TX Region RROC Spring Meet, Part II

We got an early start at 9AM (if one considers 9AM early, that is). We were on our way to Xavier's BNB Ranch in Caldwell about an hour away. He graciously offered (actually was persuaded) to host the Judging part of the meet and cater the BBQ luncheon. This was our third visit to the ranch and if he doesn't stop treating us so royally, he's never gonna get rid of us.

Here Sneed is putting up the banner on the gate to alert drivers that they have reached the ranch. The first car to enter was Henry's from Houston. It was only fitting as his was the oldest at the meet - a 1929 Springfield Phantom I. He drove it all the way from Houston too! Next we are in Marque enjoying them thar golden hills. The ranch was resplendent in yellow flowers this visit. At the gate, there was the brightest red Indian Paintbrush I have ever seen. Usually they are orange or dark orange. This one really made its presence known among the lighter colored flowers.


The cars as they were lined up on the grassy knoll. The car in the center is a 1937 RR 25/30. It came down by trailer from Abilene. It may be bright yellow but it's not THE Yellow Rolls-Royce of movie fame.



Here are the rest of the cars. Xavier is in the center next to his much admired 1997 Silver Spur.


We had a fantastic TX BBQ lunch with brisket, sausage, chicken, and all the fixins. Now to just lay down and enjoy the sun and the clement weather would have hit the spot. But time's a-wasting. A new feature for this year's meet was a Fox Hunt in which members could participate. A set of clues was given out on how to get back to the hotel but not anything specific. Along the way, one had to observe the roadside and answer 32 questions. Sneed and I had a lot of fun running the route a number of times and making sure our questions were easily answerable. The majority of the members decided to hightail it back to the hotel to get ready for the evening's event, however, there were 5 brave entrants. On our way back to the hotel, we saw some valiantly making U-turns as they had missed something on the hunt.

Wouldn't you know it. When the entries were scored and tallied, we had a 3 way tie for first place. Fortunately, we had prepared six tiebreaker questions which did the trick so a winner could be declared at the dinner.

We caravanned to the Miramont Country Club, a particular WOW factor for the evening's event. Before dinner we went out back and got a group photograph. The March winds were blowing so we didn't stay outside for long.



After dinner, the awards were given to the participants of the Fox Hunt. Jeff and Mary answered the most tiebreaker questions correctly and were presented THE FOX. They were definitely an enthusiastic couple and we welcome them from OK to the TX Region. Ribbons and plaques were then presented to the members denoting how their PMC (proper motor car) placed in the judging. The cars winning special awards did a driveby through the porte cochere at the front of the club. The wind was really whipping by now. We all processed back to the hotel.



Sunday morning, some members got an early start for home, some slept in, some had a Board meeting to attend. We were getting ready to leave around 11 after the Board meeting. Marque was out front but my Datsun was still in back of the hotel. Sneed helped in the 'Failure to Proceed' attempt to move this RR into position to enter the trailer as it had not started when requested. Once in position, Bruce had a wench that would pull it on to the trailer so we felt secure in leaving. Check out the video.



I followed Marque in my Z and we made it home without incident. It's always nice to come home, open the door, and say "Clyde, we're home."

TX Region RROC Spring Meet, Part I

This year's meet was in College Station, home of Texas A&M University. Whoop!! We drove that road from Katy to CS so many times when the girls were up there; it seems like a short trip now.

Sneed drove up in the morning as he was co-host with Eddy who lives in CS. I drove up later in the afternoon after watching Olsin that morning. Quite a few members had shown up by the time I arrived. Some really cool cars were in the back parking lot. The Datsun added to their splendor. The biggest decision that night, Thursday, was where to have dinner. Ninfas's (a great Mexican restaurant) was right down the road so we hopped the low gate into the Nissan car lot next door, and jumped it once again on the far side before getting to the Ninfa's parking lot. I pigged out on chips and guacamole sauce so that by the time the fajitas Sneed and I were sharing came, I wasn't hungry...but I ate anyway. Burp! They do have good green sauce.

During the Spring Meet we try to drive the cars to interesting places so as to enjoy the cars and the scenery. This morning after breakfast at the Hampton, Sneed had a drivers' meeting to hand out the map and written instructions so no one would get lost along the way. The plan was to mosey along back roads to Lillians Farms where we would have lunch. Along the way, we went past the Grimes County Courthouse in Anderson which was built way back in 1883. Then, unbeknownst to us, the highway department decided to lay some new tar on one of the roads. That made for some sticky driving.



Wildflowers were just beginning to peek through the grass.



As we meandered for about 3 miles on a dirt/gravel road (a no-no some drivers later told us, but hey, the cars are meant to be driven, right?) a bull was outside the fence to greet the Flying B as we warily skirted by. Somehow, the cows were smarter remaining behind the fence in a field of yellow flowers providing a lovely pastoral scene. After going through the entrance for Lillian Farms, two geese going to the lake welcomed Marque.



Here is Barbara welcoming us to Lillian Farms for a second visit. We first visited here in 2007 when we did the National Spring Tour in TX. The cars added a bit of luxury to the beautiful surroundings.



The tables were set beautifully, each with a different spring colored gingham cloth and geranium centerpiece. No plastic here. Barbara's head chef, Kathleen, served up a wonderful light lunch, just what the doctor ordered. The scooped out avocado shell with shrimp salad was yummy. The cheese biscuits were to die for. Sharon twisted arms and managed to get the recipe.

