by Craig Morfitt,
Nyon Steede and Howard Paynter
Photos by Craig and Nyon
In July, the three of us traveled to Fort Worth, Texas, for the
American Cichlid Association (ACA) Annual Convention. We
spent eight nights there and here is our account of the trip.s
| Getting
There and Back |
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| Craig: | I had bad experiences traveling in both directions. I went on Continental via Newark. The flight to Fort Worth was delayed due to weather caused by Hurricane Emily further south. We were sitting on the tarmac in Newark for 2 ? hours before the pilot decided to take us back to the gate. We then waited another 2 ? hours before take-off. It was really late when I arrived at the hotel. On the way back, the check-in clerk at Forth Worth announced that Continental had changed the departure time of the flight to Bermuda and there was no way that I could make the connection. After initially blaming me, she realized that the airline had neglected to inform me of the change so that I could arrange an earlier flight from Fort Worth. The airline paid for my overnight stay in Newark which was just as well, as bad weather delayed the flight anyway. The only good news about the flights was that they were free (frequent flyer miles). |
| Nyon: | I flew into Atlanta with no problems. My connecting flight
from Atlanta to Fort Worth was cancelled due to mechanical problems and
the next flight was scheduled to leave two hours later. Howard and I went
to the new gate to check in and were told that we would be placed on stand-by.
The bad news was that there were 75 people on stand-by. The good news was
that Howard and I were number 16 and 17 on the list. The agent who assisted
us was from Trinidad and said that he would place us in the ‘priority
one’ category of the list. After waiting an hour and a half, we were
told that the flight was full and that we needed to go to another gate for
the last flight to Fort Worth that night. If we did not get on that flight,
it meant that we would have to spend the night in the airport and catch
the 7:35 a.m. flight to Fort Worth. So, we proceeded to the next gate and
were still on stand-by. After about 45 minutes, Howard received the word
that he was on the flight. He said not to worry, if he didn’t make
it on the flight he would give up his seat. He’s a bigger man than
me! – joking! Well, 10 minutes later, it was announced that I was
on the flight. We arrived at the hotel around 11:45 p.m after leaving Bermuda
at 4 p.m. The return flight was less adventurous. Since my ordeal coming from last years ACA (see Sept. 04 Fish Tales) I brought my fish back in a suitcase that I took just for my fish. My two suitcases were fine. Howard’s on the other hand was 10 pounds overweight, and he only had one suitcase. Since his fish were also in his suitcase, he took it off the scale and removed his toiletries and placed them in a plastic bag. His toiletries weighed over 10 pounds! |
| Howard: | I learned that anyone planning to bring back fish should make sure that they have two pieces of luggage, rather than trying to cram everything into one bag! |
The Hotel |
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| Craig: | I was quite pleased with the hotel – the Raddisson Fort Worth. The rooms were nice and the public areas were good. The hotel bar closed at 10.00pm but it was in a downtown area so there were plenty of bars and restaurants within easy walking distance. |
| Nyon: | The lobby of the hotel was the best I have ever seen for an ACA hotel. They had a tiered Koi pond and a large bird-cage that housed two African Grey parrots. As Craig mentioned, the hotel was in a great location for just about anywhere we wished to go. |
| Howard: | I thought the hotel rooms were beautiful. It was a nice hotel. |
Harley Rental |
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| Craig: | I have to admit that my favourite part of the trip was riding around on Harley Davidson motorcycles for three days- I know this was a ‘fish trip’ and this article is for the club newsletter, but the bike rental stood out for me! I had requested a Road King Classic but it had been removed from the fleet. Instead, I was supplied with a 760-pound Electra Glide – complete with fairing, back-rest, and a CD player! It was a nice addition - having some music to listen to whilst riding. We put 330 miles on the clock over the three days. I enjoyed our visit to Strokers Dallas (bike shop) and Strokers Ice House (bar) which are operated by bike builder Rick Fairless. Rick is becoming more famous due to his TV show on Speed called “Texas Hard Tails”. I got to meet Rick and bought a beer from his Mom (also a star of the TV show). |
| Nyon: | I have to agree with Craig. Riding Harleys was indeed the best part of the trip. I had a 1150cc V-Rod, 2005 model. It was my first time riding a big bike but I had no apprehensions. This bike was a rocket on wheels! On the highway I overtook Craig and Howard, who were going about 60 mph, like they were standing still. I overtook them going 115 mph and the bike still had a lot of speed to give. At the end of three days, I felt that I had definitely got my monies worth. |
