Tag: rodeo

The Adventure Continues

(Note: If you’ve happened upon my blog this evening for the first time, I’m chronicling an epic (for me) road trip that began on February 17, and will hopefully conclude on March 6, when I’m reunited with my husband, Studly Doright, and my two kitties, Patches and Scout.) 

Somehow I survived the rodeo and related events on Thursday night. With a heavy heart–at least a nine pounder, I left my brother’s home in Houston and headed three and a half hours south to see Studly Doright’s eldest sibling, the beauteous Lyn, who lives near Corpus Christie with her husband, Mike.

Mike is dealing with some serious health issues right now, but he’s tough as an old Texas boot, and I have every confidence he’ll recover fully. I just needed to go and give him a kick in the rear to facilitate his healing. He’ll thank me later.

I stayed the night with Lyn and made her buy me breakfast at Hester’s, a great bakery in Corpus Christie, before I dropped her off at the hospital where Mike is a reluctant guest. It was hard to leave her there. My heart gained an extra pound.

From the hospital I drove the overwhelming distance of 35 miles where I met my cousin Diane for coffee in Rockport. Diane and her husband have relocated to this Texas coastal town from California, and we hadn’t seen each other in years. 

  
We didn’t get to visit long, but it did my heart good to see her. Our first comments to each other were exclamations of how much we looked like our respective mothers. Again I said a sad goodbye and resumed my trip. My heart weighs at least 15 pounds at this point.

Finally I set my GPS to take me home. Of course I needed to stop for lunch–heavy hearts need extra calories–and came across a little barbecue place in the middle of nowhere.  

  

The pig statue at Auntie Jo’s Barbecue beckoned to me and soon I was enjoying a pulled pork sandwich.

  
This kitty kept me company as I ate. I might’ve snuck her a few bites from my sandwich. We bonded.

With lunch over I became serious about finding my way back to Doright Manor. The GPS informed me that I had 13 hours of driving ahead of me. With that in mind I set a goal to get at least half that distance behind me before stopping for the night. 

I almost made it, too! Unfortunately I ran out of daylight around the city of Lafayette, Louisiana. My night vision has never been great, but lately it is awful. 

Tomorrow I still have roughly seven hours to go before I get to see Studly and the cats. Tonight I’m tucked into a hotel bed, watching The People v. OJ Simpson on TV after having dined sumptuously on Taco Bell fare. Ah, the glamorous life! 

Good thoughts for Mike’s recovery and for safe travels will be greatly appreciated.

Peace, people!

Rodeo

As a native Texan I’d heard tales of the mythical Houston Rodeo–an epic 20 day extravaganza featuring competition between the top cowboys and cowgirls in their respective events. Now at the age of 59 I finally got to savor the experience first hand. And what an amazing experience it was!

My brother, Kelly, works with a man who has volunteered at the rodeo in various capacities for more than two decades. This man has two sets of season tickets that he offers to friends during the event. We were fortunate to get incredible seats close to the action so there wasn’t a calf roping or bull riding that we missed. 

The pageantry was “over the top Texas” with fireworks and wagon races, mutton busting and a host of other events.

   
   
Once the rodeo events were completed for the night country singer Jason Aldean took the stage and rocked the house from a rotating stage. There were no bad seats for the concert.

   
   
We drank copious amounts of beer, consumed peanuts, nachos, fried Snickers and fried pecan pie. 

And smiled.

 

My brother Kelly and sister-in-law, Susan
  
My goofy self and brother Kelly
  
My handsome son, Jason who came from Dallas for the rodeo, and me.
 
What a great evening! And I didn’t even relate my bull riding experience. That’s coming in another post.

Peace, people!

Woman About Houston

I spent the first night of a two-night stay with my brother and his wife in Houston. It’s not my first trip to the country’s fourth largest city, but it is the first time I’ve been armed with GPS and felt brave enough to wander about on my own. 

So what did I do with my morning? Well, first I spent some quality time having a mani-pedi at Footopia. 

  
These are my happy little piggies.

Then, I thought to myself, “Friend, you’re in Texas, the home of big hair. Go and have it styled for the rodeo. So I did just that at a salon that specializes in blow outs, The Blow Out Bar. 

  
Apparently my hair is too short to become really big, but I liked the results.

After that I had a bit of time to kill, but little money, so I just rambled about looking for something interesting. My reward was a place called Wabash Feed. 

  
Not only did Wabash Feed have food for animals of all persuasions, but they had plants and fertilizer, pottery and funky  objets d’art. Best of all, they had live animals: Bunnies and chickens and pigeons and a one-eyed turtle.

   
    
    
 
I wandered around Wabash Feed for an hour or so, and wondered if Studly Doright needed a pet chicken to assist him in his shop. In the end I decided a chicken might not be able to handle a wrench or a screwdriver rendering them lousy shop assistants. 

Finally it was time for a snack. And where better than a place called Luke’s Icehouse?

  
I had an ice cold Shiner Bock and a chicken quesadilla with terrific salsa before returning to Kelly and Susan’s home. 

Now I have a couple of hours to relax before we head to the rodeo grounds where  I was told that one can enjoy a fried Oreo, among other things. I’d better go ponder that.

  
Yeehaw!

Peace, people!

He Loves His Damned Old Rodeo

Teen-aged girls are prone to thoughts of romance and forbidden love. I was once a teen-aged girl, so I can say this with some authority. There were several songs from my youth that supported this romanticized notion of defying one’s parents to be with the man of one’s dreams. “Some Day Soon” by Judy Collins certainly fit the bill.

I recall sitting in the backseat of whatever second-hand vehicle my parents had at the time, staring longingly out the window and daringly singing along when this song played on the radio. After all, the word “damned” was right there in the lyrics! Damn! Heady stuff.

I could almost picture my non-existent young cowboy, tall and rugged, confidently striding in his tight Wranglers to sweep me into a passionate embrace. Then one of my younger brothers sitting next to me would burp or fart, and snap! Back to reality.

The video below isn’t one of my favorite arrangements of the song; however, the Smothers Brothers’ introduction is classic.

SomeDay Soon
Song by Judy Collins

There’s a young man that I know
His age is twenty-one
Comes from down
In southern Colorado

Just out of the service
And he’s looking for his fun
Someday soon, going with him
Someday soon

My parents can not stand him
Cause he rides the rodeo
My father says that
He will leave me crying

I would follow him right down
The toughest road I know
Someday soon, going with him
Someday soon

And when he comes to call
My pa ain’t got a good word to say
Guess it’s cause he’s just
As wild in the younger days

So blow, you old Blue Northern
Blow my love to me
He’s driving in tonight
From California

He loves his damned old rodeo
As much as he loves me
Someday soon, going with him
Someday soon

But when he comes to call
My pa ain’t got a word to say
Guess it’s cause he’s just
As wild in the younger days.

IMG_1069

Peace, people!