El Capitan's Extra-Spiffy Weekend, Pt. 2

The Thrilla Up On The Hill-A

Part Two of my weekend was the BBQ & mini-blogmeet at Casa del Feisty out in the Texas Hill Country. I'd missed the last BBQ out there due to some conflict or other, and was most pleased to be able to attend this time.

Don't underestimate the incredible magnetic pull of one of Christina's fiestas. This one pulled folks from as far away as North Carolina. I'm always a bit awed by folks who can travel across the USA just to hang out for a weekend. Hell, the last time I managed to leave Texas for any reason, it was strictly on business.

Casa del Feisty is a beautiful house set way back in the low hills outside of New Braunfels. There's lots of wandering wildlife, room enough out back for pellet-gun shooting competitions, and enough smokers and grills to feed an army!

So, how does one sum up a visit to Casa del Feisty? Let me put it this way... you'll want for nothing!

Unless of course, what you want is to win at poker, in which case her 12 year old daughter 'Sweet One' will hand you your ass on a silver platter. Christina calls it "erratic play that can't be read". Heh. I call it diabolically clever and fiendishly aggressive! Nah, she beat me fair & square. I went all-in on a 10-high straight, 'Sweet One' ended up having a Jack-high straight. Chit happens...

I was most impressed by the Feisty offspring. 'Sweet One' and 'Wee One' are both bright and personable, and dealt with a crowd of adults better than I would have at their age. Yabu applied a mystical stripey-sock charm on Wee One upon his arrival, and had a 4 foot shadow for three days as a result!

I got there in time for breakfast, which was helpful, as you're never really sure where your next meal is coming from at Casa del Feisty! (laughgigglesnort!) Mostly they come at you from the front, but then they'll come at you from either side, and overhead, and behind you, and then little hands sneak in from under the table and pile more food on your plate!! Aieee!!! For a dedicated food-o-phile, it was pure bliss!

We had a pretty righteous crowd o' bloggers, plus a few folks that wandered in from out in the underbrush. Dash was the GrillMeister for the event, and did a bang-up job on about 3 metric tons of dead animal. If you ever get a chance, don' t miss his bacon-wrapped dove breast, with cream cheese & jalapeno. MMM... lip-smack...drool drool....

Much drinking, talking, singing and socializing went on until late in the evening. Denny played us some gee-tar, and a cigar or two was fired up.

Aside from the folks I already mentioned, the other bloggers present were:

Zippo and his extended clan.
Shoe, who loves her cell phone!
Beth who's one of the nicer people you'll ever meet!
and AJ, the Humble Devildog.

Christina's friend Susan brought her new squeeze Mark to the bash, and there was another couple of non-bloggers there that I was just too squiffed to get their name into long-term RAM storage.

Everyone was just as nice as could be. It was great getting to talk with some of the folks you know only as words on an LCD monitor. With a crowd that size, though, you couldn't get to everyone. I would have liked more chatting time with Denny & Shoe, but that's what future blogfests are for!

Pictures! We have pictures!

Now, some folks get all flibbertygibbetted when their pic gets posted online (myself included) so I've anonymized everyone with big ol' smiley faces. Well, except for Denny. Since he blogs as the Grouchy Old Cripple, I gave him a frowny face. He's really not all that grouchy in person, though!

Lookit all that food! Here, Dash spices up some fowl before cooking them.


Note the gigantimous pile o' chips in front of Sweet One!


Mmmm! Yummy yummy dove breasts and pig slices!


Unexpected backyard visitors!



Needless to say, I had a fantastic time, and I can't wait for the big Texas blogfest in April.

Thanks again for the invite, y'all! Next time I'll crank up my mAd CooKin' skIllZ and repay your hospitality!