For the 2023 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo BBQ Cook Off, I was invited into the Kilowatt Kookers tent. Everyone was very nice and I had a really good time. Here are some of my pics.
I woke up early and snapped a pic of CoCo and I before I left for the Cook Off.
I found parking a few blocks away for $30.
I took a Pedi-Cab from Rosie to the NRG Stadium parking lot where the Cook Off was being held.
Rosie was quite a character.
Here are all of the booths. Lots of cooking going on.
Here are all of the cooking teams.
The staff at the Info Booth is always very helpful.
Here is the Kilowatt Kookers’ tent.
It is one of the larger tents at the cook off.
In these next photos, they are preparing their brisket entry for the contest.
Some beautiful meat.
The slicing is very important.
The smell was incredible.
Attention was paid to every detail.
A clean food tray is also important.
After slicing, the brisket is prepared to go in the food tray.
Notice here that he is cutting the brisket slices to the exact same size as the food tray. This has to do with presentation.
A thing of beauty.
That looks so delicious.
Squeezing out some juice.
And a close-up.
After the entry is placed in a food tray, a judge will tape it up and then the team delivers it to the judges.
Shots for everybody after the final entry is entered into the contest.
Such fun people.
Bottoms up.
2023 Kilowatt Kookers Team
Grilled chicken breasts that looked so good.
Fun, friendly team members.
Teaching the kids how to sauce the ribs.
This photo is mouth-watering.
Beautiful racks of ribs.
A photo of Drew and I. Drew was a really great host to me and I hope I’m invited back next year.
Cutting up the chicken breasts.
Ready to serve.
About that time, the ribs were ready to come out.
And the cutting began.
As a meat lover, this is Heaven.
Ready to eat.
It takes a lot of people to make up a good BBQ Cook Off team.
The ribs were fantastic.
All good BBQ teams have beautiful ladies.
Fried chips.
Hot and crispy.
Raedy to serve.
Seafood empanadas.
Made by a pro.
Nothing beats hot, fresh food.
And these empanadas were great.
The bar staff were also very friendly. I only had one coke because I don’t like to drink while I’m working.
Friendly, smiling faces that were eager to serve up your favorite drink.
This is the food service staff.
They helped fill people’s plates as the walked down the line.
All of the food looked, smelled and tasted great.
Gotta have potato salad, pickles and onions with BBQ.
Everyone really loved their experience in the Kilowatt Kookers tent, myself included.
There was plenty of food for all to eat.
And lots of room to eat.
These two lovely ladies were kind enough to pose for me with their food.
And a close-up.
A great meal served by a wonderful team.
Having a BBQ team can be expensive, hard work, time-consuming and exhausting.
But seeing all of the smiling faces of all the people that were pleased by your efforts can be the pay-off.
When everybody is happy, it worked out well.
One last shot of the food servers. They did a great job.
The Cook Off also has live concerts.
These shows always draw a crowd.
Mounted police. Nice guys.
This concludes my post about the BBQ Cook Off for 2023. Hopefully, I’ll be back at Kilowatt Kookers next year.
To see all of the photos, visit the link below and click on Photos.
The fifth weekend that I attended the Texas Renaissance Festival was the Highland Fling weekend. This was my first time visiting the Kingdom on this weekend and I didn’t know what I was in for.
I had an assistant working with me this weekend, so you’ll see some behind the scenes shots of what it is that I do at TRF. These first pics are from the Saturday of the Highland Fling weekend.
I climb up on the King’s throne to get these pics.
At TRF, there is regular parking that is free. With this free parking, sometimes it is a helluva long walk to the festival and then back to your car.
There’s also Preferred Parking, which costs $20. I did that one day and liked the proximity to the front entrance of the festival. And after a long day of walking, having a short walk to my Tahoe is a blessing.
TRF also has Handicap Parking for free and also Valet Parking for $40. The pic below is of the valet area before anyone showed up. It is right near the front gates. I mean, right there.
I was able to get my assistant to snap a pic of me on the throne. It’s not as easy to get up there as you would think.
We ran into this guy at the front entrance area. When I asked for his pic, he struck this pose.
Then, he put on his goggles, extended his wings and struck another pose for us. Impressive is a good word for his look.
Pennywise was right inside of the front gates and I was glad to get her photo. She must have a party size can of helium to have a fresh red balloon every morning. It completes the whole picture.
Tinker Bell was always a lot of fun to photograph. I see the TRF characters from early in the morning until the afternoon. They are always energetic, in character and having fun.
It takes a special type of person to work as a character at the TexRenFest and they have a lot of special people on staff, Tinker Bell being one for sure.
I’m quite sure that there were 2 different girls playing this role. They were good characters and always happily posed for myself and my assistant.
The guy in the middle knows how to pose to make a statement. He was always fun to photograph and gave us some good pics.
After spending some time near the front gates, my assistant, Ryan, and I headed to what I call ‘Food Stand Row’. There are several food stands lined up and next to each other. I would walk down this row and get pics of all of the people working in said stands.
This day, Blaze was wearing glasses.
And we took some pics without them. Blaze knows how to pose to create a good picture.
If anyone gets a close-up, it’s Blaze.
After taking some pics, Ryan and I ordered what would be called Brunch because we ate between breakfast and lunch.
This photo of Blaze serving hot, delicious food is a favorite of mine because it says a lot about the festival in one pic.
On the left is crawfish etouffee and on the right is shrimp etouffee. We enjoyed this meal and headed to the Sea Devil area for a morning beer.
Amanda was there to serve them to us. The little bar that she works at is called ‘The Glory Hole’. That’s really funny.
This is a shot that I’m proud of. They each spent a lot of money on their clothing and hats to look this good. Kudos.
The staff at the Sea Devil bar were always up for a photo. They have a good job at TRF. They work at one of the coolest places to hang out, there’s a live band that plays right in front of them and everybody loves a bartender serving good drinks.
As a note, I bought some Honey Mead from the Sea Devil bar. I think I’ll need to drink some more before I give it a thumbs up or down. One small plastic cup isn’t enough for a fair review.
These 2 girls are good friends and it shows. Fun pic.
Here is an example of a mid-range shot that I always take of people.
And from that pic, I can create a close-up like this. “All right, Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my close-up.”
That is a very famous line from an old movie called ‘Sunset Strip’. The delusional Norma Desmond is about to be arrested for murder. She sees a news camera and thinks she’s on a movie set with Cecil B. DeMille directing the film. She delivers that famous line and it has been used over and over again.
That was your Hollywood History for today.
Hercules struck several different poses for me when I came across him in the Kingdom. Some call this pose the Double Biceps. Others know it as ‘The Gun Show’.
Next TRF, I’m going to ask him where he got that head piece. It’s amazing. And I bet it kept his head warm on those colder days during the festival.
This was the second time that I ran into this pretty lady. I think it was 2 weekends in a row. If you are a fan of people wearing great hats, then the Texas Renaissance Festival is for you.
I’ll give you one guess as to what this guy’s name is… He even gave me a wristband with his name on it.
Painkiller.
Mr. and Mrs. Painkiller. Looking good.
I ran into some Star Wars people, but not as many as you would think. Still a good number of people came as their favorite Star Wars character. I always saw a Mandolorian or two, each weekend.
Here is another time when I use the word striking. As in, “She was striking.”
Definition of Striking… Someone who is striking is very attractive, in a noticeable way.
Here is another mid-range shot that I always take of people. Her necklace is awesome as well.
And another close-up that came from the mid-range pic.
Here’s Erika at Booth 211, Asgardian Armory. She had so many different looks for each day of the festival. I think she wore something different each day for 17 days.
I don’t think it’s possible for Erika to take a bad pic.
Ran into Leos again. As you may have noticed, he was at the festival for a lot of days. At the next TRF, his brother Argos is supposed to join him.
How many brush strokes to create the look of Leos’ face? In a previous post, I guessed at 200. It could be more. His face always looks great.
Alex Draco had on his tartan for the Highland Fling weekend.
I would not be able to go to TRF as either of these 2 characters for several reasons.
My stomach hasn’t looked like that in 25 years and I’m a whimp when it comes to cold weather. My hat is off to both Alex and Leos for their efforts to create such a great Kingdom, full of all kinds of characters.
This guy looked really good. A tartan hat set him apart from all others that were there celebrating the Highland Fling.
This fine couple performs for the guests of the TexRenFest. Purple is one of my favorite colors and they look great in it.
Their IG account is called The_Minstrel_Rav’n. Here is what they say about themselves…
“Telling Songs and Singing Stories of Pirates, Taverns and Elven Lasses.”
Fun couple with a cool job.
I saw a lot of people with those wooden drinking vessels. This couple had them and looked like they were enjoying a walk through the Kingdom while having a drink.
Nuria as Queen Isabella. The entire Spanish Court were wearing tablecloths around their dresses. It was their way of celebrating the Highland Fling while still being in character.
Here is another favorite pic of ours. Such beautiful dresses and he looks great as well. I’d wear what he has on just to run errands around Houston, lol.
A second pic, the mid-range shot, is always a great way to capture the details of people’s clothing, outfit, costume or garb.
I also liked this next guy’s look.
I asked them to get together for a shot of the 2 of them.
