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Saturday, March 26, 2005
Well, that was fun...
No, really, it was. A little scary for a moment, but fun, none the less...
This evening, R and I headed out to the Star of Texas Fair and Rodeo for the Terri Clark concert. We got there a little early, so we wandered around a bit, grabbing a snack and a couple of adult beverages. Then we went into the market place and... woohoo! We walked out with hats! R picked up a cute natural straw hat (think Toby Keith's latest style, and you've got it) and I got my grubby little mitts on a sweet red straw hat a la Terri Clark. (And, yes, we look darn cute in them, thank you for asking!)
The tickets said 7:30, so we wandered into the area just in time to find our seats before the fun began. The lights went out, introductions were made and "The Voice of the Star of Texas Fair and Rodeo" was spotlighted. He immediately asked us to bow our heads on this Good Friday and pray with him. I was floored. I loved it. (I almost dehatted the idiot who was walking up the steps to his seat with his hat on during the prayer, but I was afraid I would have whacked R in the process.) Then the National Anthem was sung, and the fun began.
It really was fun. Neither R nor I had ever been to a rodeo, so it was all new to us. Scoring? Not a clue how that works. But it was really fun to watch. The Mutton Scramble was very cute. Learned a couple of things, too. (One thing, for example, is that T2 would be far too facinated with the idea of some of the events, and I don't think I could handle being a Rodeo Mom.) Got to see a Clydesdales demonstration. Dang, I love those horses.
Then the scary part happened. A storm blew in. (Did I mention that the sun was shining when we got there???) The Expo Center isn't known for being air-tight (with that much livestock there, that's probably a good thing), so you could feel a slight breeze. Then you could hear the rain pounding on the roof. When I say storm, I'm talking 60-80mph sustained winds, driving rain (duh!) and hail. Couldn't get the cell phones to work well (to check on R's kids). It didn't last long, but... well, you know it's bad if they have cops blocking the doors, keeping everyone in.
So, the storm blows over, the rodeo ends, and they wheel out this really cool stage into the center of the arena. (Yes, I really wanted to get my hands on that light board. What about it?) Lights dim (again) and the concert begins.
We saw Terri a few months ago when she opened for Toby Keith. She did a good job then, but I think she did a much better job this evening. She was great. Her band was great. It was all good. She did try out a few songs from the new cd (which comes out... sometime later), and, while the acoustics at the Expo Center will never be confused with those of the Met or or Carnegie Hall, they sounded pretty good. That cd is definitely on my "to buy" list.
By the time the concert was over, the clouds were parting and the moon was shining bright. It was bizarre. Except for the puddles... and downed tents... and toppled trashcans... you would never have known that a severe storm zoomed through. We wandered around a little more, over to the tent where the Clydesdales hang out. (They were in their jammies... very cute red "coats"... guess it was bed time). Found the van, and "zoomed" out fairly quickly. Got stuck in a bit of a traffic jam, but that was because of all these really cool sparks flying from a power line. Once we got past that, it was smooth sailing back to R's house (since the house was still standing when we got there, I'm guessing everything was ok).
Tonight was a lot of fun. Only one problem... I really want a horse. Or two.
Umm... well... now... g'night...
This evening, R and I headed out to the Star of Texas Fair and Rodeo for the Terri Clark concert. We got there a little early, so we wandered around a bit, grabbing a snack and a couple of adult beverages. Then we went into the market place and... woohoo! We walked out with hats! R picked up a cute natural straw hat (think Toby Keith's latest style, and you've got it) and I got my grubby little mitts on a sweet red straw hat a la Terri Clark. (And, yes, we look darn cute in them, thank you for asking!)
The tickets said 7:30, so we wandered into the area just in time to find our seats before the fun began. The lights went out, introductions were made and "The Voice of the Star of Texas Fair and Rodeo" was spotlighted. He immediately asked us to bow our heads on this Good Friday and pray with him. I was floored. I loved it. (I almost dehatted the idiot who was walking up the steps to his seat with his hat on during the prayer, but I was afraid I would have whacked R in the process.) Then the National Anthem was sung, and the fun began.
It really was fun. Neither R nor I had ever been to a rodeo, so it was all new to us. Scoring? Not a clue how that works. But it was really fun to watch. The Mutton Scramble was very cute. Learned a couple of things, too. (One thing, for example, is that T2 would be far too facinated with the idea of some of the events, and I don't think I could handle being a Rodeo Mom.) Got to see a Clydesdales demonstration. Dang, I love those horses.
Then the scary part happened. A storm blew in. (Did I mention that the sun was shining when we got there???) The Expo Center isn't known for being air-tight (with that much livestock there, that's probably a good thing), so you could feel a slight breeze. Then you could hear the rain pounding on the roof. When I say storm, I'm talking 60-80mph sustained winds, driving rain (duh!) and hail. Couldn't get the cell phones to work well (to check on R's kids). It didn't last long, but... well, you know it's bad if they have cops blocking the doors, keeping everyone in.
So, the storm blows over, the rodeo ends, and they wheel out this really cool stage into the center of the arena. (Yes, I really wanted to get my hands on that light board. What about it?) Lights dim (again) and the concert begins.
We saw Terri a few months ago when she opened for Toby Keith. She did a good job then, but I think she did a much better job this evening. She was great. Her band was great. It was all good. She did try out a few songs from the new cd (which comes out... sometime later), and, while the acoustics at the Expo Center will never be confused with those of the Met or or Carnegie Hall, they sounded pretty good. That cd is definitely on my "to buy" list.
By the time the concert was over, the clouds were parting and the moon was shining bright. It was bizarre. Except for the puddles... and downed tents... and toppled trashcans... you would never have known that a severe storm zoomed through. We wandered around a little more, over to the tent where the Clydesdales hang out. (They were in their jammies... very cute red "coats"... guess it was bed time). Found the van, and "zoomed" out fairly quickly. Got stuck in a bit of a traffic jam, but that was because of all these really cool sparks flying from a power line. Once we got past that, it was smooth sailing back to R's house (since the house was still standing when we got there, I'm guessing everything was ok).
Tonight was a lot of fun. Only one problem... I really want a horse. Or two.
Umm... well... now... g'night...
