Category: Blog Entries

More photos from Austin >>

Arriving at the road leading to McKinney Falls State Park , Sharon and I witnessed something awful. We saw a pit pull kill a small dog on the side of the road in a matter of seconds. We saw a guy break them up but we really could not tell what had really happened, but it shook us up pretty bad 🙁

After shaking that horrific scene we took the dogs for a walk around McKinney Falls State Park, our home for the next seven days. This is a really nice park! The sites are large and private, the roads are great and their our many trails to walk the dogs. We just checked it out briefly but will give a full report.

We were so ready to get downtown and check out the area restaurants and bars. We came across a paradise of cool places to eat and drink. The 6th street area was where we explored. Had dinner at The Iron Cactus and it was awesome. Make sure if you visit you are hungry or like me and love leftovers because the portions are big! But the food was gourmet mexican and delicious.We were fortunate to be sat next to the table where the Tommy Bahama Rum rep was preparing samples to give out, so we were feed a nice stream of tasty shots through the evening, eventully finishing off her shaker because she ran out of sample glasses 🙂

So it was time to find a good beer. We did not find a brewpub but rather the next best thing, B. D. Riley’s Irish Pub. This was not what we would call an authentic Irish Pub, and barely an Irish Pub at all, but a nice place with a comfy atmosphere. They had Fat Tire on tap, which turned out to be the first time we found it on tap before and it did not disappoint. A very good Red Ale with big malt flavor. On the way into the bar we met the JetBlue marketing crew touring with Blue Betty. Blue Betty is a 34 foot Jetstream sliver bullet motorhome. A true classic RV. We spoke with one guy and told him our story, he asked “How long have you guys been on the road” our reply of “Almost 3 years” just about floored him, he could not believe we have been doing this for that long. I guess it seems weird when I think of it. We never expected to do it this long…but still having fun doing it. Seems tornadoes have struck again in close proximity to us in Dallas, I have not have a tornado dream/nightmare in a while but this will bring ‘em back probably.

The Puggles got a day on the town as we went in search of a dog park. We all walked around the South Congress area where there was a pet parade that day we did not know about, which meant there were dogs all over the place. We had lunch at Zen and sat on their patio area with the dogs. The dog park at Zilker park seemed to elude us for a bit until we started just walking and noticed there were a lot of dogs off leash just running free in this one area of the park. So “when in Rome…” we set the puggles free, and they ran straight for the other dogs, the ran and played and had a great time. Eventually we asked someone if this was the dog park. Apparently it was, and it had no fences, just a large area to let your dogs play. This was unlike anything we had come across yet. I mean a large city park where dogs can go be let free! Unheard of in our journeys so far.

Note: The Austin Whole Foods grocery store could be made into a vacation destination itself.

Not far from the park we found the Thai Kitchen restaurant, it was a small non descript place that had great food! The other restaurant we went to was the vegetarian restaurant Nu Age Cafe on the NW side of town off of Exposition Blvd. It was wonderful. Everything on the menu sounded great, the Indian Curry dish was the bomb. On the way home from the restaurant we got a photo I had hoped so much for…a solo cowboy boot in Texas. Check out gallery 6 to view it. It will be for sure a favorite of mine.

I HATE passing up shoes, we passed up 2 today on the way to the Austin City Limits guide shop. Which closes at 5:00 and it was 4:30 and counting. We had trouble finding parking and then went to the wrong building, we just made it 5 minutes before it closed and were able to get Mickey his t-shirt and get a bonus. The security guard for the studio was standing by us when we bought the shirt and I asked him “where do they record the show?” “On the 6th floor of this building, and if you are around tomorrow we give tours on fridays.” We explained we were moving on and were not going to be in town. He replied “I tell you what, go to the sixth floor, take a left and Ill show you the studio.” We were so lucky. He showed us the studio and the stage. We did not run to the stage and play air guitar like so many others he told us. We were in awe. It seemed so much smaller and intimate. What we would not do to actually sit in on a taping. But this was cool. Thanks to you mr.security guard!

