Texas Pat takes Stars to Lupe Tortilla
Leanne enjoyed a catch up here in Houston with Texas Pat, with R tagging along to keep things in order and so they wouldn’t talk about him. Texas Pat is a former practising member of the Thursday craft group in Brisbane. She retains honorary membership having now returned to Houston. She passes best wishes to all who follow allthego.
Texas Pat and Leanne at Lupe Tortilla
Lupe Tortilla is at Katy an outlying suburb of Houston, which is where Pat lives with husband Wes. The Lupe speciality is a lime marinated beef fajita and it was rather good I must say.
Lupe Tortilla, no one took shortcuts here
Back at Texas Pat’s house we had tea and coffee and had a look at some of Wes’ hunting trophies. Quite an impressive collection including a black bear, moose head, a NZ elk and some rather large fish. Kerrie’s dad has not long returned from a hunt where he bagged a deer. He is having the head and shoulders preserved for display, whilst the rest has made a significant quantity of various Venison cuts and sausages. Hunting runs in the blood down these parts.After some technical discussion around knitting and cross stitch we headed back to base.
Along the way we came across a small herd of Long Horns .
Texas Long Horn, looks a bit skinny and might be being fattened up!
Star thought lost at Fuddruckers later found safe in car park
It’s a day off on the allthego trail and we have today visited Fuddruckers and many of my Brisbane readers will remember this ICON establishment from the early 90s thereabouts when it had an establishment down on the river about where Il Centro now is. Well they are still allthego in Houston. It’s a make your own burger place, along with the special Fuddrucker cheese sauce……..actually not bad and Mitchell says it’s the only place he has come across where you can get a fried egg on the bun, as well bacon. Plenty of coke to wash it all down.
Following the burger delights Russell headed for the rest rooms for a break and the rest of the gang, including the other Star said they would meet R at the car.
Fuddruckers entrance, they waited here!
Being a caring group and thinking the Star might become disoriented and lose his way the gang waited at the entrance. But the Star is an enterprising fellow and exited by the back door recognising this was a shorter route to the car. After waiting sometime at the car he headed back to the restaurant thinking the gang had become disoriented and lost their way. Well the gang were most agitated having requested a Fuddrucker employer to check the restrooms for a burnt out Star. There was then some agitated discussion about doing things as a group etc etc before things settled down and we all moved on.
Stars at Top Golf
Yes, we are still here in Houston having recovered from the Bloomin Onion. Have enjoyed the last few quiet days lazing around.
Piper having some quiet time with Grandma
Our peace was disturbed though yesterday with a trip to the Top Golf range for a round of ‘stand and deliver’ from the tee, blasting our chip controlled ball away out into the night sky to try to land on the computer controlled multi coloured greens. Scoring points accordingly. The trick with this establishment, however, is that upon arrival we discovered we had to wait 210 minutes to get our slot. This is apparently somewhat longer than normal as there is an NBA Allstar Game extravaganza on over this weekend in Houston, with all the attendant partying.
Chicken Pieces to nibble on while we wait
In the meantime we sat down and enjoyed some beers and a selection of chicken pieces in Buffalo, BBQ and Asian spices. Finally, we got our slot and proceeded to the tee. A bit of mayhem for the next couple of hours as all the skills were on display.
Where did that ball go?
Earlier in the week Tyler had attempted the Woodland Orchard Drive underpants wearing record. He fell short by one (I think?) managing only 23 pairs and will have to try again. This was a most entertaining performance and we await a renewed attempt.
Attached photo does not do it justice but there are a couple of videos to record the attempt.
Tyler nearly there but not quite!
A day of rest today after the golf
Now at Houston and a new Star Piper Brown, ‘Bloomin Onions’ too
Piper Brown bouncing around
We are now in Houston for a couple of weeks with Mitchell and the gang. It is a 3 hour flight from LA and another 2 hours time difference. Settled in well and enjoying suburbia after being allthego in LA. Out today for lunch at the Outback Steakhouse for some Aussie fare, including that well-known Aussie speciality the ‘Bloomin Onion’. This is a gastronomic delight and a recipe for cholesterol and heart disease, but it tasted pretty good! This speciality of the house is a 16oz deep-fried brown onion, with a secret batter recipe and cheesy sauce. We all hoed into it with the exception of the new Star Piper, who seemed to prefer a bottle of milk.
All 16oz of a ‘Bloomin Onion’ at the Outback Steakhouse
Mitchell and Kerrie will be off to work tomorrow with fingers crossed leaving Piper with The Olds for the day while Hayden and Tyler are at school.