Then, I asked him to remove his helmet. I sometimes prefer a photo of someone holding their helmet. It shows the face behind the headgear and they always look cool holding their helmet. Like they’re ready for action.
If I hadn’t asked him to remove his helmet, he would have been content with the shot of him and his girl. Like it is, they loved the shot without his helmet also and even posted it on social media and tagged The STORM Factory. I like it when things turn out like that. I feel like I’ve done my job well.
Here is the King of Spain. I didn’t talk with him much, but he was always nice enough to pose for me.
This was a fun group to photograph. The guy on the left had some great eyes.
This is when I really enjoy the close-ups.
If you didn’t think she was a favorite of mine, you’d be wrong.
Blue is a good color for her.
The Spanish King and his Court. Here, you can see them all wearing, what I think are, tablecloths.
I introduced Bird in a previous post about TRF. She works with the bagpipe band Tartanic by selling CD’s and other merchandise to the audience watching their show.
I’ve mentioned before that I love the fact that Pirates show up on every weekend, no matter what the theme is…
“The theme this weekend is the Highland Fling, but we’re going as Pirates.”
“Great. I’m in.”
One of the prettiest Pirates that I photographed.
Alex looked great on this Saturday of the Highland Fling.
Here’s a pic of their crew. During the Celtic Christmas weekend, they called me over to photograph them in their Holiday outfits. That pic came out great. You’ll see it in a future post.
I wanted to try their fried crawfish, so after taking some pics, I order some.
It was a good meal and I almost ate all of it. I didn’t want to feel bloated while I walked and worked.
I never noticed this before, but Kevin is wearing a pair of Steampunk goggles around his neck on this Saturday. I’m a big fan of Steampunk. Here is what Wikipedia says about it…
Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology and aesthetics inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery.
Any good Pirate worth his salt has a good ring collection. I know I do.
Definition of ‘worth one’s salt’…
To be ‘worth one’s salt’ is to be worth one’s pay, or good at your job or profession. Being a Pirate is a full-time job.
Another good pic of a nice couple enjoying their day at TRF.
Most all Pirates have a swagger in their poses. If you look in the back, on the left, you’ll see Amanda working in ‘The Glory Hole’.
Scott would come by to chat with Amanda every day that he attended the festival, which was several times. I would be there some days also, having my morning beer from Amanda. We’d talk about the festival, the characters, and other things TRF related.
These next pics are funny.
I was told by a guy that I needed to go get this guy’s pic. When he turned around and I saw his breasts, I started laughing. I took a full-body shot and then this mid-range shot.
Then I asked him to grab his tit. Gold.
I was able to run into this girl a few different times while I was working at the TexRenFest.
She happily posed for me and got some great pics.
Pothead. Jay wears a pot on his head and one person called him Pothead. So do I.
Jay told me that every flower in his pot was given to him by a kid at the festival. Pretty cool.
Here’s Tits McGee and his friends enjoying some beer at the Sea Devil.
These girls work at the Wyrmwood Public House. That’s Shelbelle Shamrock in the middle.
The Burlesque Show at the Wyrmwood is great and you should check it out this next TRF. I highly suggest it.
This guy looks so good that he looks like he just walked off of a Hollywood movie set.
This is the crew of one of the shops located around TRF. I tried to get a lot of workers.
Mario and Luigi. Great!!
There is a funny story with this couple.
After I photographed them as a couple, I asked to get some pics of just her. So I did.
I then showed the pics to her and after seeing them, she said, “The girls look nice.”
I had to agree.
I would be curious to know who is the most photographed character at TRF. This girl has a seat on a pedestal and she sits there as people come by and snap pics of her.
I have said this before, but I’m convinced that there are 2 different girls that play this role. And both look great.
Good friends, good times.
I ran into Lilly Bontemp on this Saturday. She had a wooden drinking vessel also.
Her hat has a mermaid on it, but it’s the skeleton of a mermaid. That is very much like a Pirate.
This lady has 3 different nose rings. I’d be so scared of accidentally ripping my nose up when something got caught on it. She fit in at TRF perfectly.
Some choose to stay in character for their photos. I like the guy’s outfit. That’s another one that I’d wear.
Bree and Erika at Asgardian Armory.
I’ve mentioned this before, but I think colored contact lenses can complete a certain look and often times put it over the top.
In this shot is an example of contacts creating a great look. She looks Awesome with a capital A.
If ever there was a reason for a close-up.
I brought Ryan by the Wyrmwood for a drink.
Mickey made us 2 kamikazes. We downed them and hit the road to get some more pics.
I’m not a fan of people raising their arms like this. In order to get the arm in the frame, the pic ends up being a lot further back. She does look great though.
In this shot, you’ll see what I mean. Her arm is lower, which allows me to crop in and get closer to see more details.
Next TexRenFest, I’ll spend more time covering this woman’s act. She’s in a group with other dancers and they’re all as pretty as her.
Haley was wearing a tartan skirt to celebrate the Highland Fling.
This is a good example of my shooting practices. The pic above is a full-body shot. This pic is a mid-range shot. And the next pic after this one is the close-up I was able to create from this pic.
The flowers and her face make-up gave her a great look.
I’ve mentioned several acts that I want to cover the next TRF. This dancer is in one of the acts I’ll cover.
Great necklaces.
Apollo always took some time to pose for a pic. That was cool of him.
Lilly changes the flowers on her hat and uses similar colors on her face that match the rest of her clothing. It all goes together. Her stockings are great also.
If you’ve never seen Lilly dancing around while Tartanic plays, you’re missing out. It’s a high-point of the day for a lot of people.
This lady worked with the band, Tartanic, also. Pretty fantastic face make-up.
Here’s Philip. I’ve mentioned this before, but he was voted as one of the Top 10 Pirates of TRF for 2021 by our group at the STORM Factory.
I would love to have a coat like that. I’d wear it everywhere. Philip was the only Pirate that had a great hook. We love his hat, the hair, the hook, the coat… everything. Kudos to Philip.
My friend, Chelsea. She told me one day, “I want to thank you for always asking to take my picture before you do.” I told her, “Of course.”
That is my policy. I don’t shoot people without them knowing it, which a lot of photographers do at TRF. When you see those guys with the long lenses… well, those aren’t for close-ups.
They like to stay a long ways away and shoot people without them knowing. I believe that to be downright wrong.
This sign is for the booth that I’ll be meeting people next TRF for photos.
This is the Wyrmwood Public House. That upstairs patio is awesome.
Maps on a scroll. Very cool, indeed. Good move by TRF.
One of the things I told Ryan, when he was working with me, is to never cut off parts of people’s costumes, outfits, or garb. This next pic is an example of getting all of the top feathers in the pic. Possibly, other photogs would cut them out.
I love that there are big parades on both weekend days. And always starting at noon helps me cover them.
Who doesn’t cheer for beer?
Jade, looking great as always.
These next shots are by Ryan while I was shooting video of this act. This is Cirque Olympus.
I’ll load the videos from TRF on YouTube soon.
Both of the girls in Cirque Olympus are amazing. It’s a great show and if you’re at TRF again, you should definitely check them out. You won’t be disappointed.
It takes years of conditioning to be able to do this several times a day.
She did all of these maneuvers without anything to catch her if she fell.
What a great shot. Awe inspiring.
I would not want this girl mad at me.
Ryan did a great job of capturing some great images.
Now, for some more shots by Ryan that I was in. We started out our day with getting some great pics of this guy.
Here I am photographing the Food Stand workers.
This was one of the few times that I was able to get a pic with Blaze.
TRF is a fun assignment.
Here I am showing this girl the pics I just took of her. I do this with every person, couple or group. They always have final say as to what gets posted on the STORM Factory site.
Being photographed with beautiful women never gets old. This pic concludes our Saturday at the TexRenFest. Sunday pics up next.
I was the first one at TRF again on the Sunday of the Highland Fling weekend. I may get up early to be there that early, but I prefer it because I never get stuck in traffic and it’s a short walk to my Tahoe when I’m ready to leave.
500,000 people will enter this area over 17 days time.
I love witnessing the calm before the storm.
All quiet… for now.
Approximately 29,400 people will come down this walkway on this day, according to our math.
I had Ryan snap my pic again.
Willy is great. He adds to the whole TRF experience.
Hamish McGregor entertaining the guests before the gates to the Kingdom open.
For breakfast on that Sunday morning, I had an egg, ham and cheese quiche and milk.
Ryan had the kolaches, milk and coffee. We were both happy with our meals from the Queen’s Pantry.
Here is what Wikipedia says about RenFaires…
A Renaissance fair, Renaissance faire or Renaissance festival is an outdoor weekend gathering open to the public and typically commercial in nature, which purportedly recreates a historical setting for the amusement of its guests.
These girls were on my daily routine of shots to get. They were always happy to see me.
Funny story…
I’ve mentioned in previous posts about one of the coolest places to hang out while at TRF is the area around the Sea Devil bar. There’s always cool people around there having drinks and looking awesome.
I make it a policy to walk by there every so often. Ryan was off shooting the Joust and I was taking pics around the Sea Devil. I took one woman’s photo and it came out great. As I’m showing here the photo, she says something to me.
