Last month I was slated to attend the annual general meeting of the World Travel & Tourism Council...an organization dedicated to supporting the ongoing success of our industry.

The event was held in Dallas, Texas. As it was a three day meeting that ended on the weekend, I thought it wise to take advantage of being over on that side of the pond to connect with old friends.

As it turns out, two former colleagues and good friends of mine (Atif Elkadi and Mazhar Butt) now work for DFW Airport, which by the way is a massive airport, in the top ten worldwide and an impressive operation. During the week I visited their offices and went out for a quick bite and a few beverages at a local sports bar. We had a blast. That was followed up on the weekend by a visit to a traditional Texas BBQ at a famous local Fort Worth spot appropriately called "The Stockyard".

The food was amazing (above Atif introduces me to the brisket) and I got to take in some of the local culture. To be honest it's one thing to see a low rider on TV and another to see it live!

One interesting difference noted was the presence of guns in Texas (sorry no gun pics!). Basically if you're not packing, you're not protected...at least that seems to be the common perception. Atif and Maz are still peace loving guys though and have resisted the urge to arm themselves...at least thus far!

In between those two dinners, and after the conference ended, I flew over to Atlanta to visit my long time pals Brian Cook and Jim Peters.

The ultimate destination was actually Lake Laneer, where both of them own beautiful homes. The plan was to get out on the lake to do some fishing (striped bass...a salt water fish that can survive but not spawn in fresh water...so they are planted every year and the fishing is usually very good). Jim and I went out immediately after I arrived while Brian stayed at his lake home to prep dinner.

The wind was brisk but the sun was out and it was a great afternoon on the lake. We were spotting all kinds on the sonar but they weren't hitting...either because of the front that was moving in or the presence of a lot of feed. We couldn't determine which. That said it was just great being out on a lake and shooting the shit.

After a few hours out we came back to Brian's and had a fantastic feast of smoked beef tenderloin (although to be honest I'm not a big fan of the smoke flavour), twice baked potatoes and Caesar salad. We stayed up way too late and played music way too loud. So a good night indeed! The next day we set out fishing..again in brisk winds and with little to show for it other than fond memories.

I returned the following morning to DFW and then headed back home to Dubai, after Atif kindly saw me off at the airport. He took the time to thank me for the comms advice/experience I shared when he worked with me. Really appreciated it.

I consider myself fortunate to have such good friends around the globe...and equally fortunate to be able to see them even if only once every several years. While this was light on text, I hope the pics convey the spirit of this post!

Until next time, thanks for reading and stay safe!

Lorne