Turks & Caicos Islands – May 2010 (Part Two; A Birthday on the Beach)

DAY TWO:  Saturday, 9 May 2010

            Answering the call of nature at 6.15 (this is Eastern time zone, by the way), Dave decided to get up.  Topping off the rum punch with ice from the freezer (to keep it cold now), Dave was at the beach by about 6.25.  Dave plopped himself down on the beach as close as he could get to the water, but still sitting on dry sand.  Dave sat facing east, so he was looking back towards RWI, and the water was at his back.  The sky was light, but Dave could see the actual sun hadn’t come up yet.  The chairs for the resort hadn’t even been put out yet because it was so early.

Less than a handful of beach combers were out, and one inquired if Dave’s rum punch was a continuation of the previous night.  While technically it was, Dave pointed out this was the beginning of his new age, and felt this was an appropriate celebration.  The beach comber wished him a happy birthday, and continued her trek up the island.

Once the sun was visible, Dave stood to bask in its glory and made a wish for a good coming year.  The rum punch was half-gone by then.  The sun felt warm on his face, and the only sound Dave could hear was the crash of the waves behind him.

With the sun fully visible, Dave turned to sit facing the ocean.  He laid on the beach at one point, but stayed sitting mostly.  Since Dave had come down so early, he had not brought his sandals with him.  The soft white sand was squeezed between his toes.

By the time the rum punch was empty (as Dave nursed it through the sun rise), the chairs and umbrellas of the resort were being set up.  Dave was sure the resort staff thought nothing of him sitting on the beach, as it was just another crazy tourist.

Soon, there were a few other early risers who came down for a morning swim.  Dave considered a swim, but had not worn his swimsuit down, so he abandoned that idea.  The beach comber who Dave had spoken to earlier had come back down with her husband, and they wished Dave a happy birthday.  They went for a swim, but didn’t stay on the beach long, thanks to a wardrobe malfunction.

Dave then got up, and started wandering the beach for shells or coral pieces.  Lee came down not long afterwards, and started soaking up rays.  After a quick nibble of blueberry muffins on the beach with a Royalty Ginger Beer, Dave swam, relaxed, walked the beach again, and swam again.  Lee relaxed on the beach catching rays, reading, and listening to Bill Maher on her Ipod.  This was the beach-bum schedule Dave & Lee had been looking forward to.  The first beach walk Dave took was down past Club Med and back.  The second was only to be to “mystery pier” in the other direction Dave & Lee had walked to the night before.  (The “mystery pier” was between the Regent Grand and the Villa Renaissance, and was probably just a public beach access.)  Dave ended up further to the point (by Point Grace), and then even further along past Hemingway’s, and then he came back to RWI.

The first walk was a mile round-trip, and the second was just under two miles.  Dave was determined to get as many steps/miles in as possible.  When Dave was in the water, he spent most of the time walking along with occasional swimming.  Obviously, Dave couldn’t wear the pedometer then (as it wasn’t waterproof), so Dave could only count the miles actually recorded on the device.  Dave guesstimates there was probably another mile gained from the “water walking.”

Dave & Lee left the beach around noon.  Dave realized (or recalled, however you want to term it) that while the sand stayed cool all day, the wooden walkway to the beach, and the brick path that lead back to RWI did not.  Lee was amused watching walk very fast on the path to get back to the room, as not to burn the bottoms of his feet.  Dave would then remember to bring his sandals with him on later visits.

Once they were cleaned up, Dave & Lee headed out for a late & light lunch.  We ended up at Danny Buoy’s, TCI’s Irish pub.  Dave & Lee had eaten there the previous time, so it was nice to revisit it again.   Like any sports bar, there were a couple flat screen TVs, but what was more interesting was the banners for various football (ie, “soccer”) teams scattered all over the place.  Arsenal had the favored spot over the bar, so Dave knew who the “home team” was.  There were also flags of various European and South American countries with major soccer teams (Brazil, Wales, et al).  What was interesting was the Texas flag over the door.  One of those things we laughed about, but didn’t take a picture of.

