Road Trip: San Marcos – From the Bird’s Nest

The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns had been at home for three weekends in a row.  After all the traveling during the last few months, the time at home was really welcome.

But now it was time to go back on the road, this time to San Marcos, TX for a three game series with Texas State.  Baseball Sports Information Director Jeff Schneider (who partners with me on road broadcasts) and I decided we’d forego the bus trip and drive over ourselves.  Mainly because San Marcos is a very good place to go and we wanted to be sure we were mobile.

The drive over had plenty of rain.  Imagine that.  And a wreck just east of Houston.  Actually the wreck was about to be cleared.  But the fire trucks had three of the four lanes blocked, which made for quite a backup.  The delay turned out to be about 20 minutes.

We stopped in Katy for lunch at a place called "The  Egg and I."  I can eat breakfast for lunch any time and the food was good.  Jeff inhaled his corned beef hash and eggs in Steve Peloquin-esque record time.  He then had to sit and watch me savor my meal.

One of the things that makes the San Marcos area a great place to spend a weekend is the variety of cuisine in the area.  Naturally, there’s plenty of Tex-Mex.  But the area also has a heavy German influence.  New Braunfels is the heart of that area, about fifteen miles south.  Jeff (remember his last name is Schneider) suggested we head there for dinner.  Being a fan of German cuisine, he didn’t have to twist my arm.

We arrived shortly before the team.  I brought Yuengling (yeah, a real shock, I know) and went upstairs to put it in the refrigerator.  We were staying at the Embassy Suites.  Both Jeff and I had a little writing to do so we stayed busy for a bit.  And, of course, before we left, we had to take advantage of the “manager’s reception” that you find at all Embassy Suites.  Free beer, wine and mixed drinks, plus snacks.  (I got there before Jeff.  I passed on the snacks.)  Then it was dinnertime.

We drove to New Braunfels and went to a place called Alpine Haus.  We were seated right away.  The menu was pretty expansive.  And, so was the list of available beers.  I asked our server to bring me something amber colored and she said she knew just the thing.  She brought a beer from the world’s oldest brewery.  It had a slight nutty favor.  Very very good.  But after two it was time to stop.  I don’t know what the alcohol content was, but I can tell you it was NOT a light beer.  I was glad I wasn’t driving.

We ordered the sausage sampler for an appetizer.  It was three different types of sausage served with a spicy mustard.  It did not take us long to wipe it out…although it, like virtually all orders you place in a German restaurant, was a very plentiful portion.  For the entrée I ordered a veal Schnitzel.  With potato dumplings.  And sauerkraut.  And, German potato salad.  (I would have ordered the Spaetzle as well, but I didn’t want to look greedy.)

May I have a “to-go” box please?

Back at the hotel, Jeff and athletic trainer Brian Davis joined me for some Yuengling and we watched a couple of shows on television (don’t ask.)  Then they left, mainly because they saw I had fallen asleep sitting up.

The next morning, Jeff suggested we head to Gruene for lunch.  I had eaten at the Grist

Mill in that historic town during football season and it didn't take long for me to say yes.  Brian Davis and coach Anthony Babineaux rode along with us.  The restaurant is, in fact, an old mill.  There's a dance hall right next door where many famous people have performed.  The host led us down two levels and seated us right by the river.  Lunch was great.  We were in Texas so it was chicken fried steak for me.  Lunch was great and we beat the rain.

Oh, did I mention it rained?

It started around 3pm.  The game was originally scheduled for six, then pushed back to 7:30.  Finally, it was decided to postpone the game until Saturday, where the teams would play a doubleheader.  I wrote the story for the website and waited for dinner.

Dinner was courtesy of Chris Bazar, Reagan's dad.  The dude can cook.

Around 8:30 he arrived with enough chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, white gravy, green beans, peach cobbler and ice cream to feed...well...a lot of people.  Yes, I ate chicken fried steak for the second time that day.  But I was in Texas so that was okay.  It's kind of like eating etoufee twice in one day in Louisiana.  And, like I said, the dude can cook.

The weather forecast improved and we were able to get both games in on Saturday.  After writing both game stories, Jeff, Bab and I went out for a late dinner at Pluckers, a chain restaurant/sports bar (they have one in Baton Rouge.  I vote they get one here.)  We were ready to order drinks and our server/bartender Amber suggested a drink called a "toxic tea."  I was having a beer.  Bab ordered the tea and suggested I try it.  I declined but he said "No.  You really need to try this.  So I did.

And, promptly ordered one.  It tasted like tea.  It proved to be toxic.  It was a LARGE drink and I found out later when I watched on being made why it was toxic.  Let's just say I'm glad Jeff was the designated driver.  Dinner was great....at least I think it was.

Sunday we checked out of the hotel and it was a beautiful day in San Marcos.  It was pretty windy, but skies were clear and temps would get into the upper 80's.  Jeff said two of the coaches asked that we pick up something for them on the way to the ball park.  Jeff found a Walgreens and was looking for the place to turn in.

He didn't notice the light was changing.  Finally I hollered "RED LIGHT!!!!!" and he hit the brakes.  He looked at me and said "thank you."  I can't print my reply.

After a Cajuns' victory we packed and got ready to leave.  But first, we needed to stop at the football stadium where the team was showering.

Because Chris Bazar had cooked again.  This time it was barbecued beef sandwiches with chips and pie.  I'm too old for him to adopt me.  But I still might ask.

Jeff listens to music constantly when in the car.  And, I'm fine with that.  He has an app on his phone (monthly subscription charge) that lets him get almost any song or artist.  And, on the way home he substantiated my opinion that, overall, '90s music really sucks. (Yes, there are exceptions.  Unfortunately, it took him a long time to find those exceptions.)

We hit the road under sunny skies.  But it was certainly too much to ask for it to be that way on the way home.  There was an inordinate amount of traffic on I-10 on the way to Houston and just about the time the traffic started to get "normal," the skies opened up.

I'm talking quarter sized hail.  The line of weather wasn't very big, north to south, but the east/west part of it stayed along I-10.  The heavy rain lasted about 30 minutes but we caught rain all the way to the Louisiana border.  Still, we made it home safely, each of us having gained a few pounds.

And, the Cajuns won the series.  That always makes for a good road trip.