Me

How it turned out

/ hsoi

So…. how did the brisket from the new smoker’s maiden voyage turn out?

Pretty good!

The meat itself was tender, juicy, good flavor. After 10 hours in the 200º-250º range, it did well.

There was a little bit more blackening on the exterior than I cared for, made things bitter, but avoid that and it was quite good. I admit I didn’t watch the actual meat as much as I normally did. See, with the Weber I had to take off the lid to add fuel thus I always checked the meat. When I was doing the initial burn in this new smoker I realized how the big lid was well… a big lid. If you open it, all that heat and smoke was quickly lost, so I did my best to NOT open the lid to look at the meat. Just trust the time (you know it’s going to be at least 6-8 hours), but by then it was too late.

A few things learned about the new smoker:

  • It’s certainly not as airtight as I’d like it to be. One gaping issue is the lid has holes in the side for a rotisserie, but then just little seal issues here and there, some due to lack of fit, some because it’s just sheet metal and might have a slight bend in it. I got what I paid for. It wasn’t horrible, but someday I’ll want good sealing.
  • The lack of airtightness was rather evident when I was trying to cool off the fire a bit. The firebox door vent ended up being totally closed and the chimney vent almost closed, yet more than enough oxygen was getting in to keep it burning.
  • I do not like the big-ass lid. Or rather, I don’t like that it opens all the way up letting all the heat and smoke out. I’ll want to get a model where the body is mostly closed and the lids are just “small” door openings. Next question then is, one big door or multiple smaller ones? I’m thinking multiple smaller.
    • But on the same token, I do like the roominess under the lid. I need to try some beer-can chicken under there, because there’s certainly room. Thanksgiving turkey will have a lot of room too. I’m probably going to have to ditch the warming rack, which I don’t see much need or use for anyway.
  • Cooking with pure wood sure is different. Used to be I used charcoal as the primary source and just added a wood chunk or some wet wood chips for the smoke flavor. But this? I started with charcoal then put a small log of oak on. I was able to keep the temps just fine using small logs of oak the whole time, no more charcoal. I’m not sure if that contributed to the black/bitter; I recall one time I used mesquite chunks the whole time and by the end it was way too strong a flavor, almost bitter. Have to get used to using just wood, plus I need to go buy another cord or two. 🙂
  • As for the black/bitter, could just be a need for some foil earlier on in the process (and not sweating the lid issue), could be the wood, could have been the brown sugar in the rub (I just used a rub recipe in a book I have… which I now remember I didn’t like the last time I used it, but I was in a hurry). Half the fun is finding that perfect combination.

Anyway, the main thing here is the Hondo itself. No, it’s not perfect, but it seems to do the job just fine. I’m going to see what else I can do to tweak it.

My new smoker

/ hsoi / 11 Comments

When I bought my first house so many years ago, one of the first things I put in the backyard was a Weber kettle grill. Life was good. The way I grew up, that sort of “outdoor cooking over a fire” just meant grilling. To “BBQ” or to “grill” were interchangeable terms. And if you were smoking something, it typically involved something in rolling papers or a pipe. But you can’t live in Texas and not come to learn that grilling is one thing, BBQ-ing is another, and smoking is yet a third thing.

Some years ago I bought one of those upright bullet smokers. I hated it. I ended up keeping it for a number of years tho because it made for a good storage container to keep my wood chips dry.

I came to realize that most of my uses of the Weber grill were indirect grilling, so I thought why not make the best of what I’ve got and use it for BBQ’ing and smoking? I bought a proper thermometer, drilled a hole in the lid, and now that I could better control and monitor the heat, I actually made out for a good many years using the Weber grill for smoking. The main problem? The grill surface is small as it is, so when you smoke you lose a lot of what little grill space you have so you just can’t do a whole lot. I’d have to smoke smaller briskets or only one rack of ribs. But I pressed on because I couldn’t justify buying something new while the Weber was still kicking.

Well, the Weber is no longer kicking. It finally wore out enough that I cannot control the heat adequately, so it’s time for a replacement.

