Welcome

Come with me as I travel through this great country of ours...sometimes on the back of my motorcycle....sometimes not. Experience what I see, what I hear and what I smell.



Monday, October 22, 2012

Hill Country Ride

It's been a while since I posted anything interesting, mostly because I haven't done anything interesting, unless you count the Texas Honor Ride fundraiser in Conroe last month.  However, I had been waiting on this ride with the H.O.G. folks to Fredericksburg this past weekend.  The leader always makes the trip interesting...never travel on "real highways" very long and there are always good places to eat.

Considering the nice weather forecast and the fact that LSU was coming to College Station, it was a perfect weekend to head out of town.  Everyone met at the Kettle...some came early for breakfast...and we headed out of town, already having to deal with game day traffic.  We left town on Hwy 60 and followed it for quite a while, past Lyons and Hwy 36 until the leader found some farm roads.  He actually knew where he was going and had the whole route programmed into his GPS.

Our first stop was in Giddings after about an hour to allow everyone to rid themselves of all the coffee consumed earlier.  We found a Dairy Queen that was open and everyone was in and out quickly...without stopping for ice cream...it was too early anyway.

We continued on back roads and headed towards the New Braunfels area.  We passed through little towns with names like Roskany, Winchester, Staley and Fentress.  Fentress was having a fall festival type affair and the town was full of locals, all dressed up in period costumes and having a good time.  We made our way over to Lockhart and stopped for gas.  After topping off, we headed west and hopefully better landscape.

Our lunch plans included stopping in Greune and eating at the Grist Mill...always a treat.  The weather was excellent...on the chilly side actually...and the roads were more or less deserted except for us.  We arrived in Greune to discover that this weekend was when everyone else had decided to visit.  After trolling for parking, we decided to go somewhere else for lunch.  We ate at the New Braunfels Smokehouse...not bad.

With full bellies and rested behinds we headed off towards the Hill Country via the River Road.  I had never been on this road before but it was very interesting and very pretty.  Due to the winding nature of the road and some traffic, I couldn't make any pictures so you will just have to take my word for how nice it was...or you can go over to New Braunfels and take a ride on the River Road yourself.

All along the road there are campsites, houses, vacation homes/cabins, places to rent boats and tubes and hotels...and I use the word "hotel" very loosely.  However, the river was full in most places and the road allowed a very good view of it.  The road crossed back and forth across the river (the Guadalupe River by the way) using little concrete bridges...nothing more than a slab of concrete actually.  These bridges had names...1st Crossing, 2nd Crossing, 3rd Crossing and 4th Crossing...very imaginative don't you think.  The houses near the end of the road, on the opposite side of the river, were very nice.  Each one of them was built 25-30 feet off the water up the hill and had stairways leading down to a dock on the river.

The water must have been too cold for tubing because I didn't see anyone doing so.  We did see a hand full of folks in canoes or Kayaks but that was it.  Many of the campgrounds were closed for the winter but a few had campers.  It was a good weekend for it.

We eventually hit another back road and started seeing the Hill Country type of landscape...rolling hills, twisting roads and the typical vegetation...scrub brush, mesquite trees, cactus and some oak trees.  Although it had rained recently, everything looked a little brown.  In the spring you can see wildflowers everywhere but October isn't the time for that.

We passed through towns like Comfort and Kendalia and went through many low lying areas that would most likely flood with heavy rains.  Getting around this part of the State during a rainy period might bring several obstacles.  We passed through 1st and 2nd Coffee Hollow and over Dry Creek, Hickory Creek and Honey Bear Creek.   Some had a little trickle of water and some had none. 

By mid-afternoon we were ready for a stop and just happened to come to Sisterdale...due south of Fredericksburg and north of Boerne...where we found the Sister Creek Winery.  It was a very small building...actually built in an old cotton gin...but made specialty wines.  They had a small tasting room...actually a wooden table that sat 8-10 people in a little alcove off the main room.  Two or three of the group purchased a bottle of wine while the rest of us walked across the road to the Sisterdale Market to get a soda.  Both places were small but fairly popular with bikers as they were on the small, twisty type of roads bikers like.

Following the stop in Sisterdale, we wound around a little and headed in a northerly direction to Fredericksburg, arriving at the hotel about 4:30 in the afternoon...just enough time to take a shower and watch a little football before dinner.

A little before 6 everyone walked down the street, some stopping at certain stores...like the Christmas store for the women and Just For Men for the guys.  I didn't find anything I had to have.  After looking around some we walked down the street to a nice German Restaurant...very popular based on the crowd gathering at 6pm.  As it turned out the crowd got worse as we ate.

We got a table for 8...three couples and 2 class B bachelors...that's guys without their wives.  We were the odd man out all weekend too.  Anyway, I order Jäger-Schnitzel and potato pancakes while others tried the various sausages...everyone seemed to enjoy their dining experience.

