Smithy

In April, 2018 I wrote about the improvements being made to this park. A delightful "splash pad" was up and running for children, and the shrieks of laughter coming from the water fountains and the pavilion were a pleasure. Looking in the other direction, we could see and enjoy the extensive Disk Golf course that had been set up for the older set of park-goers. The high school students who came down here had a great time trying to play the game, and we had fun watching them. Then came the flood of Autumn 2018. The Llano River rose to within a couple of feet of the bridge that joins the two halves of the town, and wiped out the park. The campground and park were closed due to extensive damage. The two new attractions were scrubbed from the park. All that is left of the Disk Golf course is a few signs and a launch pad or two. The pavilion is there, but the Splash Pad has to be completely rebuilt and the debris from electrical and plumbing wreckage is still there. Nonetheless, they persist. I haven't found out the plans, much less the schedule, for rebuilding, but the park is being rebuilt...witness the rebuilt RV park, which was still a work in progress when we visited last spring. One of Llano's regular events is a "Starry, Starry Night" festival that begins the day after Thanksgiving and goes through the holidays. We won't be here to see it, but I think it would be fun. The decorations are starting to go up: archways defining the path toward and along the water, and decorations showing things like "Santa's Workshop", a "Snowflake Express" train, a cowboy sitting by a campfire, Santa fishing. Everything is wound or made of the LED lighting that comes in multicolored strings. This is a lovely town.

We have to go to a grocery store later to restock on a few things, most critically the fruit he likes to make his cereal palatable. I decided to make brunch using some of our leftover pinto beans, along with eggs and some tortillas left over from, oh, I think the last time we were in Texas. (Why those things didn't rot, when they claimed to have no preservatives, is a mystery.) My vision was along the lines of shakshuka, using the pinto beans to heat and cook the eggs. The eggs came out slightly more done than we'd have liked, but overall it wasn't bad. He thought it needed salsa (present but not shown on the table) and I thought it needed sour cream (ditto). I've finally finished off those tortillas!

I agree that the smoked meat is a nice addition. As I recall, the pasta dishes always included some sort of smoked sausage or bacon. It may have improved the flavor, but not enough for him to really like it!

Here are two more Lone Star rebuses from last night...we're down to a single bottle now.

There really are other places to eat in Llano besides Cooper's, and several of them are within the same radius from our glamping spot. There's a wood-fired pizza joint (only open on weekends) just down the road. There's a burger joint that advertises fried catfish on Friday nights. And there's Badu 1891, a guest house and restaurant in a beautiful old stone building, about the same distance as Cooper's. Here's their menu. It's a bit more upscale than my darling prefers, but I had him talked into their Thursday night burger-and-beer special. I was looking forward to trying some of their starters or small bites. In particular, one plate includes burrata. I read an article a month or two ago about making your own burrata, bought the supplies, ran out of time and made all that milk into yogurt just before our trip. The fact is, I've never seen or tasted burrata! This would have been my chance to try it. I put all this in the past tense because it turned cold and stormy yesterday, and my darling refused to budge from the warmth of the trailer once evening set in. Back to Cooper's I went, for more takeout. (Yes, we have leftovers. Yes, I could have cooked something else. Neither was my preference.) I looked in vain for beef ribs, but they were already out. I chose instead some pork ribs, a sample of very rare sirloin steak, and green beans. I liked it all. The green beans had a nice toothsome texture: neither mushy nor crunchy. The seasonings smelled a little odd when I got the beans home, and I worried about what flavor went with it. I need not have worried. I think the garlic, and possibly the seasonings they use in their bacon, accounted for the unexpected aroma. Whatever the source, the final outcome was good. My darling was less than impressed with everything, unfortunately. He has very specific ideas about how pork should be cooked, and these ribs didn't live up to his ideas. Some Jack Daniels #7 barbecue sauce might have helped, but it was in the refrigerator and would have taken more time to warm up than either of us cared to give. He refused to even try the sirloin. I think he must have simply been grumpy from the weather! Tonight is our last night in Llano. If I opt for Cooper's one more time, I'll ask them to set aside some beef ribs for us. Maybe Badu 1891 does takeout. Here's another Lone Star rebus. My intent, unless someone asks otherwise, is to give the answers after we've left the area and are done with this six-pack.

That's some beautiful-looking rainbow chard, too! I used to love buying that and building it into pasta dishes, until my husband finally told me he didn't like the flavor of chard.

Too bad you didn't specify the non-feathers while you were at it! When you get time, please tell more about your "airbnb hostess". I don't mean about Kristin specifically, but I wasn't aware that there could be any sort of personal connection for this sort of travel. (I have no experience with airbnb or any of its analogues.) Is she essentially the person who sets up your stay, like a travel agent?

Yes. It's an interesting state with interesting contrasts and lovely people. I have learned a lot about not prejudging people and places by what I read in the newspapers!

Oh, good! I love these trips of yours!

The image is slightly rotated. I didn't take it that was on purpose, but when I saw it I thought it might make the rebus slightly more difficult.