As I started to shop for a replacement I knew what I wanted to look for: a big, heavy, offset-side-box smoker. I wanted a lot of grill surface area so one could hold a lot of food or just larger food e.g. a whole feral hog hind quarter. It needed to focus on smoking, but some grilling ability would be useful. No need for an upright box as I won’t be doing much stuff that hangs. And I wanted something high quality, because I know if I got something good that it would last me for decades.

Then I saw the prices on these things. Cheapest ones might be $1000-$1500, and of course you could go up from there. Yikes! I just don’t have the ability to drop that kind of money right now.

New Smoker. Click to embiggen.

So I compromised and have a New Braunfels Hondo Smoker. New Braunfels Smokers went out of business I believe about 8 years ago, but Char-Broil bought their IP and still sells under their brand name. It would appear that Char-Broil’s American Gourmet Deluxe Offset Smoker is the same thing. And it cost me only $150.

Yes. It’s cheap Chinese crap. Yes, it’s somewhat thin sheet metal. Yes, it’s got cheap plastic wheels. Yes, I figure the firebox is going to burn out within a few years of heavy use. Yes it doesn’t seal tight enough. Yes I had to buy a couple proper thermometers and install them myself. But you know what? It only cost me $150 (and $20 for the 2 thermometers).

The smoker, lids open. Click to embiggen.

What convinced me to do it? The Internet. I started my general research into new smokers and in that general searching this smoker (or models just like it) kept coming up and getting pretty good reviews. Yes people admit it has limitations, it is what it is, you get what you pay for. But that for that money, it’s actually not too shabby. Furthermore, a guy wrote up an article about a few inexpensive modifications to make that really help the quality. I haven’t made the modifications because it looks like my version of the Hondo is “new and improved”, having a large tray within the body so you could use it as a big charcoal grill, plus there’s a warming rack in the lid. I’m going to try it out as it is and experiment with what I’ve got because the coal tray could work as the heat shield and deflector… don’t know, will need to experiment. And really, experimenting is half the fun.

Close-up of the interior (click to embiggen). Note the inner tray? That's for charcoal to use the thing as a grill. I'm going to play with it as a heat shield (yes, the slant is my intentional first experiment).

The way I see it? It’s training wheels. Yes, I know how to grill. Yes, I know how to BBQ and smoke. But I haven’t used this sort of setup before. So why not buy something inexpensive to help me learn about this specific cooking implement. It will also help me learn what I like and don’t like, what I want and don’t want. That way when I do go to plop down a big chunk of change for a custom smoker (new, or even a used one off craigslist) I can know exactly what I want and don’t want and be able to buy just the thing that will keep me happy for the rest of my life. I’ll feel better buying this way than shelling out a lot of money now for more expensive training wheels.

A few days ago I pulled a beef brisket out of the deep freeze. Last night I applied a dry rub and let her sit in the fridge overnight. This morning, I put her on the smoker for the maiden voyage. Started with charcoal but put a small log of oak for fuel and flavor. I am glad I bought two thermometers because the temperature difference between the left and right sides is significant (again, playing with heat shields will be critical here; someone also suggested putting a few heavy bricks in the bottom to help with heat control), but it leaves about 2/3 of the grill area free for use, so that’s good enough for now. Been slowly adjusting the vents to keep the temperature where I want it. But so far so good. This brisket may not turn out primo, but it’s all part of the learning and fun.

We’ll know in about 8 hours. 🙂

The smoker, maiden brisket inside.

Shooting Skeet

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I have now shot skeet twice in my life. 🙂

The first time I shot skeet was also the first time I shot a real firearm (i.e. something powered by gunpowder, not CO2 or spring-air). It was a family vacation and my Dad took me skeet shooting. I forget how old I was, maybe 10? 13? Shot a 20 gauge shotgun. I don’t even remember how well I did, but I just remember that yeah… I got to shoot a real gun, and it was fun!

This past weekend was one of Wife’s side of the family’s reunions. One of Wife’s aunt’s shoots skeet competitively. I don’t recall how it all works, but she was showing us a pin she earned because she’s in the top 20 in the US in her class. She’s good. Since I’m not a shotgun guy at all, I asked if while we were out there for the reunion if she could take me and anyone else interested and go shoot some skeet. Have her teach me how to do it, since I just don’t know. She agreed, and off we went.

Aunt-in-law, shooting skeet and showing me how it's done.