She said it so softly that I couldn’t hear her. I asked her what she had said, then she said, “Can I kiss you?”
I said, “Sure.” I could tell then that she was a little tipsy. I’ll chalk it up to a good experience. How many times have you been working and have an inebriated woman ask you for a kiss? Exactly.
This girl looked great in all of her pics.
I couldn’t say how many times someone made a comment about the STORM Factory’s business card. Every time, it was something to the effect of, “Cool card.”
One time, I shot this lady and after I gave her my card, I heard her tell her kids, “Look how cool his card is.”
Another time, I gave my card to a Pirate. He looked at it and said, “Pretty pimp card.”
I noticed that this cute girl was working at different food stands on different weekends. I didn’t know some rotated to other work locations.
If I were a kid at TRF, I would have been all over this horse. For all of the drinking and half-dressed people, TRF has many things for the kids also. I’m always impressed by that. Even elephant rides.
Erin played Glinda, the Good. I heard her explaining one day about how she had made her scepter. She is very talented. More about Erin in my next post.
These people were more than happy to pose for me. They work at a shop and probably don’t get many photo requests.
I’ve been calling this guy a Warrior. Next TRF, I’ll get more info on him, hopefully. He might tell me to F off.
This is probably the look I’ll get when I ask him something, lol.
Skidmark going to work.
His office.
Mid-range.
Close-up.
Another pretty Flower Girl.
I first met Jana during the Cosplay weekend, on the Sunday. Ryan and I ran into her again on this Sunday of the Highland Fling.
I’ve mentioned that I’m a fan of anything Steampunk and her hat is fabulous.
Jana always gives us great photos and we’re grateful. Kudos to Jana and her sense of style.
Lilly and her co-worker. But those abs…
Blaze had her glasses again this day.
The glasses offered a different look for her. I liked it.
It is rare that I meet Jade anywhere in the Kingdom. I usually catch her at the entrance in the morning and I never see her again. TRF is huge.
Ryan and I saw her on this Sunday, so we got some pics.
Full-body shot.
Mid-range.
Close-up.
A great group shot.
This girl works in a food stand way in the back of the Kingdom. It’s a walk to get to her, but worth it. She was always so happy to get photographed.
Memories with good friends are the best.
Here is an example of the shops in the TexRenFest Kingdom. Simply beautiful. Ryan snapped this pic.
And all of the rest of the pics in this post were shot by Ryan. He did a good job.
Great art. Love it.
Tartanic having fun with the crowd. They’re really funny between songs.
You will even see characters up in the trees while you’re at TRF.
This is a good pic of mother and daughter.
Great make-up and worthy of a close-up.
Here is the stage for the Washing Well Wenches show. I’m excited to shoot video of this act next TRF and get some good pics. I love these girls.
A dunk tank. These girls would hurl insults at these men that were trying to dunk them. One guy succeeded, but there were a lot of insults flying. Another fun attraction offered by the great people at the TexRenFest.
Good pic.
In an earlier post, I mentioned that the Washing Well Wenches had a map of the Kingdom. Here I am shooting video of them showing me that map.
She raises the dress and reveals the map… on her ass.
She starts out by talking about the “Entrance” and “Exit”, complete with her pointing at them. It’s quite hilarious. This might be the funniest bit in all of the Kingdom.
At one point, the girl bending over was touched and she said, “I think I just became a woman.”
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, “I love these gals.”
I take the pics after I’ve been given permission.
Then I show all of the pics and get their approval.
And if Ryan is with me, I can get some pics with people.
When you saw that pic of Jana earlier, you had to know that I would want to get some pics with her also.
Jana wears high shoes and boots, but she is still a tall woman without them.
Here I am discussing an interview with a Fire Dancer named Violet.
You may not notice this… the girl next to Violet is as tall as me. I’m 6’1″ when wearing my Harley boots. Her moccasins barely have a heel. She is what we refer to as, “A tall drink of water.”
This is Violet’s friend, another Fire Dancer. And beautiful also.
Years ago, I went to TRF with a $2,500 video camera and shot everything on MiniDV cassettes.
Now, with technology, I can buy a $1,000 iPhone and get 4K quality video without carrying some huge, clunky camera.
I learned a lot about Fire Dancing from Violet. The interview turned out great and we were both happy with the end result.
Ryan took some good shots for me. I was happy with his work.
On Saturday, he shot over 1,500 pics because he was shooting on Blast. That’s when the camera takes several shots in a matter of seconds.
I had to stay up through the night to get everything organized and loaded onto the Factory site. I ended up showering, dressing and heading back to TRF on Sunday Morning with no sleep on Saturday night. None.
As a rule, I try to load everything shot in a day by that night. This is for the people that are eager to see their pics. I know what that’s like and we aim to please.
I know of some other programs that tell people it will be 3 days before their pics are loaded. That is ridiculous. And totally deferred gratification.
Some of my favorite pics with characters are with Jade.
Another thing about using an iPhone as opposed to a regular ‘camera’ is the view screen is much larger that those little viewers on digital cameras today.
People can’t see the pic well enough to know if it’s good or not. With a Pro Max iPhone, the screen is big enough to see even small details.
Knowing the Doorman at the Wyrmwood Public House is a good thing.
With my friend Greg in the Catskill Mountain Moccasins booth.
This guy was a funny character. And I mean that in a good way, lol.
I’m coming to the end of this post. I’ll close with something funny.
Willy was posted at the exit gate, where they stamp people’s hand if they want to re-enter later in the day.
As Ryan and I are leaving, I put my hand out for Willy to stamp. When he raises the stamp and starts to stamp my hand, I move it and walk out of the festival, laughing.
Ryan said that Willy looked at him with a look like, “What a dick?” Hahaha. Then Ryan snapped a pic of Willy right after I psyched him. The pic says it all.
I would leave the festival every day about 3pm in order to finish editing and loading the pics from the day by 10pm that night. It takes that long sometimes.
And every day that I was leaving, there were many that were just arriving.
Thanx for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. To see all of the 3,105 pics and videos from the TexRenFest 2021, click on the link below and go to Photos.
And remember…
“Always be yourself… unless you can be a Pirate, then always be a Pirate.”
The fourth weekend that I attended the Texas Renaissance Festival was called the Barbarian Invasion. I had a fun time again and got some great pics and videos. On the Saturday, I had 285 pics and 6 videos. On the Sunday, I ended up with 281 pics and 11 videos. My totals for the weekend were 566 pics and 17 videos.
When I went into the Media Office to pic up my Media Pass, my contact there, Cory, offered me a coupon for a Free King size Kettle corn. I also saw a complimentary bottle opener, so I grabbed one of those also.
These first pics are from the Saturday of the Barbarian Invasion weekend.
The front gate staff were always very cool to me. I tried to get a pic with Willy when I could. He’s a lively character and full of laughs. He told me that he was related to the famous General Sherman. Everyone should remember Sherman’s March to the Sea (Actually Gulf).
Willy’s full name is William Tecumseh Sherman Elliot. William Tecumseh Sherman was the General and Willy’s name is written… William T.S. Eliot III.
T.S. Eliot was a poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic and editor. And was considered one of the 20th century’s major poets, he is a central figure in English-language Modernist poetry.
Willy is in some good company.
I ran into Phil once I entered the Kingdom. It’s always good to see him. I enjoy talking to him, but I never have a lot of time with him because there is always someone waiting to get his pic.
Phil tipped me off about a party in the Heights where everyone wears white. It might be called The White Party, don’t remember. I’ll be sure to be there and get some great pics. Phil will be there as the Houston Tan Man. I look forward to getting his pics.
Jade is always on my pic list whenever I walk in the gates of the TexRenFest Kingdom.
Can you blame me? Her make-up is fantastic and she’s always happy to pose for me. This might have been my favorite pose from her during all of TRF.
Nuria is always near the front gate at opening and I loved getting her pic. Her character, Queen Isabella, always looked great.
Erin meets near the front gate also and it helps me out that I can get a lot of pics so quickly. Erin identifies as non-binary so I tried to never use she/her pronouns when I posted anything they were in.
Katrina played a bride of Frankenstein. I didn’t realize that until I recently asked her when I was doing a post about her. She plays her character well and I enjoyed getting pics of her.
This is a fun group shot. Jade thanked me for getting so many pics of the cast so they could better remember their experiences from 2021. This pic is an example of capturing good times had by the cast.
I like that there are Pirates at TRF for every weekend, no matter the theme.
These girls struck a cute pose. Seven happy people.
This was a favorite pic of mine.
I cropped in to get a better look at her make-up, eyes and expression. I love when people have a good pose to go with their garb, outfit or costume. It makes my job easier and sometimes what I capture is magic.
Here’s Leos again. The sun brings out the details in his face make-up. To create the ‘hair’ on his face takes a lot of small strokes. Possibly 200+ strokes.
I mentioned getting pics of the pickle vendors. Here’s one guy that was nice enough to hold up a dill for the pic.
The Red Queen made several different faces when I took her pics during my time at TRF. This pose was my favorite. The eyes make this pic great.
A real joy of mine is to photograph parents with their children. I call myself a Memory Maker. This father and kids enjoyed this pic and will do so for years to come to remember their day at TRF.