After dinner we were supposed to drive out to Luckenbach but everyone was too full to move so we all retired to our rooms and watched television...football games were plentiful so I watched Texas Tech and TCU...good game.

On Sunday morning we skipped church...that's a joke by the way...ate the continental breakfast at the hotel...terrible!...and hit the road about 8:30.  We headed north out of Fredericksburg...I thought it was west or south...on Hwy 16 and turned on the Willow City Loop...about 40 miles of twisting and turning ranch roads...small two lane road without any substantial shoulder.  After about 30 miles we pulled off in to a makeshift scenic overlook...the ground was way too rough for it to be planned...and got a beautiful panoramic view of the Hill Country.

Leaving the loop we went through Willow City and headed towards Marble Falls on the shores of Lake LBJ to the east of us.  We found yet another farm road and followed its twists and turns until we hit Hwy 281, which we followed into Marble Falls.  As we crossed over the bridge into the downtown section of Marble Falls, we came to the Blue Bonnet Cafe.  According to the leader, eating there was only going to be a possibility if we arrived early enough and if the crowd was not too large.

We arrived at 1100 and although the parking lot looked packed, the line wasn't wrapped around the building as it tends to be at certain times of the day and year.  As it was, we waited in line in the exit hallway for about 20-30 minutes until we got a table for 8.  After looking at the menu and talking to the folks around us for suggestions, we ordered.  Some ordered breakfast and some lunch...ranging from hamburgers to chicken fried steak...all ordered pie following.  The meal was pretty good but the pie was excellent...turns out pie is one of the attractions of the cafe...I'd have to agree.

Following lunch a nap would have been nice but since we were on motorcycles and there wasn't a handy park or picnic table nearby, we continued our trek home.  At some point we hit a ranch road...1431 I believe...hand headed in a northerly direction...I think.  I've got to get a compass for my bike or start using my GPS more because I never knew which direction I was headed unless the sun was in my eyes, then I had a pretty good idea.

We passed through little towns like Travis Peak and Jonestown and bigger ones like Lago Vista and Cedar Park.  We stopped in Cedar Park for gas before heading east through Round Rock, Hutto, Taylor, Noack and Lexington, where we stopped once more...last time.  By this time, everyone was ready to be home so upon leaving Lexington we hit Hwy 77 down to Hwy 36 to Caldwell then Hwy 21 to College Station.  We finally were able to maintain a descent speed and made it home rather quickly.

After two days of riding and 515 miles, everyone was glad to be home, safe and sound.  Nobody had maintenance problems or any other problem for that matter.  It was a good trip and I got to know several folks better than before...it was definitely worth the trip.  Unfortunately, I missed the dedication of my youngest grandchild...Caraline Kate...so I hope neither her or her mother thinks less of me.  As my wife always reminds me, "you're not getting any younger so you should ride whenever you get the chance"...thanks Sharon.

Next month I'm off again to the Lone Star Rally in Galveston.  I've never been to a large rally like this so it ought to be interesting.  Come back and see my blog after that trip.  I'll try to get some good pictures.






Sunday, May 6, 2012

First H.O.G. Rally

This weekend was the State-wide H.O.G. (Harley Owners Group) rally in Fort Worth.  It began on Thursday and went through Saturday night, however I decided to only go up on Friday afternoon and go to the rally on Saturday morning.

As it turned out, some friends were headed that way on Friday afternoon as well so I decided to tag along with them.  A group was going from the local Harley dealership on Saturday morning but since I had plans to spend the night with Ellasyn, Courtney and Ethan, I opted to go Friday.

The plan was to leave from a gas station on the north side of Bryan at 1:30pm but we were delayed a bit due to some minor work being done on the other motorcycle.  We hit the road at 2:00, which was going to get us to Fort Worth just in time to hit rush hour.  We made a couple of quick water breaks on the way, but made good time.  As anticipated, we arrived on the south side of town at 5:15.  Going in to town went pretty smoothly but the traffic was going to pick up ten fold north of town.  Except for dodging a few trucks on I-35, our trip north was uneventful.

I broke off from the other bike and took I-20 east to Arlington and the traffic wasn't too bad.  Only one truck tried to hit me but I saw him coming over into my lane in plenty of time to get out of his way.  The other couple decided to go by the rally in the stockyards before continuing their trip to Denton where they were staying with friends.  As far as I know their plan allowed them to avoid most of the bad traffic.

I arrived at Courtney's house about 5:45 where was just getting up from a nap.  After unpacking the bike and taking a shower, we all went out for dinner.  After finding the first couple of places packed with customers, we drove downtown and went to Babe's...always a good place.  We thought the place was going to be packed to the gills, judging by the parking lot, but we walked right in and were seated.  Apparently, the packed parking lots were for the other restaurants in the area, plus there was an outdoor concert and the nearby pavilion.

Arriving home after dinner, Ellasyn went to bed, followed very closely by everyone else.  Ellasyn let me sleep in her "big girl bed" while she slept in her sleeping bed at the foot of the bed.

