RED TOUR

My really cool awesome little sister has some connections to Taylor Swift so we were able to get amazing seats to her Red Tour concert last week. Girl's night out! We started the evening with what every pregnant girl deems a necessity, dinner at ZTejas minus the margarita! 

Who doesn't love Taylor Swift? A little, never ever ever getting back together, teardrops on my guitar, love story, 22, and a little I knew you were trouble. This girl writes about her life which makes her so relatable to my teenage self and all the other hundreds of teens in the audience! The audience was a mix of the tweens, the teens, and the moms. Everyone knew every word to every song and we stood the entire time! 

TSwift puts on a great show complete with dancers and costume changes galore. She's all over the stage, up in the air, and performs a couple songs for those in the back row. We had a fun night channeling our inner teens and I would for sure go see her again (minus the emotional teen who sat behind us and sobbed into her boyfriend's shoulder during a breakup song)! 

Going West Again

I'm planning on going out west again this year...just not quite as far as Lajitas. Fancy a little music, skeet shooting, and poker in Kerrville?

Join me at Fest Out West!!!! In fact, registration begins tomorrow (1/31) at 10am!

Rockport Music Festival

Last weekend, Forrest and I went to Rockport (sans baby) to meet Renee and Robert (my cousin and her fiance) for a fish-sun-music filled weekend! We enjoyed nights on the porch, mornings fishing, and Texas music at night. Apparently I didn't get my fix out west :)

We actually didn't end up seeing all the artists. It started around 1pm and we decided it was way too hot to be in the sun without a pool. So we didn't show up till about 6pm and caught the last two shows...Jerry Jeff and Guy Clark. Overall, it was a fun concert. We thought the beer and food were a bit on the expensive side, but I guess that is to be expected.

Robert, Renee, Me, Forrest

Jerry Jeff Walker

As you probably gathered, no pictures of us fishing because we didn't catch any fish!

Fest Out West Part 5: So long to the west

I didn't realize how long I was gone until I starting writing the 5th Fest Out West blog post. I'm sure you're all ready for me to get back to writing about Davis!

Our long journey home was pretty similar to the one taking us to Lajitas. Bus, train, and car. This time we were all a little bit sleepier. And this time we were more prepared for the cu cu's on the choo choo. Immediately when we sat down and the train started moving, a lovely (bit-outspoken) lady from our car stood up to announce that certain bodily functions needed to happen downstairs. I'm not going to quote her exactly. Off to a great start. Maybe next time we will book the sleeper cars. Our train ride home we spent sleeping, playing cards, enjoying the views outside the window, and scarfing down some delicious steak!

I'm not sure how to put this in words...but if you ever get the chance to go to Fest Out West(hopefully this becomes an annual trip) or MusicFest in Steamboat (if snow is more your style), GO! You can go to concert after concert, but you'll never see Texas music quite like this.

Now I'll leave you with a few pics from the beautiful Lajitas resort and a couple from our train stop in Alpine, where we trekked it a couple blocks in the scorching heat for a limeade and a chicken sandwich from Sonic.

Fest Out West Part 4: I'm your huckleberry

I felt like any minute John Wayne was going to come riding up over the dusty hillside on his horse Banner. Or when I set down to play poker, there would be Doc Holliday flipping a coin in his right hand.

Our fourth day out west was tourney day. We had washers, poker, and shootouts going on! I didn't exactly get up from my pool lounger to take part in any of these activities, but I heard they were all a blast! My dad actually did the shoot 'em up tournament, he claims he won, but that night someone else walked away with the trophy :)

After another afternoon by the pool, my sister and I decided to take a break and do some shopping. Realistically, to hit the three stores in town we only needed about 20 minutes. We went to the general store, the golf pro store, and the hotel store. All three had most of the same merchandise. So after riding our golf cart to all three, we ended up in the golf pro shop where I found Forrest a nice golf shirt. I was tempted to get him a fishing shirt, but he has SO many of these already. When I say "SO" many, I mean about 20 (no lie, I just went to his closet and counted). I also brought Davis home a little Lajitas t-shirt. Since we wrapped up the shopping fairly quickly, we decided to keep exploring with our golf cart. We headed over to the RV park, checked out the Lajitas cemetery, and even drove a bit of the golf course. We heard a mountain lion was spotted on the 15th hole the night before, but all we saw were some roadrunners, lizards, cows, and jack rabbits.

The music from the 4th night was jam-packed. We went from concert to concert and got to hear so many different people perform. This is why I have a hard time deciding if day 3 or 4 was my favorite. It started at the Thirsty Goat Saloon and Beer Garden (anyone heard of the beer drinking goat?) with a local favorite, Trevor Hinkle. Then we took our camping chairs and made our way down the hill to the Lajitas Amphitheater to hear Pinche Gringos, The Trishas, Wade Bowen, and Randy Rogers.

But first, and most importantly, the trophies were handed out to tourney winners!

The Trishas with Keith Gattis!

Every event John and Robin host, the last night is always the best.

All the artists get up on stage together for one last final song.

Did you think this was the last Fest Out West post? Well, I have one more coming :) Because it was a cu cu choo choo ride home too!

Fest Out West Part 3: Big Hats, ATVs, and Locals

Day three of our adventure out west might have been my favorite day. It's a close tie with day four (post to come tomorrow). This day was jam packed with poolside partying, an ATV adventure, views of Mexico, a trip into a ghost town, and of course....more Texas music!