McKinney park was such a great place to spend time. Close to Austin (10 minutes) and yet feels hours away. The falls were gorgeous, the trails were great, the campground was perfect. We cannot wait to get back there to do a One Shoe Diaries exhibition in Austin! Next Stop — San Antonio.

More photos from Shiner and Columbus, TX >>

We visited the Spoetzl Brewery that produces the Shiner Beer line named after the town it is headquartered in. Oddly enough the Spoetzel Brewery brews in the German Tradition of beer making because…come to find out this Hill Country area of Texas has a strong German heritage. Just seems weird to think of Germans being cowboys. Upon coming into the small town of Shiner I was a little disappointed to read on their welcome sign that they consider themselves “The cleanest small town in Texas” That meant no shoes to be found laying around 🙁

It was a neat little town with an old downtown that looked like some shootouts probably took place there back in the Old West days. I had a salmon burger off of the “weight watcher’s” menu at a Friday’s Fried Chicken. They served just about everything there, salads, wings, cake, ice cream, donuts, burgers and of course fried chicken.

They brewery tour was cool, got free beer 🙂 We did find out to our liking was that Shiner Beer is bottled with recycled glass. Another interesting fact was the beer was made Kosher by an on-site Rabbi. And did you know Bock is german for a ram, and that Bock beer was first brewed by monks in Germany to drink during their lenten fast because it was a hearty beer and they got nourishment from it? I learn something new everyday, too bad I forget two things also.

We also must have hit the hill country at the perfect time for wild flowers because they were everywhere and gorgeous. This is a pretty area with its bright green rolling hills, pecan trees and fields of yellow, white and purple flowers.

More photos from Columbus, TX >>

Okay, the first day was harsh, around 45º and rainy, we were bone cold! And yes before you say anything, we know we are whimps, we hate the cold, it sucks being cold!

Note to selves: Do not attempt to cook crab bisque soup while in motion 🙂

Columbus proved to be a very small Texas town. It was so small it had a regular, non-super Walmart! We headed out the first night to find a place to eat. The pickins were slim. Buffets seem to have been the rage in Columbus. We ended up at a chinese restaurant which turned out to have very good chinese food and no buffet. After dinner we wanted to go out and have a beer, we asked our server where to go and she referred us to the other girl working because, as she put it, “she’s the drinker, she’ll know”. She pointed us towards the only place really to go to… Miss Molly’s.

Miss Molly’s was a country bar in a red barn just off the highway but away from everything. Sharon at first was wary that we would be too out of place since every car in the muddy parking lot was a truck. I felt that this was part of seeing America and it was all the more reason why we had to go in. As luck would have it there was a live country band playing, it was $3 per person, $5 per couple and $10 per family (Okay I made up the family price but thought it made it more funny). We were greeted at the bar by a sweet old lady collecting the cover charge. Once inside I felt like we just stepped onto a hollywood movie set for a country western bar scene. The bar was plywood and 2 x 4s with metal panels complete with igloo coolers for the beer, Texas memorabilia hung everywhere. The bar was full, there were mainly older stereotypical texans around the bar with cowboy hats. Damn I forgot my Stetson at the coach. The band was setup on a stage with a long horn steer skull hanging over it. The band was made up of exactly the same type of people around the bar. They were having some sound difficulties but still sounded good, periodically couples got up and did a little Texas two-step on the dance floor. People were friendly, a couple guys spoke to us and one guy even joked with us a few times. The bartender was an older short hispanic woman whom Sharon classified as adorable.

I was in the mood for an import beer like a Newcastle or a Turbo Dog but knew better than ask. I saw a guy with a Shiner Bock and figured it sounded good. Our beers even came complete with a coozie, that read “Alice & Aaron, 2004” Little did I know until I read the label that it was brewed in Shiner, Texas. And when I asked the bartender where Shiner was, she told me it was around 30 miles down the road and if we have the time we should really go on a tour of the brewery. That we will have to do for sure! We listenedd for a bit and drank a beer or two then headed out. People actually told us goodbye and wished us a safe drive. They were a very nice crowd at Miss Molly’s and the couple at bar were very entertaining. There were acting like drunk teenagers giddy with the opportunity to “get-it-on”. He was doing anything he could to be fun and charming so she would go home with him. It was one of those things where you did not want to watch because it was so embarrassing but you could not help to watch either because it was so funny. It just added to the entertainment value of the bar. We had a great time checking out somewhere off the beaten path.