I haven't been terribly interested in beer lately, for some strange reason, but felt obligated to buy a 6-pack of Lone Star Beer since we're in Texas. It's a light lager, with (in my current mood) not a heck of a lot of character, but it does have those fun rebus bottle caps. Here's the first one I opened, and I thought it pretty easy. What do you get? The second one took me a bit longer and, to be honest, this magnified picture to make out what I was seeing.

Yes, exactly. Meat is by weight, the sides that I haven't ordered I'm not sure about (weight or volume) but the potato salad and slaw are by volume. $2.89 for a small container (probably a half-pint) and $9.00 for a quart. The place is 4 blocks away: easy walking distance for me, not so much so for my darling, who is suffering gout attacks. We have a side-by-side 4-wheeler (Polaris Rzr 800, for anyone who wants to look it up) that we use for the trip. Here are the boys, waiting for me to come back with the food. This Rzr is the thing that occupies much of the "garage" in the Princessmobile when we're traveling, although we also carry a bike for me and a recumbent trike for him. And coolers full of dry goods. And a bunch of stuff that isn't related to food....

Naiveté, or is their culture that different than ours? Thanks for that story!

We had dinner from Cooper's again last night. This time, although there still wasn't the line I'd expected, the serving pit had an excellent selection of its meats. The pit gents were happy to let me photograph them, too. One of them is holding the brisket I'd just selected on a tray, ready to be weighed and paid for. Inside, they have a lot of sides: macaroni and cheese, for instance, and desserts. I settled for the brisket, and larger containers of the cole slaw and potato salad. And beans and bbq sauce, of course. I'm sure the leftovers will go into sandwiches, just as some of the ribs from the night before did for yesterday's lunch.

According to this article, Kansas changed that law a few years ago, and Utah changed its law by raising the limit (to a whopping 4%!) on Nov. 1, 2019. It doesn't say what Kansas' new laws are, though. This was an article about Minnesota being the holdout.

Minnesota only allow what we call "3-2" beer (3.2% ABV) in convenience stores, but as of last week or the week before it is the only state in the USA that still has that restriction. The same restriction applies to beer sales in grocery stores, although there's a movement afoot to change that. Blue laws are funny things. Some years back we were in Oklahoma, I think, looking to buy beer at a convenience store / liquor store combination building. The convenience store was open and had beer for sale, but only room temperature / warm; the cold beer was in the attached liquor store, which was closed because it was Sunday. At that time, we were assured that it was a state law: cold beer could not be sold for off-sale on Sundays!

I've splurged on a prime grade prime rib roast once or twice. It's been fatty but good, and not too rich for our tastes. The Choice grade prime ribs have been less reliably good: sometimes tough, or not marbled properly. I favor the fast-roast treatment: rub it with a spice mix (abetted by a coating of olive oil), then sear in the hottest pan I can get, then load into a 450F oven, uncovered. I pull it out at 110 - 115F internal temperature, usually at less than an hour's cooking time. I must admit that I've had prime rib that wasn't pink at all but was butter-knife tender and quite delicious, but when I cook it myself I prefer to have some rare meat in it. Here's a decent photo from a few Thanksgivings ago. It was a bit rarer than we like in the very heart of the roast (I had pulled it out at 110F that time) but since there were only 2 of us I was able to reheat the leftovers later without overcooking them.

...now where was I? Oh, yes! Last night's dinner and this morning's breakfast! Good 'cue is one of the reasons we like to come to Llano. Although Llano was designated by the State Legislature as the Deer Capital of Texas and Lockhart was awarded the title of BBQ Capital of Texas, we think Llano's barbecue places are great and we prefer the campground here. Cooper's Old-Time Pit Barbecue is within walking distance of our parking/camping spot. Yesterday afternoon I went by to see whether they had beef ribs available. They only had 5 or 6 left for the day, and were good enough to set them aside for me to come back and get at our dinner time. A note about food lingo is appropriate here. I first heard of "Texas ribs" in Minnesota, and learned that they are beef ribs as opposed to pork ribs, which are apparently the default meat when a Minnesotan talks about "ribs". Well. Just as "California burger" is a nonsense term in that state -- don't all burgers come with lettuce and tomato? -- "Texas ribs" is a silly term here. If you want beef ribs, you ask for beef ribs. When I went back to collect the ribs, I also picked up a generous pint of their pinto beans, half a pint of their barbecue sauce, and a small container each of their sliced dill pickles, pickled jalapeños, and chopped onions. They're all included with dinner, as is bread. "Be sure to take bread with you, too!" said the cashier. "Take a half loaf if you want!" Portions there are generous and pricey, but the sides are all generous and free. Well, they aren't ALL free. I bought a small container of cole slaw for him and potato salad for me. I was astonished to see the size of the tray they'd wrapped and kept quite hot for us, with the ribs. Then the cashier insisted that it would be too hot to carry. Out came a box the size of a dinner tray, and into it went the ribs, the salads, and the condiments. I came home with this box... ...which unpacked to this dinner (well, not the wine and beer, they were already here): These are the extras: I'm sorry to say that the jalapeños are too hot for us. He ate a small bite and yelped. I put my tongue to a cut end and decided against it. Maybe I can find something to do with them in small doses. Why is it that Subway can provide pickled jalapeños with just a touch of pleasant heat, and most other places' jalapeños are of the blow-your-head-off persuasion? You saw dinner up close before, but here it is again. That meat was succulent, tender, and wonderfully, beefily flavorful. There is leftover meat, but it may not last past lunch. The beans didn't last past breakfast. I wish I could do pinto beans like this. Haven't figured it out yet.

