Wacko Waco with Julie - July 2007

Julie spent a month with Mary and I the summer of 2007. We, of course, had to go to work most weekdays, so Julie had to stay at home. That's boring! So, we took a little trip about 100 miles south, to Waco.

We stopped for lunch first. Mary and I enjoy burgers. They're healthy, aren't they? Well, would a burger place call itself the "Health Camp" if that were not so???





After a great lunch, where would most normal people go?



Okay, so we're NOT normal!

But we're in Waco (say, whack-o...yes, I know, the real pronunciation is wake-o), so...

The proprietor is a "mature" Texan with a lot of personality. You might think that a Taxidermy shop might be a little "stuffy", but this one was filled with interesting things! There were "cutesy" things, like this...



Things NOT in their natural setting (I usually see these feet up and flatter, by the side of the road)...



Scary things...



Butt the most interesting was that you could hang the head of a deer on your wall and on the other side of the wall, you could hang its behind! "Ya mean that deer just ran into yer study and got stuck in yer wall?"




Butt that's another tail!

Anyway, after an exciting visit to a taxidermist, where would one go in Waco for some refreshment?





You can't visit Waco without stopping to see the Dr. Pepper Museum.



There were a lot of interesting displays about the history of Dr. Pepper and the pharmacist who developed it as well as a little bit of history about other soft drinks. They had a movie loop that played a lot of old commercials that was very interesting and brought back memories. Before we left we stopped at the gift shop.




Now, what else can you see in Waco?





The Texas Ranger Museum and Hall of Fame! Duh!

I could spend hours and hours at this museum. To me, it's fascinating. I'm not so sure it was quite as fascinating to Julie, but she did seem to enjoy it. The history of the Rangers goes hand-in-hand with the early history of Texas. If you come to Waco, you need to stop at this museum.

Because it is also a "Hall of Fame", they even have a display in honor of...


"The Lone Ranger"

And how could there be a "Hall of Fame" without...



After a full afternoon of hitting the hot spots in Waco, we were a little hungry. So, before heading back home, we stopped at Rudy's for some Texas Bar-B-Que!





Good stuff! And with THAT pun, we come a little past full circle! Time to go home!

Mother's Day Weekend 2007 - Houston, Texas

Houston has a large art community. The sponsor of many artistic projects in Houston is the Orange Show. Here's one project they sponsor:


This is the Beer Can House. Apparently the owner liked his beer. He also liked it cheap, you know, so he could have more beer! He took the empty beer cans and, in some cases, flattened them out and used them for siding on his house. Others became parts of his fence. I'll just let the pictures explain.









Art Cars. Have you seen them before? Do you know what they are? Do I know what they are? Um....no! I suppose they can be classified as automotive canvases for the expression of personal freedoms and beliefs. I say they are just plain weird! The Art Car Parade is also sponsored by the Orange Show. I'll explain a little more later on about what the Orange Show is. For now, here comes some "art":













Since there were nearly 300 entries, I won't show more. Suffice it to say there was a lot of vehicular imagination on display!

Now, The Orange Show. What is it? Their web site ( www.orangeshow.org ) says, "The Orange Show Center for Visionary Art is a non-profit organization, founded in 1980, to preserve and present works of extraordinary imagination and provide people the opportunity to express their personal artistic vision. Our programs for children and adults include hands-on workshops, music, storytelling and performance, the award-winning Eyeopener Tour program and Houston's most popular public art event - the Art Car Parade & Festival. Our internationally acclaimed stewardship efforts preserve two of Houston's most famous cultural icons The Orange Show Monument and the Beer Can House. Our archive and library are used by students, scholars, the media and artists."

To most the Orange Show looks like a house in a residential part of Houston. Here is a shot looking south on Sanders street towards Munger Street where the Orange Show is:




Yes, it used to be the residence of a Houstonian family. The house has been drastically modified (re-sculpted in cement - by the eccentric owner) and he made it almost into a concrete fun house! The owner (now deceased) was a fanatic about oranges and their nutritional value. Hence, "Orange Show."



See? Anyway, it is now a non-profit organization that sponsors artistic ventures in Houston.