Piper Brown in her first thongs made by Grandma
Old Stars and new Stars – Getty Villa and Paramount
The Bronson Gate at Paramount
The coast at the end of our bus ride
The last couple of days have had us down the Malibu coast at the Getty Villa seeing some old stars from Geek and Roman antiquity and then at Paramount Pictures seeing some stars from more recent times. Getting to the Villa was a long local bus trip down Sunset Bl to the ocean followed by a twenty-minute walk along the Pacific Coast Hwy to the Villa. It was a really excellent site though. The villa was originally built by Getty to display all his collections of art. It was subsequently restored and expanded and now ‘just’ holds the antiquity material, the rest of the paintings and furniture is up at the Getty Centre in the hills behind LA. The villa is modelled on an original villa at Herculaneum that was buried when Vesuvius erupted.
At the Getty Villa
The modern stars at Paramount was also an interesting visit where we saw the working studios as well as a bit of film history retold on the lot. NCIS was being shot while we were there and Leanne was pleased to see Mark Harmon running around in the flesh. Afterwords we strolled around the Hollywood Forever graveyard where many of the old stars lie gazing up at the Hollywood sign up in the hills.
Head off now to Houston.
Johnny Ramone at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Stars and more Stars
Well, well aren’t there just a lot of people around here hanging around looking for a buck! And not just stars, all sorts of street jockeys and their angles. From guys selling tours at half price just for you to CD sellers and would be actors masquerading on the streets as MM and Iron Man, Cat Woman and Spider Man not to mention Disney characters and the rest…..
Keeping that sign up there!
Just had to go on the Hollywood Sign and Star’s homes tour to escape them. Guess who sold us the ticket (at half price of course) …a guy called Noah from Wingham, NSW! Leanne’s sister Sandra and family come from there. He said the only things worth seeing in Hollywood could be seen on his tour….as you would expect of course. Well it was OK the guide played spot the celebrity, you had to try to stare down people in side-walk cafes and cars to see how much they flinched before driving off when the lights changed. Didn’t see any celebs, maybe they saw us and headed in the opposite direction……….anyway we drove past a number of homes, many of which you could only see the front gate and letterbox, for all the trees and walls around them. Frank Sinatra’s last LA digs had just been levelled for a redevelopment of some sort.
Walt Disney Concert Hall in Downtown LA
Dorothy and the gang hang out on the Metro subway walls along with others Stars
We also travelled today on the Metro to Downtown LA for a walk around the sights. A busy CBD centre with a few historical leftovers from the Spanish days, which go very much understated. The relatively new Disney Centre looked an interesting place to see some music and theatre action, but we were between shows here. The old Central Markets were a fascinating wander, these date back to early LA days when they were the first fresh fruit and veggie shop. We had lunch at a Kabab bar amongst the oranges, meats and nuts etc. Quite tasty.
On Hollywood Bl at the Hard Rock Cafe
Got back a bit late to the hotel after dinner, hoping to see some celebs, there were a few hoping to be celebs lurking in the hotel bar, we avoided them. Thankfully, they didn’t notice us.
Two new stars in Hollywood
At home with Halle Berry
At the El Capitan Theatre with Jake and the team
Here we are allthego again in the United States. Off to visit our son Mitchell and his family, including the new grand daughter Piper. They live in Houston but we have stopped off in LA for a few days beforehand to aclimatise to all things US. On arrival there was a lot of action around town welcoming us. All the bars seemed to have parties starting, there were flags and people dressed up all waving at us. It was great, then someone told us it was for the Superbowl or something, bit deflating.
Yesterday, upon arrival we lobbed into the Hollywood Hills Hotel, which sits sort of underneath the famous Hollywood sign. Not a bad spot but a little further away from the action than it seemed from their website. Later on we wandered around the Walk of Fame (all those stars on the footpath) and then into Madame Tussauds to meet the Hollywood movie gang in the wax so to speak. Very entertaining spot and reportedly much better than the old Hollywood Wax Museum, which has been around since Cecile B de Mille. Caught up with all the girls, including Halle Berry and Angeline Jollie. Leanne met Jimmy Stewart and George Burns which seemed to satisfy her, bit old for her I thought.