The bartender, Mark, let us know they could still do breakfast, so Lee had pancakes, and Dave a breakfast burrito.  Dave also had a Turk’s Head Amber beer with it (the local brew of the island).  Dave figured it would be nice to have a beer with lunch on his birthday.  It was like a Killian’s Red, just a little more bitter.

Mark had mentioned a place called the Veranda that had Indian food Sunday nights, but he hadn’t tried it yet to see how good it was.  Dave & Lee’s plan was to go there for dinner, and then let Mark know how good it was.  Mark made a suggestion about a nice place to visit that he’d been taken to, and scrawled a map on the back of a piece of paper.  It sounded like a good place to visit, which Dave & Lee would attempt later.

After lunch, Dave & Lee wandered around the Saltmills a bit, but being it was Sunday and all the shops were closed, we just came back to the room to hang out.  Later when it would be closer to the time we would want dinner, we weren’t that hungry because of the big lunch, so we passed on the Veranda.

Back down at the beach with rum punches in hand, we watched another beautiful sun set.  This time we remembered to bring the camera with us to capture it.  When the sun was gone, and twilight upon us, we departed the beach (to allow the employees to pick up the last of the chairs).

Although we went to bed at a reasonable time, Dave had difficulty sleeping.  After sitting on the outdoor patio for a short time listening to breeze, then trying to read a few pages, Dave then found CBC was showing the 1989 Stanley Cup game.  Dave watched the first two periods, and visiting Calgary was leading Montreal 2-1 towards the end of the second.  Finally, at 3am Dave was able to sleep.

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Turks & Caicos Islands – May 2010 (Part One; Return to Royal West Indies)

DAY ONE:  Friday, 8 May 2010

            The day started at 4 am, an unnatural hour.  Thinking it would be extremely busy, Dave & Lee got to the Austin airport … with plenty of time to spare.  The flight would go from Austin to Dallas, then layover, then to Providenciales (aka Provo).  Which is really odd, if you look at it, because even though Dallas has a customs area, coming back we’ll still have to stop at Miami to go through customs (then on to Dallas).  That’ll make picking up stuff at the Duty-Free store an annoying issue.

After the hour flight to Dallas, and two hour layover in Dallas, it would be a three-hour flight to Provo.  That would place us there around the time we could get into Royal West Indies resort (RWI), before the time spent in immigration and baggage claim, of course.

There was a large group of people on the flight to Provo that were obviously all travelling together.  They weren’t rowdy, but they certainly partied!  At $7 American Airlines charges for a beer on the plane, they bought quite a bit.  Dave & Lee didn’t party with the rowdy bunch, but watched “The Fantastic Mr. Fox” which played on the in-flight monitors.  We were glad our Ipod headphones plugged into the seat jacks, that way we didn’t have to drop $3 on the cheap-ass ones the airline tried to sell us.  The airlines used to provide snacks along with the free beverage, but now you had to buy the snacks if you wanted them.  Had we known that, we would’ve packed the trail mix in the carry-on, not the checked baggage.

Arriving at Provo, five planes all came in at the same time, so it took some time to get thru immigration/customs.  Some of the party guys were still drinking while they stood in line to get into the frakking country.  Sure you want to have a good time, but show some respect at least.  Dave & Lee didn’t know what was worse, those guys, or the dimwitted lady who was visibly taking pictures while standing next to the sign “Photography & Cell Phone Use Prohibited.”  And you wonder why Americans get a bad rap when they go overseas, it’s assholes like that who earn it for the rest of us.

Once Dave & Lee had their baggage, we found the Grace Bay Car Rental people who were waiting for us, and were met by Todd, who would shuttle us to RWI.  Formerly from Saskatoon, Todd mentioned how he had moved to TCI with his wife to run Grace Bay Car Rentals.  His wife worked as a Yoga instructor.  Instead of driving up Leeward Highway, the main (and only) highway on the island (like what was done for us on the previous visit), Todd took a turn down Lower Bight Road.  A drive thru the area known as “The Bight” was nice, because it was a section Dave & Lee hadn’t visited on the last trip.  Lower Bight Road would eventually bring us towards Hemingway’s, and the Saltmills (areas we did know from the last visit).  On the drive, Todd mentioned some places he liked, and pointed out what was different since the last time we’d been here.