NOTE TO TEXAS RESTAURANTS: Chicken is NOT a vegetarian dish 🙂

More photos from Beaumont, TX>>

I-10 is a mess from Baton Rouge to Beaumont, I thought for sure it was going to shake the Crusiemaster into spare parts. Somehow it made it through “The Gauntlet” in one piece. But inside was a jumbled mess. It gets amuzing when you here so much rattling and falling down behind you that unless it sounds like glass shattering it is not worth investigating. And a word of adice, after such a rough ride always open cabinets and refrigerators slooowwwly as contents may have shifted in flight and are just waiting to fall out onto your exposed TOE!!

The Gulf Coast RV park was a pleasant surprise. It had a free breakfast every morning that included Texas shaped waffles 🙂 The park was paved, perfect for roller blading! Note: Remember to make Poma-ritas, and that everything in Texas is bigger.

I also got a kick out of a gas station attendant who was kind enough to help me out with directions to the local Wal-Mart. At the end of giving me directions, she told me “it’s a big building with a blue Walmart Sign in front, you almost can’t miss it.” Bless her heart, she was just trying to make sure I found it. I think she thought I lived in the area and had never been to a Walmart before 🙂

This was a brief but enjoyable stopover before heading to the Colorado River Thousand Trails preserve in Columbus, Texas. We did find 2 shoes here, nothing special, but still more shoes to add to the collection which now stands at 59!

We made it to this little southern town with no trouble. Our command center in the coach seems to be operating great (Mac MacBook Pro attached to GPS, XM radio, weather station, EVDO internet and surround sound 🙂 We really like this town. A stereo-typical friendly bayou small town with big charm, and a great brewpub! The Abita Springs Brewing company brew some of the best beers. Turbo Dog brown ale is a favorite of mine and now so is the Pecan Brown Ale, too bad it is a seasonal brew and not available in bottles. The food was great as well.

Be sure to go to Rausch’s little grocery store to eat as well. They are an antique collector’s must see as they have incredible unique antique bikes hanging. And if they have red beans and rice that day, GET IT!! The po-boys aren’t bad either.

Went into New Orleans today to have a look to see what Hurricane Katrina did to the area and see if their were any lone shoes laying around. We located two shoes one just before going over the causeway, the other in Metarie with a dust mask next to it. Kinda weird since I remember seeing people on TV cleaning up after Katrina wearing those. Jack and Jinjer got to play in the gorgeous park across from Tulane and also got to walk down Bourbon Street 🙂 Note to self: The Lower Ninth Ward area is a war zone.

The most memorable event of the stay was the breakfast we had at the Abita Cafe’. I had a wonderful pecan waffle, and Sharon got one of their famous omelets and a biscuit. Just one biscuit, but a huge one! We think they cooked it in a small cake pan, it was around, 8” x 8” x 4’!!! We ate some that morning, and then the next morning we reheated it and both had some with there still being some leftover that we finally threw out. I still cannot believe they made a biscuit so big without warning you.