Whilst eating, we enjoyed the singing of Tena Rae Helm. Click the video to watch her singing Texans' favorite song. Get a load of the gal playing the keyboard. One can tell she is into the music.

The next stop on our tour through the countryside was Blue Bell Creameries. Fortunately we were all wearing our nametags when we went in to inquire about a tour. The last tour for the day was scheduled for 230 and here we all were five minutes late. Luck was with us as they added a tour just for our group. WooHoo is about all I can say. This was my kind of tour, a 1/4 mile walking tour of how ice cream is made. At the end of the tour we were all treated to a 3 scoop cup of whatever flavor we wanted. I chose Mocha Madness - coffee ice cream with pecans, chocolate chips and caramel. Ice cream being my favorite food, although I've been told it isn't a food, I was in 7th heaven. The creamery's slogan is "We eat all we can, and we sell the rest." Now that's a great advertising campaign. And employees do get to eat all they want. Perhaps I could get a summer job there?

Big Kid Sitting

Erika called last week to see if I could 'big kid sit' Olsin while she went to the Zoo with Dylin's Kindergarten class. Of course, I jumped at the opportunity. Ever since Olsin cut his locks, he has become all boy. Kind of took this Grandma by surprise. We had a nice time together and were playing racecars when Erika got home.

Aedin is learning cursive in school and wrote this message for me. She's got the hang of it! As I had borrowed and finished reading Book 1 of the Sisters Grimm series, she loaded me up with the next 3 books. She's already read Books 1-7 and number 8 is coming out soon - plus a movie. It's nice to read books she is reading (or in this instance, she has read) so we can discuss them together.



If Olsin looks a bit blurred, it's because he doesn't stay still anymore...he's constantly on the move.

An Extraordinary Cat

Clyde, aka Monsieur Clyde and Kitty-cat Clyde, always seems to know when we are going on a trip. He circles suitcases and hangs around underfoot more often than usual. I left these photos on my photo disk so I could share them with others. Nick really spoils Clyde while we are gone. So much so, that when we come home, Clyde doesn't come bounding down the stairs to greet us. He takes his time and lots of ours wondering just where he is. Next time, I'll post a photo of us over his bed so he won't forget us...nah, don't think I'll do that.

Don't you agree he looks quite handsome?

Hello? Spring? Where are you?

Today is the First Day of Spring aka Primavera according to the calendar. Sooo, we went to Brazos Bend State Park to see if any wildflowers were blooming. Along the way we saw evidence of Indian Paintbrush in small patches but still too light-colored to take photos of. (Yes, Mrs. Bryan, I remember one is not supposed to end a sentence with a preposition; however, sometimes it can't be avoided - it just sounds better) Besides it wouldn't be fair to show it with less than its gorgeous bright orange/red color. We were really excited to see a few Bluebonnets trying to make themselves seen as we hope they will be out in full bloom next weekend when the TX Region has its Spring Meet Weekend.

The weather forecast was not in our favor. A cold front was heading our way bringing with it lots of rain, ....but at least that's better than the snow that fell in Colorado and northern TX last night.

We drove around the park before deciding where we wanted to stop and walk a trail. This trail took us to a lake where it was obvious that spring had sprung for the waterfowl. Mating season was in full swing. Birds were paired up on the waters or were calling (honking? hooting?) for a mate. Here are paired Blue-Winged Teals and Coots swimming in the mucky mire.



Not long after we took these photos, the wind started whipping up and the sky got darker. We about-faced and headed back as that was the shortest distance to the car. Along the way, Sneed spotted a Blue Heron at the base of a tree which we had to stop and photograph.



When we arrived in the park, I mentioned how the yellow wildflowers along the side of the road reminded me of the "yellow brick road" so Sneed stopped the car so I could cpature this photo. Across the way from the George Ranch, there is a rookery of Ibis. Undaunted by the rain, I pressed the window open lever and got this shot as Sneed drove over the bridge.



We stopped at Kroger and got some sushi for lunch. It was still raining when we got home. The rain gauge so far has registered 1".

Welcome, Spring!

Happy Birthday, Taylor!

At 1014 this morning, Taylor turned the BIG 3-0 joining her sisters in the third decade of their lives. Here are a few photos from the early years. It seems like only yesterday...

Wouldn't You Like to Ride in my Beautiful Balloon?

We were eating breakfast when the inimitable 'whoosh' 'whoosh' sound came muffled through the closed windows. Ran outside and a hot air balloon was floating on by right in our back garden. It was the lowest we've ever seen in the 20 years we have been running out to observe them. The yellow one was a lot closer to our house but I hadn't taken the camera out with me. That's our Purple Martin house to the left of the balloon. Some Martins have already taken up residence for the spring. They do keep the mosquito population down. Thank you, Martins!



This balloon floated over shortly after the first one. I love the rainbow colors. Very uplifting...ha, that's punny.

"Annie"

Tonight, Sneed and I headed down to Stafford for the Fort Bend Theatre's big stage rendition of "Annie" at the Stafford Centre. If the venue looks familiar, this is also where the dance recital is held in May.



We were lucky to have a view from front row center seats. Most excellent seats from which a proud Mother/Grandma gets teary eyed and a lump in her throat. My heart is pumping so loudly I'm surprised it doesn't burst. You'd think after all these years, I'd get used to seeing my 'own' on stage, but the feeling never fades. First and still, our girls, and now the next generation. I'm lovin' it.

To see some short vignettes from musical numbers, play the video below.