Now on the flight from Dallas, Dave’s head had become completely congested, and his left ear plugged.  Probably from breathing the recycled airplane AC air.  Dave was still running a fever when we had reached the resort, but an infusion of food and fresh air helped with that.  Sleep had been lacking also, since we got up so early.

Previously there had been an IGA which was the only place to get groceries.  And the IGA, like all the other IGA’s Dave has ever seen, looked like it had seen better days.  Todd had mentioned there was a new IGA close to RWI, which was more of a Whole Foods type of store, with organic food and such.

No, it wasn’t.

Where the other Provo IGA looked like it was in a foreign country because of some of the objects that could be obtained (“That medicine’s been illegal in the US for years!”), this IGA (called Graceway Gourmet) looked more like an American grocery store that we were use to.  We were impressed.

Once again, there was no Dr. Pepper (no surprise to Dave, but a bummer for Lee, as it meant there was no Diet Dr. Pepper).  What was interesting was Graceway Gourmet had the Royalty Ginger Beer that Dave liked and would normally only find in the Indian foods store.  That would be a treat!  In reality, it made sense, as Royalty Ginger Beer was imported from England, and we _were_ in British territory.  Going down the aisles, we noticed while there was also Ben & Jerry’s present, we passed on getting some of that.  We can easily get that at home, and the money that could be spent on B&J’s could be spent on other dinners.

Having gotten some sandwiches, we ate at the resort, and then had our first rum punches of the trip from the Mango Reef (the bar and restaurant attached to RWI).  We walked up the beach towards a “mystery pier” that didn’t seem to be attached to any resort.  With drinks in hand, we watched the sun get lower and lower in the sky.  Returning to the resort, and on the second round of rum punches, we watched the sun disappear beneath the clear-sky horizon in a most beautiful manner.  Of course, we didn’t have the camera with us to take a picture, so we tried to burn that image into our minds.

By then, Dave’s fever seemed to have lessened, and the head ache had mostly disappeared, but there was still some congestion in the nasal area.  Still it was a great first day.

Before returning to the room, Dave prepared for the next morning.  Earlier when getting the drinks, Dave had mentioned to the people there what he planned to do, and they all got a chuckle out of it.  When Dave came up to put this plan into motion, they all laughed.  Dave had a rum punch made, with no ice, which was brought back to the room’s fridge.  The plan was tomorrow morning, Dave would greet the dawn (and the beginning of his 40^th birthday) with a rum punch in hand.  Before that, Dave hoped to catch up on the sleep he hadn’t gotten for the past few days. 

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Cave Without A Name (Boerne, TX) – May 2009

STILL DESCENDING INTO THE DEPTHS OF TEXAS

This was a continuation of the birthday treat to myself, taking day trips on my staycation.  Near the small town of Boerne (southwest of Austin), I’d already explored Cascade Cavern, and had a great time doing it, so after a lunch break, I headed on to my second cave destination of the day.  It was called the Cave Without A Name.  A rancher discovered some cool breezes coming out of his well, and after some investigation, found there was a sealed cavern there.  The story goes “through the use of pick axes and some dynamite,” the cave was opened up to allow exploration.  Understanding this could be an attraction, a more-accessible entrance was built to allow visitors to come in.

The cave operated for a period of time as a contest was held to find the most appropriate name for it.  Out of all the entries they got, they chose the one submitted by a little girl, and that was the name the cave was officially given.  My tour guide, Alec, noted that he believed the little girl was related to the ranch-owner, thus had some more influence on the contest.