At the range was her trainer and shooting buddy. A couple other family members came along as well. We shot 3 games, and I received good instruction on every shot: where to hold, where to look, how this clay is going to fly. For a true first time shooting skeet? I did better than I thought. Of course, the goal I set for myself was 1. have fun, 2. break one clay. So, I didn’t set the bar too high. 😉  But I actually broke a decent number of clays (truly, more than I expected I would), and certainly had a blast. And getting to see Wife’s aunt shoot? Yeah, she’s good and so is her trainer/shooting buddy.

A few things I learned:

  • I cannot shoot that Mossberg 500 bantam. I mean, I can shoot it, but it’s not ideal for me. It’s a youth-sized gun. I brought it because I thought Daughter might want to come out and shoot too, but she was more interested in the swimming pool at the hotel. 🙂  The stock is shorter, the curvature of the grip is more acute, it’s just meant for a smaller person. Then with my big shooting glasses on, I succeeded in slamming my right thumb knuckle into the glasses a few times and now I have a nice shiner under my right eye. 🙂  I’ve shot this shotgun in the past without problem, but didn’t have those big glasses on. After the first round, I was able to borrow an adult-sized 12 gauge (a gorgeous Beretta over-under), and now I just have a sore shoulder.
  • When you shoot skeet, of course you must lead the clay. A lot of it is just shooting more, learning the timing, the rhythm, and how much lead each clay out of each house at each position. Well, when I thought about leading, I would lead and I would break the clay. When I tried to just have a “zen mind” and not think about anything, I would revert to all my handgun and rifle shooting, where you generally want to shoot at the target, no leading. So, that’s something to work on.
  • I did get the hang of the basics, so really it’d just be a matter of shooting more to ingrain it all. I’m certainly open to more! I also wouldn’t mind trying out trap.
  • It’s a lot more pleasant to pick up a couple big plastic shotgun shell hulls off the ground than hundreds of little brass 9mm cases. 🙂

Had a blast. In fact, I liked it a lot more than I thought I would. I knew I’d have fun, but gosh… it makes me want to do more shotgun shooting. In fact, I have recently had some changing thoughts on shotguns, but I’ll write on that later.

The next day I returned the favor to aunt-in-law. She’s a shotgun person, I’m a handgun person. She’s been looking at getting a handgun (personal protection and all that), so I let her shoot my carry gun and gave her some basic instruction.

It was a good weekend.

On The Road (again… well, after next time I can say “again”)

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

Just returned from another run. Same 1.5 mile route. Did it in about 13-14 minutes this time. I’m just using the clock on the wall, no stopwatch, thus the rough time. A little faster than last time, probably because I made the effort this time that whatever pace I started at I had to stay at. I would usually start off strong then fade back just a wee as I settled in; didn’t want that this time. What kept me going was the mental determination, and also remembering to really pick my leg up when I brought it forward — work those hip flexors!

Mentally I did find myself not wanting to do this run. I didn’t want to go out but forced myself. Half-way through I wanted to stop, but might as well finish because stopping now won’t get me home. Don’t know if it was just the feeling of the day or if it’s a greater signal. No matter. Like I said, I’ll just take running as it comes (or goes).

Also, I almost fell a couple of times.

I used to get irritated at joggers that would run on the road when there was a perfectly good sidewalk right next to them. Use the sidewalk, that’s what it’s there for, and it’s safer for everyone! But now I see why. The sidewalks are in all manner of unpassable state, especially when you’re travelling at a higher rate of speed. Sure, when I’m walking (my usual way of using the sidewalks) it’s no problem to avoid the cracks, the uneven pavement, all the crap growing in from the sides, the trees hanging down so low you have to limbo to get under them. But when running? It’s much harder to negotiate all that stuff, especially when running and you’re getting tired. I just kept all my Kuk Sool “nak bup” (falling principle) training in my head: just tuck and shoulder roll. I was on the sidewalk most of today, and debate if I’ll use the road. In general, I can see it, but a few years ago City of Austin resurfaced the neighborhood roads and there’s still lots of loose gravel all around (it’s a crappy way to resurface, but saves the city a lot of money *sigh*), and loose gravel isn’t much better underfoot.

Gotta jog a mile (and a half) in another man’s shoes….

