We didn't smoke marijuana in Muskogee

 When I was a teenager working on my uncle's farm in southwest Iowa, we listened to a lot of country music.  My cousin and I preferred rock, but most of the radio stations that came in clearly were of the country variety.  So I was exposed to Merle Haggard at an early age.

The song Okie from Miskogee starts off:

"We don't smoke marijuana in Muskogee
We don't take our trips on LSD
We don't burn our draft cards down on Main Street
We like livin' right, and bein' free."

 

We listened to a bunch of Merle on the way north from Fredericksburg, Texas.  Over time, I've grown to appreciate traditional country music and bluegrass.  To me, lyrics are everything.  They don't have to be about something that I agree with, but they should be interesting.  Merle Haggard has a lot of interesting music.

 

When we drove into Muskogee at the end of our travel day, we immediately noticed some things have changed.  For one thing, there were marijuana stores all over the city.  We counted at least a dozen as we drove through.  The song was released in 1969.  Nothing lasts forever.

I don't have strong feelings about the legalization of marijuana.  Neither Julia and I use it, but the criminalization of a practice that seems pretty far down the list of damaging behaviors...well, we definitely don't need any more non-violent offenders in our nation's jails and prisons.

 

Fortunately, while the marijuana dispensaries held little interest, Muskogee has a really good brewing company.

 

 

Brewpubs and microbreweries have become very popular in the last decade, but not all produce exceptional beers.  A lot of times, the beer is just mediocre. Sometimes, the focus is on the food instead of the beer. It isn't enough to brew different styles; the execution is important too.  I was really happy with the quality of the brews here.  Julia loved her wheat beer "Mama Tryed." I ended up with the Okie IPA, and it was very good.

After a long day of driving, sitting down with a fresh-tasting beer and watching some local musicians perform was exactly what we needed.  The bartender was into his job and offered to let us taste/sample whatever we wanted before making our choice. Well, the chocolate peppermint stout wasn't to my taste, but I'm sure that somebody likes that flavor combination. The sours were really interesting and pushed some envelopes, including a Hibiscus Sour.

On the next day, we made the final leg of our journey home.  That concludes the Texas trip in the spring of 2021.  More adventures are on the way--some in places just as unlikely as Muskogee, Oklahoma.  The Scamp is ready to go, and I'm ready for some hiking.   

Texas Wine Country

We started taking winery tours during the 1980's in Northern California when we lived in the Bay Area.  Julia went on so many of the tours with family and friends from Wisconsin that she was sometimes recognized by the tour guides.  "Hey, weren't you here last month?"

Back then, the tastings were free, and pours were generous.  Many of the wineries were on two lane rustic roads.  We spent many weekend afternoons on the picnic grounds of a selected winery, enjoying fresh sourdough bread, brie cheese, and a bottle of wine. Eventually, Napa became popular and more expensive.  We began visiting wineries in Sonoma county and then Mendocino county,  searching for that undiscovered gem.  I don't think there's much undiscovered wine country in California anymore. 

Fast forward to March of 2021.  On the way back from the Texas gulf coast, we decided to stop in Texas wine country.  I can tell you that Texas is trying really hard to emulate California wine country.  Tastings were $15 to $20 at the places that we tried.  One difference we noted right away is that many of the wineries are located along a four lane highway, and many of the vineyards are not located at the same location as the tasting rooms.

Our Airbnb was, well, I'm not going to even tell you how much that cost.  I will admit that I couldn't find anything under $125/night.  The place was called Cowboy Orchard's Guesthouse.  It was very nice in a quaint Victorian way.  We enjoyed the front porch swing and the backyard space.

 Fredericksburg itself is a charming, historic town.  We spent a lot of time just walking around and taking in the views.

 

Our first wine tasting was downtown at the Fredericksburg Winery.  The tasting room host was delightful and an excellent saleswoman.  I didn't care for the wine a bit; Julia thought it was tolerable and bought two bottles. For whatever it's worth, Julia is much more of a wine connoisseur than I am. 