The entrance which was built resembled a mine shaft, as a set of stairs circled around the original well.  The top of the well of course now had a grate on it to keep people from falling in (as well as to keep critters from using this for a home).  There was only a couple of us on the tour, as places like this are the best when visited by small groups.

INSIDE THE CAVES

The first room we entered, as we passed the well section was a huge, domed section.  Considering some dynamite had to be used to even gain access to here, I was very surprised none of the formations had been damaged.  Parts on the ceiling did show evidence of bat habitation (as per the black marks created by their feet), but there hasn’t been any critters living in here since it became a commercial cave.

There was a grand hall just pass the entrance room.  One thing I noticed here was much of the floor had been paved over to allow people to walk around.  Usually only small paths are done to preserve the original portions as much as possible.  Keeping in mind Alec was only an employee, not a policy-maker, he informed us the original owners had come up with an alternate use for the cave besides tourism.  It was rented out as a meeting hall, as it stayed around 72 degrees all year round.  That’s why large portions were paved over.  Since Texas can get extremely hot during the summer, it made for a nice venue, because you didn’t have to air condition it.  People rented these caves for gatherings, and a few weddings had been held down here.  There’s a certain novelty in that, but I’m sure that wears off when the guests have to trek back up to the visitor’s center to use the restroom.

(The partial column in the picture below comes up to about waist height, so that gives you a sense of size of the grand hall.  The red light is not a mystic orb setting on it, but a light which is set a ways behind the column.  It was by accident I was able to get the shots to line up this way.)

The grand hall is kind of an L-shaped room.  Off the shorter section where two smaller antechambers, which were a small T-like junction.  The section where the spot light was in this picture was about equal to my shoulder, so you can there is a decent amount of height here.  While the idea of using the cave for gatherings was interesting, the big question how do you keep from dozens of unwatched people from reaching out and touching the cave walls?  Alec commented that it’s done on an “honor system, which was basically his way of saying nicely that they don’t.  While I’m not every one who comes in touches parts of the caves, and probably not in the same spots, I’m sure there has been some cave growth slowed by that.

Once we came back to the grand hall, we went down the larger section of the area.  Spot lights next to various formations provided some light, and a stack of plastic chairs provided a size reference.  I could see the relative flatness of the floor would allow for these gatherings taking place, although I would love to see pictures on an actual wedding done there.  The bubbly-like columns space around were goo examples of nature’s handiwork.

Past the grand hall is a railed walkway past a group of small cave pools.  As there is an underground river nearby, which formed much of this cave, it wasn’t a surprise it was wet in here.  It kept the cave cool, but not very humid.

At one point, the pathway made a slight S-curve and went up elevation slightly.  It wasn’t much, and the railing was no longer present.  As I wandered down this section, my mind kept replaying some of those fantasy novels in my head, and I expected a little creepy guy to come along to ask if I wanted to play “Riddles In the Dark” in exchange for a ring.

Alec explained this section usually wasn’t utilized as much when the cave was rented out for gatherings, although he was sure that guests still came down this way.  Some of the most interesting features which can be found in living cave systems is what is called “cave bacon.”  As the sediment-filled water drips down and forms new layers, discoloration happens during periods when the mineral content changes.  This gives it a ribbon look, and the veins resemble the food product before you fry it up.  Eating cave bacon is only recommended if you want to lose your teeth.  Alec was gracious enough to provide his head for a size reference.  >grin<

Past this section was the final part of the cave tour.  The underground river which flows through this section comes in and out.  It’s below the main walkway, so when the water levels are higher, this section can still be visited.  Although if the water levels are extremely high, then this whole section beyond the great hall ends up being closed off.  A lighted trailed follows the edge of the river as it flows out of the came, although that portion of the trail becomes rather muddy, and ceiling drops down a bit (so standing is not possible).

I did mention that Howe Cavern (in New York) has something similar, and has turned it into a little boat ride as far as the cave will allow.  Alec thought that was interesting, but not very feasible in this section, as the water wasn’t very deep here.