Here’s another father and child. I like their outfits, but I do prefer capturing peoples faces as well.
Tinker Bell is a fictional character from J. M. Barrie’s 1904 play Peter Pan and its’ 1911 novelization “Peter and Wendy.”
The Tinker Bell at TRF is a really fun character. She’s always happy to pose and she looks great in her costume. She was a favorite to photograph.
I ran into Kevin several times while I was working at TRF in 2021. I ended up with some good pics of him in his Pirate garb. Have you ever heard of the phrase, “He was looking at me like I owed him money.”
I feel as though if I owed Kevin money, he’d look at me like this, lol.
I never saw their act, but I did see him juggle and that takes a lot of talent. I hope to cover them more in 2022.
This pic is of Melissa and Bree from Asgardian Armory, Booth 211 in the TRF Kingdom. Attractive women selling swords, knives and other cool items. Another thing to love about the Texas Renaissance Festival.
Here’s Erika and a friend. Erika was named after Erik, the Viking.
I tried to photograph her every weekend. Can you guess why?
I did a commercial for shop 229 with the owner, Shiva. This pic is of Ty and two assistants. They work at Shiva’s booth.
When I walked into the Kingdom right at 9am or sometimes a little before 9, I knew a few things. One, that I’d be able to shoot a lot of characters that were accumulated near the front gate. And two, that there were certain people that I looked forward to photographing. Erika was one and Haley was another.
Haley dressed for the theme of every weekend and I had a lot of fun getting her pics. One day, I was talking to this guy and he told me, “Make sure you get pics of the sexy girls.”
I told him that I already had that covered.
This is Alex. She works at a food stand that I went by every weekend day to get their pics. She is very nice and works hard for long hours. I enjoyed making her happy with my pics.
Blaze worked at the food stand near Alex. I would start walking the line of food stands and stop by each stand to get pics of the workers. When Blaze told me her name, I thought, “Well that fits perfectly.”
Here are some of the workers of the Sea Devil bar. I took their pics often. One day, I was getting ready to snap a group pic of them again and one lady was messing with her breasts. Then she told me, “Gotta make sure the girls are out.” And no, it wasn’t this pic, so stop wondering, lol.
Scott and Hamish McGregor. Scott told me one day that he loved my work and “appreciates someone with a good eye.”
I photographed this couple on Pirate weekend and didn’t realize it until I recognized her smile. She wasn’t a redhead on Pirate weekend.
A pickle vendor with a sense of style in his pose. Loved it.
Skidmark was another of my regular characters to photograph. Here is what he says on his Facebook page…
My name is actually Markus Skidders, but my friends call me “Skidmark” cuz I don’t have very good friends.
His Facebook account is under Skidmark and he’s listed as a Public Figure. I enjoyed his act.
This make-up job was a favorite of many people. And her ice-cold stare goes so well with it. There is a similar look coming up that you’ll really like.
Violet is a Fire Dancer for the band Saxon Moon and also a Fire Dancer in Solar Rain. Violet is a very nice lady. She always posed for me and with me whenever I was near. They are some of my favorite pics.
Alex Draco is a photographer as well as a Renny. He knows how to combine items to create some great garb to go with his weapons. I may see him at Sherwood Forest Faire in the Spring of 2022.
More Pirates. When the STORM Factory hosts a Pirate gathering, we hope to attract great Pirates like these people.
Another thing to love about TRF is the weapons policy. You can carry any sword, knife or antique pistol you like. And I’ve seen people cosplaying and carrying AR-15’s. Plastic, of course.
The guy in the orange is Jay. He’s wearing a flower pot on his head. He told me someone called him Pothead. I call him that every time I see him.
I shot a commercial for Jay’s booth, that also has the Royal Mint. I bought a silver coin from the Royal Mint for $32. It’s a great memento from the 2021 TRF.
Paolo is another talented performer that works at other RenFaires around the country. That would be a fun and interesting life. Always meeting and entertaining thousands at every festival you work. Paolo leads a ‘Life of Riley’.
Kristi attended several weekends of the TexRenFest. We only saw her on this day. She did inspire me to set something up for 2022.
Either myself or my assistant, or both, will be at booth 212 at 2pm every weekend day of TRF this next season for those that want to meet us for some pics.
Thanx, Kristi. Excited to get your pics this season at TRF.
This was a good-looking couple. I had never attended the Barbarian Invasion before. I was glad that I did and it’s one of my favorite weekends now.
I bought some crawfish etouffee from Blaze at the cajun food stand. Next season, I’ll get the names of the food stands I photograph. The etoufee was great.
Next season at TRF, I plan to focus more on the food with photos and tastings.
Remember that Free King size Kettle corn coupon that Cory gave me that morning?
Here is the guy that I redeemed the coupon. Kettle corn is great. I brought the bag to my friends that work for Catskill Mountain Moccasins in booth 212. We all snacked on it for the rest of the day.
I concur.
Somehow a smile wouldn’t look right on his face with that garb on. He nailed the look.
This lady does promotions for her family member’s act. She always helps draw a large audience for the act.
I don’t know why she shaved her head, but boy did it go with her look and pose.
Nine people. One of the larger groups that I photographed on that Saturday.
When I saw these next 2 guys, I thought Zulu. I loved getting their pic. Such a rare sighting at any event to photograph Zulu warriors.
I mistakenly thought that they had battled with Tarzan.
The Waziri are a fictional African tribe created by Edgar Rice Burroughs in his Tarzan novels. Burroughs characterizes the Waziri as the greatest warriors in Africa. But they are fictional.
The Zulu are real. Here’s what I found out about the Zulu.
The Zulu tribe represents the largest population of ethnic groups in South Africa; making up to 10-11 million people. They are known for their strong fighting spirit, which has fashioned renowned warriors in history including the likes of Shaka Zulu who played a prominent role in various Zulu wars.
Good friends having a great time at the Texas Renaissance Festival.
Here is Paolo about to start his performance. The crowd really grows and people love him. I could never even attempt to learn the skills or have the talent that Paolo has.
Mickey and a friend taking a break from working to enjoy the festival from their upstairs patio. It’s a great vantage point to see a lot.
The decor of the Wyrmwood Public House is great and says they’re all about fun.
It’s not a large room, but enough for a good crowd and a burlesque show on the stage at the back.
I talked to this lady once and she told me she had a different look for every day of the festival and she was there every day. I believed her. And she always looked great and photo worthy.
Braveheart is Sir William Wallace, who is a Scottish National Hero. He led a fight for Scottish independence from England. He was born circa 1270 and died August 23rd, 1305.
I ran into this girl a few times during my time at TRF and she always had on a great outfit or garb. I was always happy to see her because I knew I would end up with some good pics.
There are a few things that you learn as a photographer. One, is to never ask a cosplayer for a pic when they are on break or busy with their friends. Two, is never bother anyone for a pic while they’re eating. I missed out on some great opportunities at TRF because I refuse to bother people.
This next pic is an exception. I have photographed people with turkey legs. It can sometimes be great pics that go with the costume, garb or outfit.
This girl wanted me to take the pic while she was pretending to take a bite.
Have you ever known of a place that the “cool” people hang out at?
If I had to pick one place where the cool people hang in the TRF Kingdom, I would say the Sea Devil area. I have taken some of my best pics there. As a photographer, I call this area a ‘Target-Rich Environment’ because there are always so many people to photograph that look great.
“This is Sparta!” is what King Leonidas yelled, in the movie 300, just before he kicked a messenger to his death into a pit of darkness.
I ran into this couple in Galveston for the Dickens on the Strand festival. I took their photo then and we chatted. I thought that was my first time meeting them.
This pic proves that I saw them at TRF weeks before Dickens.
Another fun, group shot of 3 ladies enjoying their time at the festival.
Only at the TexRenFest can a woman smear black on her face and still be beautiful.
I asked the guy drinking if he wanted to take a pic with his cup down and he said no. Maybe he’s on the lamb or in the Witness Protection Program, lol.
Even though it was the Barbarian Invasion weekend, these guys were dressed perfectly for the Highland Fling weekend. I love that people are free to wear whatever, whenever.
Friends getting dressed up, having beers and enjoying the day… priceless.
This has never happened to me before, but my last pic of the day was my best one. As I was leaving the Kingdom that Saturday afternoon, I passed this woman, who was just coming into the festival.
I don’t usually ask people for their photo outside of the Kingdom, but with her, I made an exception.
My only regret is not shooting some video of her also.
She was so striking that I used her pic for the Feature Image on the Saturday Barbarian Invasion gallery. Call me wrong…
I was able to store my stuff at Booth 212 again and my friend Greg was fun to talk with on my breaks from walking around.
And if Sara was available, I always asked for a pic with her. Can you blame me?
Erika was always right next door, in the Asgardian Armory booth, so it made my job easier. This concludes the Saturday pics. Next up, Sunday at TRF for Barbarian Invasion.
On that Sunday, I arrived before any other patrons. The cast, crew and other workers at TRF had arrived long before me or stayed the night.
This area gets really crowded as the day goes on.
I was able to find someone else to snap my pic on the King’s chair. It was a chilly morning again this day.
