Friday, July 6, 2012

Port Aransas

Madeleine asked for a trip to the beach for her 8th birthday and Nana and Papa made it happen!  We are so thankful to them for a wonderful trip and so thankful to God for the beauty of the beach!   There were 6 adults and 4 children, and we all had a blast.  Port Aransas was beautiful and we had so much fun jumping the waves, playing in the condo's pool and hot tub, and building sandcastles. 

The group photo after a great beach trip!
Madeleine and Everett contemplating the beauty of the beach.

Celebrating Madeleine's 8th birthday

A family photo

Madeleine and I getting attacked by a wave

Everett and Lee building sandcastles

A brown pelican at the Port Aransas bird refuge

Driving to get BBQ

On our recent trip to Wimberley (where my mom lives) and Port Aransas (where the beach is) we knew that we were going to be relatively close to a BBQ place that we had been wanting to visit.  I had heard about this BBQ place on NPR recently that you can read about if you click here.  A father and daughter traveled 4,258 miles, visiting 31 BBQ joints and 16 states on a BBQ adventure that you can read about in detail here.  They shared that BBQ in Texas, "blew their minds."  Of Louie Mueller BBQ in Taylor they said, "This place had everything right from the clean dark brown burnished interior which revealed years of pit smoking to the perfect ratio of salt to pepper seasoning on the bark of the brisket. The sausage, all beef this time, was so juicy there was fat dripping down my arm."

 There was so much meat on these ribs!  And it was so good...

It was seriously good brisket, and those spicy pinto beans were yummy! 

 I loved the bbq charred menu!

Here is The Adventures in BBQ (http://adventuresinbbq.tumblr.com/) Best of List. 
Brisket
Louie Mueller Barbecue — Taylor, Texas
Sausage
Smitty's Market — Lockhart, Texas
Pork Ribs
Smitty's Market
Chopped Pork (tied)
Lexington Barbecue — Lexington, N.C.
Allen and Son BBQ — Chapel Hill, N.C.
Sauce, Tomato Based
Green Mesquite BBQ and More — Austin, Texas
Fried Chicken
Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken — Memphis
Pork Skin Sandwich
Lexington Barbecue
Biscuits
Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen — Chapel Hill, N.C.
Sausage Gravy
The Loveless Cafe — Nashville, Tenn.
Potato Chips
Central BBQ — Memphis, Tenn.
Hash
Maurice's BBQ Piggie Park
Sweet Tea

Felix's Fish Camp — Spanish Fort, Ala.
Chess Pie
Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken
Banana Pudding
Maurice's BBQ Piggie Park — West Columbia, S.C.
Doughnut
Gourdough's — Austin, Texas