Leisurely TX weekend

No, I did not deface the cactus, it was already like that!

Periodically, both enlisted and officers go through professional development courses throughout their careers.  On Friday, I "graduated" from a nine week company grade officer leadership course.  Fortunately for me, this course was here at Fort Sam Houston, so I didn't have to live in temporary lodging while attending.  Although not particularly arduous, I had to substitute a good portion of my recreational reading with required reading for the program.  So, to celebrate the return of leisure reading of my choice, a friend and I headed to the hill country for a little exploring.

Yesterday was a beautiful 80 degree, cloudless sky event.  We couldn't have asked for better weather for the 6 mile hike through Hill Country State Natural Area in Bandera County. There weren't many flowers blooming yet, but the stark scenery was still beautiful and inviting.  Although we hiked the limestone trail at a leisurely pace, we still worked up an appetite and thirst for our next stop- Mac & Ernie's Roadside Eatery.  This little kitchen shack located on FM470 has been featured on The Food Network and the Travel Channel. 

Guy Fieri ate here (and apparently left a sign- see pic) for his show Diner's, Drive-Ins and Dives as did Andrew Zimmern for Bizarre Foods. I'll admit that goat isn't a meat you regularly find on American menus, but to this Cajun girl, the Cabrito burger I ate there didn't seem very bizarre at all.  In fact, it was quite tasty and provided the perfect accompaniment to my Shiner Bock brew.

Mac & Ernie's had a great local feel to it.  The lime green table tops, lemon yellow 1950s style dining chairs and order ticket conveyor belt, featuring a yellow goat dropping the order ticket off to the cooks, just made the whole place feel fun.  The fact that the food and service was great was just lagniappe!

As we continued down 470, we spied some interesting sites along the road.  We did a double-take and actually turned the car around to go back and take a picture of this scarecrow maw and paw farmer hay bale holder.  Teamwork! 

The other interesting site was a couple of different locations where coyotes hung from fence posts along the road.  We wondered what they meant.  Was there a competition amongst ranchers for who could kill the most coyotes?  Was this a way for the county to keep track of the coyote population and kills?  The all-knowing Google revealed that ranchers kill the predators after they've attacked their livestock and then hang them upside down on fence posts in the area as a deterrent.  Apparently, other coyotes come and sniff the carcasses and realize that this may not be the best place for them to seek their next meals.  Whether it works or not, I'm not sure, but the suspended, decaying carcasses certainly make for interesting road side sites.

 

The final stop of the day was wine tasting at the Bending Branch Winery.  We couldn't have asked for a better setting to imbibe some great local spirits.  We sampled wines under shade trees on an outside deck while being serenaded by a local musician playing acoustic guitar.  The breeze and warmth made the whole experience feel absolutely decadent.  Of the whites and reds we sampled, my favorites were the Vermentino (white grapes of Mediterranean origin) and the Tempranillo (a red reminiscent of my favorite Spanish Riojas).    As daylight drew down, we pointed the car towards San Antonio feeling satisfied with the physically active, yet gastronomically rewarding day.

 

 

 

  

   

A hobby revisited

Unfortunately, my travel down to Florida for a few days of meetings this last week produced little in the way of an interesting post.  Sitting in conference rooms, no matter how scenic the locale of the buildings, just doesn't lend itself to fascinating pics and stories.  So, in light of the lack of a noteworthy event in which to blog about, I will back up and bring you up to speed on a revisited hobby...photography.

Louisiana boiled crawfish

I think it was the Christmas of my 13th year when Santa left a brand spanking new Pentax K1000 35mm film camera for me under the tree.  For the next 20 years, that camera documented my travels around the world and ingrained in me an appreciation for composition.  Composition not only of a picture, but composition of my life.  That chunk of metal and glass lens embedded the concept of context within my brain and heart.  A boat on the water or food on a plate can be pretty dull.  But frame that boat on the water with a Louisiana bayou in the background or that food as a Greek peasant salad on a beach cafe table on the island of Crete, and you've got yourself a story and memorable experience.  So, after a digression to point-and-shoot cameras over the last few years, I've gone back to manually operated equipment.  I recently purchased a Cannon EOS 60D dSLR and am rediscovering the thrill of looking at life through the lens.  Yes, the compactness of the point-and-shoots prompted me to take more pics, but I had lost the pleasure of telling a story through a lens.

Oysters on the half shell

 
There's no denying, I love to take pictures of food!  The pics of boiled crawfish and raw oysters on the half shell are from my trip down home on the bayou during Christmas vacation last month.  Although my palate has been exposed to delicacies ranging from Peking duck in an acclaimed restaurant in Beijing, China to Nutella crepes from a street vendor under the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, the foods of my childhood remain at the top of my favorite foods list.  In my quest to explore my current home state however, I have been cognizant to explore more than just food as photographic material.  I've learned to be more attuned to the everyday sights I encounter.  This pic of cotton ready for picking in North Carolina depicts a scene I see regularly during my daily travels.

North Carolina cotton field

I hope that as this blog progresses, you'll see my photography skills mature and give shape to the stories I long to tell.  I challenge anyone reading this blog to look at your daily routine as a window to the unnoticed beauty around you.  No, the world is not always a beautiful place, but there is always beauty to be found in it.  So look around and discover what has gone unappreciated in your everyday life.