As we headed back to the grand hall to complete the tour, Alec did mention that last summer some University of Texas students spent evenings filming a movie within the caves (after it closed for the day).  While that was a nice tidbit of information, Alec wasn’t able to provide any more details than that.  It was someone’s film class project for sure, but no idea what the movie was about.  I mentioned that would’ve been something to have gathered that information, to see if the film later was put up on internet.  No matter how the cave was used, it would be great advertising to be able to say “John Smith’s Short Film Made Here.”  Alec’s reaction was hard to gauge on that.  Not sure if it didn’t interest him personally, or if the cave owners had already tossed the idea out.

Cave Without A Name was nice little privately-owned venue, and worth checking out if you’re in the area.  There was a third cave I was going to try to hit this day, but since that was over an hour’s drive northward towards Marble Falls, I’d have to hit that one on another day.

More information could be found at:  www.cavewithoutaname.com

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Cascade Caverns (Boerne, TX) – May 2009

DESCENT INTO THE DEPTHS OF THE EARTH … UM, TEXAS

It was a birthday treat to myself.  I had a week off, and was doing a staycation, so it was time to take some day trips.  I decided to make it a “cave day” by hitting two sets of nearby caverns in the same day.  I drove southwest from Austin to the small town of Boerne and arrived first at Cascade Cavern.  Parts of this cave was exposed to the outside (as Indians once used it as a hideout), but there was a whole larger section which wasn’t discovered until a homeowner in the 1930s went digging for a well.  A few tunnels dug later, it’s a tourist spot.

I got there about 9.30 am, and one tour group had just departed.  I had to wait until the appropriate time for my group to go, that way they catch people as they come in, and take a bunch together.  I timed it really well, because no one else came in while I was waiting, so I was the “tour group.”  My guide said she enjoyed having small numbers because it was easier to keep track of them, and she didn’t have to speak as loudly.  (Unfortunately, as I’m writing this after-the-fact, I don’t recall my guide’s name.  Strictly for the ease of not saying “my tour guide” repeatedly, I’ll refer to her as “Cassie” only because it has the first three letters of the cave.)

GETTING INSIDE THE CAVES

This area used to be a working ranch, and had a “visitor’s center” constructed right at the mouth of the cave, which was no longer used.  The newer visitor center was a bit further back from the entrance, probably to cut down on erosion.  A short explanation of how cool air kept coming up from the ground of the manor house prompted a search which discovered the old Indian caves.  Stairs were later built be able to bring people down into caves.

Once past the Indian caves, we entered into a section where the caves were still alive, and the rock formations continued to grow.  Cassie explained all the various features, and was impressed at my knowledge of caves (as I’d been to Inner Space and Natural Bridge, which she hadn’t).  A large portion of these caves were carved by water flow, and then sculpted over time by mineral deposits.  In each section, Cassie would turn on the light-string to allow us to see.  Keeping the caves in the dark helps keep the formation going.  One section the ceiling, which was normally about seven feet up, dipped down to four feet, so we had to squat going under it.  Cassie commented a lot of guests bump their heads on it, but because of the cave structure, there are no plans to widen the section.

After that initial section, the ceiling of the cave extends up dramatically.  This is what the manor house was built over, and the cold air from the caves is still felt in the house.  The manor house is used as an office and employee lounge now, so there’s nothing to go in to see.  Because I knew so much about cave stuff, it made Cassie’s job a lot easier.  She spent some time given other tidbits of information about the background of the caves, and also volunteered to be used as size reference for some of my shots to show how large the caves were.

Normally caves like this don’t have anything living in them.  While mosses or other plants might grow around the cave mouths, there’s nothing inside the caves because there’s no light source.  One section of the cave was roped off so you couldn’t be within twenty feet of this one section of the wall.  Seems there was a patch of mold growing there.  Cassie commented it was a novelty which was pointed out to people.  Since you weren’t supposed to touch the cave walls, they didn’t worry about any one getting too close to it.  She mentioned a few years earlier, one guest noticed it, and apparently knew someone who was knowledgeable about cave life.

