Goliad TRR Rally

Although the Texas Ramblin' Roses Rally officially started on Friday, many of us arrived on Thursday so we could set up and relax. Friday evening we decided to visit a local Mexican restaurant, Agave Jalisco. Many actually ended up there again on Friday night. Margaritas were especially good.

Most of our activities were scheduled for Saturday evening but I saw a flyer saying Saturday was Goliad Market Day right on the main square. I thought maybe some of the group would enjoy that and a stop at Mattie's Bakery and Café also on the square. Jimmie got the word out.

Some interesting murals on the end of the building.

"Let them know and they will come"!  A number of rally goers showed up at Mattie's after hitting the Market Day.

The breakfast tacos were good but some held off ordering until lunch was available so we saw a number of dishes.f

The hostesses, Vickie and Barbara, actually arranged a meeting room at a state park......no small feat. It was a small dining hall which worked very well. Before dinner, there was Happy Hour and a Salsa contest. Apparently there was some good natured confusion as to whether the Salsa was dancing or a condiment contest but it was the condiment very necessary for Mexican food. There were six contestants and a wide variety of salsa recipes. The winning recipe was yellow with mango in it. I can't tell you much beyond that as I didn't sample and judge. Always reminds me of the salsa contest in the movie "Wild Hawgs" where the guy's throat was on fire.....I don't do hot stuff too well.  Dinner was up next and again, the hostesses outdid themselves with chicken fajitas and all the fixings. Everyone else brought other sides and we could easily have fed a small army.

Next up was the entertainment part of the evening which was billed as Cowboy songs, poetry, or stories either original or just borrowed. I found a short story about Spurs as a Wedding Ring along with four other poems just in case some of the group had trouble finding something. I passed them out and three good sports did a great job on them.  First up was Bennie's lip-syncing and dancing performance. She got the entertainment off to a good start.

Then we had a joke story from Nan..

Kathleen and Pat did an outstanding recitation of Ghost Riders with some audience participation on the Ghost Riders line.

Jimmie had an original poem that was really good.

Pat forgot the theme was western but she performed a fantastic version of Jabberwockie (I think) from memory!

Connie was up for a presentation and then.....

we even had a great musical presentation from Nancy and Connie on the by guitar!

Jean gave us the story of her family settling in Texas years ago.

And her daughter read us an original work by a family member.

Vickie found time from her hostessing duties to give us a presentation as well.

Mary was up next.

Rita was a riot!

 

Ladies, I apologize if I missed your name or got it wrong......I am really bad at names and I should have been taking notes but I was too busy having fun to get all the picture, names, and presentations straight. Pat Brown will definitely have it right when she posts the rally pictures. This was only my second rally and remembering names is definitely not one of my strong points although I always remember faces.

 

Sunday morning Vickie and Barbara put on a great Hitch-up Breakfast of breakfast burritos both chicken and vegetarian. About half the group left and the other half stuck around until the next day. In the afternoon, Tina with help from Paula and Nancy threw a birthday party for Lori. Sorry, no pictures because we were just having too much fun. It was a great rally. 

Galivanting Around Goliad TX

I headed out to Goliad State Park mid-day on Thursday for a Texas Ramblin' Roses (TRR) Rally. Even though it is hotter than heck here, we still like to rally. Goliad State Park is just outside Goliad Texas. It is a small but nice park.

I checked in and was assigned to site 8 in the Karankawa area near the front of the park. It is a circular area with full-hookups and pull-through sites. I was lucky enough to get a site with a tree on the left side of the 5th wheel which really helped with the sun and heat. The Jacales area is on the other side of the park with water and electric sites located on three sides of a parking lot area. There are also two tent only areas. Up until about three years ago, the park had a swimming pool near the Jacales area but it developed a huge leak that was too expensive to fix.

The rally was actually in the Jacales area but we didn't all realize that when making reservations. It worked out okay though, we just drove the mile over there for the activities.

Since I arrived the day before the rally started, I decided to tour the park and the town. Located within the park grounds is the beautiful reconstructed Franciscan Mission Espiritu Santo. It was the largest ranching operation in Texas in the 18th century.

