong cup of decaf, and blended the most wonderful icy cold beverage. I also met a homeless man who said his name was Alfred, and he was named after Albert Einstein. I had to wait for the coffee to brew so I asked Alfred to sit down and talk with me. He knew all about the weather and how cold it was going to get…and he was right. He told me he doesn’t get much sleep, but he was very proud of his coat. He was sweet, but I kept losing his attention.

Coffee shops are almost always packed, well, not during the summer and the Winter break, but that makes them more interesting. There’s almost always a study group or Bible study going on, and almost everyone has a laptop and ear buds.

Oh, something cool about the Starbuck’s in the Kroger’s. Get a Kroger’s card (which they scan in for discounts throughout the store) and make sure you give it to the Starbuck’s clerk. After 10 drinks, you get one free.

Oh, and if you wanted to, you could always load my Starbuck’s card using these instructions. I’ve contacted Starbuck’s with a request to make a widget or something that would make it easy for people to load Starbuck’s cards, but no news yet.

Enjoy

Jorge

Being brought up in a Latin household, I got used to eating a certain way. Then when I married my wife, new foods were added to my preferences, but over the years, she too has been won over to the Latin way of eating…well, some of it.

So, if you are like my family and need a place to find not just jalapeños and Mole, the H-E-B on Villa Maria is the place to go.

There are three H-E-B’s in town. One is usually inundated with college students (on Texas and Holleman), one is on Texas and Villa Maria, and the other is a smaller “Pantry” version over on Hwy 21.

The College H-E-B (Texas and Holleman) has a great Healthy section where you can find herbs, vitamins and natural stuff and a bulk section, the other two stores do not have these sections of the store. In fact, other than the Brazos Natural Foods store (on Texas and Rosemary), there aren’t many other places to go to get herbs and healthy stuff. (Although the Koger on Boonville and Hwy 6 has a good Healthy section).

Anyway, back to the Latin food.

The H-E-B on Villa Maria has one of the largest Goya Product section I’ve seen. From Beans (both the blue and the red can) to Guava Paste and Mariquitas, Malta to Mojo Criollo and Sazon.

They’ve also got a fairly large Frozen Goya Section too, with Tostones, Platano Dulce, various fruit pulp, Discos to make Empanadas, and even pre-made Cheese and Meat Empanadas.

The sections are always stocked. Which is interesting because I don’t know anyone who eats Pasta de Guajaba, or drinks Malta. I guess there’s enough of a demand for these things to keep them on the shelf. Even when I lived in San Antonio (where there is a very large Puertorican and Cuban population) I had trouble finding these items at the regular grocery stores. I would have to go specifically to one of the various Latin Grocery stores in town.

You’d think there’d be a Cuban restaurant in town with all this selection, but no, there’s not. I’ll be the first to take my family if one opens up.

The Super Wal-Mart, Kroger, and Albertsons also have Goya products, but the H-E-B on Villa Maria is the largest section, with more varieties.

So, if you are in the mood for something different, I suggest trying “Malta Goya”. It’s a Malt Beverage…non alcoholic which you’ll find usually in a six-pack on the bottom shelf. Most people I know say it stinks and taste like it smells. I love it.

Something else to try is Plantain chips. There are a few brands that make them (Goya, Chiefles, Mariquitas), so check it out.

One of my favorites is “Pasta de Gauyaba” with a salty, bland white cheese (see the picture below). You can go to the Mexican cheese section and look for a panela or a cotija with around 130 sodium. Slice the cheese and the Guava Paste in little strips and eat them together. It’s a dessert.

You can also take the guava paste and place them inside Puff Pastry Sheets (Look for them in the freezers close to the frozen fruit and the cool whip), bake using the directions on the Puff Pastry Sheet box and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Yum.

I actually found a Guava Jelly at the Kroger on Boonville that is not sweetened with sugar (or artificial sweetener), but fruit juice. It is wonderful.

I’m hungry.

Jorge

First of all, this place gets packed quickly, so either go to La Bodega Baja Taco Bar expecting a wait or go early.

I’ve only tasted a few fish tacos in my day, but these were some of the very best.

Right around the corner from the campus, just a block away in fact. When we left, parking was a problem. Anywhere around the campus is like that, really, but we got there early. And for being a hot spot for students, the actually had the two high chairs we needed for out 2 year old twins. Nice.

By the way, I did feel like my kids were a little out of place there, not sure why, but there it is. (actually, I don’t think they even have a kids menu)

We took all 4 kids and my parents who were visiting for the weekend. I ordered the Habanero Crispy Shrimp tacos, my wife and dad ordered the Crispy Tilapia Tacos, and my mom ordered the Crispy Shrimp Tacos. (We ordered a few cheese quesadillas for the kids)

Those Habanero Tacos were incredible. Wow. Yes, they were spicy, but so worth it.

The Tilapia tacos were the best I’ve tasted.

All the dishes, it seems, come with very tasty rice and black beans. The sauces either had pineapple or mango and were just the right amount of hot. And the Margaritas there are very tasty, although I have no idea what makes a good Margarita, honestly, if it’s sweet and doesn’t make me cough out a lung because it’s so strong, it’s good. We all shared a couple of strawberry ones.

The fish (or shrimp) was rolled in a white corn tortilla, stuffed with shredded cabbage/lettuce with a mango sauce and were so yummy. The rest of the menu looked great too, but at around $10 per plate (includes two tacos, rice and beans), we will probably not be going back often. We’d sure love to, but we’ll have to wait until our parents come and treat us or something. I’d like to take this opportunity to thanks both sets of parents for their generosity and kindness toward us all these years…we love you and love when you visit…not just because you take us out to eat.

It’s a fairly small place, but there’s a covered patio and looks like they have live bands there often.

This College Station restaurant has incredible food, and I definitely recommend eating here…even if you have to park a few blocks away and have to wait 45 minutes.Jorge

Have you seen Google’s Street View thingy yet? It’s a way for you to look at a 360 degree view of certain streets in certain cities.

Major cities like San Fransisco, Houston, and Miami are available, and Google said they would add cities in the future.

Well, my wife was driving in town and saw one of the Google Maps vehicles. That means that our minivan might be on the Google College Station Street View. That would be fun. I’ll let you know when College Station Street View becomes available. The day the vehicle was spotted was December 6th, 2007, around 2:00pm, on Texas Avenue between Villa Maria and University Drive. I read that there’s 6 vehicles out there at any given time.

There’s been some legal issues with all this and privacy. I guess people don’t like the idea of not having a choice if their property or their picture are publicly displayed. Looks like Google is working to conceal faces and license plates in the future, at least in Europe, and possibly in the US. Apparently there were some people photographed walking into adult book stores and strip clubs and they could actually be identified.

I’m assuming Google doesn’t reveal where they are going to be so that there won’t be people doing things in front of the cameras. If I knew they were going to be in town, I’d probably make a sign or something. Maybe rent a mascot costume and chase the van around to try to get into multiple shots. That would be fun.

I found another picture of what one of the camera mounts look like (below), so keep your eyes peeled, and your mascot costume in the trunk of your car.

jorge