We had a great vacation day yesterday. We didn't leave until noon, but we ate lunch down in Lockhart, the BBQ capital of Texas. It is directly south of Austin on 183 (San Marcos and New Braunfels are to the southwest on I-35, 183 goes directly south). We had eaten at Kruetz and Smitty's before, so we ate at Black's this time and I liked it best, I think. Very good sausage and brisket and iced tea. Then, since we were in the BBQ capital of Texas we stopped into Smitty's and got a couple more sausage links and bread for the road. That place is the oldest and has the coolest atmosphere. You can walk in the back door and you are right beside their old old pit that has a roaring fire going and the cook will wrap up your meat in brown paper and give it to you. I told Mark to think about working that pit when he thinks that HIS job is hot in the summertime.

We went on down the road to a big truckstop on I-10 that advertised Fantastic Restrooms! They were right, big and clean and nice. I highly recommend Buc-Ees. They also had a big gift shop and lots of food. We bought some cactus and a gift (a backscratcher for Mom shaped like a buffalo!) and a couple of sausage kolaches that looked delicious.

On to Gonzales, the Lexington of Texas, still going south on 183. We went to an antique store and bought a 78 record player. Mark has wanted one forever and this is a little portable record player that cranks and plays 78s. It works, he tried it. We got that and went to the museum in the jail. The actual battle and first shot in the Texas revolution was a few miles from Gonzales so we went there, to Cost, Texas, a little to the west, where the monument is and drove down to the Guadalupe river where it actually happened. The Guadalupe looked like a meadow down there, all covered in water lilies. You couldn't see water at all, but I suppose it had a little bit.

We wanted to go to Goliad to see the grave of Fannin and the mission that is there, but it was too late to go and see the inside of the mission, so we went to Shiner instead and saw that cute little town and the Spoetzl Brewery where they make Shiner beer. We headed east to get to Shiner.

Then we came back north through Moulton and back to I-10 and across to Seguin. We drove around its very cool downtown, very old, and saw their Riverside Cemetery that is huge and old and on the bank on the Guadalupe. Gas in Seguin was the cheapest we saw at only $2.15!!!

Now on to New Braunfels, just up the road to the north, and the sun in beginning to set and is right in our eyes. We drive around New Braunfels and find Landa Park, which I'd read about but had no idea it was so fabulous. With the cool weather, it reminded me of Manitou Springs or something in Colorado. Hilly, craggy, springs filling wading pools and duck ponds and pouring on down to the Comal River (where we tubed) and out to the Guadalupe. The park has a bandstand and "dance slab" and picnic tables. People everywhere were walking and playing with dogs. We walked around a bit and also found a wheelchair just lying in the parking lot. It looks like someone set it down and helped someone into a vehicle and then forgot it and drove off, possibly driving over it because it was a little messed up. It had a tag with a name and "Eden Home" on it so we called and they were just up the hill, but they don't know who the woman was, which was odd. But we took it to them and left it there. It was a beautiful nursing facility that looked like it also had maybe retirement cottages and maybe assisted living.

We drop that off and go back into New Braunfels. There are the cutest little houses in that town and deer everywhere. We saw dozens right in town. We decided we were hungry again (despite having eaten our Smitty's sausage on bread and our kolaches and orange slices candy on the road) and we find a German restaurant in New Braunfels and have brats and some kind of schnitzel and apple struedel. We sat outside and it was very pleasant.

Finally we are stuffed again and head on home. We got home about 10, so that was a pretty full day of vacation in just 10 hours. It was fun.

Today I am going back to do some work at the station and then over to Hill's for the music series tonight. I'm even doing the countdown (which I need to get busy and write) because Eric is out this week. More money for that, so I'm willing. Then tomorrow it is back to work for real.
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So now I do need to get a countdown together and make a list and another list and get ready for work this afternoon by doing my research on the SAJB because I'm going to go do that interview before I go to the cafe for the music series.

I'm a little miffed at my friend MM today. She calls from her dad's in Illinois to say that she "accidentally" booked an opening act on our music series for the last night. She's done this "accidentally" before and we told her never again. It isn't our fault when she screws up. I told her she had to call the boss and explain it to him. I don't know how we'll work it out.

My story of Nathan Jr.'s night of catting around was also written best in email so I'll include it here as well:

Did I tell you about Nathan getting out? Horrors! The other night the weather was ideal and something was said about sleeping with the window open. Mark said, Shoot, I took that screen off of that window (the one we usually open.... he tried to put an air conditioner in it and it didn't fit). I said, well, we'll open the other one. I opened the other one, but, dumb me, I didn't check to see if it had a screen and I guess it didn't! So we go to bed and I wake up at 10 the next morning and see Nathan half in, half out of that window, like he was just coming back in. It looked like in sitcoms when the parents catch a teenager sneaking back in. I said "Nathan Junior!" and we both jumped up and he was sort of sitting on the ledge on the outside of the window now and I grab a hind leg and Mark opens the window wider so I could haul him back in. I said the screen must have fallen off, not realizing that there probably wasn't one to begin with! I don't know if Mark has come to that conclusion yet or not. I'm hoping he'll forget the whole incident so that he doesn't blame ME for letting his cat out! We don't know how long Nathan was out catting around, but it could have been all night long. At least he came home and had his collar and luckily, Willie didn't go with him, that would be really bad since he doesn't have claws. It will make for a good Purina ad later this week.

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And I guess I haven't written in here that Willie got busted in Louisiana the other night for weed and mushrooms on the bus. Not only Willie but Bobbie, too, and three other guys. On the one hand I want to say, guys, do you not realize that this is WILLIE and he can do what he wants? On the other I want to say, Shit, if it had been me with a pound and a half of marijuana in my vehicle, I'd be in jail for years, so why isn't he? I wonder how it will all come out?

Monday was Ann Richards funeral. I didn't go, but I watched it all on TV and it was very moving and sweet. Her granddaughter spoke about "Mammy" and Hillary Clinton and several other big Democrats spoke. All were funny and moving. She was a great lady. I bet she could be a terror when she wanted to be, but I shudder to think where our state would be now if Clayton Williams had won instead of her that year. That was a wild election. It's kind of nice when a leader dies not too long after they served. Then you can remember what their term was like. Some die so much after the fact it is hard to remember what took place in those long-ago times. Do you remember what happened during Dolph Briscoe's term? Me either.

Okay, my vacation may not be officially over, but I'd better get dressed and work and act like it is or I won't be able to be up at the station by 4 like I need to be.