There are 5 gates to enter the TRF Kingdom. If the TexRenFest entertains 500,000 people per season, each gate averages having 100,000 people pass through it. That’s a large number. As a comparison, the Texans stadium capacity is 72,220. Imagine all of those people filing through one gate and that’s only almost 75% of the 100,000 that enter each gate.
I will add that not 500,000 people total attend TRF. That is the number of total visitors, but many came more than one time so number of people isn’t 500,000 but the number of times people came.
There are 8 weekends of the festival, plus one Friday. That’s 17 days. Remember they entertain 500,000 people per year. With 17 days, that’s 29,412 patrons in the Kingdom each weekend day and that Friday, on average. Some days are more and some days are less.
Willy!!
Hamish McGregor was always a great person to photograph and shoot video of him as well. He plays music for the patrons before the Kingdom opens. He has some funny jokes and stories. He is a great person to have around the Kingdom. He leads the parade every day with his pipes and also wedding processions.
This warrior is a great photograph. In the mornings, he’s usually near the front gate to greet the guests.
I won’t say the number because I don’t want to be wrong in print, but this guy has worked at TRF for a very, very long time.
This guy was fun to photograph. In following days, he gave me some great expressions. You’ll see them in future posts. I have 2 more weekends to talk about, then a few features like the one about Jade.
I love any job where the pic below would be your company ID pic.
I saw more than one Pennywise while I was working at TRF, but this girl was my favorite. I’ve mentioned this before and will do so again now.
She wore a mask every weekend but the last. The pics were always good, but the pics on the last weekend were great.
Here is the pic from the last weekend. Her face looks awesome.
On that Sunday of the Barbarian Invasion weekend, I shot some pics of Jade again. There were times that I wondered if people were growing tired of posing for me.
I even had one Flower Girl tell me, “You took my picture yesterday.” As if to say, that was enough. I told her each day is a different story.
On another weekend, I saw this Flower Girl again and she called me over to take her photo.
I never want to bother people, but I know that they’ll be pleased with the end result… a great memory.
Jade left a great comment on the STORM Factory Facebook page thanking me for taking pics of her and the rest of the cast. That was a good day for validation of our Program.
After I finish writing Blog Posts about each of the 6 weekends that I attended at the TexRenFest, the first Special Feature that I’ll do is about Jade.
I have some great questions to ask her and I’m sure people will be interested in knowing more about her and her character.
The Red Queen is not amused with our Program, not so much, lol.
That Sunday morning, I had kolaches and milk for breakfast from the Queen’s Pantry. One of my favorite places to eat.
The Joust arena before all of the action takes place. Next season at TRF, the Factory will impress people with our coverage of the joust and the Knights.
This show is always SRO (Standing Room Only). On one of the last days of the festival, I learned of a place that I can go next year to get a great view of the action. Possibly the best place to shoot pics and video from.
With 400 shops, you can guess that there is a wide variety of merchandise offered for sale. I plan on doing more commercials for the shops in 2022. They are fun to shoot, the shop owners love them and they get exposure.
As headwear goes, this is a 10 out of 10, as in superbly great. A beautiful smile completes the picture.
I own some drinkware from TRF. They were great purchases and I use them often. A good way to remember the festival and makes having a beverage fun. See: Adult Beverage.
Once I own enough drinkware from TRF, I’ll use them for our Poker Night.
Abby, Greg and Sara. Good people and great reps for Catskill Mountain Moccasins.
Sara got a new hat while at the festival. It suited her well and she looked great in it.
In the mornings, I have a routine. Walking by Lilly to see if I can get a pic of her is one thing I do regularly.
She has the best hats and headwear. Notice how her make-up matches the colors on her hat. She’s got a great sense of style.
The Washing Wenches! I could only ask to see the map of the Kingdom when she wasn’t dressed like that. That map is located on the ass of her pants. Possibly the funniest bit in the Kingdom.
Another beautiful woman in a great hat.
I was happy to get this next woman’s photo because she looked great also. If you were to tell a teenage me that when I was older, I’d have a fun job where I was talking to beautiful women all of the time… I would have laughed in your face in disbelief.
This lovely lady told me all about parts of her outfit that were still being made. I hope to see her when it’s all finished and get some pics of her in it.
I don’t think enough people know about the Wyrmwood Public House.
Here’s Alan, showing you the sign to look for while in the Kingdom.
The staff are friendly, fun and great to be around. Here’s Mickey and Alan.
Alan works the front door. No one gets in unless they get past him. He checks the capacity of the Wyrmwood because it isn’t huge inside. He also cards people. (Checks ID’s to see if a person is old enough to consume alcoholic beverages and see half naked ladies.)
From time to time, I’ll explain things that are common knowledge for Americans, but my blog is read in over 180 different countries. I explain things for the ones who don’t know or understand our culture.
On this day, I switched from having a kamikaze to a bourbon and coke. Mickey changed up his face every day and he always looked great.
Monsieur Bunny is the Master of Ceremonies for the Burlesque show and other happenings around the Wyrmwood. He prefers to be called Daddy.
I shot video of Daddy hurling insults and cut-downs at patrons as they walked by the Wyrmwood upstairs patio. It’s a really funny video. It’s in my galleries and I’ll post it on YouTube soon.
Violet in action. I watched the Saxon Moon set several times over the course of each weekend that I worked at TRF. And it never got old. I liked the music and loved seeing Violet dance with fire to it.
Here is Saxon Moon. A great band and good people.
On Sunday, I passed by Blaze’s booth again and snapped some pics.
When I work with assistants, I tell them when they see someone afar, if they have red or orange hair, run them down for some pics because they usually look fantastic. This guy was no exception to that theory.
The crew of the Sea Devil bar. That’s Kay on the left. Great gal.
I went back to Blaze’s booth and had the shrimp etouffee on that Sunday of Barbarian weekend. Very good and especially on a chilly morning.
Alex Draco probably likes the Barbarian weekend more than any other. He always looked great and gave me some good pics.
I saw this girl walking by and asked her for a photo. I found out later that she worked in a nearby food stand. When I knew where she worked, I tried to photograph her often.
Bloodbath and Beyond! Erika is a great spokesmodel for Asgardian Armory. She should ask for a raise, lol.
The Barbarian Invasion weekend is a very good weekend for sales at Asgardian Armory. Every barbarian needs a good sword and or knife.
Another great pose from Lilly.
Meet Bird. She works with the band Tartanic also. She helps with sales of their CD’s and other merchandise. A very nice girl.
Hercules is one of the characters where his body is part of his look. An overly skinny or overly fat Hercules wouldn’t work. He may be the only one that works out regularly the rest of the year just to maintain his job at TRF.
I imagine if he showed up 30 pounds heavier with a huge gut, the talent managers at TRF would say, “Hey Herc, we need to talk.”
I’ve met these guys before at comicons in Houston. I love them, but this needs to be said…
Found on Google…
Coulrophobia (COOl-ruh-FOE-bee-uh) is a fear (phobia) of clowns. Children and adults who fear clowns may experience extreme, irrational reactions when they see clowns in person or view pictures or videos of clowns. Someone with a fear of clowns is coulrophobic. <end>
If these guys wouldn’t make a person with coulrophobia shit their pants, I don’t know who would. They could cause years of therapy. I, personally, think they liven up any event they attend.
Even though it wasn’t the Celtic Christmas weekend, I still wanted a pic of this Santa’s Helper. A great look. Notice how she is holding her hands in the photo. Very cool, indeed.
As a rule, I try to take at least 2 photos of people at any event or function I attend. The first shot is a full body shot that includes any appendages, wings etc. I never cut off any part of a person’s outfit, costume or garb. I want to capture the entire look.
Next, I step up and get a mid-range shot to capture their face and upper body. When I get back to my office, I usually duplicate some of those mid-range photos and crop in to create close-ups of my favorite make-up jobs, etc.
This next photo is an example of why I create close-ups. She looks great.
Here’s another 2 close-ups. I photographed Mickel a few times during the TRF season. He was always good for a great pic.
Mickel and this beautiful lady were at the Sea Devil bar area. See: Cool People.
I found the warrior in between the Sea Devil area and the Joust arena. I’ve never seen him move or even walking somewhere. It’s like he just appears there standing perfectly still.
Here is another close-up I did. If a pic could talk, can you guess what he is telling me for not tipping for a pic? haha.
On a side note, if I tipped every member of the cast every time I took their photo, I’d be broke. And members of the media aren’t expected to tip because we’re working also, in Marketing and Promotions.
When I run into a Pirate, it’s always like running into a ‘Brother in Arms’.
The same goes for female Pirates. This is Lilly Bontemp. She has one of the best Pirate hats that I’ve ever seen… and I’ve seen a lot. The pink is a great color and she always wears the perfect clothes to accentuate the hat.
Her favorite color is pink and she told me that TRF is like her Super Bowl. She looks forward to it every year. Lilly was the very first person that I photographed this year at the TexRenFest. I walked in the gate and bam! Lilly caught my eye.
I’m looking forward to taking lots more photos of her at the next TRF.
Here is a shot of the staff at booth 229. The booth is called Shiva’s Designs or Designs by Shiva. I forget which. This is a great pic because the owner and her staff are all posed well and a viewer can see the booth’s number and merchandise in the background.