Tactical Pants Comparison

/ hsoi / 13 Comments

I think I found this via Uncle.

The Ultimate Guide to Tactical Pants.

I know, it sounds silly, but it’s actually a pretty good resource. Some months ago I was wanting cargo pants. I’m more of a blue jeans kind of guy, but there are things about jeans that just aren’t working for me any more. Cargo pants are good. But, much of your mass-produced cargo pants just don’t fill the bill. So, buying “purpose-built” pants are good.

Everyone tells me to just get a set of 5.11 pants and be done with it. Well, with GT Distributors here in town, I got to try on a bunch of 5.11 pants. They just don’t work for me. Something about how the pants are cut, something about how I’m built, they just don’t go together. Try as I might, 5.11’s just do not work for me. 😦   So I struggled to find something that would. LA Police Gear make their own, and I tried a pair of that… waste of money. Just lesser quality, and didn’t fit well either. EOTAC was going to be the next on my list to try, when something came into my inbox. It was a mailer from the NRA advertising their merchandise store and they had a set of Tru-Spec 24/7. Why not, tried a pair.

Man, they are awesome. They fit me well. Not too loose, but not skin-tight. I can move, no restricting, no binding. Lots of pockets and cargo area. The 5.11’s are full of pockets but the pockets aren’t that flexible or roomy, but the Tru-Spec are great. The side-leg pockets even expand a bit so you can really fit stuff in there. That’s great for carrying stuff but it also creates a downside of making you look a little “too tactical”, if you will. They just don’t blend in with your surroundings like normal pants, but it’s not a huge ordeal.

Anyway, that Ultimate Guide is a great overview of all that’s out there. While I like the Tru-Spec, I’m still wanting to try some others. EOTAC is still on my list as was Blackhawk, and the Guide lists a few others I had never heard of.

Of course, the Texas summer is in its way and what I really need are shorts. I’ve got tons of cargo shorts and most all of them just can’t fit the bill. Oddly, one set of 5.11 shorts works great (tho a couple of others do not, even tho they’re the same style and size… go figure).  I really need to order a set of the Tru-Spec shorts and see how they work out.

Running into Aikido?

/ hsoi / 6 Comments

One of the motivating factors in starting my practice of martial arts so many years ago was wanting something physical that got me out of the chair I sit in all day. But I didn’t just want something physical, I wanted something mental as well. Running held no allure for me because it didn’t have any mental stimulation, but martial arts had a lot of mental as well as physical.

Since I stopped regular martial arts class attendance a few months ago, I’ve been working out at home. Oddly, there was a voice in my head telling me to do something different: “Go running”.

Running

I’ve never enjoyed running. I don’t like how it pounds on my body. I don’t like how “mindless” of an activity it is. But that voice kept saying “go run”. I don’t know why. I don’t know where it came from. I ignored it thinking it was just a passing thing, but it kept calling to me. So a couple of weeks ago the voice came back and I just went with it and went out for a run.

That was painful. 🙂

I ran for a little bit, then had to walk, then a little more run, then a lot more walk. I’m in good shape, but these past some years my training has been a different sort of training. Sure I could go 3 3-minute rounds of sparring just fine, but that’s a different sort of training and muscular endurance than just running for a good 20-30 minutes. I also think part of it was due to 1. my body just wasn’t used to that activity, 2. nervousness about my ankles and my knees, which have issues, and I didn’t want to have my first time out be too strenuous. I need to work my way up to it.

After I came back from that first run I used Google Earth to measure the distance, and it’s about 1.5 miles. I figure that’s a good way to get started.

Since then I’ve gone out every 2-3 days and run the same route, trying to run a little more and walk a little less. Trying to improve my form so I’m not pounding my ankles and knees to death, but staying relaxed yet remembering to keep picking my legs up so I don’t eventually trip on my feet when I get to tired.

This morning I ran the entire route, no walking and only one stop at the mailbox on the way in. Did it in about 15 minutes. Not too bad, I suppose. I also had much better form and relaxation today. My brain wasn’t going “what the hell are you doing????” but was actually just calming down and being free with the run.

