Eatin' Out

We went out to eat with Sue and Doug last night and I must say it was a fun time. Sue works hard to keep us entertained and we appreciate it. We had to wait on Doug to finish his putting contest at OFSC. It was a match play putting championship, and he made it to the "elite eight". Good thing he lost when he did as we barely made it to our destination by our 7:30 reservation time. He won $20.

Our reservation was at the locally famous Cowhide Cafe at the Sacred Spur Ranch in East Mountain. We did not exactly have directions, so we started out in the general direction and called on the cell phone for specifics. It was about 7:15, and I could not understand a thing the person answering the phone was saying because the music WAS SO LOUD IN THE BACKGROUND!!!! Finally someone who knew how to drive got on the phone and more importantly moved to a quieter location and gave me the directions we needed. Basically, go to FM 1844 and turn south on Turkey Road. Take the first left and there you are.

This is a quirky little place. When we got there we weren't sure we were there except for the cars parked all over the place. There were, however, lots of friendly people around to point us in the right direction. Sue found a place to park next to the rodeo arena and we walked around it to get to the cafe. We also saw the Greenfrog Saloon across the trail. Horses were standing around all over the place and all the "hands" were outfitted in traditional cowboy garb.

We got seated at our table which was directly in front of a giant speaker at the side (stage right) of the bandstand. I quickly understood about the LOUD MUSIC!!! The band was excellent, but LOUD!!! We noticed that the room held about 75 people crammed into a room about 30 feet square. The menus are in acrylic holders on the table and the selection is limited to steak, pork chop, beef ribs, and burgers. All meals include salad, huge baked potato, beans, and bread. We had to point out on the menu what we were ordering because it was impossible to talk to our waitress because THE BAND WAS SO LOUD!!!!

No alcohol is available for purchase, so BYOB. Also bring your own salad plates and bean bowls, or be prepared to sit back and enjoy the music while the dirty dishes are being washed.

Dispite the quirky dinnerware situation, we had a great time. Food was simple, but tasty and the band was outstanding and LOUD!!!

So for maximum enjoyment, you will need the following:

1. A map
2. Plates
3. Bowls
4. Big appetite
5. Ear plugs

We will be going back. See you there!

Great Texas Baloon Race '06

Sweety is checking out the beach in Cancun this weekend, so I went out to Gregg County International Airport to check out this year's edition of the Great Texas Balloon Race.

The first event was at 6:30. The object of this task was to drop two bean bags in specific locations marked on the ground around a center post and toss a ring around the post. Points are awarded for best drops. I think a car or pickup is awarded for the ring toss.

This is what the scene looked like when I arrived at 6:45, just as the first balloon approached the drop area.

Here is a brown balloon with a cow on it. Some of you may recognize the symbol and find it "udderly" beautiful. Not my favorite, but he his coming in directly over the center pole. I'm not sure who sponsored this balloon, but I think it was a local proctologist.

Here is a much more colorful design, and sponsored by America's favorite burger joint, Jucy's.


It was getting hot already, so I was back home by 8:00 am. Took the Bubbster for a walk and warned him to be on the lookout for flying cows.

Mamma Mia!

We went to the Dallas Summer Musicals production of Mamma Mia! Wednesday evening. It was really quite good. How smart is someone (writer, Catherine Johnson) who can take seemingly unrelated songs from a group of disco recording artists (in this case, ABBA) and somehow weave them into a complete musical that actually makes sense? Pretty darned smart.


It brought me back to the late '70s disco days. We actually took lessons. Not my cup of tea, but I did like the disco beat.

Dancing Queen has to be the best of ABBA's songs, and it fit perfectly into Mamma Mia!

If you get the opportunity to see it, don't miss it. It was a hoot.