After two days full of fun, we headed home. On the way, we stopped off at a statue of Houston's namesake, Sam Houston. Like all else in Texas, it's large! I'm standing below the "H" written on the platform upon which the statue stands!

2007 February and March

We took a trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico late February 2007 to visit Mary's sister and her family. On our way there we stopped in Amarillo, Texas for a meal. We emailed ahead of time to Arnold Burgers. When we arrived, our order was just about to be assembled.



That's our burger on the right!

This is how it was served:



Yes, it had to come in a pizza box! It's a 12 inch burger...and they make bigger, up to 24" I believe. They will also make shapes, one of them being a burger in the shape of the state of Texas. Here is their url: www.arnoldburgers.com

We also bought some "Burger cookies"!



Closer look:



The cookies are vanilla wafers, one half of an Oreo and then colored frosting. They were pretty good!

Anyway, Mary and I ate part of the real burger and packed the rest into our cooler. That evening, when we arrived at Mary's sister's home in Albuquerque, we shared the remainder with Mary's sister and three nieces as well as Mary and myself! Yes, it was more than we two could handle ourselves!

It sure was good!

Here's Arnold Burgers:





They almost look too "scary" to eat there, but the inside is clean and the burgers are very good!

On our way back home to Dallas from Albuquerque, we stopped in Amarillo, Texas yet again! Just about two miles west of the city is the Cadillac Ranch:



A little closer:


Yup, they're real Caddies! Each one is a Cadillac from a different year - but I can't remember what years! Stanley Marsh, the local eccentric and owner of the local Helium plant (he's a millionaire), owns this pasture and he and a local art group created the Cadillac Ranch. Mr. Marsh is also known to post signs (they look like real street signs) all over the city, even on residents' properties, that have off beat sayings on them. He's also responsible for the following:

Just a couple miles south of Amarillo, in a cow pasture out in nowhere, we saw this:





Uh huh, Amarillo is unique! There are a few other places in Amarillo we want to visit. When we do, we'll post the pics here.

Halloween 2006 and the Munster Mansion

There is a family (McKee) in Waxahachie, TX (a few miles south and east of us) that built a replica of the Munster's home - and they live in it year 'round! Mary and I visited on October 28, 2006. Every year they host a charitable event so the cost of visiting goes to charity. A few of the actors from the series have appeared as guests to these events. For more information about the mansion, here is their web site: http://www.munstermansion.com


Our pics at the Mansion:





We rode a school bus from a school (Middle school? Jr. High?) on Brown Street in Waxahachie (across the street from the Waxahachie LDS chapel) to the Mansion. They prefer to provide transportation since the mansion is located on a dangerous curve in the road. Their address just happens to be 1313 Mockingbird Lane! Anyway, others got to ride in a limo to the mansion. We were lucky enough to get a ride in the limo back to the school after our vist ended. This limo also brought Pat Priest (who played Marilyn on the TV series).



Here we are with Pat Priest. She was very, very personable, friendly and down-to-earth! We enjoyed meeting her.

TravelBlog North Dallas

I have promised that I would post pics of places Mary and I have visited here in Texas...and other places as well. So, here we go!

I'll start back in 2005. It was December. Plano, TX on Saturday, December 3rd...

A pest shop...hmmmm...

The owner (Mike) greets his guests

Small museum. Hey, notice the hatband...

Marilyn Monroach

Liberoachi

Combates Motel

As fascinating as a visit to the Cockraoch Hall of Fame Museum might be, we didn't stop just there. No sir. The day had just begun!

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Parker, TX

What's in Parker? Well, back in the early 80's there was a popular TV series about a Texas oil baron and his family. They were the Ewings and the show was called "Dallas". Most of the filming occurred in sound stages back in Hollyweird, but a lot was also shot at the Southfork Ranch in Parker, TX. We had to check it out...

Fans of the series recognize this

...and this

...and this site where celebrations and fights happened!

Do you remember who shot JR?

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This will do for now. Maybe tomorrow I will post the next trip we made. For now, I have to find a fence contractor to rebuild our fence, which the Texas winter winds obligingly demolished.