A Texas pilgrimage

There's a little creamery in Brenham, Texas, where they make the best ice cream in the whole world. It behooves every Texan to, at some point in their lives, make a pilgrimage to this hallowed spot.

Last Saturday was the day we set aside every summer to get up long before dawn and set out on a southerly trek to pick up Miss Alice at Camp Spike 'n Wave, located at the Camp For All grounds in Burton, Texas. Burton is very near Brenham, so after we picked her up, we went to visit the Blue Bell Creamery there.

The grounds of the creamery are impeccably groomed, and we were delighted to see that there was a bronze statue depicting the same little girl leading a cow that's silhouetted on every container of Blue Bell Ice Cream. See up there under the name? That little circle? That's the one.


Of course, we had to go in to the gift shop, where we were elated to see that they sell individual scoops of every single flavor they produce. YUM! I can't have any, of course, since I haven't found any major brand of ice cream that isn't made with corn syrup. But that's okay; it was fun to see Mom and the girls enjoying theirs. Plus, Mom got me a Blue Bell Ice Cream t-shirt instead.

The drive down there was spectacular, even though I was about as tired as I could be (thanks to Mom for doing most of the driving) because we've had lots of late nights with the play and I had to leave my house at 3:30AM just to get down there in time. This year they've had plenty of rain, unlike previous times I've been there, and the fields and roadsides are lush and colorful and juicy-green and gorgeous. We even saw the largest, thickest stand of Mama Alice flowers (Ipomopsis rubra, or Standing Cypress) that either of us had ever seen in our whole lives... just amazing. Some of the stalks had to have been eight feet tall -- I do not kid. We didn't even know they grew that far south, but according to the web site at Lady Bird Johnson Center, that flower is specifically native to Central and East Texas (although it has spread sporadically to other states). In any case, they were magnificent.

Late-night partying

One fish...





Two fish...





Red fish...





Blue fish...

But no blenders tonight. We had to drive, you know.

The PurpleFishGuts family was on their way back to Iowa from visiting family in New Mexico, and we met them in Oklahoma City for a nice little meal and a swim in the hotel pool.

I miss them so much.

The absolute coolest thing EVAR

The main reason we wanted to make a trip to the Hill Country? Believe it or not, it was because my mom and I wanted to see the largest urban bat colony in the world... which just happens to be in Austin, Texas under the Congress Avenue Bridge.

The bats always emerge in the evening, sometime before dusk, to spend the night feeding on skeeters. Experts estimate that there are about one and a half million bats living under the Congress Avenue bridge (one of the city's bridges over the Colorado River). When they built the Congress Avenue bridge back in 1980, there were these approximately one-inch-wide crevices on the underside of the bridge. This happened to be just the kind of place that Mexican Free-Tailed Bats need, so they began moving in.

The headquarters of the newspaper (the Austin American-Statesman) actually owns the property from which the best views of the bats can be had. Being a good liberal rag, they set up a nice little viewing area for folks to congregate in each evening, so we doused ourselves with skeeter-spray and parked ourselves on the grassy knoll to await the bats.



And here they come!



They just poured out, appearing almost magically from the invisible crevices where they sleep during the day, and they kept pouring and pouring and pouring.



I have to say that this sight ranks way up there on my list of coolest things I ever saw in my life. I will never forget it, and if you come visit me I may insist on taking you down to Austin to see it. It's that cool.

Just one more thing...

Any trip down through the Hill Country would be sadly incomplete without a visit to the lovely city of Marble Falls, Texas... and specifically, a meal at the Blue Bonnet Cafe:



One of their signature dishes is their spinach salad with bacon dressing, which I partook of:



I *might* have licked my plate clean.

Okay, I didn't, because I didn't want to embarrass my mother and my children. But I thought long and hard about it. That bacon dressing should be illegal.

But no meal at the Blue Bonnet Cafe is complete without their REAL signature dish:



NO, not the babe. That's Kathryn, our waitress. I'm talking about the stuff she's holding.

That would be PIE.

Can you really go wrong with pie?

I had pecan pie, because as my mother so aptly put it many years ago, you just can't possibly eat enough pecan pie in your lifetime.

