Adventure 92: Pecan Grove RV Park/Austin, TX/Post L

Franklin BBQ is really that good.

We woke to a bright morning sun, which belied the sub forty degree temperature and brisk twenty knot wind. I enjoyed the Cost Rican style coffee my Hunny Bunny made me after I showered, and then we turned ourselves into Methodists for a day. We attended the Methodist church on the edge of the University of Texas campus. It was a communion service, which is always interesting in terms of  the comparative ways Christians celebrate the mystery of the Last Supper. When I was young, before the ecumenical council that changed the Catholic Mass from Latin to English, we Catholics used to come to the rail before the altar and kneel to receive communion, which was our famous 'Necco' styled wafer distributed by the priest one person at a time. The Methodist's still receive communion kneeled at the rail. The recitation of the bread into body and wine into blood is much the same as in other denominations, however the Methodist's use real bread torn into small pieces, and their tradition includes each recipient dipping the bread into the cup of wine before consuming the bread. In addition, each member may then go before the pastor for an anointment of oil on the forehead. This is the first time I've seen this particular ritual performed. Other than communion, the service was very similar to others we've witnessed, filled with singing, praying, exchanging the sign of peace, and a pledge to help those less fortunate. One of the interesting outcomes of this adventure is that we're worshiping in different churches as we go along. It's all part of gaining perspective. We haven't experienced any Southern Presbyterians yet; maybe that will be next week. After church we broke tradition, but we hardly missed it. Instead of fried potatoes and eggs, we heated up the brisket sandwich we bought yesterday at Franklin BBQ (How could we enjoy just one day of coma inducing food?). Judy scraped the slaw off, popped the beef into the microwave, and put the sandwich back together. The meat had as condiments pickles and onions, which are traditional sides in Texas BBQ. Needless to say, even the day after, the beef was fantastic! Then, because it was really too cold outside to do much else, we settled in for NFL football. It was wildcard weekend, and we cheered like Texans for our teams. One team we cheered for, the Chargers, won; the other team, the Packers, lost. I winterized the trailer as best I could to prepare for the sub freezing temperatures sweeping the nation and those stretching their chilly tentacles into Austin tonight and tomorrow. By Wednesday, it will be back up into the high sixties or low seventies, which will be nice because that is the day we say goodbye to the capital of Texas.   We've talked to a few locals lately, and they have warned us off our plan to go down to Brownsville and then follow the Rio Grande up to El Paso. More than one has said, "It doesn't make the news, but we have a big problem. There's a reason Texans complain about the border." Our newest neighbor, Chip from Dallas, who is a seasoned RVer says he goes down to that area every year, but only when many other people are around. This time of year, the area is rather desolate. At any rate, we don't have to put ourselves into harm's way, so we're going West. First stop: Fredericksburg, the bicycling capital of Texas (So Called). In the meantime, we'll see Dale Watson and his Lone Stars one more time tomorrow night. By whatever tomorrow brings, we all know that life is good, especially today.

 I spent the day lounging in front of the TV, clicker in hand (Really?), watching football like a Texan (I did leave the Lone Star beer in the truck, though).

 Here is the Hunny Bunny training for a job at Franklin BBQ.

 First, she scraped the slaw off so it wouldn't fry in the microwave (Nuking Franklin beef is probably sacrilege).

 Once the beef was smoking hot, she rebuilt the sandwich. 

 For our health, she garnished the plates with a few slices of apple.

 And she served lunch with a smile. Cute, huh?

 A job well done, she then spent her day cheering for a clean row of knitting. Check out the I-Pad. It counts the rows for her ( I think that's just another wily cager move). Kate - I'm knitting your bunny mittens!