Saturday morning I was awakened by Ellasyn talking about things in her room...pointing them out one by one.  Ethan was already out garage saleing so the rest of us got dressed to go get donuts...a Saturday morning ritual with the McDaniels.  I followed Courtney on my motorcycle as I was planning on heading down to the stockyards after eating.

Ellasyn had her normal single donut...orange icing with sprinkles.  By the time her father arrived, she had eaten most of the donut and downed some juice from home...and she was wired.  The sugar from the donut and the juice hit her system very quickly.  I was glad I wasn't going home with them.  We parted ways...Courtney and Ellasyn headed home, Ethan out for more garage saleing and I headed towards Fort Worth.

I wasn't positive on where exactly the stockyards were, although I had been there a couple of times and had a general idea how to get there.  In addition, the other guy I rode up with told me which exit to take.  Once I was in the general area, it wasn't too hard to find...just follow all the other motorcycles.

The signs led me right down the main street...people everywhere.  There were bikers in all kinds of attire as well as the normal tourists.  I followed the signs to the parking area, although there were bikes parked all along the street.  I ended up parking at the far end of the parking area...which turned out to be close to the exit.  The bike rodeo had been set up next to the parking area so I watched a few guys trying their luck with the slalom course.  It looked really difficult...in fact, the first guy laid his bike over in one of the turns.  The last part of the course was a 20 foot section and the object was to see how slow you could cover the distance without having to put their feet down.

After watching for a while, I headed for the vendor area.  As I walked up the steps a woman approached me and asked if I had registered yet.  As I did not have a pretty green arm band on, it was pretty obvious that I had not but she gave me the benefit of the doubt anyway.  She directed me to the registration area when I promptly found out it was going to cost me $40.  Since this was the first rally I had been to I figured I had to register to participate...whatever that meant.

As I discovered later, the good vendors did not require me to register.  The dealerships from the Dallas and Fort Worth areas had tents displaying their wares in a completely different area and that did require registration.  I later found out that you had to register to attend the concert each night...which I had no intention of doing this time around...although I heard the Friday night one was pretty good.

I found the "real" vendor area and casually walked through, checking out what everyone had to offer...there wasn't anything I needed bad enough this time.  After I finished the vendor tour I noticed a lot of folks standing or sitting on the sidewalk across the street.  I went over to see what was going on.  One of the men said they were waiting for the 11:30 Stockyard parade.  I only had 10 minutes to wait...so I did.

In a few minutes, here came the "parade"...half-dozen longhorn cattle and a hand full of riders.  The group ambled down the street while everyone took pictures, and then it was over.  I'm told they make the trip twice daily....going each way once.  Even though it was a bit anti-climatic, the kids seemed to like it.

About the time the parade started, someone patted me on the shoulder, which was a bit of a surprise.  As I turned, I found one of the guys from the College Station Harley group who had driven up on Friday, taking the long way through Stephenville.  He was meeting the rest of the group when they showed up.

We walked around, eventually finding our way back to the bike rodeo area where they were starting another competition...called Pony Express.  The idea was for a rider with passenger to drive slowly between two white lines...which appeared to be about 24 inches apart...while the passenger put mail in the mail boxes...there were 3 of them.  Most of the participants appeared to have done this before.  Most of the riders were able to drive very slowly and several of the passengers were able to put mail in the boxes.  Before long there was a 6 way tie for first place.  The next run became more difficult, by having the passenger open the box, put the mail in and then close the door.  I think all 6 of the couples scored a perfect run.  The next run, the passenger had to open the door, put the mail in, close the door and put the flag up.  At the end of everyone's runs, there were still 6 participants in the competition.

For the next tie-breaker, they moved one of the mailboxes over to the other side so that the passenger had to switch from one side to the other while putting the mail in and putting up the flag.  I guess I should have mentioned that if the motorcycle's tires hit or crossed over a line, the couple was disqualified.  On this particular run, only one couple made it through successfully.  As it turned out, the winning driver was a motorcycle cop and he was very good...as was his passenger.

Following the Pony Express competition, we strolled through the vendor area once more, grabbed a corn dog and some lemonade and then I hit the road back to Courtney's house.

I'm sure the concert on Saturday night would have been good...perhaps next time I attend a rally I'll participate.  However, this time I wanted to spend time with my granddaughter.  

I left Arlington Sunday morning and headed to Richardson to visit my mother for a while, then hit the road home.   The traffic wasn't too bad and the weather cooperated most of the way home...except for the gusty wind.  I could see it getting dark to the east and south of my position and eventually I got a little bit of rain, but it wasn't even enough to get me wet.

All in all it was a pretty good trip...all 490 miles of it.  I was ready to get home and take a shower...as usual.  Next trip is scheduled for Memorial Day when a group of riders will ride up to Kaufman for a visit to their Vietnam Wall erected last year.