On our way to Shreveport on our recent trip, we stopped for lunch at the Bodacious BBQ restaurant on I-20 just north of Kilgore on Highway 42. When we lived in Kilgore, we ate at this restaurant from time to time over the years, so we felt comfortable stopping here.
Bodacious is a BBQ chain that began about 1965 in Longview. Most franchises are located in East Texas, though we do have a Bodacious -- which we've yet to try -- in San Angelo. Now, if you're a long-time reader of this blog, you know I love BBQ, and my favorite BBQ is in the meat markets scattered about the small towns of Central Texas in places like Lockhart and Luling. But I can't go to Lockhart every time I want BBQ, so sometimes I end up visiting other BBQ joins around the state. Sometimes I'm disappointed and sometimes I'm delighted. Seldom have I found anything as good as the meat markets of Central Texas.
Over the years, I've found Bodacious to be pretty consistent. Although I don't consider it the best BBQ I've ever had, I'm usually satisfied with what I get.
On this trip, we decided to eat as we do at the Central Texas markets; that is, skip any side dishes and just order meat. We ordered half a pound of brisket, half a pound of sausage, and half a pound of pork ribs. I usually don't eat ribs much, but that was the best part of our lunch this time. They had a slightly sweet taste, and the meat pulled cleanly from the bones. The brisket was a bit dry, though it had a good flavor. The sausage was your standard store bought sausage, so nothing unusual there.
All in all it was a good meal, and just about the right amount of food for 2 hungry travelers.
This blog follows Keith and Donna Cameron as they enjoy retirement. 01/24/05
Monday, July 1, 2013
Friday, June 28, 2013
Short Trip to Shreveport
Donna and I just returned from spending 3 nights at the Eldorado Resort Casino in Shreveport, LA. With our daughter expected to deliver our brand new grandson in the next few weeks, we wanted to get one last casino trip in. After the baby comes, we'll be pretty busy.
The Eldorado has been our main casino in the Shreveport/Bossier City (S/BC) area for the last 5 years or so. We like its layout, its location in proximity to downtown Shreveport, and the comps they provide for our level of play. I must admit, though, that I'm growing tired of the casinos in S/BC. I'd much rather visit casinos in Nevada where the video poker games have better pay tables, comps are more easily earned, and service is generally better, among other things. On our trip to the Eldorado this time, I was really disappointed with the quality of service in all areas (cafes, drink service, hotel, etc.). And I noticed a large number of slot machines that were out of service. At the bank of 5 video poker machines where we usually spend most of our time, for example, one machine was completely shut down, and another had several buttons that did not operate properly so that you were not able to adjust the speed of the game and do other things.
We crossed the river to check out the new Margaritaville Resort Casino, but were disappointed with the games there. I had hoped that this new casino would bring some competition to the area, but I saw no 99% plus pay tables on the video poker machines that I checked. Now, I did not check every VP machine in the place, but I did check at least a dozen, and at various denominations. I saw nothing worth playing. As a result, we did not play; we did not even bother to join their player's club. It looks like a nice casino, though, and unlike the neighboring 5 casinos, it is land-based with all casino action on a single floor. The other 5 casinos are riverboats, each with 3 floors.
While we were on the Bossier City side of the river, we played a few hours at the Horseshoe. There are a few competitive VP machines there if you arrive early enough to claim them. After a short session there, we went next door to the Louisiana Boardwalk. The Boardwalk is a nice place, complete with a hotel, numerous eating places, movie theater, and various outlet style shops. We noticed quite a few empty stores as we strolled about. Donna picked up some perfume at Parfumania, and we looked at camping and hiking gear in Bass Pro Shop. Wow, prices at that place have really gone up! That seems to be happening everywhere, though.
We spent most of our time at the Eldorado, though we did venture next door to Sam's Town for a few hours of play. Our rooms at Eldorado were comped, as well as the meals we enjoyed there. And that is what keeps us going back to Eldorado . . . at least, for now. Usually our only expenditures on these trips is gasoline and what we lose in the casino.