Initially, we had not signed up to do any other activities besides the stargazing hayride. But, when my mom heard from some friends that the ATV rides were a must, she jumped up from her poolside lounger and ran to sign us all up. What? My mom on an ATV! The thought never crossed my mind. Let me add, that me on an ATV is also a thought that never crossed my mind. If you don't know me that well, I'm not too adventurous when it comes to heights and speed, and especially not when those two things are combined.

We were lucky to grab an 8am slot (I'm sure most people assumed they would be hungover, but not us, we were partying with our parents) so it was still nice and cool out. It probably would have been a good idea to wear pants and long sleeves, but we didn't exactly plan on this activity, so running clothes would have to suffice. And they did, we were just covered in dust when it was all over. You could have written a message on my leg (i.e. "wash me"). For most of you reading this, you've probably done the ATV thing, so I won't go into too much detail. You get the idea from the pictures...

Ann Marie on left & I'm on the right

That's my mom, in the back, waving!

View of the Rio and a town in Mexico.

After our bright and early morning adventure, we cleaned up and headed to the pool again. This time, it wasn't as crowded so early. I think most people were sleeping in (i.e. recovering from the night before). We enjoyed another afternoon lounging, reading, sleeping, eating, drinking, and listening to music by the pool.

A sun hat is a MUST in this climate...who's hat is the biggest? I think my dad wins!

Viva Terlingua! Terlingua is the neighboring town (population is around 200) to Lajitas and is where we went for dinner and music that night. Terlingua used to be a mining town in the 1880s, but due to the remoteness and hostile Indians, the mines shut down and people left town, and that is why it is literally a ghost town (not just the set of an old western film).

We stepped off the bus to find ourselves in front of the Starlight Theatre, a trading post, and a bunch of locals (some had all their teeth). It's a truly unique spot in all of Texas. We were greeted by friendly people, delicious food, and shiner beer.

The jail was just around the corner from the bathrooms! So convenient.

Front row seats for the show!

The hosts...John & Robin

Bring on the music! Texas music is something you just have to experience for yourself (and I'm sure most of you have). So you already know that it's like listening to a story. Some of the best storytellers performed for us that night. My favorite shows are acoustic and simple. I also love when the artists play off one another and jam together. It was an intimate setting and one of my favorite nights!

Corb Lund, Cody Braun, and Hayes Carll

Keith Gattis, Willy Braun, Butch Hancock, and John Evans

Fest Out West Part 2: Sunsets and Comanche Indians

Day 2 was super relaxing...seeing as we decided to spend the majority of the day by the pool. And I do mean the entire day, we arrived around 10am and didn't leave till around 5pm. That was apparently everyones idea too because it soon became a big pool party! John provided the beer, margaritas, and music while we made ourselves some new friends!

Once we woke up from our pool coma (don't worry, large sun hats and sunscreen were applied), we got ready for an evening of music and stargazing. My mom signed us up for a hayride outside of town to do some stargazing...little did we know, the clouds were rolling in.

But before the hayride, we were able to catch a show, one of my favorites! This is Liz Foster from The Trishas with Matt Skinner. To give you a little sample I've attached two YouTube videos, one I uploaded myself. Did I mention she can play like 10 different instruments, some two at a time!

Hayride time!

About 10 of us headed to the stables after a little dinner and some music. They did have horses, but instead of being pulled by them, this was our ride...good thing because there wasn't much of a path and we needed a good off-roading vehicle!

Along the hayride, we stopped to take a look at an old cave, made by the Comanche Indians who used to live in this area.

Here come the clouds!

Beautiful sunset at the top of the mountain.

We enjoyed the sunset, along with our wine and cheese!

After the cloud-gazing (I mean stargazing) hayride, we headed back to the resort for the Reckless Kelly concert (sadly we missed Cody Canada and the Departed).

Uncle John

Willy Braun from Reckless Kelly

Fest Out West Part 1: Choo Choo

For the past five days I've been enjoying dry air, cool breezes at night, breathtaking sunrises, and millions of stars that fill the west Texas sky. I had never been west before (I was told by the locals that Lubbock ain't west) and so the journey to Lajitas, Texas was much anticipated. Most of that anticipation occurred over the loooong train ride.

We boarded the train bright and early Thursday at 4:40am. Once settled, in our cozy chairs, we all quickly fell asleep for a couple hours to awake to breakfast announcements in the dining car. My parents, grandparents, my sister, and a couple friends of my parents were with us. Here's Annie and Papa about to enjoy a lovely breakfast on the train...

As we got further and further away from San Antonio, the trees started shrinking in size, down to shrubs. And the green grass soon turned to dirt. A couple times along the way we passed different lakes and rivers, but the best sight of all was the Pecos River Bridge. We were so high up on a tiny railroad bridge, with a breathtaking view!

The train ride was about 7 hours. While relaxing and enjoyable, we met a couple interesting people...some traveling all the way from New Orleans to LA. We call it the cu cu choo choo! Our train pulled into Alpine, Texas a little after noon. That is where John (my uncle) met us with a massive bus, handed us a cool beer, and put on Three Amigos for the hour and a half bus ride to Lajitas. Now that's what I call a warm welcome!

"No, we will not die like dogs! We will fight like lions! Because we are... The Three Amigos!"

We arrived in beautiful Lajitas shortly after a couple Shiner's and some laughs with the Three Amigos. The resort is right out of an old western movie, but with updated plumbing, thank goodness.

Here's a view from our porch at the Bandlands Hotel

And a couple photos from the hotel

That night we enjoyed music from Matt Skinner while eating BBQ and then headed to see Micky and the Motorcars with Doug Moreland trio band. The show was outside, under the stars! Couldn't have asked for a better way to start our adventure out west!