A Holiday in Texas with Speed Limit.
Thurs 12th Nov. 2009 – The start of our Texas Holiday
After a lot of shaking hands at Heathrow with old friends and when we got on the plane at 9-30am and put our watches back six hours. Just over ten hours later we emerged into the bright Texas sunshine at Dallas Airport which must be the most pleasant to get through in the world.
In no time at all we were talking to Tony and Angie (Speed Limit) who were waiting with coaches to take us to the Stockyards Hotel. A lot of memories came flooding back as we had been there before with Speed Limit six years ago. On arrival we had a complimentary Margarita then un-packed our cases. Our room was very large and had a huge bed, at least four people wide and so high I had to climb into it.
Later we went to the Stockyards to see our first cattle drive and after a quick walk round the local shops we had our first Texas meal. The meal was so big we had to walk it off before going to Billy Bob’s Roadhouse, the largest Honky Tonk in the worldwhere the in-house band “Niles City” were playing. They were good and along with a decent DJ Annie and the group soon managed quite a few line-dances. We left a little early about eleven o’clock as we had not slept for over twenty four hours and felt extremely tired.
Fri 13th Nov. 2009. A visit to the “Stagecoach Ballroom”
We were up at 7-30 for a hearty breakfast consisting of bacon, scrambled eggs, hash browns, toast and as much coffee as you wanted. Sightseeing and shopping for bargains was the order of the day.
In the evening at 7 pm the coach arrived to take us to the highlight of the day; a visit to the Stagecoach Ballroom in Fort Worth where we were entertained for four hours by Mack, Dyan and “The Loose Change Band”. The band was six members strong with Fiddle and Steel Guitar, they performed a wide variety of songs including many well known Country Music numbers which pleased the dancers among our group.
There were many locals in as well as Brits dancing the two-step around the outside of the large dance floor which left the centre of the floor free for Speed Limit friends to enjoy their line dancing. We filled the floor with Lovin’ all night, Silver Threads and many others. I asked Dyan if she could do “Mr Man in the Moon” for Annie and it got the biggest cheer of the night. When we got on the coach to go home the band came out to wave us off. Such a nice gesture we could only assume they had appreciated the applause we gave them for their wonderful performance.
Sat 14th Nov. 2009 - Evening at The Rodeo Cowtown Coliseum
After another hearty breakfast we sat in the warm Texas sun. We were starting to feel like locals as everybody who wanders by stops to talk or say “How ya all doing”. We all had great fun having our photos taken dressed up as cowboys or cowgirls with Annie and our Dutch friends getting married to “Wild Bill Hickok” whilst Tudor and I got shot causing a great deal of laughter asTony, Angie, Big Willy and Sue joined in the photo session.
During the afternoon there was an impromptu free concert at the famous Stockyards Station by an unknown Band; they were really good. Nearby was a Native AmericanIndian called Kevin, who would pose for photographs with you and his horse for a $5. Annie was keen to have her picture taken with this handsome
fellow and got covered in war paint!
In the evening we all went to The Rodeo at the Cowtown Coliseum. We had been allocated some really good seats right down the front and found the experience very thrilling throughout the whole evening. Unfortunately the very last bull gored one of the clowns who distract the bulls if necessary, the rodeo clowns are such brave men. It was sad to see but the good news was the clown did manage to walk safely out of the ring.
One of the barrel racing girls was only five years old and she performed extremely well for such a young person. The Rodeo tickets also covered entry to Billy Bob’s Roadhouse so we went straight round after the rodeo.
The very popular “Josh Gracin Band” was performing in concert, it was packed out
with no chance of dancing so we all decided to enjoy a meal while we listened to the band. Just as we were leaving we met the self confident five year old girl from the rodeo. She was playing pool at
about midnight which took us rather by surprise.
Sun 15th Nov. 2009 – The Party Ranch in Henrietta,Texas
It’s Sunday, very warm again and the people in the street were stopping to talk to us all like old friends. During the day we walked round the Stockyard paddocks where we were amazed at how placid the Longhorns were whilst waiting for their drive down the road.
The coach came at four o’clock to take us to Henrietta for a Dance in a Party Barn. As we got on the bus
there was a torrential rain storm which fortunately had stopped before we arrived at the ranch. We started
off the evening being surprised by a firework display arranged especially for us after which we sat round a
roaring fire talking until the food was ready. The novelty of the food preparation was that it was all cooked
outside in classic cowboy style. We had Beef, Potato, Green Beans with hot rolls and Peach Cobbler with
Ice Cream to finish.
After our dinner the band started to play and turned out to be an excellent group called “The Lone Star Troubadours” comprising Larry Lange – Lead Vocals, Jack Brown – Bass Guitar and Vocals, Clint Finley Jnr – Steel Guitar, David Holcomb – Fiddle, Grady Smith – Fiddle and Rick Langford – Drummer. Our group were delighted not only to listen and admire the musician skills but also to be able to dance to absolutely everything they played. Angie joined the band on stage to sing three numbers. A nice gesture during the evening was that the Cowboys from the ranch gave every woman present a rose.
Mon 16th Nov. 2009.-The Grapevines Shopping Mill Trip
The programme today was arranged by Tony and Angie to give us a different day altogether and we were
taken to The Grapevines Shopping Mill which turned out to be a huge shopping centre near Dallas that was
so big and with such a massive variety of products that if you could not find what you wanted you were not
trying very hard.
In the evening Annie and I joined our Dutch friends with Pat and Alistair, Ron and Sonia, Russell and Margaret plus a few more and went to Billy Bob’s again. There were two step dancing lessons being given when we arrived but when they finished at around nine o’clock we filled the dance floor together with a few of the two steppers and some of the staff and rocked the place until closing time.
