Clear Lake Chess Tournament and Kemah

Clear Lake Tournament Skittles by Finijo

Connor had his second chess tournament today. This tournament was in Clear Lake, Texas. If you recall, he won only one of five rounds in his first tournament, and his win was due to forfeit by the player who did not show up to play him. He was quite discouraged, but his Coach Nguyen gave him words of encouragement and he edged closer to a win today with another win by forfeit and a draw at 120 moves. Connor wasn't happy, but he understands that a draw is better than losing. At this rate he could win one in the next few tournaments.


Morning Sun on the Gulf by Finijo

Marilyn and I learned during Connor's first tournament that it does not pay for us to be there for a couple of reasons. The first is that Connor is extremely self conscious and our being present while he plays throws his concentration off - a lot! The other reason it does not pay for us to stay at his tournament is that they run about 8 - 9 hours long and it is incredibly dull and irritating to sit and wait for that long in a noisy room full of kids who alternate between focusing on practicing chess and running around like wild banshees. So we went a few exits down the freeway to Kemah to hang out at the Kemah Boardwalk for the day.


Mini Boat Races by Finijo

Coming into the Kemah Boardwalk we passed the mini boat races. There is a statue of liberty in the background.


Boat Trouble by Finijo

This little boat was having a rough time of it trying to get out of the inlet and into the gulf. The waves were choppy and they were having some engine difficulty so they couldn't stay on course very well.


Big Boat Trouble by Finijo

They narrowly escaped running into this larger boat. It was a little intense until they finally got their engine going properly.


Gulls Making a Pass by Finijo

Marilyn fed the ducks and other birds with kibble you can purchase from machines on the Boardwalk. As soon as the gulls realize you are feeding the ducks they decide to get in on the action.


Seagull Curiosity by Finijo

We didn't notice the "Do Not Feed Gulls" sign until after we were done feeding the gulls. We ate lunch at the Flying Dutchman and talked about it with the waitress there. She said the gulls get aggressive when they are fed kibble, so they start diving on the tourists and the waitresses when they are serving food on the Boardwalk. She told us of when she was attacked and everyone just laughed at her. We apologized for feeding the gulls that morning and cited our excuse of ignorance. I did get some pretty good shots of the gulls, though.

Kibble Gull by Finijo

Proof of our guilty deed - this gull actually has the offending kibble in its mouth.