And that’s perhaps why my body is wanting to run right now: because it is mindless. My younger sister runs a lot (does half-marathons, 10K’s, and such) and she says she likes running because it’s mindless and she can just unwind from her day. I’ve been under lots of stress the past some months, my mind’s been very busy, and perhaps the old noodle just wants a break. I really don’t know why I’m running, but I’m running. Will I still with it? I don’t know. I’m just taking it day by day, because maybe something else will come along.

And that something else may be another martial art.

Aikido

No, I haven’t started any new formal martial arts practice, but it’s been on my mind. So what to practice?

I have thought about taking up Kuk Sool again. Part of me would like to get my 2nd degree black belt because I stopped half-way through testing and gosh it’d be nice to finish it. But…. the drama of WKSA is nothing I’m interested in. I wouldn’t be opposed to joining Master Lee’s new Mu Sool Won group (Master Lee, 9th degree, so close with the Suh family and WKSA for so many years, awesome man, and they treat him like they did and he understandably left… still teaching Kuk Sool but doing it on his own, good for him!), but I really don’t know if I want to go back into that world.

Why not go back to the kali/silat/muay thai study? I really liked that stuff, but I realized that the structure of my old school was part of the problem: there wasn’t much structure. Now, I did like how the class schedule was structured, e.g. you knew if you went Wednesday at 6:30 PM it was going to be weapons class, but what you did in that class was totally unknown until you got there and the grander scheme seemed rather free-form. For instance, I had no idea what I needed to know for the next rank. Contrast this to my Kuk Sool study where the schedule had basic structure (e.g. 11 AM, adult class), but the curriculum was very structured. I realize that between the two, I like the more formalized curriculum, or at least having some idea of what I should know and thus what I really need to focus on in my study and practice.

So as I look around at what’s available to me, Aikido has a draw. First, the roots of Aikido and Kuk Sool (Hapkido) are similar, when you talk the joint lock, throw, projection, circular sorts of stuff. Aikido takes it further tho, because that’s mostly what Aikido is about. One reason I didn’t add BJJ to my previous study was because I wanted to narrow things down a bit and focus. Kuk Sool studied “everything” and that was a little too broad. With Aikido, it’s just one thing, if you will, and that sort of focus will be welcome. I want to explore more about body mechanics, locks, throws, circular movement; Aikido has that at its core. Plus there’s a formal curriculum. Yes it may vary from school to school, but there’s something to it. Plus there’s something to be said about having so many flavors of Aikido out there to see how others have interpreted it yet remain true to the core. Those others study and practice together, there isn’t a closed controlling notion.

One turnoff about Aikido is the philosophy. Now granted, that is what makes Aikido Aikido and distinct from other arts. But come on… I carry a gun. I acknowledge that sometimes deadly force is necessary and the only answer. But that’s also part of why I wish to study Aikido: to delve deeper into that contrast. I certainly wish to avoid use of deadly force, and if I can have greater resources at my disposal to do so, all the better.

I do not know if I actually will start to study this, but I’ve been pulling the Aikido books off my bookshelf and re-reading them. I’ve been looking up Aikido stuff online. I’ve been talking with an old friend that studied Aikido for a time. Yes, if I could study more full-time with Leslie Buck I would, but I can’t. There’s something about Aikido has pulls me, at least to explore it. Who knows. I may shake this off as a whim in a few days. I may try a few classes and not care for it. I may do it for a few months and then bail. Or I may end up studying it for the rest of my life. Who knows.

Whether it’s running or Aikido or whatever… just taking things as they come, enjoying life’s journey.

A Good Day

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Watching the local morning news, weather report comes on. I see stuff about Fredericksburg, TX and say to Wife “Want to go there today?” Just on a whim. And off we went. I’ve been wanting to take the family out there for some time, just because. It’ll be good to go in a month or two when peach season kicks in. But hey… we had time today, so seize the day!

Drove out. Stopped at Whittington’s for some of their awesome jerky. Wanted to stop in Luckenbach but opted to save that for next time (we were getting hungry). I figured if we’re going to Fredericksburg, we need to eat German food. Yelp seemed to have mostly favorable reviews of Der Lindenbaum, so we gave it a try. I’ve had some German food in my life, but despite my ethnic heritage (look at my last name!) not a whole lot of it — when Mom is in charge of cooking well, that’s why I ate a lot of Korean food while growing up. 😉  So really, this was a “first experience” for the whole family.