| Howard: | I had a Softail Classic. I had been looking forward to
the ride and I really enjoyed the ride that we did on the first day. We
took a ride out into the countryside, just following side roads to see where
they went. We found a large lake and took a ride all the way around it,
which was nice. I liked the back roads and the countryside – it was
nice relaxed riding. The second day was a different story. We’d set off in the morning to head to Dallas. We were on a major three-lane highway doing about 60 mph. Craig and Nyon had pulled ahead and I was riding behind on my own. As I was riding in the right lane, a huge 18-wheeler truck was in the centre lane. The truck driver decided to take the exit ramp and just pulled right, into my lane and onto the off-ramp. I was forced onto the hard shoulder and had to go up the off-ramp as the truck cut me off. I have to say that it was one of those lifetime experiences! I had to pull off the road to gather myself. I sat there for about an hour but realized that almost being wiped out by the truck had made me too nervous to ride the bike again. I swallowed my pride and decided to turn the bike back in to the shop. I did enjoy the bike ride and would still recommend it to anyone - but I would also say “watch out for the 18-wheelers” |
Let’s Go Yankees! |
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| Craig: | Another non-fish highlight of the trip was seeing the New York Yankees play. We had tickets to two of their games against the Texas Rangers and rode the Harleys to each game. Yankees won one and lost one. Great fun – although the heat from the bike engines almost cooked our legs as we sat in traffic jams leaving the stadium. |
| Nyon: | The second game was more exciting than the first. However, at the first game, Craig tried to get me drunk. For those of you who do not know, I don’t drink. I was eyeing up this frosted drink in a tall (2 foot) glass. Craig told me that it was a fruit smoothie. I got one; it tasted good and went down nice. After about 15 minutes I started to feel a bit warm. I asked Craig if the drink had alcohol and he replied, “I don’t think so.” The next day we went back the game. I came across the booth that sold the drinks and sure enough, they had alcohol in them. |
| Howard: | It was my first live baseball game and I really enjoyed it. I had to catch a taxi to the game having handed the bike in, so I didn’t have the problem of cooked legs sitting in the traffic jams after the game. |
Good Food |
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| Craig: | We enjoyed some good food on the trip. We stumbled on a great little Mexican restaurant in some small town during a bike ride. The food was excellent but at least two of us needed a good dose of Immodium the next day! My most vivid recollection involving food involves Nyon ordering his meal at a steak house in the Stockyards area of Fort Worth. Following the appetizer, he ordered a 20-ounce Prime Rib (largest cut of meat on the menu) plus a lobster tail and an order of shrimp on the side!! He can really eat! |
| Nyon: | I too liked the Mexican food. It’s just too bad that it did not like me. Craig gave me some pills to help with the side-effects of the Mexican food, but they didn’t seem to work. As for the meal at the Stockyards, let me give you the whole story. I hadn’t eaten much that day so when we got to the Stockyards, I was a bit hungry. As a result, I ordered two starters (spare ribs and chicken wings); for my entrée I had a 20 oz. Prime rib, with a whole ear of corn, baked potato and a side salad. As I love sea food, I thought that I would include a side order of shrimp and another side order of lobster tail; and for dessert, I had a delicious peach cobbler with vanilla ice-cream. Another great food experience was the sushi place we went to for dinner. The outside of the place did not look too inviting but once inside the ambiance was really nice. It looked like a typical Japanese Sushi restaurant. Oh! And the sushi was the best that I have ever had. So, looks really can be deceiving. |
| Howard: | All I can say is that if anyone goes out for a meal with Nyon, make sure you order your own food. When Nyon starts ordering, it’s easy to think he’s ordering for the group – he orders so much. |
Cowboys and Bulls |
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| Craig: | We went to a rodeo and saw cowboys trying to ride bulls. I say trying, because only one of them managed to stay on long enough to score any points! |
| Nyon: | A few hours before the rodeo, I had an opportunity to get my picture taken on a bull. Before you get impressed, let me assure you that it was not one of the bulls that was used in the rodeo (My mama didn’t raise a fool!) For my first rodeo, it was okay. There was not a lot of excitement, the bull didn’t mangle anyone but none-the-less I enjoyed myself. |
| Howard: | I missed out on this trip. |
Dark & Stormy |
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| Craig: | As has become a tradition, we traveled with Black Seal rum and ginger beer so that we could host a Dark & Stormy party. Spencer Jack had managed to wangle a huge suite in the hotel and graciously allowed us to hold the party there. We hosted parties on Thursday and Friday night, much to the pleasure of the increasing number of Dark & Stormy fans –although some seemed to be regretting it the following mornings. |