The Eldorado has been our main casino in the Shreveport/Bossier City (S/BC) area for the last 5 years or so. We like its layout, its location in proximity to downtown Shreveport, and the comps they provide for our level of play. I must admit, though, that I'm growing tired of the casinos in S/BC. I'd much rather visit casinos in Nevada where the video poker games have better pay tables, comps are more easily earned, and service is generally better, among other things. On our trip to the Eldorado this time, I was really disappointed with the quality of service in all areas (cafes, drink service, hotel, etc.). And I noticed a large number of slot machines that were out of service. At the bank of 5 video poker machines where we usually spend most of our time, for example, one machine was completely shut down, and another had several buttons that did not operate properly so that you were not able to adjust the speed of the game and do other things.
We crossed the river to check out the new Margaritaville Resort Casino, but were disappointed with the games there. I had hoped that this new casino would bring some competition to the area, but I saw no 99% plus pay tables on the video poker machines that I checked. Now, I did not check every VP machine in the place, but I did check at least a dozen, and at various denominations. I saw nothing worth playing. As a result, we did not play; we did not even bother to join their player's club. It looks like a nice casino, though, and unlike the neighboring 5 casinos, it is land-based with all casino action on a single floor. The other 5 casinos are riverboats, each with 3 floors.
While we were on the Bossier City side of the river, we played a few hours at the Horseshoe. There are a few competitive VP machines there if you arrive early enough to claim them. After a short session there, we went next door to the Louisiana Boardwalk. The Boardwalk is a nice place, complete with a hotel, numerous eating places, movie theater, and various outlet style shops. We noticed quite a few empty stores as we strolled about. Donna picked up some perfume at Parfumania, and we looked at camping and hiking gear in Bass Pro Shop. Wow, prices at that place have really gone up! That seems to be happening everywhere, though.
We spent most of our time at the Eldorado, though we did venture next door to Sam's Town for a few hours of play. Our rooms at Eldorado were comped, as well as the meals we enjoyed there. And that is what keeps us going back to Eldorado . . . at least, for now. Usually our only expenditures on these trips is gasoline and what we lose in the casino.
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Rain Data
In the last post, I mentioned the rain we've been receiving. Now for some facts.
Our local paper, the San Angelo Standard Times, posts weather data in its paper copy. This data is always located on the last page of Section A. Included in this data is information on area lake levels. I want to share some of that now.
First, here are the totals listed before runoff water from our most recent rains were included.
Now here is data on the same lakes 3 or 4 days later after rains dropped more than 2 inches on the Concho and Colorado River watersheds to the north of San Angelo; in Angelo, we received much less rain. As you can see, the rains had very little impact on lake levels; in fact, most of the lakes continued in their downward spiral. San Angelo relies on water from O. H. Ivie. Lake Amistad, though an area lake, is formed by waters from the Pecos and Rio Grande watersheds, so it did not benefit from recent rains.
For area lakes to recover, substantial rains over several days are needed. As much as I hate to say it, perhaps the only hope is for a hurricane to come inland and stall over the Concho Valley for several days. Of course, those beneficial rains for us could mean damaging winds and flooding to coastal areas and communities.
So for now we continue with water restrictions in place, with talk that they will become only more strict, especially with increased population coming in to the area and increased use as a result of oil drilling.
Our local paper, the San Angelo Standard Times, posts weather data in its paper copy. This data is always located on the last page of Section A. Included in this data is information on area lake levels. I want to share some of that now.
