Randolph Air Force Base Air Show

Saturday's weather was perfect- temperature in the 70's and a sky of turquoise blue. We decided to visit the Randolph Air Force Base Air Show. What a great day! Admission is free, easy parking and lots of shuttle buses to take you to the site. Top it off with no lines for beer and you have the perfect day.

Little boys and big boys had the time of their life. There are vintage jet planes that you can walk on and lots of air-related rides and activites. Plenty of food and Blue Angels souvenirs. 






No lines for the Porta-Potties!
And they were clean with plenty of hand sanitizer available.  


The air show is terrific. Lots of dare devil stunts and the Blue Angels are certainly worth seeing at least once in your life. Amazing.


Oh, did I mention all the handsome men who attend this event?  Not too shabby!!!

Helotes Country Club

This weekend we made a trip to the Helotes Country Club. Yes. Really. This place has been around for over 40 years and not much has changed. Certainly a lot of ambience! Don't expect to eat or drink anything except beer. That's right. Just beer. We are in Texas afterall. You have the option of sitting inside or outside on the benches. I took a lot of pictures because words just can't describe this place.

For all my friends from past drinking clubs (A.O.D.C. and T.T. members) eat your hearts out! This place would have been our first stop every year. Puts the Northside Tavern on Greenmount Avenue to shame!

Easy to read signs. Friendly customers. We met a lovely man who lost his wife 2 years ago and comes here on a regular basis to get some friendly conversations. The night we visited there was a Randy Travis concert down the street. We could actually hear the music. Lots of Country Music acts perform here. Maybe we'll take a trip out here to see Willie Nelson next time he's in town. But we'll probably just listen while we have our beer sitting outside on the benches.










I am sure you wonder about the inside of the Country Club...well, it won't disappoint you. Check out the charm and the old world atmosphere. If the walls could talk in this place!




















Since I am trying to do a full review of this establishment you will all want to know about the bathrooms. I didn't visit the men's room but the women's room was terrific.  It's all about Texas...because everything in this state is really just all about Texas...

So, if you're planning a trip to Texas and want to see what living here is all about, plan a trip to the Helotes Country Club.  No membership fees required!

Witte Museum

I decided it was time to find some culture so I went to the Witte Museum on Broadway. I would pronounce it Wit but was told it is pronounced Wittey... 


I went on a Tuesday- free day. Discovered there was a Shipwreck exhibit and it sounded interesting so I paid the 5 bucks to see it. When I walked into the exhibit it was filled with small children running around excited by the pirate exhibit and the hurricane simulation machines. Oh, joy. Left the Shipwreck crowd to explore the museum. 


Hmm...Upstairs was a fashion exhibit with 1 mannequin dressed per decade from 1900-1980. Really. Just 1 outfit per decade and they were really sad. All the items were donated by people and I have the feeling some old ladies went through their closets and decided that instead of throwing out some of that old crap, they could instead get a tax deduction by donating it to the Witte. I am pretty sure some of the items weren't even old. Some shoes from the 60's described as "platforms" but they didn't have platforms and they did have a label that looked as though they were about 15 years old. I was the only one in that exhibit and I can understand why.

I did wander into one room that was more interesting and featured items from Texas including a Confederate flag and a spur collection. Interesting but I wish
there were more items. Seemed rather sparse.

Oh, I have to describe the "Museum Store." There were a few books about Texas...nice but they were on glass shelves that were covered in a  layer of dust. Most of the items for sale had to do with the Shipwreck exhibit... Skull and Crossbones items and toys for the kids. The postcard rack was almost empty and the selection was terrible. HEB has a better variety! The front of the store sells soda, chips and candy...more like a gas station convenience store than a museum store.  

I realized that I hadn't seen any art in this place and came home and did some research. In 1926 Alfred Witte left $65,000 for a museum in honor of his parents. His mother, Ellen D. was director for 34 years at the salary of one dollar per year. The museum focuses on natural history, anthropology and Texas and regional history. I guess I need to find an art museum now...

Taco Cabana

My niece is visiting from Minnesota. She told me she discovered the most fabulous place for lunch. It's called Taco Cabana and she was super excited about the great prices and the fabulous salsa bar. You have a choice of toppings- cilantro, pico de gallo, a number of hot salsas and fresh lime and lemon. I told her she had ruined my surprise because I had planned to take her there for lunch. Well, we went anyway. You can never have 
too much Taco Cabana. Oh, and the great part- she treated!

