Friday, June 12, 2009
The great McDonald's conspiracy
McDonalds has always had pretty good coffee. In our travels of late, Esther and I have taken to a mid-morning pee and coffee break at the nearest McD's. The last few times I have noticed that the coffee tastes like dishwater, pretty much slightly flavored hot water. At the same time I have begun noticing the McCafe right next to me at the counter. Coincidence? I think not. Our regular coffee sucks, why not try our new, more expensive coffee?
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Damn concrete roads - off the beaten path - tribute to Dan - did not expect this
All of this post corresponds to what Esther calls "silly behavior". Apparently this is endearing, as when I do not display it she thinks I am sick or demented. Anyway, here goes...
I hate concrete roads. Arkansas has a whole bunch in disrepair. They sound a bit like a boxer's speed bag. Ta-poketa-poketa-poketa-tut-tut-tut-poka-poka-poketa-poketa. This gets as old a a trucker's blues after say, 100 miles or so.
Poketa-poketa-poketa
My baby she done left me, 'cause I drank the whole town dry
My baby she done left me, she didn't tell me why
Poka-tut-tut-poka-tut-tut-poka
I'm havin' a hard time drivin'
But grown men just don't cry
So, today we have been moving on through Tennessee. In the middle of the day we took a detour from the interstate grind and traveled up through the Blue Ridge on Route 58. This was a bit like a drive up the mountains in Jamaica. The road fought like a boa constrictor. It was windy, it was wiggly, it made my head spin. But it was really beautiful. Here is a picture of Lover's Leap, way up on top of a hill in Virginia.
We were way up above the clouds. We had to drive through a layer on the way down the other side. This is a spectacular spot. Click the picture to see it in full size.
We began to notice during this part of the trip that Virginia loves Dan. We do, too, so here is a bit of a tribute to Dan. It all started with Route 58, known as the Danville Road. Then, of course, we came across the Dan River.
And the road named after it.
Of course, there are the Meadows of Dan.
With what I consider to be superior signage.
On the way in, and on the way out, in case you missed.
Of course, you could just pass it by. I wouldn't recommend that, though.
Well, just in case you had forgotten, it is all about Dan.
You have to drive a ways, but you finally get there.
There is plenty more Dan, too. This is just a sample. There is even a Dan Science Center.
My favorite of all, though, is this one.
So long, Dan. We enjoyed our stay with you and Heather. Heather, this one is for you. This greeted us at the hotel when we returned for dinner. Mom thought it was a scorpion at first.
I hate concrete roads. Arkansas has a whole bunch in disrepair. They sound a bit like a boxer's speed bag. Ta-poketa-poketa-poketa-tut-tut-tut-poka-poka-poketa-poketa. This gets as old a a trucker's blues after say, 100 miles or so.
Poketa-poketa-poketa
My baby she done left me, 'cause I drank the whole town dry
My baby she done left me, she didn't tell me why
Poka-tut-tut-poka-tut-tut-poka
I'm havin' a hard time drivin'
But grown men just don't cry
So, today we have been moving on through Tennessee. In the middle of the day we took a detour from the interstate grind and traveled up through the Blue Ridge on Route 58. This was a bit like a drive up the mountains in Jamaica. The road fought like a boa constrictor. It was windy, it was wiggly, it made my head spin. But it was really beautiful. Here is a picture of Lover's Leap, way up on top of a hill in Virginia.
We were way up above the clouds. We had to drive through a layer on the way down the other side. This is a spectacular spot. Click the picture to see it in full size.
We began to notice during this part of the trip that Virginia loves Dan. We do, too, so here is a bit of a tribute to Dan. It all started with Route 58, known as the Danville Road. Then, of course, we came across the Dan River.
And the road named after it.
Of course, there are the Meadows of Dan.
With what I consider to be superior signage.
On the way in, and on the way out, in case you missed.
Of course, you could just pass it by. I wouldn't recommend that, though.