Isaac had the peanut butter pie, which he declared to be AWESOME. I think he really DID lick that clean when we weren't looking.

Mom and Alice had the chocolate meringue pie. It was so good, she said, it reminded her of something her sister (my AuntyOH) once said -- it was so good you just wanted to roll in it.

I have to agree. It was pretty darn good. Too good to miss, that's what.

Road trip (last post, I promise)

After we went through the Alamo, we walked a few blocks over and descended the steps into another world: the Riverwalk.





It really is like a cool(er) oasis down there... great shops and restaurants, a fun boat ride, beautiful flora and even a few fauna.




Poison Bulb (Crinum asiaticum)



Some kind of Poinciana, perhaps? I still haven't positively identified this lovely flower, but I *think* it might be a "flamboyant", also known as a Flame-Tree or a Royal Poinciana.



A tamarind tree (Tamarindus indica)! There are gazillions of them there. I love tamarind-flavored stuff.



WTF? It's a funky heron that migrates in and out of the Riverwalk. It's called a Yellow-Crowned Night Heron, I believe.

The river is full of mallard ducks as well... and while we were noshing on some ice cream after our riverboat tour, we were even treated to some duck porn. No, I did NOT photograph THAT.

On Wednesday morning we got out on the road and took Highway 16 to Kerrville. It was marked on the map as a Scenic Route, and they weren't kidding.




This flower is called Skeleton Weed (Lygodesmia taxana). No clue why, but it was pretty, and the honeybees were after it pretty thickly.


I swear, this really IS in Texas... a river lined with cypress trees! I KNOW! But it's true. The water is (I'm pretty sure) spring-fed, because it was crystal-clear and gorgeous. This is the Medina River near Bandera, Texas.


This little critter is an epiphytic plant called a Ball Moss (Tillandsia recurvata). It isn't really a moss at all, but is a bromeliad. A lot of people think it's killing all the trees, but everything I have been reading about it says it really doesn't kill the trees at all, it just piggybacks on the parts of trees that are already dead anyway. It sure does LOOK like it's killing trees, though:


Actually, it resembles nothing so much as Tribbles.



My mom, coaxing a doodlebug (Glenurus gratus) out of its lair.





Let's go to Luckenbach, Texas... Willie and Waylon and the boys... (everybody sing along, now)




It was a very pleasant trip. I don't mind heat; I'd rather be hot than cold any day. And I got to see stuff I've never seen before. I can now cross a few more items off my "Bucket List" like seeing the bats, touring the Hill Country, and watching duck porn on the Riverwalk in San Antonio. Life's good, ain't it?

Remember

We visited the Alamo on Tuesday:





The letter written by Travis requesting reinforcements is commemorated on a plaque in front of the Alamo. It always makes me cry to read it. I'd like to share the text of it here, because it embodies some pretty serious patriotism and duty.

------------------------------------------

Commandancy of the Alamo
Bexar, Fby. 24th, 1836

To the People of Texas & all Americans in the world

Fellow Citizens & Compatriots

I am besieged by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna. I have sustained a continual bombardment & cannonade for 24 hours & have not lost a man. The enemy has demanded a surrender at discretion, otherwise the garrison are to be put to the sword if the fort is taken. I have answered the demand with a cannon shot, and our flag still waves proudly from the walls. I shall never surrender nor retreat.

Then, I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism, & of everything dear to the American character, to come to our aid with all dispatch. The enemy is receiving reinforcements daily & will no doubt increase to three or four thousand in four or five days. If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible & die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor & that of his country.

Victory or Death
William Barret Travis
Lt. Col. Comdt.

P. S. The Lord is on our side. When the enemy appeared in sight we had not three bushels of corn. We have since found in deserted houses 80 or 90 bushels & got into the walls 20 or 30 head of Beeves.

Travis

---------------------------------

The buildings of downtown San Antonio are built in such a way that not a single one of them casts any sort of shadow on the Alamo. I think that's appropriate.

Road trip (continued)

I was delighted to find Longhorn Caverns State Park on the map before we left and thought it might be fun to take the brief detour to visit it.