First, here are the totals listed before runoff water from our most recent rains were included.
| Lake | Capacity | Acre-Feet |
| Nasworthy | 80% | 8,192 |
| OC Fisher | 1% | 958 |
| Twin Buttes | 4% | 7,668 |
| Spence | 5% | 26,418 |
| Ivie | 18% | 102,090 |
| Amistad | 25% | 803,065 |
Now here is data on the same lakes 3 or 4 days later after rains dropped more than 2 inches on the Concho and Colorado River watersheds to the north of San Angelo; in Angelo, we received much less rain. As you can see, the rains had very little impact on lake levels; in fact, most of the lakes continued in their downward spiral. San Angelo relies on water from O. H. Ivie. Lake Amistad, though an area lake, is formed by waters from the Pecos and Rio Grande watersheds, so it did not benefit from recent rains.
| Lake | Capacity | Acre-Feet |
| Nasworthy | 80% | 8,180 |
| OC Fisher | 1% | 847 |
| Twin Buttes | 4% | 7,463 |
| Spence | 6% | 31,275 |
| Ivie | 18% | 102,038 |
| Amistad | 25% | 824,342 |
For area lakes to recover, substantial rains over several days are needed. As much as I hate to say it, perhaps the only hope is for a hurricane to come inland and stall over the Concho Valley for several days. Of course, those beneficial rains for us could mean damaging winds and flooding to coastal areas and communities.
So for now we continue with water restrictions in place, with talk that they will become only more strict, especially with increased population coming in to the area and increased use as a result of oil drilling.
Friday, June 21, 2013
Digging Up Bones
When my brother came to visit almost 2 weeks ago, he brought along 2 boxes of pictures, military records, tax documents, and other items related to our families. Probably the real treasures in the group were 2 video interviews that my brother conducted with my grandmother and father. In July 1998, he spent nearly 2 hours interviewing my then 87 year old maternal grandmother. Her memory was quite good, and I was especially impressed by the accuracy of the dates she gave. In July 2003, he then interviewed my father for about an hour. At that time, Dad was 77, but his memory was already beginning to fail him, especially as regards specifics. But watching Dad move around and speak made it seem that he was still alive. Dad and I were quite close, so it was a great pleasure to watch that interview.
Larry questioned Dad and my grandmother on family history. As the videos ran, I took notes and have used that information for a new wave of family research. I've spent much time since 1997 digging up my Cameron family bones, and have received a great deal of information from a distant cousin, Judy, whom I've never met in person. Judy has been a wealth of not only dates and places, but she has been able to furnish some great photos of my great grandfather and his siblings and others.
I get in my moods where I spend long hours searching genealogy sources for information on my families. When new information refuses to surface, I tend to go dormant for a while until something new pops up. With the interviews I've just seen, I've had a new burst of energy and am now working on my mother's side of my family tree. This includes several families, but mainly Robinsons and Milligans.
I thought I'd share some of the online sources I use in my research. Some of you may be interested in getting started researching your own families.
My favorite source of all the is FamilySearch, a nonprofit family history organization dedicated to connecting families across generations. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the primary benefactor for FamilySearch services. If you use this tool, be sure to create a free account so that you can have access to the records that are available. It's really exciting when you look at an actual document signed by a distant relative. With FamilySearch, you can find all sorts of records, such as census records, death certificates, marriage certificates, birth certificates, draft registrations, and many others.
I also use Find A Grave a great deal. This site relies extensively on volunteers to gather and contribute information from cemeteries. Quite often, pictures of tombstones or even people are provided. I've even found the contents of a death certificate included with an entry.
Many counties participate in the US Gen Web project. Begin by going to the national USGenWeb Archives. From there you can select your state. At the state level, you can then look for the appropriate county. Some counties are really active in this project while others have very limited information.
These are just 3 sources that barely scratch the surface. Records of all types exist out there, from ship logs to military records. Be creative in your search and use all the information you have. Personally, I enjoy playing detective. I find that it keeps my mind active, and this is a good thing as I age. I enjoy the mental challenge of trying to solve a riddle, and family history is certainly that.
When I first created my web page (Living the Good Life), I included a section on genealogy. Unfortunately, I've not done much on it since. But on a sub page, you can view some early pictures of my Cameron family. I hope to get back to work on that portion of my web page in the near future. But right now, I'm just too busy digging up bones.
