Enter the Mosh Pit

Gruene Hall

A friend told me about Gruene (pronounced Green) Hall, Texas’ oldest continually operating dance hall, and said, “You have to go!” 

Originally built in 1878, Gruene Hall hasn’t changed much over the years. A few modern conveniences have been added - the bathrooms were installed in the 1970’s, and the bar has running water. Much has remained the same though, including the original wooden dance floor, which  creaks when you walk on it. (I do love that sound!)

Inside Gruene Hall, by day

Some of the musicians that have played at the hall over the years

Of course there is a gift shop!

What every redneck needs - patio lights made from shotgun shells!

When my friend and her husband visited, it must have been on a Sunday afternoon, as she mentioned it was a local musician playing, and they offered line dancing lessons, or maybe it was two-stepping lessons. Anyway, I purchased tickets for what I thought would be something similar, but on a Friday night.

Boy, was I wrong. 

The opening act - The Powell Brothers

The headlining musician was someone called Stoney LeRue. We had no idea who he was, but we found out he’s a pretty big deal in Texas, and pretty much everywhere else in this part of the country. We realized we were in for something big when we arrived for the show and noted the tables that had been set up around the dance floor earlier in the day were now gone. The hall was empty of everything but the bar and the stage. As the opening band played, the hall began to fill up, and by the time Stoney came on stage, we had to stand on the wooden benches lining the perimeter of the dance hall just so we could see. The room was filled to its 800 capacity (and I suspect maybe more?) with screaming women in short skirts and cowboy boots, and men in  baseball caps (!) and belt buckles the size of plates. I’m not sure if there’s such a thing as a country music mosh pit, but we very well may have been in one.

Stoney LaRue brought in quite a crowd

Though we had a very interesting and fun evening, I have to admit, I liked the music of the opening band, The Powell Brothers of Houston, better than Stoney LeRue! But I may have been the only one there who felt that way that night. 

Remembering the Alamo

Next stop: San Antonio, Texas. We stayed at an RV park just outside the city, and rode our bikes for five miles along the Mission Trail - a historic route that connects several of San Antonio’s renowned Spanish missions - into the center of San Antonio.

Our bike ride into the city took us along the San Antonio River

Some of the lovely mansions we passed along the Mission Trail

In my trunk of antiquities at home, which includes my high school year book and a Beanie Baby, I have a vintage Davy Crockett comic book. My mother gave it to me years ago, though I don’t recall ever reading it. The story of Davy Crockett really did not have much significance to me growing up, though Drew has a better, albeit somewhat romantic notion of this historical legend. His memories are highly inspired by the Disney movie and song “Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier”, that was popular when he was young.

Visiting The Alamo put things into a better perspective for both of us. The Battle of the Alamo in 1836 was an important moment in history, when Texas (at that time a Mexican state) sought independence from Mexico. In all, 189 Texan defenders (all men), including Davy Crockett, died during the siege at the Alamo. Despite the Texan’s defeat, the Battle of the Alamo became a symbol of resistance against Mexican oppression, and helped unite Texans. “Remember the Alamo!” became the rally cry for the Texan army, and motivated them to ultimately defeat the Mexicans and gain independence just six weeks later.

The Alamo

Inside the Alamo, restoration is ongoing

Graffiti dating 1848 on the walls inside! 

But San Antonio is not just about the Battle of the Alamo. The city is built around the San Antonio River, and the River Walk is 15 miles of unique riverside shops, restaurants, and historical sites. Talking a break from sightseeing, we stopped for lunch at a restaurant along the river and were serenaded by a group of three mariachi performers, as the tourist boats and ducks floated by. Although it was only January, the weather was warm enough to sit outside and enjoy the scenery. 

Bright umbrellas of the restaurants along the River Walk

Colourful tour boat on the river

Street musicians on the River Walk

These guys were hoping for a free lunch!