It's not the hugest cave, but it was large enough to take a couple of hours to tour. For Alice, that's usually more than enough exertion at a time. She did great, although she was going pretty slow towards the end.





The caverns were once outlaw hideouts and even a speakeasy during Prohibition. The CCC cleared it out during the Depression and built the nifty buildings above ground as well. There are some enormous deposits of calcite (lime crystals) down there.

The wild, wild west

This area of Texas looks very much like the old western movies depict it... scrubby, rugged, and full of these little delights:





Check this space later for absolutely awesome pictures of our visit to Longhorn Caverns State Park near Burnet, Texas... and the best thing EVER, which was watching the 1.5 million Mexican Free-Tailed Bats emerge from their hidey-holes under the Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin, Texas. My internet connection is extremely sludgy, so I haven't been able to upload to Flickr very quickly. I did post them on my Facebook page, if you're just dying to see them NOW. Otherwise, give me a little time and I'll have them posted here.

Hill Country Holiday

JoeMama and I are taking Isaac and Alice along for a road trip through the Texas Hill Country. Yesterday we drove through Glen Rose and stopped off to see the Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant.



The whitetail deer there are practically tame.





We landed in Lampasas at a motel called The Country Inn. On the office door we were greeted with this sign:



I did not ask where the prayer meetings would be held.

And just beyond it, affixed to the front desk:



No cussin', y'all. We ain't about to put up with them ugly words.

Our room was immaculately clean and quiet, if very spare. We don't have fancy requirements, so we were quite happy with this place, and the price was VERY right. I think Mom said it was fifty-nine dollars. Who gets a decent, clean, quiet motel room for that kinda dough anymore these days?

Austin's still weird

On our way home from Brenham to pick up Alice, we did a little swing over to Austin and saw the state capitol.

That was a LOT of driving for two days, and I am plumb tuckered.

Road trip!

We're headed south today, and tomorrow morning we get to pick up Miss Alice at epilepsy camp! Yay! It's not the same around here without her.

The map is a picture of where we'll be going today. The part south of Waco, when we turn off the interstate, is a really beautiful drive. I'll take the camera and try to document some of the loveliness for you when I get back.

My celebration of the disappearance of my discomfort was premature and short-lived. I have another appointment with the doctor, but it won't be until next Thursday. Pray I don't go completely insane having to sit in the car and drive for two days straight. I love this trip, but I am not looking forward to the pain.

I am going to try to remove potatoes from my diet and see if that makes things calm down for me. I've been doing research to try to figure out what sets off my digestive system and then in turn aggravates my arse, and it just may be potatoes. I don't eat them that often, but I had some recently, and it might have coincided with the reappearance of misery. It's worth a try, anyway.

Keep an eye on the kiddos...

Because you just never know what they're going to do while you're asleep:

Toddler buys real digger online

A New Zealand couple nearly found themselves in a financial hole when their three-year-old daughter bought an earthdigger in an internet auction.

Pipi had only been allowed to use the computer for the first time the week before - but is obviously a fast learner.

A good lesson in keeping your computer password-protected AND always logging off!

As an aside, perhaps "Pipi" is a normal-sounding name in NZ, but reading it to myself I'm reminded of something that happened on my recent visit to Arlington National Cemetery in DC. We got off the Metro and walked in to the cemetery; we wanted to make it in time for the final changing of the guard ceremony of the day. Cindy and I both really REALLY needed to go to the bathroom but were afraid we wouldn't have time because the line for the ladies' room was incredibly long and lined up outside the door. Ugh! So we went and lined up for bus fare to ride the shuttle over to the Tomb of the Unknowns.

As we approached the window, I caught sight of the clerk's name tag, which proudly announced her name to the world: Tee-Tee. I whispered this in Cindy's ear, feeling that she needed to know ahead of time so she didn't just burst into uncontrollable laughter when we got up to the window, thus causing both of us to actually Tee-Tee our britches.