Well, just in case you had forgotten, it is all about Dan.
You have to drive a ways, but you finally get there.
There is plenty more Dan, too. This is just a sample. There is even a Dan Science Center.
My favorite of all, though, is this one.
So long, Dan. We enjoyed our stay with you and Heather. Heather, this one is for you. This greeted us at the hotel when we returned for dinner. Mom thought it was a scorpion at first.
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
A challenger to Salt Lick - the crowd rules
Take a short (45 minute) ride down 183 from Austin to Lockhart and you can have the "best" barbecue in Texas. This is where the venerable Black's (aka Blackie's) exists. Lockhart is home to three of the most-mentioned barbecue restaurants in Texas (Blackie's, Smittie's, and the Kreuz Market). Chisholm Trail also is in Lockhart.
Black's advertises itself as open 8 days a week. This hyperbole seems a bit out of joint with the extremely careful description as the "Oldest major BBQ house in Texas continuously owned by the same family".
We had ribs, brisket, garlic sausage, and jalapeno cheese sausage, along with a variety of sides. My personal opinion was that they did a great job. The rest of the party of four maintained that Salt Lick still wins, and is closer to Austin to boot. The others found fault with the sausage (too "grainy", a quality I like because it means that the contents are meat, not cereal or fat). They also thought that Salt Lick's brisket was better, because it had a better smoke penetration. I really liked Black's dark crust on the brisket, but thought that it was a little dried out. All in all, good and worth the trip, but maybe not the best. The quest goes on!
The experience is quite a bit different than Salt Lick, as well. The inside of Black's is a down-home family dining room, rather than a bunk-house sort of thing. The tables are covered with plain cloths. The walls have a series of steer and deer horns. You help yourself to "fixins", then order meat by the pound (brisket, pork, turkey, etc.) or portion (sausage).
Black's was deserted on an early Monday evening. Lockhart was, as well. The town is kind of picturesque, though. There is a beautiful court house building right in a main square.
The other streets are wide with occasionally significant buildings. This is a view back toward Black's along Main Street. Lots of diagonal parking here. Very hard to imagine a traffic jam. Sometimes it must be hard to imagine another car!
Back to Austin, fully stuffed and arguing about the qualities of barbecue.
Black's advertises itself as open 8 days a week. This hyperbole seems a bit out of joint with the extremely careful description as the "Oldest major BBQ house in Texas continuously owned by the same family".
We had ribs, brisket, garlic sausage, and jalapeno cheese sausage, along with a variety of sides. My personal opinion was that they did a great job. The rest of the party of four maintained that Salt Lick still wins, and is closer to Austin to boot. The others found fault with the sausage (too "grainy", a quality I like because it means that the contents are meat, not cereal or fat). They also thought that Salt Lick's brisket was better, because it had a better smoke penetration. I really liked Black's dark crust on the brisket, but thought that it was a little dried out. All in all, good and worth the trip, but maybe not the best. The quest goes on!
The experience is quite a bit different than Salt Lick, as well. The inside of Black's is a down-home family dining room, rather than a bunk-house sort of thing. The tables are covered with plain cloths. The walls have a series of steer and deer horns. You help yourself to "fixins", then order meat by the pound (brisket, pork, turkey, etc.) or portion (sausage).
Black's was deserted on an early Monday evening. Lockhart was, as well. The town is kind of picturesque, though. There is a beautiful court house building right in a main square.
The other streets are wide with occasionally significant buildings. This is a view back toward Black's along Main Street. Lots of diagonal parking here. Very hard to imagine a traffic jam. Sometimes it must be hard to imagine another car!
Back to Austin, fully stuffed and arguing about the qualities of barbecue.
Saturday, June 06, 2009
McKinney Falls State Park, Texas
This is another of Texas' spectacular limestone falls parks. This one has two falls. We visited the lower falls first. The approach is a limestone plain, full of evidence that it has been part of the flow at times. It is multi-level, with lots of little scoops where water swirled and eroded the stone.