I enjoy shooting promotional pics for the booths. See: Memory Maker.
How do you make a Pirate mad?
Take away the P.
Here is Bree and Melissa in the Asgardian Armory booth. Another great promotional shot that shows them dressed great and some of the merchandise in the background. I shot a commercial for this booth also with Bree, an owner, telling me all about the things they offer in their booth. It came out great. I’ll load it on YouTube soon.
As I was photographing this girl and her friend, the guy with them told them, “Oh yeah, this guy is great!”, meaning me.
This guy was in street clothes and I didn’t know him. Then he told me that it was Leos. We had a good laugh that no one would know that it was him out of his character.
The always cute, Chelsea. She sold a lot of bird whistles because every time I passed by, someone was buying one for an eager little kid. She’s another great friend that I made during TRF 2021 and I look forward to seeing her at the next TRF.
This next pic is of Mickey and I. Every time that Mickey was serving me a drink, I felt like I was in the James Bond movie about Voodoo. HIs face looks that good.
Nothing to see here, just 2 guys in vests, lol.
I passed by Ty many times during a day at the TexRenFest. He always greeted me with a smile and I always felt welcomed by him. Very nice guy.
On the crest for the STORM Factory are 3 words… Exciting, Entertaining, Edifying.
Your edification from this post was the word coulrophobia and its’ meaning… Fear of Clowns.
Abby, myself and Sara. I couldn’t have found a better booth to take my breaks at. This is the booth where I’ll meet people at 2pm for photos each weekend day of the next TRF.
I hope you have enjoyed this look at the Texas Renaissance Festival’s Barbarian Invasion weekend.
To see all of the pics and videos from this event and many others, visit the link below and click on Photos.
Thanx for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. And remember…
“Always be yourself… unless you can be a Pirate, then always be a Pirate.”
Over the years, I’ve often thought about writing a few books about 2 of my careers and my adventures along the way.
Well, recently with Coronavirus and the shut down of America, I decided to pen a book about my adventures as a lifeguard at the first waterpark built in Houston, TX.
I had started the book a few years back so when I decided to finish it, I spent hours upon hours writing, editing, adding photos and rereading the book several times.
The book has some very funny stories in it that will make you Lol. Several of my lifeguard friends read it while I had it posted on my blog. Here are some quotes from them about the book.
“OMG…Outstanding F*%@in job on the WaterWorld Book! Wow…Just WOW! Talk about wonderful almost forgotten memories coming back! SPIDER you hit this one outside the park! Fyi If you haven’t ordered your WW book you really, REALLY SHOULD!” – Patrick Orlaska WaterWorld Guard
“I finished reading the lifeguard book written by Spider Michaels… if you haven’t read it… you need to. WaterWorld was my life for so long… I’d do it all over again!! The book is fantastic and I can’t wait to get my own signed copy.”
– Joni ‘Radar’ Waggoner
WaterWorld Supervisor
“Lots of great memories! Thanks for the laughs Spider, you truly are one of a kind!”
– Carrie Tefteller Benavidez
WaterWorld Guard
“While I was always a little intimidated by Spider, I admired his leadership (those other guards WORSHIPPED him – and the nicknames and his competitive spirit in lifeguard competitions, etc. made work fun). I mostly kept my distance from him (God forbid, I’d end up on the wrong end of one of his pranks), but I heard through the grapevine here and there about his antics – I could tell he was a pretty funny guy – and I loved the “jokester” in him. I realized now… having finished his book… that I didn’t know THE HALF of it! It was a good read.”
– Annie Godwin Bell
WaterWorld Guard
“This book is Vintage Gold. Brings back so many memories of the classic 80’s-90’s when the music was awesome and we all had few worries. Immerse yourself into our world of lifeguarding. You won’t be sorry!”
– Debbie Byars Leibham
WaterWorld Guard
Those are some pretty impressive quotes and I sincerely thank my friends for writing them.
When I was ready to order some copies from Amazon for my friends, I wanted to order a few extra for a Media Blitz, so initially I ordered 60 books. About 50 for my friends and 10 to send around to local radio station DJ’s.
After I posted this next photo, I had some more orders for the book. Now out of the 60, I have one left. I even had to get one back from my sister to send to someone. She’ll get the first one from my next order… signed.
My lifeguard friends also requested that I sign each copy to them. Signing and packaging 59 books, each with a different note, takes quite a while. At one point, I had to take a break because my hand was cramping up. I could never do a book tour where all you do is sign copies of your book.
Here is a photo of the books, all signed and packaged for shipping.
I went through an inventory of my life and I think I have about 4 more books in me. My first, “Lifeguarding at a Waterpark” will probably be my longest at 518 pages with 625 photos.
My 2nd book will probably be about my time working in auto racing. I spent about a decade working in NASCAR, IndyCar and the NHRA Drag Racing series. This book will be entitled… “My Motorsports Memoir: A Photo Essay.”
My 3rd book is about all of my travels all over the U.S. and Europe. I’ll call it “Spider’s Travels”, similar to Gulliver’s Travels.
My 4th book will be about the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. I spent the whole week of the rally one year and got some great photos and stories. The book will provide insight to those going to the rally and those wishing they could go to the rally. I expect the photos of the women will be the most popular chapter.
My 5th book will be a book of Poetry. I’ll have over 100 poems in this book that I’ve written over the years. They’ll cover Life, Love, Celebrities, Death, Heaven, the Afterlife and several more subjects.
Being able to Self Publish through Amazon has made it possible for anybody to write a book and get it into print. My 1st book, at 518 pages with color photos, cost $37.67 to print. With shipping, I think each book cost me $41.27.
Now that price is the Author’s cost. When a person orders my book off of Amazon, the cost goes up to $96.11. There’s a few bucks in that for me, but Amazon gets the Lion’s share. I will add that there’s a Beach Lifeguarding book for sale for about $140 on Amazon and it’s not nearly as long as my book with as many photos.
Any way you slice it, Amazon is the way to go to get your book in print. Otherwise, you have to seek out an Agent, which could take years, then this Agent has to find a Publishing House that believes in your book.
After spending years to finally get your book published, you only get about 12% from each sale of said book. And besides, book stores are closing down faster than you can say, “No business.” Everything is going Online now.
As I said earlier, I had started my book a few years ago so some of it was already written but when I picked it up again and finished it, it was only a few short months and I had a paperback edition in my hot little hands. You can do it too.
It’s been said that everybody has at least one good book in them. If you’ve ever dreamed of penning the next great American crime drama or your dream is to be the next J.K. Rowling well Amazon can be your ticket to getting in print. From there, who knows what could happen for you.
I have plans to send copies of my book to all of the local radios station drive time DJ’s in Houston as well as popular radio stations in L.A. and NYC.
I’m also sending copies to most of the Late Night Talk Show hosts. Hey, they may have a few minutes to laugh at my book and then who knows? Here are the letters.
I have to say, working nonstop on my 1st book has drained me. I’m going to take some time off before starting on any of my other books.
In closing, I wrote this post to motivate any of you to write your own books. If you have any questions, please contact me. I’ll be glad to help.
Lastly, anyone interested in reading my book, here is the link to purchase it from Amazon.
I’ve been lucky enough to have had a job that was all about traveling. I worked in Motorsports for about a decade and visited every major city in the U.S. several times a year.
This Blog Post is about some of those cities and even some places in Europe. I hope you enjoy reading about my journeys.
My sister wanted a pic at the airport in Houston as we were headed to California.
This time I was at Houston Intercontinental Airport.
Gotta love First Class travel. I wish I could afford it all of the time, lol.
I always enjoy the view from the plane.
The first place I’ll take you is to Philadelphia, the home of the Liberty Bell.
I was in town for a drag race, so I came in a day early just to tour the city.
Next, I’m at Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota. I was in nearby Sturgis for the motorcycle rally, so I made the drive to see such a historic place.
This next pic is from a crane in Sturgis. I took a ride up to see the town from above.
Here I’m with Johnny and Wendy in Chicago on the pier.
Boston is a fun town to visit. And you’ve gotta have the lobster.
Johnny and I in Orlando, Florida.
Now I’ll take you to NYC for a few pix.
You can’t go to New York and not go see the Statue of Liberty.
Wendy and I at the NYC Stock Exchange during the holidays.
I always try to get a pic with the flag people. They stand on boxes.
This might be, well, it is, my favorite Silver Man. See the box.
This guy was on a box also.
I’ve visited the Empire State Building a couple of times and love going to the top.
Here’s from another visit.
The view is awesome.
Now let’s see some pix from Times Square.
You can’t mention Times Square and not talk about the Naked Cowboy. Can you say Ripped?
Winnie the Pooh and Elmo too.
Mario and Luigi.
Woody from Toy Story fame.
I love the Broadway people advertising different plays and shows.
Love the derby.
She is cute. Too bad the shade from the hat obscures her face.
This is one of my favorite NYC pics.
NYC’s Finest.
Men in Black.
I’ve actually never gone to his website.
And now a few more Silver Men from Times Square, NYC.
The Tin Man.
I wonder how much they make doing this. It looks like a lot of effort and a lot of clean up.
Brooklyn.
Taking a ride through Central Park with Kellie and Wendy.
