I am hoping that whoever turned us on, and I say "us" loosely… to the City Market BBQ in Luling will come forward so I can thank "him"… "her"? Why does it take us so long to discover certain facts of life? Texas BBQ is definitely one of those certainty fact! More about that in a bit, as I need to finish posting the last pictures of the night in San Antonio. We had left off the last time on our way to the River Walk, not too busy as I had mentioned that most everyone was a couple blocks away… getting ready for the midnight madness of the Midnight Ball dropping. Hard Rock Cafe was in sight…

Spirit was in the car at that time, and I needed to return to take him around a bit again. We will be in cities these coming 2 months, he is still not acclimated with traffic and so many people around him and I try for him to get use to it, specially with the length of his leash, normally about 15 feet… now down to 5 or 6 at the most. A little hesitant he still is, but he does real well, he has a lot of trust in me as I feel him following my own movements more than ever. Of course, as soon as he will be used to this… it WILL be time again for vast empty spaces.

I have the feeling that I have expressed myself a bit too much about our path for these coming couple months. I have!… we have been spoiled for a long time now with a certain environment. Today however, for the first time, I am feeling real good about what is ahead. And this is mainly due to many readers and riders. We will be in Houston, south west of it in Booth, starting Saturday. A gathering is planned for Sunday including some cooking! Have some errands to run in the city as in having tires mounted, new headlight bulb, get on with an oil change.. there is a Space center I understand that would be nice to see and I am sure that my hosts Carl and Colette will know much more about sightseeing somehow. The following week, Friday, we will be in Baton Rouge, near by anyhow, where we also have arranged for a place to stay and visit many friends that we rode with with last year… Our location for Atlanta is also all arranged for both mid January and end of February! I even have a Dr’s apt on the morning of the 22nd, same day my mother arrives from Munich, Germany, in the afternoon. My Cardiologist as I have already gone through 5 bypasses 13 years ago at the tender age of… 47! he is going to love my cholesterol level after today’s BBQ!Wow… yes… planning has now become a must!!!

Alamo under the lights takes on a different effect. I did prefer the night time pictures versus the daytime ones, and by then that was about it for our San Antonio’s New Year Eve outing, different for us, all friendly people, it was a good time which makes us look forward visiting other cities. The 60 miles back were pleasant… always pleasant when we have the wind on our tail… the electric gear set all the way up, a full tank of gas and yet early enough to be safe from drunk drivers, if any.

We explored a bit the immediate surroundings, the town of Lockhart included. There is an oil drilling Museum we have not gone yet… This is oil country and one will see many working wells from the road, for the first time smelling the actual oil. The City Hall in Lockhart is a nice well maintained building going back quite a few years…

We stopped in Lockhart on the coldest day on our way to Marble Falls to exchange a phone! That was the nearest Alltel store, a bitter 200 mile round trip, so cold that above are the only pictures taken that day. In and out, wearing total gear including balaclava and heated gloves, it had been a while for such a ride, one less errand to run for now. Eating BBQ at the "City Market" in Luling however was the highlight! Food is always a highlight… good food that is and this was.

Spirit wanted to know if he was also going in… do not despair I told him as I brought him back a couple bones from the ribs which only lasted a few seconds! By the time I put my helmet and gloves on, they were gone. The restaurant is an institution. I met people from far away that had riven just to eat there and take some home. They allowed me to take pictures which was nice, it was almost as witnessing a spiritual experience… all gathered around to check the temperature of the meat perfectly cooked and flavored… this was not just any BBQ… this was serious business… a hard hat area!!!

The colors of the room, a room which you enter through one door and exit through another one, are as you see them. The walls are smoked themselves, this is the kitchen! No plates, everything to go or eat on the premises is served on paper wrap. No forks… plastic knives only. I am not fond of many kind of pickles, but the ones in the jar on the left, the sweet ones, they are delicious. Brown paper towels… that is it!

The room looked surreal to me with the muted colors and everyone working quietly with much respect toward the different meats that were coming out of the smoker. I had a sampler of the brisket, a couple ribs and a sausage, some sweet pickles and I think the sausage is going to throw my cholesterol results up through the roof even as far as January 22nd! At another table some visitors from Ohio also have made the City Market their regular stop, and by the looks of it, they were not cutting any corners.

So are you hungry yet? I probably should have been given a free meal for doing this!… but they sure do not need the advertisement. Another day in Luling today, the last one. It has been nice being here, very quiet, meeting Donna has given us a chance to both exchange ideas and thoughts about living on the road, she will be going west and we will be heading east, maybe meet again sometime in Moab during the month of April. I cannot leave you without this sunrise that was taken yesterday morning… somehow I always manage to catch one here and there… can’t help it!

What kind of Treats are you giving your Dog? Do you know their ingredients? Maybe you should not! You will know what is in ours… all natural ingredients. Baked right before shipping.

Don’t forget the "Spirited Doggie Treats" and "Art Cards"…. Dogs cannot live of Love and food alone… they need treats, they like treats… we know! Put Spirit to work!

We are always under deep appreciation toward the readers that have send in a contribution helping this website’s expenditures. For those who have not, continue enjoying the site, pictures, recipes, and if you feel it’s worth $1 a month, the contribution button is above, snail mail is below…

Ara Gureghian   853 Vanderbilt Beach Rd #245   Naples, Fl 34108

You be well…. Ara & Spirit

This entry was posted on Friday, January 4th, 2008 at 6:04 am and is filed under travel, spirituality, pit bull, sidecar, motorcycle, cooking, photography, riding, homeless. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.