I missed a boot in Covington, LA because it was in the middle of the highway at night, and when we went back the next morning…it was gone 🙁

We’re headed off to Beaumont, Texas…

Sharon and I had the opportunity to go to the Belmont Arts Center in Pensacola for a glass blowing/fundraiser event. For $20 you get a hand blown glass, we got two really cool purple ones, and all the beer you can fill it with. We were so happy to see Spaten Oktoberfest as the beer, YUMMY! I did get to meet the person in charge of the center essentially. It turned out she is someone who I aready have met before and she knows me. Well we have agreed to do a One Shoe Diaries exhibition in the fall when we return back from our journey out west. I very excited, it will make a great place to exhibit! We met many great people that night and had a blast. We got insider information on wine country and a few places we HAVE to go 🙂

What I will remember as a very long, yet poignant day, started very early. I was the official photographer for an event titled Breathe Life not Tobacco and had to get shooting by 8:00. It was an event that was geared to teach young kids about the dangerous realities of smoking and how the tobacco companies target them. I will defer to the Pensacola News Journal to explain the event… Published – March, 28, 2007  Grandson of tobacco giant asks students not to smoke Chrissy Littledale Thousands of local students were bused to Pensacola Naval Air Station on Tuesday morning and asked to kick butts. Cigarette butts. Patrick Reynolds — grandson of tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds who now is a national advocate for a smoke-free society — spoke to nearly 3,500 middle- and high-school students in an aircraft hangar at the base. He is scheduled to address a second group of students on Thursday at the air station. Reynolds shared the story of his father’s death from smoking, discussed tobacco’s addictive nature and shed light on the inherent risks of using tobacco. He said he hoped to encourage the students to choose hope over tobacco. ”With the war and everything else happening in the world, a lot of kids think, ‘Why bother?’ ” Reynolds said. “Hopefully they will be inspired to have more faith in their future.” Reynolds said a big part of that is making healthy choices, like choosing not to smoke cigarettes. “I hope they have had their eyes opened about addictions and how the industry is targeting them,” he said after speaking to the kids. “I hope they were moved.” At least one student was. Monica Armsted, 13, said she was touched by the speech. “It was inspiring to see someone who would go against their family to do what they really believe in,” said the Holley-Navarre Middle School student. “I already knew most of (the information about smoking), but it was still reassuring.” Reynolds also spoke to about 5,000 sailors Tuesday afternoon. “I lost both parents to smoking-related illnesses, so I saw it firsthand,” said Capt. Bob Fiegl, commanding officer of the Naval Air Technical Training Center. “We are happy to do anything we can to heighten the awareness.” During his three-day tour, Reynolds will address 10,000 students from the two-county area One thing I was amazed and shocked at was the utter lack of respect the students showed him during his speech. It started with the pledge of allegiance, they could have cared less about the flag and what it means. They congregated in small groups laughing and carrying on while the speech was going on. Kids got up in groups of 4, 5 or more and just walked around. I really could not believe what I saw. I could not have taken that if I were speaking I would have voiced my opinion and demanded attention. In stark comparison though were the Naval Students who as soon as the commander called for “attention on deck” you could have heard a pin drop. The next stop was the VIP party at PJC where I was a dancing monkey shooting picture after picture on demand 🙂 I could not wait to get home. After eventually getting to bed we were awoken by flashing red lights outside our window. Within a couple of minutes of watching outside it grew from 1 ambulance and police cruiser to 8 cruisers. We saw someone pacing outside in mental distress, and heard some screaming. We all woke up and went out on the porch to see what was going on. The police quartered off the area with crime scene tape so we knew something bad had happened. After about an hour trying to find out what was going on, each of us having our own theories. We all decided to go to bed and see what happened on the news the next day. We got up early and checked online, nothing. Look outside to see if the tape was still up and it was gone and the place looked like nothing happened at all with two cars parked in the driveway. Suddenly a lone news vehicle cruised down the road and set up for a shot. Curiosity got the best of me. I walked out and asked him if he knew what happened. All he said was there was an accidental shooting. Pensacola News Journal finally shed light on the event… Published – March, 28, 2007   Pensacola man killed in home Thyrie Bland A Pensacola man has been charged in the fatal shooting of a friend with a gun he didn’t know was loaded, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office said today. Ryan Evers, 29, is being held without bond on a manslaughter charge in the death of Austin Minchell, 27, of Pensacola. Minchell was shot in the head about 10 p.m. Tuesday at his home in the 2600 block of Brooklyn Street. Evers told deputies he was sitting at a table with Minchell and a 17-year-old girl, and they were handling a gun in a “joking manner,” according to an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office report. Evers said he picked up the gun and asked Minchell, ‘How fast can you get your gun,’ ” the report said. “Evers stated that when he saw the victim and the (teenager) playing with the gun earlier it was unloaded, and that he didn’t realize that the gun had been loaded prior to him firing it,” the report said. Evers also told deputies he had smoked marijuana.  Minchell’s wife, Kristin, was asleep when the shooting occurred. She said she heard a scream and went to see what was wrong.  She said she first thought something had happened to the couple’s 8-month-old daughter. Kristin Minchell got out of bed and found her husband sitting in a chair in the sun room fatally wounded. The husband died in his wife’s arms. “This is horrible,” Kristin Minchell said. “Our daughter was just starting to say dada.” Kristin Minchell said she and her husband, childhood sweethearts, were married in 2004.  The widow fought tears Wednesday as she tried to talk about her husband and what happened. “I don’t know what to do next,” she said. She said she believes Evers’ story that shooting was an accident, but it’s difficult to accept her husband’s death.  Kristin Minchell said her husband and Evers worked together at the Shrimp Basket on Davis Highway and had known each other a few years. “This has cost me my life,” she said The sound of loss and despair in her voice as she wailed in grief is something I will never forget. It made my heart sink and I got sick to my stomach, I felt so bad for her. I prayed I would never feel the pain I was hearing in her cries.

