Pleasant Morning, Tex-Mex Evening
I was eager to take a hike on one of the trails surrounding our cabin, so after everyone was showere and dressed and had scrounged up some breakfast we hit the trail around 9 a.m. Brenda had left earlier to go fishing with Bing at the ranch. JoAnn had been warned about chiggers -- nasty little buggers that cause a fiercesome rash, so I decided to wear long pants, socks and shoes even though it was hot and sunny. Again. It was pretty quiet along the trail but we did manage to catch sight of and hear some interesting birds. We also saw a large turtle, some tiny lizards and an itty bitty frog. My hope of seeing an armadillo went unfulfilled. As was my fear of running across some snakes.
After our hike we decided to head over to Mt. Pleasant, said by Bing to be larger and more interesting than Mt. Vernon. There were six of us in two cars and, once again, JoAnn lead the way. It wasn't too terribly difficult to get there. All the roads are dead straight unlike the twisty turny roads in Yorkshire. We arrived in Mt. Pleasant around noonish and easily found a free parking space (another novelty for me). Mt. Pleasant was bigger than Mt. Vernon, but not by much. We'd arrived in time for the 4th Annual Moonlight Jubilee and the center of town was roped off for the festivities. In one area there were carnival rides and there were a few booths set up selling food. Along one block there was an antique car display. A sign proclaimed some of the highlights of the day, to include an outhouse race and a seed-spitting contest.
We were all hungry and started to look for a place to eat. Domenica proclaimed she would ask someone on the street for info. We spotted an information table at the fair and suggested she go there for info. The man behind the table seemed shocked to find someone asking a non-festival related question but once he got warmed up there was no stopping him. We all quietly peeled away and left Domenica there to hear his monotonous pitch about Mt. Pleasant. At any rate, we'd been directed to what appeared to be the only restaurant within walking distance, Laura's Cheesecake Factory. As with the Sweet Shop the establishment was a gift shop up front and a cafe in the rear. They usually have a full lunch menu but because of the fair were only offering refrigerated box lunches featuring sandwiches on croissants. Must be a regional specialty. I noticed there was tortilla soup so got that instead of a sandwich. The soup was pretty good, tomato-based with chili-style spices, bits of tortilla floating in it and topped with cheese. After lunch Vince and I headed for the library where we checked our email. The others wandered through the fair and had some homemade root beer. We stopped into a couple of gift shops, each one nearly a clone of the previous. As Vince said, "The competition for knick knacks is pretty fierce in Mt. Pleasant."
We headed back to the cabin to rest up a bit before going back to the ranch. Domenica, JoAnn and Vince took naps. I tried to nap but was restless, got up to read and then heard birds and pulled out my binocs to try to catch sight of some of them. Later I helped Jody work on the jigsaw puzzle. We headed over to the ranch around 5 p.m.
We spent time wandering through the ranch house, hanging out at the pool and walked over to the pond near the house to look at the Longhorns and spotted a huge bullfrog in the pond. Brenda took us over to the stables to see the horses and their newly born foals. It was the cleanest stable I have ever seen. It didn't even smell like horses were there. The horses were gorgeous, immaculately groomed, and the foals were incredibly cute.
Bing had suggested we assemble for a garage door photo, a Bagnato family tradition. The photos were taken by Bing's son-in-law Matt, a professional photographer. He took other assorted photos including one of everyone gathered on an outdoor staircase.
Tonight was Tex-Mex night. Beef and chicken fajitas, sour cream, guacamole and chips and salsa were on the menu and Bing had arranged for a band. Dinner began around seven and soon Bing began to explain that the band was a no show. Oh well, we were having a great time anyhow and the food was delish. We were all just beginning to think about dessert when the band showed up after all! They'd gotten lost. As I'd suspected the band was actually two mariachi guitarists. They wandered from table to table serenading us with an assortment of Mexican and popular songs, taking requests at each table. Perhaps it was better that they showed up after dinner was over...we had more time to pay attention to the music.
Bing and Jan presented everyone with a bottle of Lone Star Ranch label wine, red or white. The men received Lone Star ball caps and the women Lone Star visors. We were all bowled over by the generosity and hospitality of our hosts. The various branches of the family gathered on the patio steps in front of the pool to express our thanks to Bing and Jan.