This moss is so specific, it’s only find in one other place in the United States (don’t recall where), and not very common worldwide.  It reacts to close vibrations, and can shoot out spores out to about ten feet.  These spores can cause a fatal infection in you breathe them in.  That’s why the area was roped off, but Cassie said they couldn’t remove the moss due to its uniqueness.  That’s a lawsuit waiting to happen, I’m sure.  But if they tell you not to mess with it, and you do, and die from it, I guess that’s just an example of natural selection at work.

A short distance after that, we came into what they called the throne room.  It was an underground lake, with ledges on either side (hence the hand rails).  On the backside of the wall the rock was discolored from where the water had trickled down over the years.  It had a throne-like structure, hence the name.  What was really interesting about this part, is the caves continued downwards.  Cassie explained under the water was a manhole cover they put there to seal off that section, in order to keep anyone who might fall into the lake from being sucked down even further.  A few SCUBA people did a brief investigation at one point, and reported a rather large water-filled expanse under the throne room.  Very little exploration was done due to the difficulty involved, and this was not something they could ever open to the public.  Even if the water table dropped significantly, the nature of the opening would keep any tour group from ever being able to go down there.

Because I was the only person on the tour group, and had showed I had a brain when it came to cave stuff, Cassie was open to a suggestion.  As there were no groups coming directly behind us, we got to hang out here for a bit.  I mentioned one thing that InnerSpace would do in their “discovery room” is turn out all the lights (except for a single flashlight) to give a sense of what it looked like when that cave was first found.  I asked if we could do the same here.  An unusual request, and one Cassie thought was very cool.

After Cassie had me park myself at one location (and promise not to move), she backtracked down the cave trail to the switch box, and snapped off some of the lights.  Some others were closer to the discolored waterfall rock.  Once all the lights were out, it was really interesting to feel the blackness of the cave all around you.  The only thing you heard was the nearby water.  I did snap a picture of the place in the dark, and it captured it pretty well.  Humidity from within the cave caused the flash to reflect off of them, hence the picture looks “spotty” or like there’s stuff on the lense.  (Because there were other light sources in other shots I took, those pictures don’t have that “spotty” nature.)  We hung out there for a few minutes before Cassie turned the lights back on.

As we headed back the way we came, Cassie took me to a side chamber that’s part of the tour.  There was a particular pool of water which made a great optical illusion.  This pool jutted out at about a height of four or five feet.  When looking at it face on, or from the above, it appeared that the water was only a few inches deep.  Cassie brought out a long pole (setting nearby for this very purpose) which she used to break the surface.  The pole was at least six to seven feet in height, and most of the pole was swallowed by the water when just at the edge.  The center of the pool was a few feet deeper, which just added to the illusion even more.  Also something which was not normally done, Cassie did allow me to put my hand into the water to see how it distorted the vision.  That was pretty cool, as it didn’t make my hand look any different.

Another tour group was coming in, so Cassie had to get back to being an actual guide.  One of her peers mentioned to her (as we were exiting the caves) that the tour I had last about twice as long as what people get normally.  It’s just because I timed it right, and had a good guide.  That made for a wonderful experience at Cascade Caverns.  If I was in the area, I’d certainly go back there again, and thought it was very much worth the visit.

After getting a tip from Cassie and her co-workers as to where a good place to eat was, I then headed towards the second set of caves I’d explore today:  The Cave Without A Name.

More information could be found at:  www.cascadecaverns.com

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Smithville, and Museum of Automotive History -- Mum & Dad Visit Texas – March 2009 (Part Two)

DAY THREE:  Saturday, 28 March 2009

It had been really warm the previous day, and it was that temperature Mum & Dad came down for.  That’s only mentioned because we didn’t really have any plans other than spending some quality socializing time together, in addition to watching one of Caleb’s flag football games.

The old comment is if you don’t like the weather in Texas, wait five minutes.  That was very true, generally speaking, today.  Keeping in mind how warm it had been the day before, the temperature took a noise dive down into the 60s today.  While normally not that cold by itself, it is when the wind starts to blow.  Add to that it had rained the night before, so it was really damp.