This may be a pipe dream, but Sharon recently got wind of a contest being held by Trek bicycles for a spokesmodel for their new line of gear designed for women. She has sent in a description of her and our journey. I hope they choose her as it would be an awesome opportunity and I know my girl would make an excellent role model. And we have no qualms about driving a mobile billboard 🙂 It could not happen at a better time either, right at the beginning of our trek across the country. It may be just a dream, but that is what we do, we dream big. After all, without big dreams, how can you do big things? It is what our One Shoe Diaries™ is all about!

Since we are notoriously running late for everything we do it seems, we wanted to overcome that stigma. It started out smooth in the morning. But Sharon and I had to get a few things for the show that should not take long…or so we thought. The stop at Home Depot took longer for me than I wanted. I had to buy PVC and connectors to create a bin for our matted prints for people to flip through. I did make a nice bin however, but it was now approaching 12:00. So we now had to visit idgroup, drop off the Puggles at Mona’s, make it back to the Cultural Center to setup. Sharon had to iron the sheet, I had 4 frames to assemble, signs to hang, a banner to hang, a map to create and more all by 3:30 to go back, shower and get ready and back to open the show at 4:30. Makes me out of breath just typing it! Somehow we managed to get it all done except i forgot my participation sheets 🙁 The rest of the night was downhill and fun. I saw many of my friends and I appreciate everyone of you for coming out. The food was great, the beer and wine never ran out, and we had a great turnout, all the while collecting new shoes and over $200.00 for Shoes That Fit. While I did not sell anything for myself, it was a success in our eyes as it raised money and awareness for a good cause also I built some name recognition for myself in the Pensacola area. I will now begin planning for our next event, hopefully in Austin, TX. Stay Tuned 🙂

After a tearful goodbye we got on the road only to hit traffic jam after traffic jam all the way to Gainesville. We heard that once again that morning tornados hit the south and people lost lives 🙁 Our thoughts are with the families and friends that have to live with this tragedy. We tried to find a good spot to dry dock but all of the good spots were taken at the rest areas so we had to park on the side of the entrance ramp going from a rest area. It was so noisy, and every time a truck went by on the highway the wind from it rocked the coach. Somehow we did get sleep and the Puggles were troopers sleeping through all the noise. They are great little travelers. We did manage to stumble upon a shoe in the weeds at a rest area (shoe #40) We arrived at Styx River Resort and got hooked up in record time and let the dogs go play in the river, Jinny was so happy. she ran and dug and swam going just willy nilly :) Note to selves: Penfolds, Thomas Hyland, Australia, Cabernet 2003