2019 was a year for sleeping in the beds of strangers, via AirBnb. trying new things in new places, staying as long as it was fun and interesting, then quickly moving on before others arrive. They have a service – they call it AirBnB. I call it a whole heck of a lot cheaper than buying your own beach houses.
The first week of March we sampled the lifestyle of moneyed slackers, staying in a modern beachfront condo, buying takeout ceviche by the pound, making custom screen-print tees at the dollar souvenir shop, drag racing golf carts down the strip, and learning to build sandcastles with local legend “Sandy feet” herself. Loki was a changed dog. He would lay on the couch all day listening to the waves crash below him. From the balcony, he would watch with curiosity the throng of college kids on spring break do keg stands and throw the pigskin on the beach. He even made a break for it out the front door until Diane got him cornered. I think he was trying to ditch us old folks and run with the kids. It was crazy cold and windy, but the dogs loved dragging us down the beach on their leashes, zig-zagging to see abandoned sandcastles and swim attire, and attacking the waves as they rolled in. I got sick with what seemed like the flu, and broke my right ankle slipping off a curb as we got ready to leave, but it was a fun week at the beach and some carnage was to be expected. The first week in May is always special to us as the anniversary of our wedding reception. They hold the Kentucky Derby the same time each year too, so everybody can celebrate with us. This year, we spent it down in Rockport, TX, in a 2 bed, 2 bath cottage in old town. It’s only three hours from our house but we arrived about an hour before Derby start time, so it was a rush to get us and the dogs unpacked, figure out the cable tv channel guide, get to the channel showing the Derby and get our Mint Juleps prepared. That was the drama before the drama before the drama. Then the race, then the winner was disqualified. What? But aside from our first hour, Rockport was an oasis of relaxation. Diane slept in and I drove the truck downtown to discover coffee shops with attached art galleries, bakery sandwich shops packed with patrons, and drive-thru independent donut restaurants. Every day I’d wake Diane up with stories of what I discovered that day. We would drive around looking for George Strait’s house and what buildings never got rebuilt after the hurricane. We had a spa day at the Drift Away Spa downtown next to the surf shop, and Diane went back the next day for the best manicure she’s ever had. We discovered the Shop Sassy Boutique and bought absolutely nothing. It felt like a place you could go to escape your ambitions, and be never ahead or behind in your plans, just always right there in the moment, wandering and exploring where you are. Rockport is a tiny little place, and it seems like we still didn’t do half the stuff we wanted.
We always take one “big” vacation each year, and this year it was a trip to Maui for my 50th birthday. I’d never been to Hawaii, so it was about time. The AirBnB was on the coast by the marina where we could watch the sunrise, and people come and go on excursions. And there was an extra room so Diane’s mother Judy and cousin Gary came with. A week was plenty of time to do all the “must do” excursions I’ve heard of my whole life. Diane drove us up to the top of Mount Haleakala to watch the sunrise. Oh man was it cold up there. Most memorable part? The crazy park ranger lady who would alternate harassing people who couldn’t follow the rules, and sign native songs about the volcano. We took a helicopter tour of West Maui and Malikai. Most memorable part? Captain Roy rocking up and down to let everyone get a good view. Boy howdy am I crazy afraid of heights! But it was pretty view. We took a trip to Pearl Harbor, and saw Waikiki Beach from a bar with amazing appetizers and highly effective cocktails. Had front row seats for the luau. Drove “The Road to Hana” and back. Had a lovely fish dinner at Mama’s Fish House with Diane’s lovely mama. Walked the beach with cousin Gary. I think that’s about everything you can do on Maui without getting wet.