The field was dry enough for the game to take place without the kids getting too muddy, but for those who had come to watch it wasn’t very comfortable.  Mum & Dad had their heavy coats with them, only because they wore them to the airport back in Albany, and would wear them again when they returned to Albany.  They didn’t expect to need to wear them while here.

The game only lasted through the late morning, but that chill was in the air enough that we didn’t want to stay outside any longer than we needed to.  It was a good day to stay in, and plan the attack for the next day.  Mum had something particular in mind that she wanted to try, and it looked like the weather would be nice and warm again tomorrow, so we’d attempt it then.

DAY FOUR:  Sunday, 29 March 2009

As we’d traveled west once this trip, it was now time to travel east.  One of the movies Mum likes was film out in Smithville, so she wanted to go out to see the area.  That sounded like it would be a good thing to do.  Lee commented there was something the travel book mentioned in the town of Rosanky nearby which might be worth a look, although there wasn’t much of a write up on it.

Austin resident Sandra Bullock filmed this movie here back in 1998.  Many of these small Texas towns are no different than small towns in any other state.  They’re quaint and sleepy (and the residents like it that way), with a few attractions which visitors come to see.  One of the other attractions here was the James H. Long Railroad Museum with stuff from the time when the railway was an important lifeline of the town.  It wasn’t much of a museum in my opinion, as it had some rail cars sitting around.  It was pretty small, so it didn’t take long to go through it.  I didn’t find it as interesting as other historical museums, but I thought about how Ron Pesha (my Broadcast professor back at Adirondack Community College) would’ve enjoyed it.

Following a footnote in the travel book, we hunted down the “giant gingerbread man” that exists in Smithville.  Here’s an example of the town deciding to do something fun, although I really have no idea how this would’ve began.  Like most neighborhoods during December, there’s a bunch of lights set up to mark the holiday season.  One other item of the holiday season is baking gingerbread men.  The only gingerbread man I ever liked was the one from Shrek, because he had one of the best retorts I’d seen.  When faced with torture to give up information about his friends, he replied rather aptly (and suggestively) “Eat me!”  Oh, I laughed hard at that.

Smithville decided to be memorable in a different way.  In 2006, the broke the Guinness World Record for the largest gingerbread man.  This giant cookie measured over 20 feet long, and weighed over 1,300 pounds.  I’m not even sure how you would bake something that big.  Must’ve been one hell of a bonfire.  The cookie is obviously long gone, but a monument was built near the Railroad Museum as a reminder.  As it was getting towards lunch, we attempted to nibble some of this, but it was no where near as tasty as I imagined the original was.

We drove around Smithville looking for a place where we could get some nourishment, and did a double-take as we passed this place.  We first thought it was a gas station, and even on second glance we still thought it was an old, closed gas station.  But when taking another pass by, we saw it was an old gas station converted into a restaurant.

There wasn’t much of a menu, as it was mainly a soup-and-sandwich place, with some ice cream on the side.  But having the tables outside next to the old gas pumps was rather interesting.  Even the interior (what had been the garage space) was left in original style as much as possible to retain that feel of a 1950s fill-up station.  The food was okay, but the atmosphere was really nice.  I think we got more out of that than anything.  Mum & Dad were far more amused by the original artifacts hanging around, including the old (obviously non-working) pumps, as this was stuff they remembered from their childhoods.  Looking at the cost per gallon on the gas pump, which was “thirty-five and a half cents” made us long for the days when we had reasonable gas prices.

From there, we made our way around the twisting roads until we finally came to the town of Rosanky to see if this “automotive museum” the travel book mentioned was worth a look.  This turned out to be quite the gem of a find.  And I’m not saying that simply because of the British telephone which was setting out front of the building (which seemed to be out of place, but we just rolled with it.)