Everyone was pleasantly surprised, even Oldest got adventurous. I had a beef sauerbraten (made with raisins), Wife had a jager schnitzel, Oldest had some bratwurst, Daughter a cheese-potato soup (can’t remember the German for it), Youngest had a wiener schnitzel. Very good stuff all around. I loved the cheese in the soup, very hearty flavor but not overpowering. I really liked how the raisins in the sauerbraten and this red kraut (which was both clove-sweet and sour) mixed together. But for my money, it the jager schnitzel was the winner — I’m having that next time. But of course, I think next time we ought to try one of the other German restaurants in town.

We perused the shops. Wife found some nice clothing. Kids all found some cute toys in a toy shop. Me? I was just happy to be with my family.

On the way home, stopped into a vineyard. Which? We just picked “the next one” along the road (and one that I hadn’t been into before). This one was Grape Creek Vineyards. Did a tasting, 6 wines apiece. Wife and I overlapped on a few wines, but for the most part we tasted different things because we have varying tastes: she likes lighter, sweeter stuff, whites more than reds; I like more robust, drier, reds more than whites but I also like a good port. Now, I’m no wine snob or even all that wine educated… I just know what my taste buds and my nose like and don’t like. So with that….

  • 2008 Cuvee Blanc — Nice, crisp. I could see having that with say a light pork cooked with fruit, or a light fish.
  • 2008 Pinot Grigio — Sorry, but neither Wife nor I are fans of Pinot Grigio. We try, but we just can’t get into it.
  • 2009 Viognier — Surprisingly good. Wife liked it, but not enough to want to buy it (given we could only buy so many bottles and we preferred some other things).
  • 2009 Riesling — This surprised me. I usually don’t like Reislings but enjoy trying them. This was very peach/apricot on the nose, and went down very nice. Stupid me forgot to buy a bottle, because I could see enjoying a glass of this on a hot summer night after dinner.
  • 2008 Grand Rouge — Wife liked this a lot, we bought a couple of bottles. I didn’t care much for it, but it could be because by the time I tried a sip I had so many strong reds on my tongue (even after crackers).
  • Port — I didn’t like it. I mean, it wasn’t bad, but it’s just not my style of port. I forgot all the details the guy told me as he was pouring it, but for instance it didn’t use sherry to fortify it and didn’t have as much sugars as other ports. It wasn’t bad for what it was, but just not my preference. Wife isn’t a port drinker.
  • 2007 Bellissimo — Wow. This was fantastic. Complex but not overly so. Robust, full. Just great overall. Picked up a couple of bottles of this.
  • 2007 Mosaic — Very strong, their strongest, fullest, “biggest” red. It was too much for my palette. It’s not bad, just a lot for my tongue. I could see maybe having a small glass of this with a fine cigar.
  • 2007 Merlot — Picked up a bottle of this. A “light” red, but a very good flavor and still “full” and “strong”, just lighter than ones like the Bellissimo and the Mosaic.

Not a bad place really. Certainly one of the better Texas wineries I’ve been to in recent years.

Anyway, just a damn good day with my family. Life can’t be all work. And I got to spend it with the people I love most. 🙂

How to lose momentum

/ hsoi

How to lose momentum? Go outside to do yard work, pick up the hose, and discover 2 holes formed in the hose overnight.

Off to Home Depot.

Yeah… like you really came to my blog wanting to know this sort of minutia about my life. If you really wanted to know that sort of thing, you’d subscribe to my Twitter feed and I’d post there more often. 😉

Wait, this post is more than 140 characters…. dang.

Family Campout – Buescher State Park

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The view from our cabin porch

The weather in Central Texas right now is perfect, so what better time than now to go camping.

Packed the family in the car and off we went to Buescher State Park in Smithville, Texas. We’ve been there before, on Cub Scout campouts, and due to that we knew we liked what the park had to offer. The scenery is beautiful, there’s a lake for fishing, and you can rent canoes too. Those were the two big things we wanted to do: canoe and fish.