For most of the other 49 weeks of the year, we were doing just great nestled in the Texas Hill Country, trying out places near us – both new and old. We VIP attended the King’s Cup? Polo Tournament during Fiesta, where we met the Fiesta royalty. We took pictures and compared notes on San Antonio high schools, which I suspect is typical conversion when you meet any royalty. We discovered Chick’s Prime Meat Market which opened a year ago in nearby Spring Branch. They host free concerts in their oak covered backyard, which is a pretty affordable way to do steak dinners. We went to our first Wurstfest in New Braunfels, saw Shinyribs at Gruene Hall, dined at the Gristmill with Jeff and Rhonda White, and caught a Pat Green concert at Whitewater Amphitheatre (no relation). We have also become regulars on the San Antonio Trivia circuit. Our favorite place to play is Goofy’s Bar and Grill in Canyon Lake. We tried it on a Tuesday in July, loved the Trivia Jockey’s music, won $20 which more than covered our entire bar tab. Have been back every Tuesday since, except the week we were in Maui, and a week they cancelled due to an Astros game. It’s always fun, we always win money because they pay out to third place and there are typically 3 teams playing. We have still won more money than all of our bar tabs combined. You can’t beat getting paid to eat, drink, and have fun!
It has been a banner year for the education of Loki Sheldon Richardson. He learned about rattlesnakes, in the worst possible way. We didn’t see it happen, but his head swelled up like a watermelon, and I killed one two days later curled up in the driveway, so we figured that’s what happened. Here is how Loki interacts with all new critters he finds in the yard. First he corners it, and barks REALLY loud in its face. I have seen bugs blown inches away with each hello he barks at them. If they don’t run away so he can chase them, he pokes them with his nose. He pokes and he hops away to give them enough room to make a break for it. If that still doesn’t work, he paws at them. He wants to chase. So I figure he was doing that to the baby rattlesnake, and it bit him. After he recovered, we took him to snake avoidance training in Austin to learn to be afraid of snakes.
Loki continues his Agility classes on Wednesdays, but his new love is Barn Hunt. They hide rats in plastic tubes with air holes in a maze of square hay bales. He has to sniff them out, and distinguish it from the empty tubes and ones with just rat litter. He marches in and does a systematic block by block search. Diane calls “Rat!” and if they are right, the rat is removed and the search continues. Loki loves it because it’s his show. He doesn’t have to wait for our signal as he does on the Agility course – we wait for his signal. We travel to San Marcos and Katy to attend Barn Hunt competitions, and he has already earned his RATN title. He also has shown at Fast CAT competition – a 100 yard sprint – clocking at 20mph on four inch legs. And he has done ScentWork competition – which is like the triathlon of sniffing.
Cooper has been along for the ride all year, even getting a late start at Trick and Scent work training alongside Loki. But he gets so excited when the treats come out, he starts crouching and jumping and barking to throw the treat already that he forgets what he was doing before the treats arrived. It’s so cute. He enjoys the big yard and running up the driveway and chasing deer, but he has the hind end of an older dog. He’s got a bit of a drunken sailor’s walk, which is funny because he’s the teetotaler of the family. We haven’t figured out what’s causing it yet, but it’s not for lack of trying. His ortho has done supplements, laser treatments, aqua physical therapy, and acupuncture. His neurologist performed an MRI and spinal tap, broad spectrum test for ticks and four kinds of treatments, the last one the same as humans take for Parkinson’s Disease. It’s like an episode of “House” – Corgi edition, and they are still diagnosing. I am halfway expecting they are going to have their techs break into our house looking for environmental factors, and find my stash of Salt and Vinegar Potato chips to solve the mystery. All I can say is he LIKES them!
I don’t want it to seem like we had the perfect year. We had our trials and tribulations. Cooper got a bad haircut last winter and it’s still growing back. Though he’s still so, so handsome. Our 18 year old a/c gave way, but it was covered and the appliance guys came out 7 times to get the new one running perfectly. The Houston Astros got to the World Series but didn’t win it, and might’ve been cheaters all along. The iPhone 11 came out and we just couldn’t quite justify the expense. So you know, we muddle through, we make the best we can.
Malloy seems to have found his Rockport at the Hill Country Riding Academy, relocated late last year to Marglin Ranch near New Braunfels. He stands in front of an everlasting round bale, surrounded by a half dozen mares attending his every desire. He is living the rockstar life.
Corgi Ranch, TX 