Minnie Mouse met up with Russell on the street
Today was a bit more of the same after sleeping in. Down to wander the rest of the Walk of Fame, also the Chinese theatre area where there are a whole lot of Stars foot and hand prints with signatures and notes, many going back to 1920s and 30s. After lunch we were into El Capitan Theatre, one of those old style movie houses, and saw a re run of Peter Pan on the big screen. Back to the Hotel and dinner, steak followed by Leanne eating an enormous banana split and I a Chocolate Brownie waffle. Both covered in ice cream and the banana split cream. All this was accompanied by a bottle of house red…labelled ‘dago red’ after its Italian heritage. It was appropriate after a long day wandering around.
Bargara and Rainbow Beach……….end of the road…….not quite yet
We are now at Rainbow Beach having moved on from Bargara after leaving Mt Morgan. Last night of the trip as we head back to Brisbane tomorrow to resume the grind until the next adventure calls. Dropped a line in the water here to try to for an elusive fish, they were much too cunnning for me on this occasion and remain at large. We are camped in a wooded area just back from the water, very peaceful listening to the birds and the hum of insects.
Not a lot of people around here.
Until the journey continues I now sign off from this trip.
You have to be careful of bears at Bundaberg
Leanne waiting to catch a wave at Bargara, close to the edge
Camp site at Rainbow Beach, on the bay side of the village
Mt Morgan at last
Left Emerald a little late and arrived at the end of the day at Mt Morgan, the old mining town just west of Rockhampton. Booked into the local van park and discovered the manager used to work at Sumner Park just down from us at home, he loves it at Mt Morgan………………not the stress……….after a day here you can see what he means.
Went off on a town tour and had a run down on the old mine site and associated buildings and plant remnants, all of it is heritage listed but in need of a lo t of work. A real eye opener to late 19 and early 20 century mining, although processing continued up until 1990 thereabouts. A real mess to clean up though with the contanimated flooded mine pit. Checked out the heritage railway station and their plans for a short rail operation with a restored old mine steam train….requires money and it is the same old story..not enough is available. It would be good to see this project eventually succeed.
A few interesting old pubs remain in operation in the town to keep the old mining tales going.
Next stop on the trip is Bagara out on the coast from Bundaberg.
Golden Nugget Pub at Mt Morgan
View from our ‘porch’ at the Mt Morgan Van Park
The old Mt Morgan mine pit is 600ft deep and full of contaminated water that is being treated…..it will be a long task….but looks great!
Emerald
Still catching up on these posts, here we are at Lake Maraboon just out of Emerald at Fairbairn dam. This is the 4th largest body of water in Australia, at the spillway level the water line of the dam is 170km, currently a bit of water is spilling over. A big place and a great van park area here just back from the water. Lots of people around as there was a big ski and power boat racing carnival going on over the weekend.
It was a chilly night one of the few on this trip and Allthego got rugged up for the occasion.
A bit of time lazing around here and then a trip back into Emerald to see the sights. Much of Emerald’s old historical buildings are gone due to a series of fires in the first half or so of last century. Only thing remaining of substance is the heritage listed railway station. There are a couple of interesting Centenary of Federation projects which are different to many of the others around the towns.A wa lkway with mosaics leading up to the big painting and some Federation columns out in the native botantic gardens.
Looking over Lake Maraboon, 15k south of Emerald where we stayed a couple of nights.
The largest painting in the Southern hemisphere…only could be at Emerald. A take on Van Gogh Sunflowers.
This is a centenary of Federation project. Each column is a decade in Emerald’s history. The circular pit is a ‘yarn pit’. A bit Stonehenge like eh!
Our next stop is Mt Morgan the old gold mining town near Rockhampton
Emerald-special post
And some new equipment?
- A new building at the old school?
Last couple of days we have experienced poor wireless internet preventing posts to the Blog. So we are now catching up with a special post on our stop over in Emerald. As mentioned previously our son Mitchell went to Emerald as a teacher after he completed Uni. On the way into Emerald
A new Woolies shopping centre with lots of shops.
we were wondering whether he might be remebered by anyone. To our great suprise and pleasure on approaching Emerald a big monument had been erected commemorating Mitchell passing by the area. We screamed to a stop to check it out…too good to be true…….it was
Inside the Woolies centre
actually commemorating Sir Thomas Mitchell an early explorer! He passed by in 1848 or thereabouts, forgotten the date now. I think we will need to check the graffiti in the pubs.
Anyway attached are some pictures of the old school he taught at, the residence in Bonython St and some of local developments. I thnk Emerald has grown substantially since Mitch was there.
Emerald North State School gate
Mitchell’s old residence at Emerald in Bonython St.