Wendy and I in Central Park.
And Wendy and I in Times Square.
A shot from on top of Seattle’s Space Needle.
And now, let’s go to Sin City… Vegas, baby.
This is in front of Treasure Island Casino.
I was at a convention and got this shot. Fun girls.
Here I am inside of one of the casinos.
In front of Caesar’s Palace.
Next, I’d like to take you to Santa Fe, New Mexico.
This pic is from inside one of the many museums in town.
Having lunch with my sister.
In the plaza, listening to good music.
Brunch with my sister again.
This pic was taken some time later, as if you couldn’t tell from the hair, lol.
My sister and I went to the Albuquerque Balloon Festival and had a good time.
We took a tour of the city. Our Tour Guide works in movies in Santa Fe as a western extra. He looks the part.
At another museum in Santa Fe.
Having lunch with the sis again.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t include a shot of ‘The Protector’ sculpture in front of my sister’s Santa Fe house. Stunning. It looks better when it snows.
Arrested in New Orleans for Mardi Gras.
Nope, not arrested. Just kidding around.
I love these guy’s costumes. So much color.
Gotta love the motorcycle cops of NOLA.
And the cute Louisiana gals.
Gotta get me a colorful jacket like that.
It was her idea to pose like this. That’s why I’m laughing so hard.
This little guy was on the boardwalk in Monterrey, CA.
I definitely wanted a photo with this pirate.
Took a horseback ride in the Pocono Mountains.
Visited Graceland while in Memphis.
I was in Indy for the 500 when I got this pic.
This photo is from the Daytona 500 weekend.
My sister and I took the Paramount Pictures studio tour while in L.A. Here I am with Bumblebee, from the Transformers movies.
We enjoyed the tour quite a lot. If ever given the chance, you should do it.
I was in Galveston, TX for the Lone Star Rally in this next pic.
Also in Galveston, I caught this Great White off the shore.
Okay, I didn’t really catch a Great White, lol. It’s fake, in front of a store for photo ops.
Next, Tricia, Johnny and I took a hike on a nature trail in the Pocono Mountains.
It was a beautiful day and the scenery was great.
I got this pic right after the Indy 500 parade. Fun time.
I was in NYC for the NASCAR Awards Banquet and got this pic.
Back in Galveston for the Dickens on the Strand weekend.
Disneyland in Anaheim, CA.
I love this pic of the Phoenix race track.
I also enjoyed halloween in Phoenix one year.
As I toured the country, I was asked to help run the Extreme Bikini contests. How could I refuse, lol.
My co-workers and I rented a pontoon boat while in Arizona and had a great time.
I snapped this pic of the Golden Gate Bridge while riding a bicycle there from Fisherman’s Wharf. I’d never do that again. My legs were killing me.
Some San Francisco Silver Men.
Wonder how long to get it all off of your face and hands.
Colorful… and yes, gay.
Now I’d like to take you to Europe for a few of the cities I’ve visited there.
First is Paris and the famous Notre Dame cathedral.
One of my first selfies.
Beautiful.
My sister snapped a pic of me in the subway station.
This might be my favorite travel pic of them all. Love the Eiffel Tower in the background.
I’be been to the top of the tower and shot video and got photos.
I also took some photos from different angles.
This is a pic of the little apartment atop the Eiffel Tower.
During good weather months, the tower area is really crowded.
A pic from the top of the tower.
And straight down.
I love that it lights up at night, every hour on the hour.
Really beautiful.
One of my first pics with the tower.
Now, I’ll show you a few pix of the Louvre Museum.
I’ve been several times and it never gets old.
You could wander for days and still not see everything.
I always go see the Mona Lisa.
Here I am at the Palace of Versailles.
My sister and I took a Paris boat tour. It was enjoyable.
Another Paris selfie.
Having lunch in Paris.
At a Paris flea market.
I had to stop by the Paris Harley-Davidson shop.
This pic is from my first trip to Europe. I’m in Italy.
Another pic from the Italian Riviera. Portofino.
Now off to London, England.
This is the Tower Bridge, a very famous bridge. My friend and I took the tour of it and went through the top of it. Very cool.
Buckingham Palace.
Another of my first selfies.
Buckingham Palace during the holidays.
Kissed by a Beefeater.
I bet he gets tired of this, lol.
I couldn’t stand or sit on a horse and be perfectly still and not say a word all day… plus having strangers take pix of me all day.
And lastly, to my favorite European city, Amsterdam.
I’ve been here about as many times as I’ve been to Paris and I love it.
Notice all of the trash in the Red Light District?
They clean the streets every night. This pic is from early in the morning after they’ve cleaned up.
Enjoying a burger in an Amsterdam restaurant.
I hope you’ve enjoyed looking at pix from my travels. I’ll be adding as I take trips.
NASCAR is a huge sport, one of the biggest around;
Seeing the race crowd, will astound.
The fans are rabid, for their favorite driver;
More popular than, a finals of Survivor.
Drivers sign autographs, by the droves;
Fans follow, wherever he roves.
Gordon’s got four championships, but Jimmie’s got seven;
If he gets to eight, he’ll be in heaven.
Earnhardt Sr. was the toughest, people always say;
I wish, he was here today.
Many drivers are rich, and claim a lot of fame;
Everybody knows Jeff Gordon, by his name.
There is no doubt, NASCAR is big in the South;
Smack talk a driver’s fan, get punched in the mouth.
Companies spend millions, to sponsor a car;
Sometimes, it doesn’t get far.
When interviewed, drivers say their sponsor’s name;
Driving for Extenze or Viagra, would be really lame.
Been to many races, seen all the big tracks;
Race fans wear all the logos, on their fronts and backs.
All around, Indy, Daytona and Charlotte;
A pit lizard, is a harlot.
Girls throw themselves at drivers, at every race;
Some sign on titties, and every other place.
Motorsports is good, for the economy;
We all drive, it’s our autonomy.
Go to a race, and yourself you’ll see;
It’s exciting, it’s not just me.
Fast as hell, they drive;
Some don’t make it, out alive.
Risk their lives, for our entertainment;
What a dangerous, arrangement.
NASCAR is great, and the drivers are fearless;
When it comes to driving, they’re peerless.
Get an autograph, and buy a hat;
Your friends will say, where’d you get that?
I love racing, it is the best;
Man and engine, a great test.
I’d like to be a racer, and drive really fast;
I’d probably end up, in a body cast.
You know you like it, you drive fast too;
Maybe you’re a fan, and just never knew.
Go to a race, it’ll change your mind;
You’ll become hooked, on speed of any kind.
I could go on, for many a part;
Gotta end, the race is about to start.
Spider Michaels
That completes this NASCAR 101 Course. Give yourself 3 Credits towards Graduation. Congratulations on your Quest for a Degree from The Universite de Arachnida.
To see other course requirements for your degree, see next link.
There are many people that have great ring collections. I don’t think mine is any better than most, but I happen to own some very special rings.
I’ve earned rings throughout my life and I’ve only lost one, my High School ring, and I will get that one replaced one day.
Below are some pictures with stories about my rings. I hope you enjoy it.
First up is my college ring. I graduated from McNeese State University in 1988. McNeese is in Lake Charles, LA. I grew up nearby.
It took me 4 and a half years to graduate because I bounced around between schools. I started out at McNeese, then transferred to the University of Louisiana. From there, I took some classes at Houston Community College so I could continue working at the waterpark I was working at year round. After all of that, I transferred back to McNeese and graduated.
After graduation from McNeese, I went to the University of Houston for Post – Baccalaureate work.
I enjoyed college and had some very fun times. I remember drinking lots of coffee and staying up all night to finish a project or cram for a test.
I made lots of friends in college and I often wonder what they’re up to. Maybe one day I’ll track them down and surprise them.
When I wear my college ring, I wear it with pride because I know how hard it is for some to afford college, or even make the grades to get into one. Hell, I got into four, lol.
I like my college ring because it reminds me of my friends from school, the good times and the hard work I put in to earn it.
This ring will always be very special to me.
I graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Education, in 1988.
My next ring I earned while working at a waterpark called WaterWorld in Houston, TX.
I was on a lifeguard team that won 10 straight State Championships. We were awesome.
This is another ring that reminds me of good times and old friends. When we had our moment in the sun, we were the best and we reveled in it.
Not many can say that they were a champion lifeguard when they were in their youth.
I got my nickname, Spider, at the waterpark and we were called S.T.O.R.M. (Strong Team of Rescue Men).
After lifeguarding for over a decade, I went to work in motorsports.
It was my job to travel all over the U.S. and attend these big auto races and do marketing for really big companies.
I got to work hand in hand with the race teams and I got to know and like them all quite a lot.
I was with Sam Hornish, Jr.’s team, Panther Racing & Pennzoil, when he won his two IndyCar Championships. That’s how I received this next ring.
Working in the IndyCar series, I attended the Indy 500 every year and that was a blast.
I came close to being eligible for a team ring for the Indy 500.
Sam never won the Indy 500 while I was working with him, but after he changed teams he won The Great American Race, the Indy 500.
I like my IndyCar Championship ring. It reminds me of all the fun I had at the Indy 500 each year.
I have lots of photos and videos to remember those days, but my ring is most special to me.