Larry questioned Dad and my grandmother on family history. As the videos ran, I took notes and have used that information for a new wave of family research. I've spent much time since 1997 digging up my Cameron family bones, and have received a great deal of information from a distant cousin, Judy, whom I've never met in person. Judy has been a wealth of not only dates and places, but she has been able to furnish some great photos of my great grandfather and his siblings and others.
I get in my moods where I spend long hours searching genealogy sources for information on my families. When new information refuses to surface, I tend to go dormant for a while until something new pops up. With the interviews I've just seen, I've had a new burst of energy and am now working on my mother's side of my family tree. This includes several families, but mainly Robinsons and Milligans.
I thought I'd share some of the online sources I use in my research. Some of you may be interested in getting started researching your own families.
My favorite source of all the is FamilySearch, a nonprofit family history organization dedicated to connecting families across generations. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the primary benefactor for FamilySearch services. If you use this tool, be sure to create a free account so that you can have access to the records that are available. It's really exciting when you look at an actual document signed by a distant relative. With FamilySearch, you can find all sorts of records, such as census records, death certificates, marriage certificates, birth certificates, draft registrations, and many others.
I also use Find A Grave a great deal. This site relies extensively on volunteers to gather and contribute information from cemeteries. Quite often, pictures of tombstones or even people are provided. I've even found the contents of a death certificate included with an entry.
Many counties participate in the US Gen Web project. Begin by going to the national USGenWeb Archives. From there you can select your state. At the state level, you can then look for the appropriate county. Some counties are really active in this project while others have very limited information.
These are just 3 sources that barely scratch the surface. Records of all types exist out there, from ship logs to military records. Be creative in your search and use all the information you have. Personally, I enjoy playing detective. I find that it keeps my mind active, and this is a good thing as I age. I enjoy the mental challenge of trying to solve a riddle, and family history is certainly that.
When I first created my web page (Living the Good Life), I included a section on genealogy. Unfortunately, I've not done much on it since. But on a sub page, you can view some early pictures of my Cameron family. I hope to get back to work on that portion of my web page in the near future. But right now, I'm just too busy digging up bones.
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Blessed Rain
We've been blessed with evenly spaced rains here in San Angelo for the past 2 months or so. 2 nights ago, we received another ½ inch at our house on the southwest side of the city. That brings our total thus far this year to 7.72 inches, which is still behind our normal average of 9.8 inches. Lake O.H. Ivie, San Angelo's primary source of water, is currently at 18% capacity, or 102,090 acre feet. Since rains a couple of nights ago were quite heavy to our north and northwest, we should get more water in our area lakes, but it will take a few days for all of that to register.
We are restricted to watering our yards only once per week at this time. So far, that has not been a problem for me as the rains have been spaced apart nicely. In fact, I've not watered my yard in more than 2 weeks, and I do not intend to turn my sprinkler on again until the middle of next week. And if we get a little more rain between now and then, I'll continue to leave the sprinkler system off.
I posted some pictures of my yard in 2 previous entries: "Instant Yard" and "Blooming Yucca". Go back and take a look at the pictures -- in that order -- and then compare them to pictures I took earlier this morning (below). You'll see the grass has come along nicely. I'm really pleased with the grass selection I made (Celebration Bermuda). It is supposed to be both drought tolerant and shade tolerant, and so far I'd say it has performed well. Yes, we've had rains, but not abundant rains. Normally, we get only .2 or .3 inches of rain. Since I've been trying to establish the yard, I'm really pleased.
We are restricted to watering our yards only once per week at this time. So far, that has not been a problem for me as the rains have been spaced apart nicely. In fact, I've not watered my yard in more than 2 weeks, and I do not intend to turn my sprinkler on again until the middle of next week. And if we get a little more rain between now and then, I'll continue to leave the sprinkler system off.