Brief debrief

The line to get out of Kansas was at least five miles of stopped traffic:


And yet again, I have to say that I am OFFENDED that I have to PAY to drive through Kansas. They should be paying ME to drive through that godforsaken moonscape. Somebody explain to me why it is legal for a state to make a FEDERAL INTERSTATE HIGHWAY into a toll road? Five dollars and twenty-five cents just to drive from Emporia to the Oklahoma state line... and that's an increase over the last time I came through. I thought my tax dollars already went to that; why am I being double-taxed?

And as for Kansas, I do know that there are some lovely little places off the interstate, and some very nice people. But driving I-35 through there is just awful. It's as bad as the east-to-west stretch of I-80 through Iowa... gag a maggot. Nothing whatsoever to look at.


On a much more pleasant note, I got to enjoy some time with Blue and Red Fish:


Notice that Red is knitting. Actually, you'd probably notice if she WEREN'T knitting. She knits anytime she sits. Even during church. She claims it helps keep her awake. Makes sense to me. Maybe that's what I should take up. hehe


And on Black Friday, my BFF and I went shopping, of course:


Isn't she the most beautiful BFF in the whole wide world?

Thanksgiving was a tremendous success; my kids and hers were SO glad to see one another after such a long time. My BFF has three boys, and her youngest and Isaac are the same age. They were totally absorbed in Legos and DDR the entire time.

I can't believe I have to go back to school already tomorrow, though... I sure did need an extra day to unwind before jumping back into the thick of things, but I guess it's just not meant to be. Oh well... I'll manage.

They'll probably be rather subdued and depressed tomorrow; Ballyhoo lost their second playoff game to Seymour, 28-13. Weeping and gnashing of teeth ensued, of course. But I am so proud of my guys anyway... it's a terrific accomplishment to make it that far.

Tell me again how people manage to stay ALIVE up here?

We arrived in Caucus-Land at about 12:30AM last night and nearly died crossing the driveway in the bitter Arctic Wind, ice and snow. Apparently yesterday, during the day, the blizzard had deposited lots of lovely frozen precip in celebration of our impending arrival. The kids were excited to see SNOW out the window on the drive up, but when we opened the door, I think they changed their minds.

ZOWEE it's cold.

But it's absolutely FABULOUS to see my BFF. It's been just over a year since we've seen one another in person. And her apartment is redolent with the aroma of pork roast.

Is this heaven?

Pretty darn close... if it could just be a bit warmer.

PS: Hey Brent, I'm in your town!!!

No bloggy tomorrow. You come back Thursday.

School's out tomorrow at halftime, at which time the kids and I are headed to the Great Frozen North Wasteland for some decent pork and some long-awaited face time with our bestest pals EVAR.

Yup, it's time once again for a Visit to the Land of Tall Corn. Except we won't see any of that... it most likely has descended once again into the eight-month gray permafrost of wintry wind-whippy I-Can't-Believe-I-Got-Rid-Of-All-My-Warm-Socks weather.

And actually, I did keep one pair of warm socks... the ones knitted for me by RedFish, who I hope to see sometime while we're there.

Catch y'all when we get to Caucus-Land.

Road Trip Redux, day EIGHT IS ENOUGH!!!

Okay, here are Mom's pictures that she took on the day the girls and I had to leave. They got to go on up to the northern part of the park and see Mammoth Hot Springs, which I had really wanted to see, but I'll just save it for another trip, I guess. If you want to see ALL our vacation photos, go here first, then here (Picasa won't let me put so many photos in one album!).


Mom & Dad at Mammoth Hot Springs.


This fellow was hunting for those Bear Necessities, I guess... and he had lots of paparazzi, but didn't seem to care a bit:




And on our left, ladies and gentlemen, a Petrified Tree:




After leaving the park, the route through the Bridger-Teton National Forest was quite snowy indeed... enough for a brief snowball fight:




And in Dubois, they enjoyed buffalo burgers for lunch:




And something I missed on the way home due to the whiteout conditions... a wind-farm:


These windmills may look tiny, but they're actually enormous. Probably three stories high or thereabouts.

Gotta rest from all that sight-seeing:




And that, dear friends, is THE END. Hope you enjoyed our Yellowstone Trip!! Tune in next summer for the continuing saga.