Steve's Visit to Texas

Hello all. I thought it would be worthwhile to update everyone of my escapade's in Texas last weekend with college buddies Mark Clark, Bill Langston and Reid Stephenson. Bill and his lovely pregnant wife, Erin, graciously hosted us at their home in Dallas. The gang, pictured here enjoyed a night of horse racing and fireworks in Arlington.


The following day, we went to the Fort Worth Stockyards, where Bill almost convinced Reed (above wearing the cowboy hat that he bought for his daughter, Pace) to jump into the corale with the steers.

On Friday, we left for the Shiner Brewery in Shiner, TX and an evening in Austin, TX. Shiner, TX ended up being the highlight of the trip. I consider myself extremely lucky in that my group of friends usually creates a memory anywhere they go. Shiner, TX is one of the better stories from over the years. We arrived at the brewery late but were able to get in on the last tour.



The staff (shown above) of Dotsey, Anne and Zina (L-R) were AWESOME!!! After Anne's tour, they put up with us at a tasting for over an hour and were extremely friendly and helpful. They also directed us to a place called "Howard's" where the locals hung out. After enjoying our samples, the boys all loaded up and headed to Howard's.

No description that I can give will adequately describe Howard's because there is nothing like it in most parts of the country. Howard's is essentially a gas station/convenient store with beer taps of 4 kinds of Shiner beers as well as Bud, Bud Light, Miller Lite and Coors Lite. He also has a beer garden, movie rental, and bait and minnows. Howard himself, who is by the way a non-practicing dentist, is shown below filling beers as Clark shuttles a few.



While at Howard's, we socialized with some locals, including DJ and Pauletta, who currently live in Houston but are working on their retirement home just outside of Shiner. Smitten by Reed's endless supply of jokes and our group's enthusiasm, they invited us back to their place for dinner - local sausages, baked beans, homemade cobbler and homemade ice cream (did I mention that they, too had Shiner at their house?). Their place was amazing. It was an old barn, which they renovated into a log cabin. We then packed up and Bill drove us back to Austin.






The following day we visited the TX state capital and the University of TX campus. Their football stadium is "WEINEE" compared to the REAL UT. Ironically Clark was almost thrown out of the capital for playing with a toy that Reed bought in the gift shop.

TOP 10 MOMENTS OF TX TRIP
10) Clark almost getting thrown out of Texas State Capital
9) Bill almost convincing Reed to jump into corale with Texas Long Horns
8) Ozzie Guillen
7) Playing putt-putt at Bill and Erin's home course
6) Bill cross-checking Reed into an inflatable play-pen at Kay-B Toy Store
5) "Not Relaxing"
4) Reed's purchase at Brookstone
3) Anne, Dotsy and Zina - The Spoetzl Brewery Hospitality Team - Those guys ROCK!!!
2) Going to DJ's and Pauletta's for dinner having known them for 2 hours from Howard's Convenient Store/Gas Station/Bait & Tackle/Movie Rental/Bar & Beer Garden. I miss the south and great people like them.
1) Making new memories and laughs with old friends.