Wednesday, September 21, 2011

The Weekend Trip

Taking a quick, easy weekend trip just isn’t as easy as it used to be. Back in my time, my packing for a weekend camping trip consisted of packing two pairs of swim trunks, two cases of beers, and a few packs of hot dogs. We weren’t much for thinking ahead back then. No buns, no water, no extra shirts or sunscreen… thank goodness some of our more intelligent friends came better equipped.

Nowadays taking a quick weekend trip includes, making arrangements for the 8 year old to stay at her cousins, check. Making arrangements for the 4 year old to have a two night sleepover at his friend’s house, check. Asking the neighbor’s son to feed and mind the dogs while we are away, check. After all that and packing my medicine cabinet for my myriad of aches and ails, clothes for any imaginable occasion, and snacks for the car since you can no longer go more than 2 hours without having a meal, we were finally ready to go on our weekend trip to the company lodge.

This is the very first trip we have taken since we had the 4 year old that was for more than one night. I was a little excited and so was my wife. Of course I was excited for the food, booze, and games (not necessarily in that order either) and she was looking forward to reading her book (I don’t know why we get along either).

So off we go…

As you can tell, we are in dire need of alone time.
After only 2 hours into the road trip, one of us needed to use the lavatory, (something else that old age brings you) so pulled over into the small town of Caddo. While there I got to talking to the police officer about the BBQ sign I saw on my way in and asked him if it was pretty good or not. He told me he spends ½ his paycheck there so he thinks it was well worth the stop for us. Taking his advice I headed down the road to the stop sign and came up upon this.





We went in and talked to the ladies running the show there and asked them what was the best cut of ‘que but they weren’t in agreement: one said the brisket; the other said pulled pork so I told them I wanted one of each so I could judge for myself.



Ladies running the show...


Pulled Pork


Sliced Brisket
The verdict is for the pork. The brisket was delicious for sure but pretty fatty. The pulled pork was just spot on. Their bun was extremely well toasted and made the sandwich just awesome.

After that, we drove off to the lodge where we were greeted by my boss and coworkers and their significant others. This wasn’t my first time at the lodge but this was the smallest group I have had the privilege of being there with.

Bossman in the middle.

The food when we got there was more BBQ. Here’s a nice stack ole ribs and some of the fixings. Not bad at all. After some ribs, we played some games and hung out with the crew.


Ribs and the non-rib stuff

I tried but couldn't even dent this mound.







Michelle and I called dibs on the cabin they had there. What a treat the turned out to be.

Porch

The innards.

The bedroom.

The next morning I joined the rest of the people and enjoyed a wonderfully prepared breakfast and even jerked some fish afterwards.

Tram down to boat dock

It's pretty steep


The rainbow told me I was meant to be there


Fish weren't all that big though


We played more games.

Didn't have any of us actually on the court. Trust me though, it wasn't pretty.


Then we headed into the little town of Tahlequah. After walking around a little bit it was time to eat of course. This was a tough choice for sure. We could go have sandwiches, pies, and chili at this establishment.


Was mighty tempting...


Or have some pizza and stuff at this one.


We chose the pizza place.


It looks wicked good. Taste was only a solid B.
I guess the chicken motif won me over. We ate the spinach calzone they had and chased it with a ranch chicken pizza. Not too bad but I think I might have missed out on some really good chili dogs. We may never know…

After stuffing ourselves with food, we figured we might try to stuff our wallets at the slots. Too bad the casino had other ideas and we walked out $16 lighter. I know, I know, we are big time gamblers indeed. 

She's lucky she's pretty because she's definitely not lucky at the slots.
After the casino, we played some tennis and pickleball.

Then back to the drinking.

Should be a Coke commercial but the whiskey in it was the star.


Then we started cooking dinner for the crew.

Grilled bacon wrapped pineapple (no pics of this were available since they were gone that quick. I got one small bite... bunch of jackals.) 

Grilled pineapple and shrimp


We also grilled 17 fillets.
Sauteed mushrooms and some brandy peppercorn gravy for the steaks.
The women food.

Time to eat.

Camera was too late, the destruction already started.

Happy customers, I hope.
After all of that, we stayed up and played Mexican Dominoes. The next morning started off with a slice of apple pie and this delicious leftover fillet sammich. Pretty close to being heaven I think.

True breakfast of champions.


We headed on home and I guess my dear wife didn’t think she had enough artery clogging fare for the trip so we stopped at the famed Taco Casa and loaded up on some food…

Mouthwatering huh?

And grease…

It was almost too much grease... almost...


We picked up the kids whom it seemed neither of which missed us in the slightest. My daughter was too busy playing with my nieces to even really want to come home and my son, well he had a blast with Jill and the gang. I think she spoiled him rotten.






I ended the weekend watching the Cowboys comeback and win and the Eagles getting beaten. Life is pretty good right now.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Texas Sized 'Que Event

Webster’s Dictionary defines gluttony as excessive eating: the act or practice of eating or drinking to excess.  If me taking in about 5 pounds off smoked, delicious BBQ at a charity event to the point where I could no longer sit down counts as gluttonous, label me guilty. Last year, I went to a great charity event for Camp Craig Allen. I had such a great time that I wanted to make it a yearly outing to go along with my State Fair of Texas pilgrimage and my blueberry picking trip down to Mineola. The two truths that I have learned in my life as a family man are that if you don’t plan it, it won’t happen and that kids know nothing of the meaning of privacy or personal space, which is completely unrelated but still true.

So this being my second year to this great charity event, I decided to invite some friends to partake in the festivities. Unfortunately, most of them were unable to make it except our good friend Jill and her two young boys whom my 4 year old simply adore. We all packed in the SUV and headed on over to the Bass Pro in Grapevine where the event was being held. 
The three youths at the entrance; probably the last time these kids will be clean though I have my doubts that they were all that clean upon their arrival. They are kids and all.


Getting our plates.

We visited several booths much like this one that were loaded with delicious ribs, tender brisket, slow-cooked beans, smoked chicken, stuffed jalapenos, and a plethora of other dastardly good fare.


After all the sampling, we finally decided to load our plates and sit down to enjoy our bounty. The women seemed to enjoy their plates.
Junior with his delicious grilled corn.

I also enjoyed a few um… maybe a dozen or more ribs.
But at the end of the day, even I had to call it quits. There's only so much a man is able to eat and today, I found out my limit.


There were also games to be had.
And lollipop prizes to win...
There was live music on stage and even the Guinness Record Holder for juggling. He also did some magic tricks and stuff that the kids seemed to enjoy.

The kids smartly found some shade to settled in under.  It was pretty warm out but no where near as bad as last year.

After the mounds of food and the stretching of our waistlines, we hit the Bass Pro for a little fun. 



We could fit three kids in this one rod locker.

All in all, it was a great day with some good friends. I hope this great event returns next year.  Shout out to Big Fish BBQ for making the best mouth watering ribs that I had all day, even if they were extra caramelized. Hopefully next year will be another chance for the family, Jill and clan and even my absent friends to indulge. I’m sorry for the lack of photographs of food. My hands were way too saucy too handle my phone most of the day. 
This was a pretty good warm-up for me since the State Fair is right around the corner. Fletcher’s corn dogs anyone?