New houses at the end of the street
Road to Aramac and Alpha was there a Beta way?
Well friends we are a day or two behind on the blog because of some variable internet in this part of the world. Bring on the NBN!
The trip down to Aramac via Prairie and Torrens Creek provided a little test for the petrol tank capacity and km per litre, not to mention stress for the passnger. It is about 370 km to Aramac via this charming route through pretty flat grazing country. Lucky it was flat because this allowed the driver’s prowess to shine as he coaxed the vehicle through the last 10km with lights on the dash flashing telling him to refuel. Couldn’t see anywhere to refuel though. At the end calculations showed we had about 2 litres left, enough for about a further 12km, so there was no need to get greatly concerned after all.
Had an excellent stay overnight in Aramac before heading off the next day for Alpha, passing through Barcaldine. Nobody seemed to remember us from when we stayed here a couple of weeks earlier. Enjoyed some famous Barcaldine lemon merengue pie for morning tea. The proprietor was pretty talkative and apparantly one of these pies fetched $1550 at a Daniel Morecombe fundraiser a few weeks earlier.
Alpha residents a few years back adorned their building walls with 25 or so murals to entertain passers by, some of these have seen better days and one is in a pub that has since closed its doors. In typical fashion the railway people have done a big mural on a train shed and then have since proceeded to put a big high wire fence around it to spoil the view!
Head off for Emerald next where Mitchell spent 3 years teaching after leaving Uni, maybe someone there will remember him?
An old timer at Prairie on the way to Aramac from Hughendon
Leanne having a chat with the proprietor and enjoying the famous Barcaldine Lemon Merengue (have I spelt that right?)
Mural on our camp ground wall at Alpha
At rest at Hughendon
Have lurked around Hughendon today not doing a lot. Leanne enjoyed her time getting the washing done and Russell spent an hour or so in the local cemetry checking out the grave sites self guided tour. Otherwise we went for a bit of shopping and took in the street art in the town. Some dinosaur replicas on display in the street, including the Leanneasaurus a Pteradactyl found in the area and here made out of nuts, bolts and some wire.
We have now given the Weber Q a run with a batch of beer bread and some sausages. The sausages were great but the beer bread a bit underdone, but a good first try. There is a bit of a story about getting the Weber to go, got something to do with having to have the right fittings for gas bottles and their unavailability out here. The Eels jumper also got a run tonight.
Weather continues to be quite hot during the day and cool at night. We move on tomorrow and commence the return journey, next night is Aramac.
Russell at work
A Leanneasaurus in flight. It was named after the wife of its maker.
This is a highlight of the social calendar in Richmond and the surrounding towns. One can only imagine the opportunities that arise at this event.
No swimming at Richmond in Qld
We went for a day trip today, leaving the van behind, to Richmond which is about 100k west of Hughendon. Main aim was to go to Kronosaurus Korner. This is a fossil preparation laboratory and museum given over to the discoveries made in the Richmond area. Richmond has a different geological background to Hughendon and Muttaburra. Richmond was at the bottom of the ancient Eromanga inland sea, which covered much of central Australia and emptied into the seas currently to the north. On the other hand Hughendon and Muttaburra were on dry land in these times, on the shoreline of the sea. The fossils on show in Richmond are therefore marine based….various reptilian fish, sharks, molluscs and the like. At H and M the fossils were land based, the typical ‘dinosaur’, and were deposited more likely in lake,swamp and river systems unless washed down into the sea.
The Richmond display was really eye opening, bits and are being found all the time it seems. Reallly worth the day trip to see it all. The fellow in the attached picture was a real nasty type and would have made swimming in the sea a dangerous exercise and one to be avoided.
Replica of one of the finds near Richmond.. a Kronosaur…this is the actual estimated size of this fellow, very unpleasant character.
Down and out at Porcupine Gorge
Porcupine Gorge from the lookout.
- The Pyramid
At bottom of gorge after a 1.1km walk down, it is now 1.2km to go back up, according to the sign. R explained this was due to being able to take bigger steps going down.
Last night we were at Porcupine Gorge NP about 70km north of Hughendon. No water, power or showers but a pretty good pit loo based on new natural decomposition technologies and we had solar for lighting. The loo was quite efficient but in middle of summer it might be a bit on the nose.
This is a great place, a bit of a steep walk down the gorge, we did it in 1 hour and took only 45min to get back up. Great scenery and inviting water at the bottom. Have headed back to Hughendon and are off tomorrow to Richmond on a day trip to see more dinosaurs.
Allthegobro 