Friday, January 29, 2010

Flying Pickups..


In one 24-hour period here in Houston, I ate at Burns BBQ, went to a gun exhibition and saw a monster truck show at Reliant Stadium.

Burns is a Houston institution, and it was a long drive even by Texas standards. Barbeque in the south is not the same as what we call barbeque in Canada. Here, it's smoked brisket or ribs served with beans. They call what we do to steaks in our backyards "char-broiling." Burns has a screen door on the front and the menu is written on big sheets of cardboard. It reminded me of what Ches's Fish 'n Chips used to be like in St. John's in the 1970s.

The gun show was in an exhibition hall on the grounds of the now vacant Astrodome. The big -- and pleasant -- surprise for me here was how many exhibitors were selling historic guns. There were Second World War Lugers and Civil War era stuff. The historic sellers also had lots of little derringers, which I suppose come in handy if you cheat at poker. I was also happy that there was only one table selling anti-Obama stickers.

The truck rally was the last event of the day. It was LOUD! Reliant Stadium was built to replace the Astrodome and dwarfs it, yet even in the higher seats, ear protection was a necessity. Fortunately earplugs were available at the concessions stands for a dollar a pack. Beer was an astounding $7.50. Not many people were drinking, though, because most of the fans were there with children under 10.

So that's about it for Houston. Very soon I'll be flying back to Canada. I'm bracing myself for Edmonton in February.

No comments:

Post a Comment