Buc-ee's

Texas is the 2nd largest state in the country. It is huge. Everyone is used to driving long distances and when you're driving for hours with flat roads and dry landscape (there's a terrible drought here) the only thing to look forward to are the gas station convenience stores on the highway. One of the very best is Buc-ee's in Luling. If you are driving between Houston and San Antonio give yourself some extra time to stop off here.  Be sure to check out the pickled section.  Texas is big on pickled food. That is because in the days before refrigeration it was the only way to keep food for a long period of time. The pickled stuff continues today, and it is wonderful. Try the pickled garlic, pickled baby corn and even though it sounds kind of gross, please, please try the Candied Pickled Jalapeños.  See below for the recipe. I am addicted to this stuff.  And guess what everyone is getting for Christmas this year?

•  

1/5/20111 Check-in Here

The Savior of Souls! The Ultimate Rest Stop on I-10! The Savior of Bladders Alike! A Sight for Sore Eyes! All these would be great titles for Buc-Ee's. Whenever I'm heading to or from Houston, I always make it a point to stop here. It's more then a refill stop and a place to stretch you legs. It's your one stop shop for food, snacks, drinks, clothing and so much more that I have yet to discover.


This has probably been said more then a million times in the reviews but I'll vouch for it as well. This place has some of the cleanest bathrooms that I have ever seen for road stop area. If you can hold it, wait until you get to Buc-Ee's. They also have plenty of RV parking as well.

• Sonia T.

Houston, TX

9/19/2011

On a recent trip to the Gucci outlet in San Marcos, I was more excited about going to Buc-ees than the actual Gucci outlet.  Okay, not quite, but a close second.


Buc-ees that SUPER clean restrooms, rock candy, signs that read "Searching for an Enabler" University of Texas coasters, laffy taffy, dip in dots, cattle brands, and everything else known to God.


Homemade fudge.  Oh yeah, I forgot that.  Seriously, this place has the best Texas junk, T-Shirts, drinks, coffee, and all kinds of other goodies.


Again, the bathrooms are SUPER clean.


If you haven't been, its almost worth the drive to Luling.                                                

Candied Jalapeno Cream Cheese Dip
1 Jar Buc-ee’s Candied Jalapenos
1.5 lbs Cream Cheese

Chop Buc-ee’s Candied Jalapenos
Mix entire jar with 1.5 lbs of cream cheese, including juice from the jar.
Mix until smooth.

Notes

• If you make the dip the night before, it will become spicier as the jalapenos blend with the cream cheese.
• If you want the dip less spicy use less of the Buc-ee’s Candied Jalapenos.

Other uses

• Use  Candied Jalapenos anywhere you would use relish, such as potato salad, chicken salad, or tuna salad.
• Spoon  Candied Jalapenos on top of your burgers, place burgers close under the broiler in your oven until the sugar in the jalapenos becomes caramelized (yum).
• Serve  Candied Jalapenos over Vanilla ice cream.

Buc-ee's in Luling

Denman Park

We discovered a beautiful park located in the middle of San Antonio. It is located close to I-10 and Fredericksburg Road on Pleasure Hill. It's a surprise oasis of nature and tranquility right off a major highway. Denman Park has a pond surrounded by a walking path. 

 The park has a jogging path and picnic tables and it seems as though people don't even know it's there so you can bring a book or just relax and watch the ducks in the pond.

The centerpiece is a charming Korean pavilion given to San Antonio by her sister city in Gwangiu, Korea. This place is definitely worth a visit and on a nice day, bring a picnic lunch.                   

http://www.mysanantonio.com/life/columnists/paula_allen/article/Paula-Allen-Denman-park-almost-ready-694837.php

The Broadway 50 50

Where do the locals hang out? Well, here's one spot- the Broadway 50 50.  It's located on the Frontage Road near Wurzbach. Oh, more about Frontage Roads in a later blog. Back to the Broadway 50 50. I have no idea what that name means. They do have live music and a decent and reasonably priced bar menu. You can get a pretty good meal for about 8 bucks. 

Of course, the obvious reason why people go to this place is to check out the handsome men. Here in San Antonio we call them guapo. And speaking of guapo, if you aren't up on your Spanish you might start learning some. Over 60% of the population here is Hispanic.