Decatur Sleep over

The weekend promised to be a good one and we were not disappointed. We hit the pavement about 8:30 on Saturday morning in Bryan and headed north. Cattle, goat and horse ranches lined the rolling highways before us. The scenery was Texas country through and through. There were hay fields littered with giant round bales big enough to make a nice snack for Paul Bunyun’s pet, Babe the blue ox and some fields that needed mowing. White clouds danced in the bright blue skies as our tires became one with the interstate. It was a good drive and the only bears we saw were already hard at work handing out their coupons for local fund raising parties. There was lots of road-kill for those that live off the land and dotted here and about were pretty wild flowers, always a welcome site for the traveler. The higher the sun rose the higher our air conditioners ran. No tops were down since the sunscreen would have melted and dripped all over our leather interiors. {Not really but it was hot)
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The Old Farts Sports Car Club had reservations at Yesterday’s, a nice old-fashioned diner in Decatur. The staff there is wonderful and they were very willing to accommodate us when a few of the folks with the SSR club dropped in. The service was first-rate in fact they went out of their way to help make a memorable birthday for one of our members. Her husband had pre-arranged for the cake and when the timing was just right they brought it out. She was given a crown, photographed with Elvis and she got to perform the Hula Hoop dance not only for us Old Farts but for the whole diner as well. The encouragement was well received by the birthday girl and she wore a beautiful smile that complimented her golden crown.
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Satisfied with our full bellies we departed the diner and went over to our hotel to check in and drop off our bags before the car show. Ah the hotel experience, which story to tell you first? Couple #one well not really a couple he was on his own {lets call him Blinky} when Blinky got his key to room #one, it was a little messed up, heck it may have even had some one else in it. In fact I think it did; humm is that why his wife showed up a couple of hours later? Anyway Blniky was finally settled in a clean room all by himself. Couple #two {lets call them the Birthday Party} like wise were given a room that was not so made up, on to room #two…oops that one was occupied by the manager who just happened to be in the bathroom. Funny by the time Birthday Party got back to the front desk a new key was waiting and they were upgraded to a room that had a private jacuzzi {party}. Couple #three {we’ll call Sweetie) wanted a room on the bottom floor—sorry Sweetie—no can do, but the couple behind you gets one. Couple #four {we’ll call Student} didn’t say anything about their room, so we will just guess all was ok there. I think I found a place y’all can send a comment, if you like, about your stay click here. I have a feeling it was the desk clerk, she looked somewhat confused, didn’t she Sweetie? Some of us got a clean room on the bottom floor the first time~ price line negotiator. At last we were all set up in our different rooms that were scattered throughout the hotel. Soon we were all off to the beautiful courthouse, not really all of us, our Student had to stay behind and study for a test on Monday. Hope you did well.
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We arrived at the courthouse and found our own little parking places. Some of us entered the show some didn’t. The number of automobiles was amazing they lined the entire square on both sides of the street and some even ended up parked in the middle of the street. The cars, trucks and one old rough motorcycle ranged in age from the late 1920’s to brand spanking new. The paint job on several of these vehicles was breathtaking; there was every color of the rainbow present including some made up colors that went all the way to primer grey. The chrome was shining brightly in the August sun. One of my biggest kicks was watching this little boy about 9 years old or so, polishing the wheels on his dad’s muscle car. He really put a lot of elbow grease into it and I even seen him do the spit-shine buff. That’s what you call love and dedication. I glanced over to my car, sure Pepper needed a good washing and I suppose it had been a month or so since the last time her chrome had been polished. Maybe that‘s why I didn’t win anything. Ah well that’s ok, it was lots of fun anyway and that’s the part that counts.
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Lets not forget the nice little shops around the square they were great. I found a few small treasures to carry home, and so did a couple of other ladies. The sun was brilliant and very warm, ok it was hot. While some of us went shopping others sat in the shade visiting and still others went to a nearby tractor farm/museum. From what I understood this old guy had lots of tractors starting with a steam operated one and ending with a new John Deer. His family has had the property for a long time and he makes his living the Texan way. No not cattle, you know Texas tea, black gold. The reviews I heard told of old cemeteries and buildings on the property, maybe well worth a future trip. I too saw some tractors in one of the shops {photos in the Web Album}. We had steaks for supper at Sweetie Pies RibEyes. The rolls were awesome, the steaks a tad thin and I saw a couple of folks douse them in catsup, nothing to write home about, but the service was good and the company couldn’t be beat.
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With all the nice little shops closed and the car show over we packed up and moseyed down the road to the hotel. We had a couple of adult beverages and a nice dip in the boiling waters of the hot tub followed by a wonderful cooling swim. After a few laughs and good conversation it was time to hit the sheets.
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The morning rose with the call for coffee and breakfast. We lounged at the tables till time to go. Blinky’s wife was off to kiss the grand babies that lived near by. The rest of us drove to the Fort Worth Stockyards. One of the first things we found was blood on the sidewalk-eew- thank God there was no body. Now don’t worry I’m sure it was just a bloody nose and nothing more, besides it’s not like none of us have never seen blood before. Waiting around the corner was the real excitement; who would have ever thought that a statue would be so funny. We ambled around a little, tried on hats {no photos allowed}, rode horses, petted a buffalo and posed for photos. If you have not been to the stockyards you should it’s a great part of Texas History. They have all sorts of things to see and do. We got to see a real live longhorn cattle drive, well really more of a cattle walk but they were real and live and longhorns, then we watched a skit {short play} which stared a John Wayne impersonator. There was candy at the candy store, yummy NECCO. Our Birthday Party couple left us when they joined up with one of their children. The rest of us had lunch at Riscky’s the food was fine but the hostess needed a few lessons in customer service. Before long it was time to head ‘em up and move ‘em out. The Student insisted that on the way home a side trip to the outlet stores in Hillsboro was in order. Seeings how it was getting late and I lacked any room in my trunk we broke off from the herd and headed home. The weather was beautiful the air conditioner worked great and traffic was not bad. It was a wonderful sleep over and a great weekend trip. I hope to see those of you who couldn’t make it due to the flu {hope you’re better} or other obligations soon.
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See y’all