| Nyon: | The Thursday night D&S party was modestly attended which was okay because the majority in attendance were old friends we hadn’t seen since last year. For the Friday night D&S party, I told Craig (at approx. 10:30 p.m.) that I was going to take a quick nap and to wake me up. Well, when he woke me at 2:00 in the morning, the set was pretty much over. |
| Craig: | Nyon has forgotten to mention that I went back to the room around midnight to get more rum. Nyon woke up and mumbled something – apparently annoyed at being woken – and then went back to sleep. Maybe he was dreaming about a big dinner! |
| Howard: | If anyone from Bermuda attends an ACA Convention, they should make sure that they take some rum with them and that they go to the Dark & Stormy party. I’ve found it’s one of the easiest ways to meet people. I’ve met a lot of people and it is easier to start a conversation with them at the party than it would be by walking up to someone in the hotel lobby. |
So, What About the Fish? |
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| Craig: | Well, there’s a funny thing! There weren’t really many fish available at this convention. As far as fish availability is concerned, this was the worst convention I’ve attended. As it happens, I wasn’t personally looking for fish so it didn’t have much of an impact on me. The only fish I bought for myself were Montezuma Swordtails – at a cichlid convention! |
| Nyon: | As far as availability and variety of fish, this was the worst convention that I have been to so far, even worse than Denver last year. If you were a Discus lover though, there were plenty to choose from this year - the most I have ever seen on sale at the ACA. Even though there was a limited amount and variety, I was still able to get two species of fish that were on my wish list. They were in the Guy Jordan silent auction and I got them for a great price. |
| Howard: | It was only my second ACA convention so it is difficult for me to make any judgment on the fish. Maybe I’ll have a better idea after Chicago next year, because they have a reputation for putting on a great convention with lots of fish. I bought a few fish this year. I couldn’t find the two species that I was really looking for but that didn’t bother me much. |
Speakers |
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| Craig: | I missed most of the early morning speakers – something to do with serving Dark & Stormys until 4.30 in the morning! I also missed some of the late night speakers, as we wanted to start the Dark & Stormy parties before midnight! I’m beginning to see a pattern here – and I don’t even drink Dark & Stormy! Anyway, I somehow managed to get to see some of the speakers and managed to learn something. |
| Nyon: | I made a point to go to all the speakers I had highlighted as being of interest to me. One of the speakers, Jack Wattley, started his talk at 9:00 in the morning! Despite being on vacation, I got up and went to hear Jack and even got a picture with the Discus legend (which was a big highlight for me). I also got a picture of Jack with Dick Au, another famous Discus breeder. I was actually amongst a small group (4) that Dick gave some tips to in reference to what Discus judges look for in a good Discus. We talked with Dick until 2:00 in the morning. |
| Howard: | I think I went to listen to four speakers during the convention. I really enjoyed Spencer Jack’s talk – it was very funny. I think they need to do something about the late-night speakers though. They should schedule them better so that they don’t run so late. |
Overall Impression |
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| Craig: | I had a great time, albeit that much of it had nothing to do with cichlids! It was good to relax and do something different. I enjoyed meeting up with old friends and making new ones. Overall, it was a memorable trip that I really enjoyed. |
| Nyon: | Of all of the ACA Conventions, this was the best! The funny thing is, fish had little to do with it. If this had been a good fish convention also, who knows how great it would have been? |
| Howard: | I found that the people at this convention were really friendly. I met some old friends and got to learn a few things by sitting and talking to people about fish. I expected to see more people – it seemed that attendance was down. |
Chicago in 2006? |
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| Craig: | I’m not sure yet whether I will make the Chicago trip next year – mind you, I said the same last year about the Texas trip. I can say from experience that the Chicago club puts on a great convention – I’ve been to two of them. You can be assured that there will be plenty of fish to buy in Chicago. |
| Nyon: | At this point Chicago is tentative. I am hoping to go collecting in Mexico either in March or April. I just might have the resources to do both. Time will tell. |
| Howard: | Yes, I think I will be there. I want to get to Chicago to see what their conventions are like. |