I posted some pictures of my yard in 2 previous entries: "Instant Yard" and "Blooming Yucca". Go back and take a look at the pictures -- in that order -- and then compare them to pictures I took earlier this morning (below). You'll see the grass has come along nicely. I'm really pleased with the grass selection I made (Celebration Bermuda). It is supposed to be both drought tolerant and shade tolerant, and so far I'd say it has performed well. Yes, we've had rains, but not abundant rains. Normally, we get only .2 or .3 inches of rain. Since I've been trying to establish the yard, I'm really pleased.
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| Grass is a rich green, thanks to the nitrogen in the rain we've had, with a few lighter areas here and there. Pepper, tomato, and cucumber plants line the bed next to the house. |
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| Same area as in the picture above, but from the opposite end. |
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| Donna's raised beds. Zucchini on the left, okra and squash in the middle, and basil on the right. Donna has grown basil successfully for years. When she harvests it, she makes pesto, which she freezes in bags to store in the freezer. We then eat this yummy treat all year long. Store bought pesto can not compare to Donna's. |
Monday, June 17, 2013
The Kids and Other Things
Our daughter and her crew came down for a weekend visit. They live about 2 hours north of here in a small community, and they enjoy coming to the "big city" from time to time to eat out and go shopping. Our daughter is in about the 8th month of her pregnancy, and she's just about ready to bingo.
We had planned to attend a San Angelo Colts ballgame Friday night after they arrived, but believe it or not, it rained off and on much of Friday. Our grandson, Xander (short for Alexander), was a bit disappointed but took it in stride. His folks left yesterday (Sunday), but he is staying with us for a few extra days. We will take him to a ballgame Tuesday night.
Early Saturday, Courtney (daughter) rose early to discover a damp carpet in her room. She could hear a hissing sound in the wall. The bedroom she and Michael (son-in-law) were in shares a wall with the guest bathroom, so we checked that out, but there was no water anywhere in there. We eventually called our builder, Tony Jones, and he was at our door before 8:00 that morning. After locating his plumber, they eventually found a pin hole leak in a a fitting inside the wall spraying a stream directly at the wall in the guest bedroom. To me, it looked like a manufacturing defect in the fitting, since the tiny hole was actually in the metal part. I was grateful to Tony for getting on this right away and getting it fixed, as we were worried we might have to turn the water off for a long period of time. We've been extremely happy with Tony; he is very customer oriented and stands behind his work.
While overseas, Donna learned to cook numerous Mediterranean dishes, and for Father's Day, she made kofta kebabs, saffron rice, hummus, and baba ghanoush, with a few other side dishes. Even though Michael has never been abroad, he has learned to love the foreign dishes that both Donna and Courtney cook up. Xander more or less tolerates these dishes as he is something of a picky eater, but he's still rather young. We're sure he'll broaden his food horizons as he grows. He's kind of a meat and potatoes guy right now.
So Xander will stay with us until he wears us out this week, then we'll deliver the little monster to his mother near the end of the week. After that, we'll spend several days recuperating.
We had planned to attend a San Angelo Colts ballgame Friday night after they arrived, but believe it or not, it rained off and on much of Friday. Our grandson, Xander (short for Alexander), was a bit disappointed but took it in stride. His folks left yesterday (Sunday), but he is staying with us for a few extra days. We will take him to a ballgame Tuesday night.
Early Saturday, Courtney (daughter) rose early to discover a damp carpet in her room. She could hear a hissing sound in the wall. The bedroom she and Michael (son-in-law) were in shares a wall with the guest bathroom, so we checked that out, but there was no water anywhere in there. We eventually called our builder, Tony Jones, and he was at our door before 8:00 that morning. After locating his plumber, they eventually found a pin hole leak in a a fitting inside the wall spraying a stream directly at the wall in the guest bedroom. To me, it looked like a manufacturing defect in the fitting, since the tiny hole was actually in the metal part. I was grateful to Tony for getting on this right away and getting it fixed, as we were worried we might have to turn the water off for a long period of time. We've been extremely happy with Tony; he is very customer oriented and stands behind his work.
