Texas Blogmeet

Ten days ago I traveled down to beautiful Kerrville, Texas for the meeting of the Blowneyed Blodgers (trust me, you really don't want to know the origin of the name).  Last year, fellow bloggers That One Guy, Tammi, and Straight White Guy went to the blog meet in Austin.  None of them could make it this year.  I didn't know a single one of them, but decided, what the hell.  After all, I'm going to be a frequent visitor to Texas when my company relocates to Houston next month. 

I didn't get to town until about 10pm.  There was a lot of laughter emanating from the pool area.  I went through the gate and introduced myself to the group.  I recognized GuyK from his picture on his blog.  Also, at the pool that night were Walrilla, El Capitan, Leslie's Omnibus, Erica, and the other Jerry, Confabulator.  Then a while later, came another familiar face to all but me:  the lovely hostess with the mostest Shoe.  We sat around and told stories for a while and then agreed to meet out by the pool the next day.

On Saturday, I checked out of the Hampton Inn and into the Inn of the Hills Resort.  I had a room which had two doors.  One led out to the parking lot, and the other end led out to the pool.  Too bad I didn't spend much time in there.

We met out at the pool.  Several new faces today including Tall Drink of Water, Pup, Nancy, and Hammer.  Denny and Jimbo brought their guitars and serenaded us with some great music.  They call themselves The Elderly Brothers.  We all signed a plaque for GuyK and sang Happy Birthday as he was celebrating his 65th.  Much later in the day, Smoke on the Water and Iris showed up.  For dinner, Shoe and Erica went to get pizza.  A few of us almost went into an insulin shock waiting for her return.  But the pizza was yummy once it arrived.  At 10pm we got kicked out of the pool area so they could clean it.  We just move on down the pike to a small patio area right outside of my room.  More chatting ensued.  I finally threw in the towel around 1am.  I hear that some of them stayed up until 3am.

On Sunday, GuyK and his lovely bride were sitting out on the patio by the pool.  I chatted with them for awhile and then went in for some breakfast.  We then converged back on the patio and visited some more.  Then it was time for Shoe to take Jimbo and Erica to the airport.  I left then too and headed back to Austin.  I had a great time.  I hope to be able to make it again next year. 

Here's the list of this year's participants:

• Shoe of chou chope:  What a fun gal.  She was a great hostess, schlepping in tacos, coolers, and beers, making airport runs.  Even though we almost starved during her pizza run.  But hey, she got the pizza's for free.  Even though she gets weak in the knees when she sees any officer in uniform, we'll look the other way while she sniffs his leather holster.  I hope to see her next year down in Kerrville again.  I don't think she'll be headed to any flat states that begin with the letter "I" anytime soon.
• El Capitan of Baboon Pirates:  I have had El Capitan linked for quite some time.  He has a wicked sense of humor, even more so in person.  Turns out that he lives very close to our new headquarters in Houston.  I'm sure we'll be meeting up for dinner in the near future. 
• Walrilla of Walrilla's Wonderings:  Walrilla is kind of a quiet guy.  We talked geek stuff for a while as he works with mainframe JCL.  He is getting along well in his wheelchair, considering that the hotel wasn't very ADA-compliant.  Can't wait to see him once he gets fitted for a prosthetic leg.  He wore a t-shirt one day that said, "Wanna touch it?"  He has a great sense of humor. 
• Robert:  Walrilla talked his friend Robert into coming along.  He was very jovial and cool.  We coaxed him into creating a blog of his own.  When he got back home he created A Disregard for Timekeeping.  A blogger is born.
• Erica of Erica's Blog:  Oh My Gawd!  What a cutie she is.  What's a nice Jewish girl from Brooklyn like her doing down in Texas?  She was our baby of the group, bright-eyed and full of wonder.  I could just listen to that accent all day. 
• Jimbo of Parkway Rest Stop:  Jimbo was great.  He brought his guitar and serenaded us by the pool for hours.  He has a great singing voice.  My favorite song was Lonesome Town, an old Ricky Nelson tune.  His speaking voice is great too.  Very Joisey, like he just stepped off the Sopranos set:  Ooooooooh, Aaaaaaaaay!  Also loved his shirt which simply stated FUHRC (Hillary Rodham Clinton).
• Denny of Grouchy Old Cripple:  Denny also brought his guitar and he and Jimbo called themselves the Elderly Brothers.  I particularly liked Denny when he sang She Used To Be Pretty.  He was a really funny guy.  He drove in from Georgia.
• Jerry of Confabulation:  Jerry used to work for the city of Broken Arrow, OK.  So we had lots of Tulsa / Oklahoma stories to tell.  He also picked up Erica and Jimbo and took them to see the Alamo.  Jerry now lives in Port Lavaca, TX. 
• Nancy of Nancy's Garden Spot and Pup:  This very nice couple shuffled on over to Kerrville from Houston.  Pup and I had a long technical talk about our careers in I.T.  Nancy gave us all an aloe vera plant to take home with us.  Very nice folks.
• Hammer of When Your Only Tool Is a Hammer:  I was really impressed by Hammer.  He knows so much about blogging and creating different types of media files.  He creates his own videos.  We discussed a lot of things from dysfunctional families to tastes in music.  He has a great outlook on life. 
• Leslie of Leslie's Omnibus:  I didn't get much of a chance to chat with Leslie until the last night.  We had a long chat about relationships and being the primary caregiver while in your 40s.  She's a sharp gal.  She hails from the greater Chicagoland area.  She and I represented the Midwest well.  I hope to see her this summer up at Ogfest or back at Kerrville next year.  Maybe then she'll finally get that elusive pair of cowboy boots.
• Jim of Smoke On The Water:  He and his Irish lass Iris snuck in during the Elderly Brothers session.  I didn't get much of a chance to talk with them, but I'm sure we'll cross paths again in Houston.  I wanna ride on that boat! 
• Becky of Tall Cool Drink of Water:  She showed up on Saturday and I didn't have much of a chance to talk with her either.  It wasn't until she stood up to leave that I realized what the title of her blog meant.  Hell, she's taller than me.  She seems like a real nice gal. 
• Last, but certainly not least is GuyK of Charming, Just Charming.  I believe I could sit and talk with this man all day.  He's an Okie currently living in Florida.  We traded farm stories: driving tractors and raising hogs.  He turned 65 on Sunday while we were there.  His bride of 40-some years was there too.  What a peach she is.  They were passing through in their fifth wheel on their way to a couple family reunions in Oklahoma.  They were just the nicest couple.  I loved his laugh.

That's it folks.  I had a Texas-sized time at the blogmeet! 

 

Comments

[Nancy]

Was a pleasure meeting you!

Pup enjoyed his talk with you. Let us know when you're in Houston and we'll meet for dinner.

Nancy and 'Pup

[Tammi]

I'm so glad you got to go - never a doubt in my mind you'd have a great time! Ohhh and you got to hang with some of my favorite Peeps! Lucky dog.

I may have been a bit busy myself that weekend, but you can bet I was thinkin' of y'all.

[Jim - PRS]

Yo! Great to meet you. Hope to see you again soon.

[Erica]

You're a cutie, too, and were, furthermore, a constant source of crack-uppage for me. I really adore you and can't wait to see you again. Oh, goodness, and what you said is SO going on the sidebar.

[Jamie dawn]

Wooo-Hooo!
Looks and sounds like a good time was had by ALL.

[Brian]

Sounds like a blast. I love meeting fellow bloggers.

[Hammer]

It was a pleasure meeting you.

You are a scholar and a gentleman. I'm extremely impressed that you know more about oldies than I do! Can't wait till the next blogmeet.

[Dash]

Glad you had a good time and I wish I could have been there to meet you. Maybe next time...

[Rachel]

So glad you had a good time Jerry and got to meet some wonderful bloggers!!!

[chou]

count me out!

just kidding. now that we are all palsies, i will just ask a follow up question the next time you give me some geeked up three word non comment!! hows dat? loved meeting you. lonesome town rocked. much agreed.

[Eric]

... sorry I missed the party!... I was there in spirit though!..

[Becky]

It was nice meeting you and I hope you will be there next year that way we can visit.