We headed back to the cabin around 10 p.m. Domenica and Brenda hit the sack but Jody Vince, JoAnn and I were determined to finish the jigsaw puzzle. Everyone but JoAnn and I was leaving on Sunday and we didn't want to leave the puzzle unfinished. Shortly before midnight there were only four pieces left. We each chose one and fitted it into place.
After our hike we decided to head over to Mt. Pleasant, said by Bing to be larger and more interesting than Mt. Vernon. There were six of us in two cars and, once again, JoAnn lead the way. It wasn't too terribly difficult to get there. All the roads are dead straight unlike the twisty turny roads in Yorkshire. We arrived in Mt. Pleasant around noonish and easily found a free parking space (another novelty for me). Mt. Pleasant was bigger than Mt. Vernon, but not by much. We'd arrived in time for the 4th Annual Moonlight Jubilee and the center of town was roped off for the festivities. In one area there were carnival rides and there were a few booths set up selling food. Along one block there was an antique car display. A sign proclaimed some of the highlights of the day, to include an outhouse race and a seed-spitting contest.
We were all hungry and started to look for a place to eat. Domenica proclaimed she would ask someone on the street for info. We spotted an information table at the fair and suggested she go there for info. The man behind the table seemed shocked to find someone asking a non-festival related question but once he got warmed up there was no stopping him. We all quietly peeled away and left Domenica there to hear his monotonous pitch about Mt. Pleasant. At any rate, we'd been directed to what appeared to be the only restaurant within walking distance, Laura's Cheesecake Factory. As with the Sweet Shop the establishment was a gift shop up front and a cafe in the rear. They usually have a full lunch menu but because of the fair were only offering refrigerated box lunches featuring sandwiches on croissants. Must be a regional specialty. I noticed there was tortilla soup so got that instead of a sandwich. The soup was pretty good, tomato-based with chili-style spices, bits of tortilla floating in it and topped with cheese. After lunch Vince and I headed for the library where we checked our email. The others wandered through the fair and had some homemade root beer. We stopped into a couple of gift shops, each one nearly a clone of the previous. As Vince said, "The competition for knick knacks is pretty fierce in Mt. Pleasant."
We headed back to the cabin to rest up a bit before going back to the ranch. Domenica, JoAnn and Vince took naps. I tried to nap but was restless, got up to read and then heard birds and pulled out my binocs to try to catch sight of some of them. Later I helped Jody work on the jigsaw puzzle. We headed over to the ranch around 5 p.m.
We spent time wandering through the ranch house, hanging out at the pool and walked over to the pond near the house to look at the Longhorns and spotted a huge bullfrog in the pond. Brenda took us over to the stables to see the horses and their newly born foals. It was the cleanest stable I have ever seen. It didn't even smell like horses were there. The horses were gorgeous, immaculately groomed, and the foals were incredibly cute.
Bing had suggested we assemble for a garage door photo, a Bagnato family tradition. The photos were taken by Bing's son-in-law Matt, a professional photographer. He took other assorted photos including one of everyone gathered on an outdoor staircase.
Tonight was Tex-Mex night. Beef and chicken fajitas, sour cream, guacamole and chips and salsa were on the menu and Bing had arranged for a band. Dinner began around seven and soon Bing began to explain that the band was a no show. Oh well, we were having a great time anyhow and the food was delish. We were all just beginning to think about dessert when the band showed up after all! They'd gotten lost. As I'd suspected the band was actually two mariachi guitarists. They wandered from table to table serenading us with an assortment of Mexican and popular songs, taking requests at each table. Perhaps it was better that they showed up after dinner was over...we had more time to pay attention to the music.
Bing and Jan presented everyone with a bottle of Lone Star Ranch label wine, red or white. The men received Lone Star ball caps and the women Lone Star visors. We were all bowled over by the generosity and hospitality of our hosts. The various branches of the family gathered on the patio steps in front of the pool to express our thanks to Bing and Jan.
We headed back to the cabin around 10 p.m. Domenica and Brenda hit the sack but Jody Vince, JoAnn and I were determined to finish the jigsaw puzzle. Everyone but JoAnn and I was leaving on Sunday and we didn't want to leave the puzzle unfinished. Shortly before midnight there were only four pieces left. We each chose one and fitted it into place.
posted by lenora at 5:39 PM
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