On our final day in San Antonio, we ventured just outside the city to visit Mission San José, one of the most impressive of the five Spanish colonial missions in the area. It was a cold and rainy day, so we didn’t spend as much time as I’d have liked touring the mission, but we did have the opportunity to hear the church bells ring on the hour, just as they have done since 1778.

The walls at the mission are almost 4' thick and made of a rock called Tufa

A view of the Mission San Jose church from the playa

The church was build in 1772

Communal oven in front of the living quarters

It’s still the Gulf of Mexico to us!

Our Harvest Host in Saskatoon, SK (oh, that was such a long time ago!) recommended we visit southern Texas, rather than hanging our hats for a month or two somewhere in Florida. “Everything is cheaper in the towns along the Texas Gulf Coast,” he said. “The weather is beautiful, and the sights are, too!” Well, why not?

He was right… the Texas coast on the Gulf of Mexico is beautiful. With only a hint of what was to come, we took the ferry to Mustang Island and drove through the seaside town of Port Aransas (or Port A, as the locals call it) along a road carved through sand dunes, arriving at the long stretch of sandy white Port Aransas Beach.

We marvelled at the views - 18 miles of uninterrupted shoreline - as we drove along Beach Road. Never mind the views, the road was fascinating in itself. It was just like any road you would drive on, but it was “paved” in hard-packed sand! Okay, no stop lights, or even stop signs, but very busy with traffic - cars, trucks, motorhomes, bikes, pedestrians, and of course, ATV’s. (Because everyone who lives on the beach in Texas drives an ATV.)

The really cool thing about the beach at Port Aransas, is that if you have an RV or trailer, you can camp for up to three nights at a time. You need to purchase a permit, which was only $12 USD, but you can pull up pretty much anywhere right on the beach! It wasn’t very busy, as the weather was rather  cold (and rainy), so we had the beach almost to ourselves for two nights.

Our 'campsite' for two nights!

Good day for flying kites at the beach!

Cute little 'Chapel on the Dunes' built in 1938

Murals in the chapel depict stories from the Old Testament

Yarn bombing the bollards at Port Aransas Beach

Cotton Pickin’, or is that Pickin’ Cotton?

Throughout our travels in the south, we noticed large fields of ripe cotton. Autumn is harvesting time, and there was cotton everywhere - it looked a bit like snow on the side of the road from excess falling off the trucks as they drove away from the fields.

Cotton ready for picking

A standard bale of cotton weighs about 480 pounds

Throughout the southern states, cotton is king - it’s one of the largest growing crops in the country, and the USA is the third largest cotton producer in the world.

In Texas, cotton is a really big deal. Texas produces more cotton than any other state, and it’s been that way for a really, really long time.

We decided to take a detour to Burton, a small town (population 282) about 90 minutes west of Houston, to visit the oldest working cotton gin in North America - originally built in 1914 - and  learn how cotton is processed. (By the way, ’gin’ is short for ‘engine’.)

'Lady B' - the Burton cotton gin

Sadly, we did not get to see the cotton gin in action. “Lady B”, as the engine that runs the mill is fondly called, is now only started up once a year during the Burton Cotton Festival in the spring. However, we did learn a lot about cotton and cotton processing. I found it interesting that nothing of the cotton boll goes to waste - the lint is used to make fabric and other cotton products, the seeds are pressed for food grade oils used in many household items, and the bur (the outside shell) is used as a natural fertilizer.

The Burton Cotton Gin facility

The Battery is where the cotton lint is pulled off the seed by saw blades

The Condenser presses the cotton lint into a bat, or bale

A home-sized version of the cotton gin

Cotton lint naturally comes in many colours

So many uses for the cotton plant!

That evening, we stayed at a nearby Harvest Host - an Alpaca farm! We had a brief lesson from the friendly owner on breeding and raising Alpacas and how to harvest their fleece to make wool. We even got to visit with the Alpacas. They each had their own personality, just like a dog or a cat! And did you know many farmers also keep donkeys? Donkeys scare the coyotes away and prevent loss of livestock. Who knew?!

Alpaca fleece - it was so soft!

The farm had miniature goats too, that demanded all the attention