Part of the cabin interior

The difference this time was no tent camping. The park has a few “mini-cabins”, and Wife wanted to give them a try. You see, Wife has little interest in camping, in the “roughing it” sense of the word. She loves being outdoors, she loves doing these sorts of things, but freezing to death on the cold, hard ground is not her idea of me. Me on the other hand, I grew up on a steady diet of Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts, so backpacking has fine appeal to me. I’d prefer to travel light, minimal stuff, minimal hassle. Just get out and enjoy and only bring what you need to get by. The sort of camping we just did? That’s a pain to me. So much gear the car is overflowing, lots to pack up, drive there, unpack, set up, then eventually you have to pack it all back up, drive it back home, unpack it all, clean it, stow it… oye! You spend more time dealing with the stuff than you did enjoying using it! Nevertheless, I’ll admit there’s something nice about this style of camping because sometimes comfort is good.

The children, practicing casting.

The mini-cabins were actually pretty neat. We only booked a single night for two reasons. First, I wasn’t sure if the kids would handle 3 days (I have no concerns about that now). Second, we had no idea what these cabins would be like. We’ve had some scary hotel experiences, thus due to that we were reserved about these cabins. So the plan was to try it once; if it was terrible, we didn’t invest a lot, but if it was good then we’d leave wanting more and would go back someday in the future.

The cabin is a small single room. Two sets of bunk beds, table and chairs for 4, mini-fridge, some counter space, microwave, heat/AC unit, lighting, and of course it’s shelter from the elements. I was surprised at how well it kept the temperature comfortable. There’s also a nice deck that wraps around, large windows, and a fantastic view. Really, they’re great and certainly I have no problems using a cabin again in the future.

Buescher State Park Lake

So we got there, unpacked, set things up. Had to make it clear to the kids that it was important to get all the necessary work done first because there’d be no way we’d want to do it later. So with a bit of a grumble, the kids pitched in and we got things set up in short order. I can understand tho… they were excited and wanted to get to fishing!

Oldest child, the dedicated fisherman.

Off to the lake we went. The weather was so nice, we walked over to the boat ramp area. Honestly, I didn’t expect we’d catch anything at this time of day, but that’s alright. There’s a difference between “fishing” and “catching” and while it’s a lot of fun to catch, sometimes the best fishing involves never catching a thing. So it’s good for the kids to learn the difference, and really the only way to learn it is to go fishing a lot.

We sat out for a while. I worked on teaching Oldest and Daughter how to tie some important knots, like the Trilene knot. How to get things rigged up, and helping them choose where they’d want to fish. Of course, the kids would cast, wait about 5 minutes, then want to reel it in and try again. That’s OK. I do understand why they want to do this, but I just repeat to them that if they want to catch a fish they have to keep the hook and the bait in the water. If the hook it out of the water, no way you’ll catch a fish; if it’s in the water, you might catch one. They understand, but still, I remember what it was like when I was a kid, so I didn’t give them too much grief. They’ll come to understand it all… just keep taking them fishing.

Oldest, patiently fishing. My favorite picture.

Oldest understands tho. He was quite the dedicated fisherman on this outing, and I’m proud of him for that. He was very patient and took it very seriously.

While out and about, we saw lots of animals. While walking to the lake, a coyote actually ran across our path about 25 yards ahead of us. It was a little odd to see a yote at that time of day, but there we go. Of course, lots of birds, lizards, fish, turtles. Saw some ducks, an egret or two, some rabbits, deer (later at night). The only thing that really bothered us? Cottonmouths. We saw numerous cottonmouths swimming in the lake, close to shore. Just leave them alone, chances are they could care less about us, and such was the case. Nevertheless, I was upset at myself for not packing my .38 with snake loads.

Yes, I went down the slide!

After an unsuccessful round of afternoon fishing, we headed back to the cabin to recharge. Some snacks, a little air-conditioning. We went over to the playground to let the kids play on the playscape. That lasted about 30 minutes. There was no question we were all tired and just had little interest in doing much of anything. So we drove back to our campsite. We tried to take the scenic detour down Park Road 1C to Bastrop State Park, but we were all just too pooped… especially Wife and myself. So we turned around, went back to the cabin. Wife took a nap. I started cooking dinner. Daughter and Youngest goofed off in the cabin, and Oldest went down to the water just below our cabin, threw some poles in the water, and waited. No bites, but that boy has patience.