After that experience I was ready for a beer.  We headed over to Altdorf Biergarten and Restaurant for German food and beer with outdoor dining.  

 

On the next morning, we needed to walk off some of that rich German food and drink.  We started with Cross Mountain which turned out to be a very short uphill hike and then a short nature trail hike near the trailhead.  We then headed for the Fredericksburg Nature Center.  We enjoyed these short trails also but still needed to walk around the adjacent park to get some more steps in.  

Julia was now ready to begin wine tasting in earnest. Since I was going to be the designated driver, she tossed me a bone and agreed to first have lunch at Pecan Street Brewing in Johnson City, Texas.  After lunch and a beer on the backyard patio, I was ready to assume my duties.

 We then visited two wineries.  The first was Hilmy, and it was lovely.  The wine was delightful (red and white), and we enjoyed the on-site vineyard.  The tastings were held outside.

The second winery was Messina Hof.  Tastings were held outside here also.  Julia enjoyed the wines here, but preferred Hilmy.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Fredericksburg.  If money were no object, we would probably return often.  I did note that there was a municipal campground near the Fredericksburg Nature Center.  

 

Corpus Christi: Coffee and Beer

During our final days at North Padre Island, I ran low on my home-roasted coffee.  Normally, under such circumstances, I switch to tea or something else.  The chances of getting anything really fresh from a coffeeshop or grocery store is nil.  

Sometimes, it's possible to go directly to a small roaster and ask what was roasted recently.  I found a small roaster in Corpus Christi called Driftwood Coffee Company.  And when I say small roaster, I mean their coffee roaster was really small.  In my own shop, I had a 12 kg roaster that comfortably did batches of 20 lbs every 15-20 minutes.  If I understood the barista correctly, Driftwood was roasting in five pound batches.

The retail shelves were date-stamped for the day that the coffee was roasted.  That's very rare--even in specialty shops.  When I paid attention to Starbucks or even Peets, they used to have a best used by date that projected months out from the date of roasting.  At home, I typically don't use anything that's more than a week or so out from roast date.  

I was very pleased to be able to pick out a bag of Mexican coffee beans that had been roasted that very day.  The price wasn't so pleasing at about $15 for 12 ounces, but I was desperate and enjoy supporting small businesses that do things the right way. As for why I roast coffee myself, I should point out that I typically pay about $5/lb for raw coffee beans and am able to control the degree of roast to my own likes/dislikes.

The Mexican was very lightly roasted.  But that isn't necessarily a bad thing.  The coffee was quite good when brewed.  The degree of lightness was so shocking to me that I began experimenting with lighter roasts when I got back home.  I typically roast to the beginning of second crack (which is typically first oil).  Buying the Mexican from Driftwood inspired me to experiment again with my own roasts. Getting into a rut is never a good thing. 

After our shopping trip to Driftwood, we took a long walk along the gulf in downtown Corpus Christi.  North Padre was very foggy, but the fog was lifting in Corpus, eventually turning into a beautiful day.

 

Memorial to Selena, Queen of Tejano Music

 

After getting in about four miles, we headed over to Nueces Brewing for a late lunch and beers.

The food and beer were both good.  Just as we arrived, the Governor of Texas announced the end of all Covid restrictions.  The employees were celebrating. We headed outside to the deck.

On a previous trip to Corpus Christi, we discovered Lorelei Brewing, which is just on the other side of the bridge from North Padre.  We really liked the beer and the vibe.  Not much had changed, except that masks were required inside. Even though the Governor ended restrictions, responsible businesses continued to set their own rules. We patronize responsible businesses.

On a weekday afternoon, we were basically alone on the outdoor deck.

 

 

Turning to the present, I need to note the possible passing of blogger and long-time commenter Michael Herrmann.Update:  Never mind: he’s still alive. :)

Recharging on North Padre Island

 We reached the end of our journey south during the last week of February:  an Airbnb on North Padre Island.  We stayed for nine nights, and it suited our needs perfectly: one bedroom, a full kitchen, channel views, and a ten  minute walk to the beach.  