Tues 17th Nov. 2009 – Free Day
.
Today was a free day for everyone to choose their activities. Quite a few of our friends went horse riding in
groups of twelve along some trails branching out from “Benbrook Stables” to which Angie and Tony had
arranged for minibuses to take those who wished to go trail blazing.
Annie and I decided to go shopping as I needed to buy some new all-American jeans. At 12 o’clock a very nice lady cab driver arrived to take the two of us to the “American Civil War Museum” on the other side of Fort Worth. This visit was a truly memorable experience but at the end of it we felt it was so sad and yet fascinating at the same time. We were absolutely intrigued in the museum and were there four hours.
Wed 18th Nov. 2009 – Visit to Fort Worth Zoo.
Straight after another laid back hearty breakfast we were taken by coach to Fort Worth Zoo. What a nice man our driver Kelly was, so gentle and polite on all our trips. He told us in conversation that he had been a bull rider, rodeo worker,owboy and trucker and now he was a family man who drove a coach.
We
spent five hours at the Zoo which houses more than 5000 native and exotic animals including a Meer Cat
Manor.
After returning to our hotel to freshen up and eat we went to Billy Bob’s again. A great evening in prospect for us, only a dollar to get in this time and a lively local band from Fort Worth called “Southern Chrome”.
I
asked them to do line dance numbers so there was a lot of line dancing from our Speed Limit group. One
strange event was that about 9 o’clock a huge party of 100+ elderly people arrived and took over the floor
with their jigging and waltzing. They did five dances then got up and left leaving us to dance the rest of the
night with Annie finishing with a very energetic “Copperhead Road”. We all went back to the hotel happy.
Thurs 19th Nov. 2009 - Texas Nite Life
Today was the trip to Wichita Falls, During the morning Annie and I went to the Stockyards Museum. I had
a very interesting chat with the curator about the olden days in Texas while he asked me about England. I
made him laugh when I said the photo of Geronimo didn’t look much like Burt Lancaster.
The coach to take us to Wichita Falls arrived in the early afternoon and after a quick trip to Decatur Texas
Walmart we moved on to the “Browse Shop” to stock up with our personal western wear outfits.
When we finally arrived at the “Texas Nite Life Club” there was a lot of hugging and shaking hands with some people I’d met six years earlier who remembered me. Doug and Nipper the ranch cooks laid on
another magnificent spread and while we were eating the “Lone Star Troubadours Band” entertained us.
After dinner “Race Rutledge and The Nitelife” band entertained us superbly all night. Some of our Group joined in the entertainment. Angie joined them to do “Help me make it through the night”, Sandy did “Walking after midnight” and our very own Cash McCall sang “He’ll have to go”, what a brilliant day.
Fri 20th Nov.2009 – The Trinity River Run on the Grapevine Vintage Steam Train
A quiet morning for us, Annie bought some dancing moccasins and I wandered about taking dozens of
photos.
In the afternoon we all met Angie and Tony at the Stockyard Station and they took us on the Grapevine Vintage Steam train originally called the Tarantula Railway which meanders its way along the Trinity River Run. During the trip a staff member distributed free popcorn to everyone.
When we all got off the train our Dutch friends sang Happy Birthday to me in Dutch, a really bizarre event, but most appreciated. Returning from the train ride we enjoyed a relaxed evening listening to a band at Billy Bob’s, had a meal and walked home a little early having enjoyed another fine day.
Sat. 21st Nov. 2009 – The farewell party at “The Stagecoach Ballroom”
Today was our last day. The Stockyards really buzz on Saturdays. People come from all over to “chill out” and enjoy the many attractions, many of which are free.
Apart from the cattle drives there are roping displays, escorted walks, cowboy conventions and many more such as the Harley Davison meeting where
bikers from out of town converge to swap stories and show off their bikes. Fortunately for us the US Cavalry
put on a free show at The Rodeo Coliseum with lots of gun fire and sabre slashing, all good fun. After the
displays we decided to do some last minute shopping.
The coach arrived to take us to “The Stagecoach Ballroom” for our very own “Farewell Party”. The big star
this evening was the legendary “Gentleman of Country Music Gene Watson” in concert. He mentioned
several times how nice it was to have such a large group of Brits in the audience and how much he enjoyed
playing in Britain. The warm up band was excellent giving our group plenty of opportunity to line and partner
dance. This was a late night, but worth it.
Sun 22nd Nov. 2009 - Farewell Texas
Having thoroughly enjoyed a fabulous holiday in Texas with Tony and Angie we sat in the Bull Ring Bar opposite the hotel with our hot chocolate and marshmallows waiting for the coach to take us to the airport and as I had enjoyed such a marvellous holiday I decided to canvass some opinions from others of our group about the holiday and with apologies to anyone I missed I quote here;
“Organisation superb, I enjoyed every minute of it” – Marcia from Cornwall.
“I can honestly say it’s the best holiday I’ve every had” – Pauline from Somerset.
“Brilliant an eye opener of how the west was” – Barry and Grace.
“A magical experience” – Alistair and Pat from Peterborough
“Music very good I loved the place” – Tudor van den Boomen from Holland.
“Unique you must be here to see it” – Ron and Sonia from Whittlesey.
From our point of view a brilliant holiday with so many interesting things to see and do in the company of
some great friends.
We suggest everybody should do it at least once. We have done it and can really say;
“We’ve been there, we’ve seen it, taken the photos and we’ve bought all the ”T”-shirts”.
A million thanks to Tony and Angie.
George and Annie Spicer
Back