We have room! For a few days, we're opened out and staying in one spot! Below: on the left is our living/dining area while on the road; on the right is the same area when we've unloaded the garage and claimed all the living space. In the left-hand photo you can see our Razr (side-by-side 4-wheeler) occupying much of the garage. Standing in that doorway, here are the views now, of the kitchen (left) and the dining room (right). The trip from Mineral Wells to Llano was uneventful and pretty. The towns in between have a lot of stone buildings and, no doubt, history. Most of the towns we pass through have murals, or historical areas, but they look as though people also live in the present, instead of simply capitalizing on the past. We moved into pecan country, and the land of drive-through liquor stores. Excuse me...the tire repair/replacement is not going smoothly. I'll fill in the gaps later on last night's dinner and this morning's breakfast.

I have ready access to a food processor. Thank you.

That;s a great article! The salad is similar to one my husband's family does (the first time I ever thought cranberries could possibly be good) but they don't include the jello. I think yours sounds even better. I'll have to try it for the holidays, even though I don't have a sausage grinder handy. Congratulations on being featured so!

This fog wasn't in the forecast we saw. It's good enough for driving, though: not the pea-soup tule fogs I grew up with. I have the fixings for ham and cheese sandwiches if we get too hungry, but I also packed hard-boiled eggs and this: I've forgotten what variety of apple this is. Jonagold, perhaps. This is one of a batch of apples I bought for the trip - the first I've bought in a long time for eating rather than cooking. All too often I'm disappointed with apples, and the dreaded Delicious line nearly put me off apples forever. This apple was a revelation. From the first juicy, nearly drippy bite I was transported back to crisp fall days and a happy childhood. This apple had the perfect flavor: any sweeter and it would have been cloying; any less tart and it would have been bland. I'm glad I got two of this variety. I hope the other is as good.

Northern Texas. Welcome to Mineral Wells. I forgot to check the mileage, but it was less than yesterday's, which was less than the previous day's. It's a good thing, too. When we pulled in at a Walmart parking lot, we discovered that the trailer had been traveling on 5 tires rather than the requisite 6 for quite some time. How long? We couldn't say. Less than 81 miles (the previous stop) but more than 5 (considering the damage). Automobile Club of America. Don't leave home without it or its equivalent. Late in the afternoon, we had the spare tire installed, thanks to the efforts of 2 fine young men from Miller's Wrecking. We'll hope to get a replacement tire at our next stop, which is only a couple hundred miles away. It's a good thing we didn't have farther to go today, because we were Quite Done With Traveling by the time the tire was changed. (Side notes: I was surprised that my darling, a professional trucker in a former life, hadn't noticed that tire flapping or fraying before we stopped. He typically watches tires carefully in the side view mirrors...except, well, this trailer is 8'6" wide and the only way to see the tires is when we're turning. Roads in this part of the country put lasers to shame. Point 2: we have tire pressure monitors. Guess which one, out of the 10, had a dead battery?) The barbecue joint we had hoped for wasn't within walking distance. We ate leftovers ready-to-reheat dinners: red beans and rice and sausage from last night for him, and a delightful smoked salmon pasta alfredo for me, from a dinner party with friends before we left. Well...the pasta would have been good, except for the betrayal of my salt grinder. Did I turn it the wrong way? Was the lid not seated properly? I don't know. What I do know is that... ...this was nearly full before I accidentally dumped the contents into my pasta! I couldn't pick it all out, and had to pitch nearly half of that lovely dish to get to the parts that were still relatively salt-free. I still have that strange mouth-burn that heavy salt can bring. I think the most healthful thing we ate today was this roadfood snack: There was celery also, though I didn't bother with a picture. The asparagus was quite good, the celery somewhat less so.

Welcome! I spent a few months in York some years ago, exploring the city and general environs of Yorkshire. Perhaps it wasn't a gastronomic capital, but I certainly enjoyed (and gained a few pounds on) the fish and chips and ale...and good English breakfasts. Jump right in to any topic you wish, and if you have questions about the forum working don't hesitate to ask, either by PM to a host or in the Moderation and Policy Discussion forum.

That remains to be seen. We're headed for Mineral Wells right now, with the intention of going on to Llano tomorrow, but it all depends on where we can stay more or less dry. I would LOVE to do that! I'm afraid the Gulf Coast and the southeastern States have so much rain in the forecast that we're cutting them all out of our route for this fall. I have high hopes that next spring will be drier. We love the Gulf Coast and the Bolivar Peninsula, but have had to miss them for several years running. n.b. No, rain isn't as hard on my darling as the cold, but he works mightily to avoid both once he's choosing the route.