This was our second recent trip to the area.  The condo was only a five minute drive from the county park where we camped in 2019.  Julia and I spent our first time on Padre Island as a couple in 1983 when we were seniors in college on spring break.  We like the area a lot.  In fact, although we're not serious about moving from Wisconsin in the near term,  we even looked at some small condos for sale during this trip.  

There are definitely some things to consider:  hurricanes and hot summers.  But the cooling gulf breeze, and the fact that our building had survived since 1974 are things to think about also.   North Padre is  pretty close to heaven on the down-slope of a Wisconsin winter. 

This was the view from our balcony for morning coffee.

For happy hour and sunsets, we settled into the building's back deck, which was rarely used by the other residents.

We took full advantage of the kitchen, buying fresh fish several times from Paul's Seafood in Corpus Christi. We ate red snapper, redfish, and black drum.  On other other nights, we ate on the outdoor decks of area restaurants.  

Every morning at sunrise, we took long walks on the beach.  There wasn't always a sunrise, due to fog, but it was almost always warm enough to walk without a coat.

Through some good fortune and planning, we hit the travel window just right. We were the first ones in the Airbnb after the winter storm was over.  Today, I see that the spring break crowds have arrived.  There were very few people out and about during our trip, and we felt very comfortable spending almost all of our time outdoors.  

I'll probably have another couple of posts on our stay to touch on some of the other highlights. 

Baton Rouge to Galveston

Julia and I love the food in Louisiana.  A trip through the state would not be complete without Cajun cuisine.  After spending the night in Baton Rouge, we stopped at a little store outside of Lafayette for some fast food:  boudin balls and crawfish pies. 

The crawfish pies were very tasty.  I've had boudin before but maybe not the balls.  Imagine biting into a ball of spicy sausage and rice, releasing a stream of hot fat.  Probably the most unhealthy food I've eaten in awhile, but still preferable to a McDonald's drive-thru.  

Before long, we were driving into Texas and found a beach.

 

It felt wonderful to walk under the blue skies, feel the warm gulf breeze, and breathe in the sea smells after the pandemic winter in Wisconsin.  We made our way across the Bolivar Peninsula, taking the ferry to Galveston.

We were still not at our final destination; one more dog-friendly budget motel was necessary.  I dug deep into my pockets for the extra $10 and paid for a room at the Red Roof Inn Plus.  You may ask, "what is different about the Red Roof Inn from the Red Roof Inn Plus?"  After staying there, Julia says that question is unresolved.  

I think it was probably the location.  We could walk 1 1/2 blocks and be at the beach and the main drag along the beach.  If you are looking for a dog-friendly budget motel in Galveston for under $70 in late February, this would be my recommendation.  But I have to be honest, we didn't spend much time in the room.

 

We were very thankful to spend this time in Galveston.

 

Headed South: Baton Rouge

During our overnight stay in Memphis, the streets froze again. Everyone was slip slidin’ away.  The temperatures warmed by the time we hit Mississippi, but not enough to melt the unplowed snow in the left lane There were numerous abandoned cars in the median—evidence of the unusual winter storm several days before our trip.

By Jackson, however, the weather reached the 60’s, and the snowy ground was replaced by greening grass. When we made it to Baton Rouge, we were ready to stretch our legs. There is a levy walk along the Mississippi River from downtown to LSU. It felt so good to be outside without a heavy coat, breathing in the scene with all of our senses.

We worked up quite an appetite, and Louisiana is a great place to eat oysters—something we don’t quite trust in Wisconsin. We started off with grilled oysters and then oyster po’ boy sandwiches. We ate at a table by an open door, and there was “open mic” music on the sidewalk. This was the most entertainment that we have enjoyed in over a year.

Next stop: Galveston