The Great Republic

I am referring to Texas of course. Texas is a huge state but I always remember when I was young and Alaska was becoming a state. Texans were warned to keep quiet about their big size or the Alaskans would split Alaska into two and make them the third largest state instead of just the second largest ( I don’t think it worked). We continue to push on down the road, getting closer and closer to home. I find myself on the one hand anxious to get home but on the other wishing that our travels could never end. Texas is a big place with lots to see but for us it was all about visiting our friends. Seeing old friend helped us hold off the urge to just push on home but to instead relax once more and enjoy.

McAllen – This is the home of many of Mellie’s college friends from the Philippines. So we arranged to spend a long weekend here. It was great to have someone else take charge of the planning and coordination of our visit. We were well taken cared of and kept busy Friday all the way through to Sunday evening. For me, to be driven around and catered to seemed to be heaven sent. Thanks guys!



Castles in The Sky – well on the beach anyway. Saturday afternoon we drove down to South Padre Island and were pleased to find it was the annual festival, Sandcastle Days. The weather was warm and the crowd of over 20,000 was enjoying the surf along with viewing all of the sand sculpture entries. Sandcastle Days is a not-for-profit annual event that showcases the unique art form of sand sculpture with the help of amateurs and professionals whose talents make the sand come to life. Sandcastle Days annually donates funds to efforts such as Sea Turtle Inc. and other organizations committed to the integrity of our coastal environment. We stayed until after sundown and enjoyed the weather, the sand art and great friendships. This was a day not to forget!

Fort Worth – Worth the visit! Our next visit was to the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth. Now it seems to me that where Dallas is a fine modern city, Fort Worth has the charm and history. This time it was my friends who took control and provided us with an enjoyable tour of their fine city. I could get use to this! As we made the drive up from McAllen to Fort Worth, with a stop in Austin, we saw a huge change in the weather. A cold front was right in our path and as we drove into it the winds became strong and the rain began to pour. Unfortunately, even though the winds and rain did not last, the 20- 30 degree drop in temperature stayed. I guess its ok. I was getting a bit tired of wearing shorts and flip flops anyway.




Riscky Barbeque - Thats Riscky not risky. It's not every barbecue restaurant that sticks around to celebrate it's 80th anniversary, but in October 2007 Riscky's Bar-B-Q in Fort Worth did just that. Joe Riscky immigrated to America from Poland in 1911. He worked at the Armour Packing Company in the Fort Worth Stockyards for $9 a week. In 1927, Joe and Mary opened Riscky's Grocery & Market in the Northside of Fort Worth. Their son Pete Riscky took over in 1952 and today Pete's son, Jim Riscky, runs the company which has evolved into eight restaurants. Riscky's barbecue is hand-rubbed with "Riscky Dust" and slow smoked for hours. Riscky's has become a legend in Texas barbecue and so it was the logical pick for our sampling of Texas Style barbeque. So the winner of our barbeque contest is .... now hang on for a minute, we have to contemplate this for a bit. First off, we have come to the conlusion that we can never find the "best" barbeque place in the country. There are so many so we will decide what "style" is our favorite. So the contest comes down to: Kansas City Style, Memphis Style, Carolina Style, Texas style and a little know style Santa Maria style. There are others but these are the best that we have found. Sorry to our international entry, Canada, but you don't have a barbeque style just great beef and that don't count. The winner will be announced soon so keep watching the blog entries.

Road Revelation #23 – Good times come and go but good friends are forever. Make sure that you protect and cherish your friendships. Few things are more important in life or are so fragile. So take the time to invest in your friendships, the rewards will come.