Had a wonderful dinner of fajitas, despite forgetting to bring any salsa. Doh! As the sun was setting, it cooled off and we just enjoyed the weather, the stars, and listening to all the critters singing their night songs. You could tell it had been a good, long, and tiring day… we were all cranky and short with each other. 🙂  But, we all crawled into the bunk beds and settled in for a good sleep.

Morning over the lake. Can you find the mother duck and her babies?

I woke up the next morning about 5:30 AM. I know the routine. First thing after waking (and visiting a local tree) the first man up needs to get the water boiling and the coffee brewing. So of course, that was done. I just sat on the porch, looking at the lake in the moonlight, waiting for the sun to come up. Nice, peaceful.

Eventually the sun peeked just enough over the sky to light my way down to the water’s edge, so down I went with 2 fishing poles and a box of worms. Put the worms on the hook, put the poles in the water, and just waited. Saw numerous things, the neatest of which was hearing a big splash about 20 yards to my right. I look over and about 8 to 10 ducklings had hit the water. I saw Momma Duck too, and while I can’t be 100% positive on the identification, her silhouette was that of a wood duck. Later when we left the park and were checking out, there were some serious bird watchers also checking out of the park. We spoke to them briefly and they confirmed wood ducks live on this lake, and they were excited to hear about the ducklings. But back to fishing…. I had numerous nibbles. Something kept pecking at and stealing my worms. While I started playing something on the end of one rod, the other rod seriously took. Dang it. 🙂  Well, the one rod seemed to die down so I put it down, picked up the other and hauled in my catch. It was a small catfish! Had a stout body but not very long (kinda odd). Wasn’t worth keeping, but I took a picture and let him go. A little while later, more activity on the first rod. So I played the critter some more and eventually he took it. However, something felt different on the end of the line. Sure enough…. it was a fair-sized turtle. Oldest zipped down to help me. He held the turtle while I removed the hook, and gave Oldest quite a thrash and kick when the hook was removed. Given where I kept fishing with that first pole, while my first thought was pan fish pecking and bait stealing, I now am pretty sure it was the turtle the whole time.

Look Ma! I caught a fish!

Speaking of turtles, later that morning Oldest noticed a catfish had floated belly up. He thought it was the catfish I caught. A couple of minutes later, a turtle swam up to it and started eating. We then realized it was another catfish, no idea how long he’d been dead. A second turtle swam up and started to eat but the first turtle didn’t want to share. 🙂  He grabbed the catfish and started swimming hard and fast in the other direction taking the fish with him. Quite funny to see.

All the worms were used, so we called it a morning and came up for breakfast. What was on the menu? Why, eggs-in-a-bag, of course! The kids love it, and it’s simple camping food. Couple that with a little Spam on the side, and it makes for happy children. 🙂

Unfortunately, it was time to go… or at least, to check out of the cabin. So we packed up, cleaned up, reminded the kids to leave the place cleaner than we found it. Loaded up the car and headed to the park office to return the key. Our original plan was to go canoeing. Unfortunately, the canoes were being taken out for maintenance. Bummer! We were all looking forward that. Alas… it was not meant to be. So we decided to go ahead and head home.

But as we were pulling out, Wife had the idea to head into Smithville just to see what it was like. Smithville is a small town, probably best known as the town where they made the movie, Hope Floats. We drove up and down the main streets, seeing your typical small-town things. We figured that would be the end of it but no….

We saw a giant gingerbread man!

Run run, as fast as you can!

Apparently a few years ago the city decided to set the world’s record for the largest gingerbread man. Apparently they did succeed! And the specially made cookie sheet was later painted and erected in the town. We took a look at it, took pictures with it, visited the little train museum there… and that was a hoot.

For you see, while the museum may have been about trains, what caught the children’s eye? Why, this strange contraption that sorta looked like a computer, but there was no screen… just a keyboard.

A typewriter.

And an older kind, with the little “arms” that would fly up to strike the ribbon. Quite novel for the children, and I got to explain and show them how, where, and why the QWERTY layout came to be.

Nifty little history lesson. 🙂

After that, we piled back in the car, drove home, unpacked, and showered.

Quite a time, quite a couple of days. Yes we wish it could have lasted longer, but we’re thankful for what we got. The old expression is to always leave ’em wanting more, so that we did.