While overseas, Donna learned to cook numerous Mediterranean dishes, and for Father's Day, she made kofta kebabs, saffron rice, hummus, and baba ghanoush, with a few other side dishes. Even though Michael has never been abroad, he has learned to love the foreign dishes that both Donna and Courtney cook up. Xander more or less tolerates these dishes as he is something of a picky eater, but he's still rather young. We're sure he'll broaden his food horizons as he grows. He's kind of a meat and potatoes guy right now.
So Xander will stay with us until he wears us out this week, then we'll deliver the little monster to his mother near the end of the week. After that, we'll spend several days recuperating.
Friday, June 14, 2013
Big Brother Comes Knocking
Yeah, Big Brother has been here. No, not the feds, but my older brother, Larry. He and his wife, Nancy, came out for a visit last weekend. That was a real treat. We rarely have visits from family or old friends out here. Most of our family members live in the eastern part of the state or other places, so when we have guests, it is a real pleasure.
We enjoyed the visit tremendously, and we really enjoyed the opportunity to show them around San Angelo. We're very proud of our town and we like to show it off. We took them out to Lake Nasworthy where we spotted countless deer, a few turkeys, and numerous squirrels, including 1 or two black squirrels. We also spent some time driving them through San Angelo State Park. We were unable to spot any of the park's buffalo heard, but while stretching our legs on Pulliam Point, a young fox ran very near us. There is also a small prairie dog town fork in that section of the park, and we spotted several of those little critters sporting around.
We also took them by Angelo State University, through the lovely Santa Rita neighborhood (older homes that have been lovingly maintained and restored), along the North Concho River in downtown Angelo, and we visited a few stores downtown, notably Eggemeyer's General Store and Concho Confetti Antique Mall. While the gang was strolling through these stores, I slipped off to my favorite bookstore in the world, the Cactus Book Shop, which has the best collection of Elmer Kelton books in the world. It also has a ton of other books on the American West, which is one of my greatest interests.
The rest of the time, we just visited and ate . . . and ate . . . and ate. Donna made a cheesecake. She hadn't made one of these in years and years, but she hasn't lost her touch. It's worth putting up with my brother if I can get a Donna cheesecake out of the deal. And Larry brought 2 boxes of old family pictures and documents which he had recently come across, so he and I spent time working our way through those.
We had a good time, and look forward to our next visit. Maybe some other family can find San Angelo on the map and work their way out here. We're pretty good hosts.
We enjoyed the visit tremendously, and we really enjoyed the opportunity to show them around San Angelo. We're very proud of our town and we like to show it off. We took them out to Lake Nasworthy where we spotted countless deer, a few turkeys, and numerous squirrels, including 1 or two black squirrels. We also spent some time driving them through San Angelo State Park. We were unable to spot any of the park's buffalo heard, but while stretching our legs on Pulliam Point, a young fox ran very near us. There is also a small prairie dog town fork in that section of the park, and we spotted several of those little critters sporting around.
We also took them by Angelo State University, through the lovely Santa Rita neighborhood (older homes that have been lovingly maintained and restored), along the North Concho River in downtown Angelo, and we visited a few stores downtown, notably Eggemeyer's General Store and Concho Confetti Antique Mall. While the gang was strolling through these stores, I slipped off to my favorite bookstore in the world, the Cactus Book Shop, which has the best collection of Elmer Kelton books in the world. It also has a ton of other books on the American West, which is one of my greatest interests.
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| Eggemeyer's General Store on Concho Street in downtown San Angelo |
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| Concho Confetti Mall on Concho Street in downtown San Angelo. The old Cactus Hotel is in the background. |
We had a good time, and look forward to our next visit. Maybe some other family can find San Angelo on the map and work their way out here. We're pretty good hosts.
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