Saturday was busy, but fun.

The trip to Fredericksburg Friday turned out to be a lot of fun. Dave and I got to town by about 11:30, found a parking place and headed to the Auslander for lunch. It was cold, in the low 40s, and there was a persistent wind blowing, so this time we avoided the outdoor tables and took seats inside the beergarten. I'm sittin' there, waitin' for the waitress to bring me my brew and take our order, I look up and guess what I see?



I knew she'd lived in Germany when she was younger, but I didn't know Denise had ever worked in a beergarten. Son of a bitch! We'll need to have a talk when she gets back Sunday night. She's got some esplainin' to do.



My drink of choice, despite the weather, was a Belgian Sunshine Wheat in a frozen mug. Good stuff. Goes great with the beer battered, fried mushrooms, and the same fat bacon cheeseburger I had last time I was here. They were all just as good as before. Dave chose the chicken fried steak and tea. We were both happy. After lunch we both had ice cream cones at the place next door (I know, it was cold, and people were in heavy coats, but when in Rome for Christ's sake), and then we headed over to the book signing.

I got in line behind this burly farmer/rancher type who was just gushing with praise for Mr. Kelton. He had a typed list of all the books he'd read and was tryin' to see if the store had any others. I enjoyed the hell out of meetin' him, and seein' how an author can influence the lives of people. It's a thing that has touched my own life, including the stuff I read on your blogs. You know who you are. "People don't realize how a man's life can be changed by one book". Malcom X said that. Pure wisdom. For me it was a book on Daniel Boone that I read when I was about 12. Never saw anything the same after that.

The line moved fast, and before you knew it I was shaking hands with the man himself. He was sitting in the back of a little book store with his wife, accepting the comments of admirers as he signed their books with whatever inscription they asked for. When I got there I handed him the two books I had and as he signed them I told him that I really appreciated him, that I loved his work, and that I hoped he would be able to keep doing what he was doing for a long time to come (He's at least in his mid-70s). He thanked me, smiled up at me and we shook hands again, a little tighter the second time, and then Dave and I were off.

Dave wanted to go to the East side of town and check out an old frontier fort, Fort Martin Scott, which was a big deal around here from the 1840s to the 1850s. It just so happened there was a rendezvous going on there, with reenactors having a good time portraying frontier life in the 1840s.



Now this is the kind of reenacting I could get into. One of these days I'll have a tipi.



There were all sorts of crafts and gear on display, and people selling cool stuff. We walked around for a while and I took pictures, and then we headed up to Enchanted Rock.



Dave had never climbed the rock, so I had the fun of taking him up the first time. The weather was chilly, but the exercise warmed us, and we made it in no time. Along the way, I took some nice shots and a lot of them came out.



I even took a few that I was able to merge later here at the house. This is a shot of Little Rock, which sits to the south of Enchanted Rock. The shots were taken from about 3/4ths the way up the big dome.



We made it up there, took a few pictures, made few phone calls, and then it was time to head out. I needed to get home in time to go get dad and take him to eat our traditional Friday fare.



This shot's for Bruno. Dude, it was Soooo good. Finger lickin' good. Look at those big juicy shrimp. I know. Never mind.

Anyway, many of the shots I took are already up at FlickR, so go check them out. A lot of them came out good, if I do say so myself.

I'll be up early Saturday. Dave and I are driving to Dallas to walk through a big gun show at Market Hall. I'll tote that new Garand around and see if I can get a sling and bayonet for it. It'll be fun. You guys have fun this weekend too. I'll see ya later. Cheers.

Postscript: Never mind. I ain't goin' anywhere today. It's pissin' down rain and about 40 degrees both here and in Dallas, and there'll be another gun show in a while. Meanwhile, that big bed of mine is warm and comfy. I'm out. Peace.