Around the Corner
An Impromptu Father/Son Adventure to Texas
~Day 03~
Still round the corner there may wait A new road or a secret gate And though I oft have passed them by A day will come at last when I Shall take the hidden paths that run West of the Moon, East of the Sun. ~J.R.R Tolkien from Return of the King
It suffices to say that things did get much better. We woke up after a late night arrival in San Antonio the evening before and we were both hungry. Our hotel, thankfully, offered us an excellent breakfast with a surprising degree of variety. Noah absolutely loved the pancake machines which he operated on his own…Wasn’t really thrilled about that. He keeps getting older. It’s annoying.
We sat, ate and talked about the drive out with all the lightning and shows we watched, etc. It was a very pleasant morning, but we had to get going. There were two-three things I REALLY wanted to do today and daylight was wasting.
During the initial planning of this trip, part of today was supposed to be going to various Texas distilleries. As one might imagine these are not necessarily kid-compatible locations. I had booked a tour at Garrison Brothers distillery several weeks prior (before it was going to be my son going) and decided to at least make the drive out to see if this was even remotely going to work with the new travel companion arrangements.
I have no personal issue with alcohol nor the drinking of it with two major caveats…Not by volume and not regularly/as part of a pattern. Never under duress/pain and preferably not alone. Okay, so three and one half caveats. There are a tons of interesting smells, tastes, chemistry, history and culture behind these drinks. It can be a lot of fun taking it apart with someone. Are you getting any cherry? No, but I am getting some…Is that honeysuckle?
But like with most anything, there is a darker side. With alcohol, that dark side tends to materialize faster than with other indulgences. I don’t want my son anywhere near that messy and dark side of the experience. I was a little nervous, but I was very surprised by what I found.
It was sooo family oriented. There were tables and games. People were eating. A bunch of kids were playing football in a field. It was a friendly and very social experience. Despite being at a distillery, the alcohol wasn’t the hero.
I think I only ran into one or two people who had gone a little too far among over seventy others who were adult about it. The people were so nice! Nothing at all like the fearmongered state I currently live in. Some random guys saw me watching my son play and invited me to play Washers with them. It’s like horseshoes, but with washers. Instead of a metal stake in the ground, it was a cup. It was a little weird at first, but very enheartening. I don’t think that has ever happened to me before and it certainly hasn’t since.
Then came the tour. The tour outlined everything in the whiskey making process from grain to glass. We saw it all. And we tasted some of it. Noah and I both got to try the grain mash in some small cups. Think of it like chunky Cream of Wheat or porridge. No yeast yet so no alcohol.
They took is through the fermentation room. Smelled like Road Apples…A lot. We then made our way out to their distillery room where their huge copper pot still was presently running. SUPER hot inside that building. I got both of us out quick. The weather was stormy and the humidity was already really high. The extra heat from the still didn’t help. I did love the humidity though. My joints hadn’t felt that good in years!!!
Back to the tour – they did let ME (not Noah) try some of the somewhat fresh New Make that had come off the still recently. This is the same New Make that would end up in their bottles after aging. Even a teaspoon of 140 proof (70% ABV) New Make hurts all the way down…a lot…and smells oddly like Cheerios. Despite being a wee bit bored, Noah was a great sport and seemed to enjoy himself.
That summed up our time at Garrison Brothers. Though I’m not an overt fan of their tannin-forward whiskey, the experience we had was very pleasent.
One more stop and then some dinner. We had been picking at snacks and a sandwich most of the day so neither of us had really eaten an official meal. An issue that would need to be fixed soon, but FIRST! Crowded Barrel, the home of the Whiskey Tribe on the Tubes of You. MB HQ itself.
We weren’t there very long at all. I did pickup a bottle I ordered a year or more before…Why didn’t I ship it? Because certain laws are dumb and unhelpful. I could buy it, but I would have to physical go pick it up there. Great if you live in Austin. Needless to say, I don’t. I did get a picture with His Royal Moochiness, Rex and we talked briefly. I tried not to fanboy, but totally did and couldn’t hardly string two words together. #Epicest-of-Fails Thankfully, he was very gracious and tolerated my nonsensical blabber with kindness.
From there, dinner time.
It had occurred to me that my son is a fairly picky eater for various reasons – some legitimate…some not so much. He wasn’t going to do Texas BBQ despite all of the pleading I could ever muster in that moment. So my delicious brisket sandwich and my son went to…you guessed it…Panda Express. Since coming home, he has even expressed an interest in working there. Not a bad idea. He makes money and I save money.. Win win! Once we got back to the hotel, he inhaled his very warm dinner. It was a long day and we were both hungry. I attempted to at least somewhat savor my warmish brisket, but it went down pretty quick too. I remember asking him if his dinner was good.
“Delicious!”
Me too buddy…Me too.
Oh you thought that was the closer? Nope!
The storm that had partially chased us into San Antonio was catching up. With the pseudo-meteorological training from the previous day still loaded in short term memory, I began looking for a spin and/or a hook. Thankfully this storm had no spinny bits, but that wind and rain was intense!
So yeah…Horizontal rain is a thing. It was a little spooky for us both given that California doesn’t get thunderstorms as anyone else in the country would describe them, but it turned out pretty neat. Dad kept him safe and G-d kept us all safe. Though it may not be of any meaningful consequence (pretty sure it is though), I did ask Him to experience a real thunderstorm as a bucket list item. Coincidence is such an unimaginative and insufficient tool for expounding on one’s life experiences.
That day was certainly a new door for us both with a lot of little surprises along the path.
Stay tuned for Day 04!
References: Emby Media Server Holiday Inn Express - Selma Whataburger Witte Museum San Antonio FC (Soccer) Cornerstone Church - Pastor John Hagee Garrison Brothers Distillery Crowded Barrel Distillery Salt Lick BBQ - Driftwood Location HEB Grocery (he was super nice!) Meridian Hive Brewery/Meadery Pecos Hank - Storm Videographer Media: Long list...24 hours of driving...Don't judge us! DuckTales (Late 1980-1990s) Star Trek - The Next Generation - Seasons 3-4 Wicked Tuna - Season 9 Wreck-It Ralph Ralph Breaks the Internet Milo and Otis Lord of the Rings - Fellowship of the Ring (Audiobook) The Nanny (1990s) And probably others...