It's no secret that the majority of the NüRVers enjoy a good drink now and then. And today, they celebrated that fact! Around 10:00 a.m., a train of vehicles headed East to Shiner, Texas to tour the Spoetzl Brewery...home of Shiner Bock Beers.
We stayed home, but judging from the photos...it looks like they had a great time! I heard that the bottling and labeling operation was quite fun to watch. Thanks to Karen Nace for capturing the memories!
Back at Hill Shade, we had a full living room as we all tried to avoid the staggering humidity outside. I enjoyed chatting with Tara, Becky, and Beverly about life on the road, choosing an RV, blogging, unschooling, food choices, and more. Justin and Matt ran to town to pick up some odd and ends (including Avatar...I still haven't seen it!). The kids ran in and out all day...playing legos and jumping on the trampoline. They stopped for a moment to eat...but only for a moment!
Later in the afternoon, the much-anticipated "Bartender Wars" began! I rarely drink and Matt doesn't drink at all...but these tasty concoctions were not to be missed.
My favorite of them all was the "Thai Tea" served up by Damien and Michelle. They just returned from 3 weeks in Thailand (and 1 in Japan) and their drink was like Tom Kha soup in a glass. Oooooh so yummy. Lemongrass makes me happy.
After much hoopla and lots of creative drinks, everyone voted...and the winners were:
Jim and Rene for Best Presentation. I don't remember exactly what was in their drink, but I do know that it was a very pretty bright blue and had a little umbrella and pineapple wedge. :) They even had a special song for Kevin to play while they prepared it. Such fun.
Ben won Best Overall with his "Blazing Bloody Mary". I've never had a bloody mary, so I had to taste it. It's not as bad as I imagined :) My dad would love it. It had all kinds of fresh veggies and good stuff in it.
Look at all the pretty colors!
Next on the agenda...supper! This has been the highlight for me, of course. I'm such a food geek, so I love seeing what other people's favorite dishes are. Plus, there are many vegetarians in our group, and tonight 2/3 of the table was either vegan or vegetarian dishes. Woo! The theme was "free for all"...with everyone bringing their favorites. We brought kale salad, watermelon, and brownies. I filled my plate with orange curry potatoes, tabouleh, broccoli + poblanos, a Cambodian noodle dish, salads, and a pita. To top it off, I had a little scotcheroo and a vegan chocolate cake truffle from Quack's Bakery in Austin that was divine (thanks Jennifer!). My tummy is still happy.
Other happenings at the rally...Richard (the egg/raw milk/homemade wine guy) stopped over to say hello. Dr. Bob, a retired science teacher and neighbor stopped in as well. The local newspaper came out to do a story on the "young nomads". And lastly, a new piece of wi-fi equipment that will improve the signal arrived at the park today to keep all the geeks happy.
We're looking forward to another fun-filled day tomorrow!
Note: I am pulling "highlight" photos for the daily blog updates and then uploading all the other photos as I have time. Lots of new pics from today...check them out!
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