Although the mission is reconstructed rather than original, you can get a very good idea of early life of the missionaries and Indian-converts. As I was walking the dachsies Friday morning, I did a double take when I saw a man dressed in full Franciscan monk attire come out of an RV and head up the road. I found out later that he was an historian that comes four or five times a year to give tours. I missed out on that but some of the other ladies said it was really good.

Next, I headed down the road into town.

Harley was very interested in seeing the sites but Willy took a nap in the backseat.

Small Texas towns are nearly always built around beautiful, majestic courthouses.

The town square has lots of small businesses and looks active.

The area was in disarray after the Civil War ended so Jack Helm was appointed as a special marshall to bring order. He headed a group known as the regulators who brought order to the area along with the Texas Rangers. 

This was an interesting tidbit on one side of the square. Apparently Bull Durham Tobacco salesmen looked for up and coming towns where they painted huge advertisements on the side of buildings.

This sign is being preserved. It is on one side of a courtyard where group gatherings occur. Interestingly, there are signs prohibiting smoking in the area.

A little more investigating around town turned up some interesting homes.

The San Antonio river runs along the edge of town as well as the edge of the state park and kayaking is popular. This walkway leads down to the river.

I found this little park in my travels.

Harley thought he might like to try kayaking as long as he didn't have to get wet.

 After the battle of Coleto where the Texans under Col Fannin were defeated, the men were war prisoners. General Santa Anna ordered 400 of the prisoners shot on Palm Sunday 1836. The doctors were spared and a Mexican woman, later called the Angel of Goliad, saved 30 men. Some others were able to swim the river or play dead during the massacre. This later led to the battle cry "Remember Goliad! Remember the Alamo!"

This is the Fannin Memorial Monument where Col Fannin and his men were buried.

The Presidio La Bahia was originally built to protect the mission and the frontier.

The gift shop was originally here but may have been damaged in one of the hurricanes.

Manuel Becerra was born in La Bahia and became one of the most prominent citizens. He was very active in colonization of the area.

Presidio La Bahia is operated by the Catholic Diocese of Victoria and is the location where Fannin's men were executed.

There is definitely some interesting history in Goliad. Now on to the Rally.

Dancing the Night Away

I made a spur of the moment decision on Saturday and I am so glad I did. My granddaughter's dance recital was Saturday night in Brownwood TX. My son and DIL were driving up there for the recital but they were picking up the kids from their mother on Sunday morning to head out on a summer vacation so they weren't coming back here to San Antonio. It has been a couple of years since I got to see Morgan dance and my grandson Cameron was playing his trumpet during intermission as well. So I made a motel reservation and headed out on the 4 hour drive to Brownwood about 1pm so I could arrive, check in to the motel, and drive a further 12 miles to the auditorium for the 6pm program. I decided to spend the night because there are a lot of deer with trees and brush close to the road at our end of the journey.

The theme of the program was "Take Me to the Movies". Morgan was in a number of the dances.

"Theme from Love Story" from Love Story.........Morgan is right under the "Take Me" in the sign,

 "The Greatest Show" from The Greatest Showman....Morgan is in the middle. I guess I caught them in a very serious moment.

"Singin' In The Rain" from movie of the same name.  Morgan is on the left.

 My picture of  "Footloose" didn't turn out and it may have been my favorite one. Darn. My pictures aren't great but I took them with my phone and no flash so not so bad considering. Helen was using a fancier camera but the photos are on the way north in the camera with her.

During the intermission, the "Little Brass Band" played several songs. They were very good. Morgan is on the far left. The six girls just finished 6th grade and Morgan has been playing for less than a year. Cameron is the second from the right. The two boys just finished 8th grade. I think Cameron's participation was definitely not his idea but he put together the music and got his friend to play also. I may be a little prejudiced but they were really good.

We got a couple of pictures right after the performance.....my son Steve and me with Cameron and Morgan. Gee, I thought I had a few more months before he was taller than me but I see I was mistaken. By the end of the summer, Morgan will be taller than me too. I'm 5'8" or at least I was. Since Steve is 6'4" and their mother is 5'10", heighth is to be expected.

Steve and my DIL, Helen, with the kids. Morgan got a unicorn this year instead of roses since they were leaving early the next morning on their summer trip together. I'm glad they are getting to go on this trip with Steve and Helen but I sure am going to miss them as they will be gone a long time.