As you get closer to the falls, the river starts to make itself evident. It is quite beautiful, even in a dry spell. Apparently it takes just a couple of inches of rain to make it spectacular.
The river is alive with wildlife. Here is a turtle condo. Plenty are in the water, as well.
There is not much flow right now, so you begin to see little trickles in the deeper channels. They turn out to be all the falls you get.
The pools live on, though. This is the pool below the lower "falls".
There were a few people there, but not too many.
At the upper falls there is a shallow pool at the top.
The same kind of rivulets make all the falls there is here, too.
There is more wear in the limestone, though. There are a couple of spots where people can climb right up from the water through the holes.
Both pools are lined with gorgeous cypresses. We saw these before at Hamilton Pool.
We made a brief stop at the visitor center, where we met a couple volunteering at the park. They turned out to be itinerant RV'ers. It has been their custom for six years to stop off in various parks and volunteer in return for camping there. They stay a couple of months or longer, moving on when the urge hits. The volunteer work is not burdensome, about 20 hours a week each. Since they have a Golden Age Passport, they have many places where they camp inexpensively. They told us about an organization called Escapees. This group helps RV people to get their mail. They also run a few camping spots.
As you get closer to the falls, the river starts to make itself evident. It is quite beautiful, even in a dry spell. Apparently it takes just a couple of inches of rain to make it spectacular.
The river is alive with wildlife. Here is a turtle condo. Plenty are in the water, as well.
There is not much flow right now, so you begin to see little trickles in the deeper channels. They turn out to be all the falls you get.
The pools live on, though. This is the pool below the lower "falls".
There were a few people there, but not too many.
At the upper falls there is a shallow pool at the top.
The same kind of rivulets make all the falls there is here, too.
There is more wear in the limestone, though. There are a couple of spots where people can climb right up from the water through the holes.
Both pools are lined with gorgeous cypresses. We saw these before at Hamilton Pool.
We made a brief stop at the visitor center, where we met a couple volunteering at the park. They turned out to be itinerant RV'ers. It has been their custom for six years to stop off in various parks and volunteer in return for camping there. They stay a couple of months or longer, moving on when the urge hits. The volunteer work is not burdensome, about 20 hours a week each. Since they have a Golden Age Passport, they have many places where they camp inexpensively. They told us about an organization called Escapees. This group helps RV people to get their mail. They also run a few camping spots.
Friday, June 05, 2009
D gets all comfortable on my ass
D and H (our daughter) have been together for years now. We are visiting them down here in Austin right now. Love this town!
D has always been VERY quiet, but also VERY quick. That is, he has been quiet until now...
We are all sitting around last night after returning from OOMPAH band, Wiener schnitzel, and Hefeweizen at the oldest beer garden in Texas. D mentions a story he is reading online: Disney is in trouble because American people are so fat the boats are hitting bottom and the seats no longer fit. I am a substantial guy so I start riffing on fat people's rights. I'm bitching about one size fits all and the tyranny of the skinnies and mocking politically correct all to hell. So I say at one point "The fatties will rise". Dan IMMEDIATELY comes back with "very slowly". I laughed so hard I almost choked. He's now so comfortable with me that he's completely ready to bust my hump. That's a good thing!
D has always been VERY quiet, but also VERY quick. That is, he has been quiet until now...
We are all sitting around last night after returning from OOMPAH band, Wiener schnitzel, and Hefeweizen at the oldest beer garden in Texas. D mentions a story he is reading online: Disney is in trouble because American people are so fat the boats are hitting bottom and the seats no longer fit. I am a substantial guy so I start riffing on fat people's rights. I'm bitching about one size fits all and the tyranny of the skinnies and mocking politically correct all to hell. So I say at one point "The fatties will rise". Dan IMMEDIATELY comes back with "very slowly". I laughed so hard I almost choked. He's now so comfortable with me that he's completely ready to bust my hump. That's a good thing!
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