Alamo Report: 02/18/12

Weather has been uneven. Today it is mid 70s and crystal clear, blowin' to beat hell.

We are still adjusting to the local layout, getting to know some of the locals, finding the best bakery (!), finally finding a liquor store - surprisingly difficult, restaurants. There is a Tex-Mex restaurant within a long block which has a lot of fresh seafood. It is hard to screw up shrimp stuffed with white cheese, wrapped in bacon, coated with a spicy crust.

The locals are not what I expected. A lot of the locals Hispanics have been here for 200 or 300 years. Last night I asked our Hispanic waiter how to pronounce something on the menu. He didn't know. He confessed he could not speak Spanish. So I asked him where he was from. Local, lived here all his life. 

We've been on bird outings every day. Most of the people staying in this place are "birders". We are not, we are more "birdwatchers". The birders are trying to check off as many species as possible. We try to I.D. them, but are not really driven. The folks who were in a nearby unit have a "BIRDR" licence plate. They spend their time driving all over the country in quest of one more notch on their life list. They were here to score a Rose-throated Becard and a Golden-Crowned Warbler. This morning they headed for Florida on a report of a wild breeding Flamingo. Frankly, I don't get that, but they were pleasant people. And then there are the professional birding guides. ??? One on one guides, apparently mostly for older women. They are what Lorna refers as Birder Gigolos.

No Secret Location 2/17/12: A Weather Report

It is 68F and drizzling rain in Alamo, Texas. Lorna is on a guided birding tour at the Santa Ana Refuge. Meanwhile some damned fool was sighted riding aimlessly about town on a silver bike. In the rain.

Sort of Secret Location 2/16/12:

Not in any order: Shovelers, Gadwalls, Hooded Mergansers, Blue-Winged Teal, Cinnamon Teal, and Green-Winged Teal.

Courting Least Grebes

Western Fence Lizard?

Greater Kiskadee

Secret Location 02/15/12: Flea Market

Pence and Lorna  power shopping.

Wanna deal on a walker?

Miss TEXAS 2012

Pence and Gunnar smart talking. We have known each other for 50 years. I love this photo. Thanks Lorna.

I went to this flea market planning on just enjoying the show. I came away with a small drill-press for the Growlery.

Secret Location 02/15/12: Grocery Shopping

This one is probably going to blow the Where's Waldo.

A vendor mugging for the camera. And the backside of  Larry Pence.

  It is beautiful and it smells of good food in the best possible way.

Secret Location 02/14/12: White Ibis

Sorry, no good photos. They were beyond my optics, but they were the most spectacular of the day's new life list notches.

Secret Location 02/14/12: Hawks

I was probably wrong in naming the White Ibis the "most spectacular". That Harris Hawk is really pretty fine.

Red Shouldered Hawk

Harris Hawk

Secret Location 02/14/12: Great Egret

Secret Location 2/14/12: Ducks

We probably saw a couple of dozen species of waterfowl. I should have been more organized, more diligent taking photos. I got wrapped up just watching them. Then it became more overcast and I went for my regular prescription glasses. The case was missing from my shirt pocket. I apparently lost them on the trail, so we spent half the day backtracking, trying to find them. No luck. But when we got back to the car they were in my camera case. Lorna was a little cranky, but helpful. A mystery to me.

A professional bird guy has I.D'd the bottom picture as an immature Shoveler.

Letters from a Secret Location No.2

The day started out cool and foggy. Warmed up throughout the day to warm sunshine. Lorna is on the private rear deck, scantily cad, soaking up rays. I will be joining her soon.

Our Secret Location

 

The Oxbow Steakhouse

Two days ago, on our way to our secret location, we stopped for the evening in Emporia, Kansas. Having motored across the state looking at acres of cattle waiting to be cut up (the Flint Hills are spectacular), I had high expectations. After booking a room, we asked where good local fare could be had. We were sent to Montana Mike's Steakhouse. It was brutal. It was fake cowboy with fake cowboy decor and, unfortunately, fake food. The beer list was so limited I had a Coke. Note to waiters everywhere, Blue Moon is not craft beer. To hopefully save the meal I ordered a Scotch on the rocks. They filled the glass full of ice, poured a little liquor over it and charged me $7.50. :-(  We went back to the motel, had a glass of wine and went to bed.

Serendipity can be a wonderful thing. Pushing on down the road the next day, night found us nearing Austin, Texas. Checking into a motel we discovered there was a rodeo in Austin, a youth livestock show, the National Team Roping Competition and a large local wedding. The was no room at the inn. We were forced to double back up the road to the La Quinta in Belton. By the time we got checked in and settled down I was hungry and extremely cranky. Though recently burned, I asked for a recommendation for dining. We were send to a steakhouse within walking distant of the modern francise motor hotel. In fact it was in front of the La Quinta - between the La Quinta and I-35.

The Oxbow Steakhouse is historic. It has been here for a long time. They used to auction off cattle on the first floor and had a steakhouse in the back. The cattle pens are long gone, but the food lives on. Now it's home cooking, families, and still, real working cowboys. We had almost the same meal as we ordered the night before - a small steak with a couple of sides, etc, except one of the sides was deep fried okra. Everything, including a killer chocolate fudge desert, was made from scratch. The steak was so good I chewed to excess, Let it linger in my mouth as long a possible. God, the food was good. And they had real beer.