From the road or the small parking lot, this building didn’t seem like much.  Even when we went inside, all we saw was a small room with some automotive trophies and some signed pictures of racers.  Didn’t look like anything worthwhile until the gentleman at the counter mentioned this was only the foyer.  He opened the door to the back of the building, and we saw how far this went back.  It appeared this entire structure was the size of a football field, and all we could see was old car after old car after old car.  The Central Texas Museum of Automotive History now had our immediate attention.

This started out as the personal collection of vintage cars owned by Dick Burdick, but became an actual museum back in 1980.  A large majority of these are American and European cars from the 1930s to 1950s, as well as some notable ones from the later part of the 20^th Century.  All the cars are either “rarely driven” (so they have low mileage), or have been restored to be as close to their original condition as possible.

What caught my eye was a 1948 Tucker sedan.  Only about fifty of these cars were made before the Tucker Company was crushed by the major automotive corporations.  To me, that was worth the price of admission right there.  Now as someone who is employed (although indirectly) by General Motors, my knowledge and interest of things automotive has grown in many ways I never thought it would.  And as Lee works in the automotive insurance business, she has similar knowledge.

I liked wandering around aircraft museums, and this was very similar as there were so many things packed together.  Each vehicle had an informational card to list make and model, manufacturer, production year, and any notable things about it.  There were things I’d only heard about, or seen pictures of, and it was so interesting to be able to see them up close.  A Corvette Stingray, and a Pontiac Gran Torino were among those.

Additionally, there were cars I’d never even heard of before, from manufacturer’s I never knew existed.  There was a Stanley Steamer present (which was one that I did know), but that company changed with the times and got out of the car industry.  There were so many others that either didn’t survive the Great Depression, or folded at the conclusion of World War II.  Names like De Dietrich, Stutz, Duesenberg, EMF (Everall, Metzger, and Flanders), REO, Napier, Empire, Crosley, and International Harvester were among the ones I saw.  I personally thought the 1963 Studebaker Avanti roadster looked pretty nice.

One of the things which Mum liked a lot was the 1970 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow Limousine which had been converted to be used by Johnny Cash and his family during the later part of that decade.  It didn’t look any different on the outside, with it’s maroon exterior and grey hard top.  It got more inside which was of interest.

The Cash Limo sat there with a door open so you see the same maroon colour could be found within the vehicle as well.  We noticed the plush cloth interior.  Neither of which are very uncommon when looking at automobiles of any time.  But when we took a peak to the backseat, that’s when we saw how cool this car was.  Johnny Cash had a stereo (with tape player), a television (complete with ancient VCR), mini bar, and phone.  Based on the colour of the phone, it made me wonder if it was hooked up to the Kremlin and/or the Bat Cave.  But for the time period when this was converted, it was the “most technically advanced” Rolls-Royce of the time.

Also there were also representatives of brands which I’ve familiar with like Buick, Oldsmobile, Cadillac, and Jaguar.  Some of the more notable items here were a 1917 Ford Model T, 1924 Bentley Three-Little Speedster, 1961 Studebaker Coupe, and an Indian Motorcycle, as well as this 1912 era contraption known only as “The Bug.”

This turned out to a great find, and was something which we’d have to come back to.  I think we could’ve spent all day here just soaking in the historical nature of the area. 

DAY FIVE:  Monday, 30 March 2009

Today was just another hang out day, spent enjoying each other’s company.  We’d have to get Mum & Dad on the plane the next morning, so we just were leisurely today.  Mum wanted to partake in her “guilty pleasure” of Austin, so we had a nice lunch at Shady Grove.  It was another ending to a great time.  I did suggest to my parents on subsequent trips we could take more day trips so they could explore more of the area.  They seemed to be receptive to the idea.  Mum said she’d keep watch on the Texas Tourism & Travel websites to see what other interesting things were in the area.

More information on the places we visited can be found at:

            Smithville:  www.smithvilletx.org

            Central Texas Museum of Automotive History:  http://ctmah.org/

            Shady Grove:  www.theshadygrove.com

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