Two weekends ago, we also headed out to the world-famous Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo BBQ Cook-off at Reliant Stadium. It brings back such good memories, as this was the event of our 3rd date back in 2005 & where I first met some of his friends. Luckily, we were able to secure tickets to a tent (not necessary to get into the party, but all the fun & free food/drinks are inside private tents) on Saturday & headed down there on a bright, sunny afternoon.
There are hundreds and hundreds of teams that compete in grilling/smoking up the best beef, chicken, ribs and more. Each team also creates a party tent, where all their friends gather & meals are served. They get very creative with their decorating & “old west” mockups trying to create the most fun atmosphere, where loud music & lots of drinks are generally a good start.
All the teams have creative & clever names, some have outside seating areas & some have dance floors (or even a mechanical bull) inside. They can range from fairly basic chairs & tables to extravagant things like giant screens TV’s & heaters/AC for the weather. It’s really just an excuse for a giant party & to eat some scrumptious food!
We arrived at our tent pretty early & got our grub on . We met some new people as we shared a table & tried to avoid making eye-contact with the shot team.
Unfortunately, with her loud whistle, there was no way to avoid the shot girl who was rounding up people from every corner of the tent & making them take their turn on the ice block. Luckily, after about 5 minutes of absolutely refusing to do it, I was able to escape her clutches; hubby wasn’t as lucky.
We quickly split out of there before he got wrangled into a second round & headed out to the carnival.
We actually headed out to our favorite part- funnel cake! We also couldn’t resist a sausage on a stick. Everybody there- from babies, grandmas and workers, was in such a great mood & so happy to be a part of the kick-off weekend to the rodeo.
GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY:
I really wanted to go on the Ferris wheel & take some fun night shots, but somebody bumped into me & my camera fell out of my purse on to the ground- which ended our evening. I knew right away it was a hard hit- I couldn’t even get the lens cap off until I got home & could bang on it with a lever. Once off, I could see that the lens filter had taken the brunt of the force & cracked. It still took an enormous effort to get the filter to unscrew, but I’m so glad it was there to protect my lens.
Phew! Nothing like a $10-20 filter to save a lens worth hundreds (or even thousands). All those camera guys are right; a UV filter is probably the most important accessory to have. Dropping the camera is bound to happen at some point if you carry it around enough. Also, I carry my camera in my purse often enough…when the camera bag is too much or just doesn’t match my outfit! I was in search of a cute bag that didn’t look like a camera bag. Kelly Moore Bags (http://www.kellymoorebag.com/) has some really cute ones if you are interested….kinda pricey but I’m hoping it’s a good investment for me. I haven’t received it yet so I can’t really tell you how functional it is; but it looks cute!
I’ve heard lots of really good things about the Kelly Moore bags. Since I don’t really carry multiple lenses or flashes, I always just toss my camera in a big purse with my wallet & cell phone. I’ve got 3 *nice* purses, but I really only ever use them if I’m taking my camera out- which is most of the time I’m going somewhere fun.