I enjoyed my time with Panther Racing and the IndyCar League.
While working in motorsports, I also worked in NASCAR as well as IndyCar. I also worked in the NHRA too.
When I was working in NASCAR, I got to work with Jeff Gordon’s team doing Marketing work and entertaining their VIP guests.
I would take the VIP’s down into the Pit Area and Garage before the races and teach them all about NASCAR and racing.
What I taught them in about 30 to 45 minutes improved the quality of their race viewing that day because they understood better what was going on.
I traveled to many tracks across America to earn this ring and I’m probably most proud of it.
Jeff Gordon is a four time champion and I worked with his team for all four championships.
They say that there’s about 75 million NASCAR fans. I bet some would give their right arm to have had the chance to earn a ring like I did.
I’m one of the few people living that has earned a ring in the IndyCar Series and also NASCAR. Pretty rare, I have to say.
My Jeff Gordon Championship ring might be my favorite.
Here’s another ring from my NASCAR days. It’s from one of the bigger races in the season.
It’s from the Brickyard 400, which is run on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway track.
So I got a ring from Indy after all, lol.
My Brickyard ring is pretty cool and I like it a lot.
I started out my career in Motorsports working in the NHRA (Natl. Hot Rod Assoc.). I’m happy to have a ring to remind me of all the good times and good friends I made in those days.
My first job in Motorsports was that of a Banner Boy. I loved it and would do it again.
In 1987, I got certified as a SCUBA Diver.
I went on several dives and loved diving.
I went down in the Bahamas, in the Florida Keys and some places in Texas.
I had this ring made for me specially because the Dive Organization doesn’t sell them.
One day, I’ll get them to use my design and sell it to other divers. I know other divers would love a dive ring once they got certified.
This first ring was just a test and it came out pretty good, although I don’t wear silver. 113 was my radio number at the waterpark. And PADI stands for Professional Assoc. of Diving Instructors.
Well, I contacted PADI and Jostens Rings to come up with this Dive Ring. I’m still working on getting it to all divers.
Jostens gave me the first ring off the production line for free.
This ring is much nicer. I was certified in 1987.
When I went to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, I came across this booth selling rings from the Rally, so I definitely got one to commemorate my experience there.
My Sturgis ring reminds me of some good times I had there.
Quite impressive when lined up side by side, if I do say so myself, lol. These rings represent lots of long, hot days on your feet all day. Also, lots of great friends and fond memories. And don’t forget all of the laughs I had along the way.
I have some other rings in my collection, but these are my favorites.
I hope you’ve enjoyed looking at my rings and reading about them.
That completes this NASCAR 101 Course. Give yourself 3 Credits towards Graduation. Congratulations on your Quest for a Degree from The Universite de Arachnida.
To see other course requirements for your degree, see next link.
After my lifeguarding days, I started to work in motorsports. I would attend an auto race almost every weekend in a different large city across America.
I enjoyed the travel and seeing all of the major cities in the U.S., several times over the years that I worked this job.
When I first started this job, I knew nothing about racing. I had to learn pretty quick because I was given the task of taking VIP guests into the pit and garage areas of these major race tracks and showing them around.
At all of these races, I was given credentials that let me go anywhere around the track, before, during and after the race.
I used this credential to go around and interview people and take notes. I talked with Pit Crew Members, the Goodyear tire specialists, mechanics, the fuel workers and anyone else I thought had some good information for me.
I took all of these notes and wrote out a manual, so to speak. This little pamphlet had all of the important information listed in the order that you would talk about while in the pits and garage areas.
My notes were so good, other companies were asking for a copy of them. I was told by my boss not to give out my notes.
It’s hard not to sound egotistical when I say I was one of the, if not the best, tour guides during my days working in motorsports, but I did have great notes, and was animated and fun during my tours.
Also, my company received lots of emails to my boss saying how good I was and how much they enjoyed the tour.
In this next photo, I am explaining where the driver wants to put his front tire when coming in for a Pit Stop.
The teams don’t want the car too close to the wall, so the Jack Man can use his jack to lift the car. If the car is too close to the wall, it makes it hard on the Jack Man and possibly slows down the Pit Stop.
Also, the teams videotape every Pit Stop to see how they did. The camera is on a yellow pole hanging over the Pit Stall, aimed straight down.
Since it is aimed straight down, you can’t tell what track you’re at. So the teams write on the ground so they know where the footage came from.
In this picture, you see CHI for Chicago.
The VIP guests loved being near all of the race cars and trucks.
Here I am at a race, letting people pose for photos in front of a racing truck.
I gave copies of my notes to my co-workers and told them how to give a good Pit Tour. Soon, they were giving good Pit Tours and it took some of the burden off of me.
My tours were so informative, that I was asked several times if I had been a driver. Some kid even asked for my autograph.
Some people brought their video cams and taped my tours. So there are videos all over America of me talking about racing.
I was told several times, over the years, that I should write a book because I knew so much about racing from my notes.
A Pit Tour Guide book would be fun to write, but I haven’t considered doing that thus far in my life. Also, a lot of information may change from year to year, so I would have to constantly upgrade my notes.
I wish I had kept a Journal, where I had notes about every race I attended. I’d like to read through it and laugh about all of the practical jokes we played on each other while traveling and all the cities I visited.
I have lots of photos, but having the stories would be great because over the years I’ve forgotten so much stuff that happened.
I got to meet a lot of drivers while I was working in this job.
Here I am with Al Unser, Sr. He gave me a ride around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where they race the Indy 500.
After the tours were done for the morning, I would help out in the Hospitality Tent.
Here I am helping a driver while he autographs some things for the guests.
We would hold raffles and give away lots of prizes.
Getting the prizes together was easy. Even though they weren’t for me, spending company money on prizes was always fun.
Over the years, I did amass quite a collection of racing memorabilia.
I sold most of it to a true race fan after I was out of motorsports.
Sometimes, after a race, I would throw out hats to the race fans. They loved free stuff.
Being a lifeguard, then a Tour Guide are the two major jobs I’ve held in my life and both were a blast. I worked these two jobs for almost 25 years and I’m 50 now, so that’s half of my life either swimming or traveling.
I liked lifeguarding because of the tan and bikinis, but traveling all over America is hard to beat.
I got to experience things that many can only dream about. And for that I’m very grateful.
I hope you love your jobs as much as I have loved mine.
That completes this NASCAR 101 Course. Give yourself 3 Credits towards Graduation. Congratulations on your Quest for a Degree from The Universite de Arachnida.
To see other course requirements for your degree, see next link.
Of the many things I did in motorsports, one of the most fun was being a Banner Boy. I coined that name. I even developed a cartoon strip to chronicle the adventures of Banner Boy & the Cable Tie Kid, lol.
Every company in racing has several Banner Boys. All of us would prepare our hundreds of Banners ahead of time for race day morning.
Some got on the road at about 5am or 6am. They were too late. I had started at 3am on almost all the days that I hung Banners, as we called it. The Banner Boys would load their vans or trucks with all of these Banners and start driving towards the race track.
Then, every so often, we’d stop, get out, put up some Banners, drive a little, stop and do it again. The location dictated how many Banners you could put up. If you came across a nice fence, that was great.
I’ve been out in the dark, with a head light to see by. The head light that fits on your forehead with an elastic band. Try pounding stakes in the dark and the cold sometimes, with your light shaking with every blow. Sometimes you hit the stake, and sometimes not.
In my years as a Banner Boy, I’ve hung banners on chain link fences, wood fences, wooden stakes, metal poles, buildings, on the way to the track, at the track, restaurants, Driver appearances, contests, Winner’s Circle, Victory Lane and everywhere in between.
I only made the mistake once of drinking the night before Banner Day aka Race Day. I was in Dallas and that was a long road to the track. I had lots of banners, stakes, mallet, cable ties, staple gun and some duct tape loaded in the rental truck.
I was ready for Sunday morning, so I went to the hotel bar and hung out for a bit. At 3am I was still sitting in the bar drinking. I can still remember the guy’s name my sister and I were hanging out with… Myles, from GMAC I think.
The irony is that we were making all kinds of jokes up for the adventures of Banner Boy & the Cable Tie Kid. We laughed all night.
At 3am, I showered, dressed and left to Banner the route to the track. I was by myself this time. I would have loved to have had help, especially in my state.
That day, at the Texas NASCAR race, I had to work another 17 hour day. I was so tired when I got back to the hotel. I swore that I would never drink on Banner Day’s Eve again, lol.
And if I ever see Myles again, I’m going to kick him in his ass for getting me drunk the night before a big day for me.
As I said earlier, I was an early riser. I usually had Bannered all of the good spots along the route to the track by the time the other companies were just starting.
Then the race fans, tens of thousands, would drive by and see my Banners. I know the other Banner Boys were pissed to see my Banners in all of the good spots.
It was always a great feeling when my superiors came up to me and mentioned how well I had Bannered the route. After Bannering, I’d be at the track early, get my coffee and walk around, watching this very epic and exciting day unfold.
It was an unwritten rule that you never took another companies Banners down to put yours up. Now as far as the race fans, they take anything.
Here is the definition of Futile… I’m putting up Banners on the way to the track early in the morning. As I’m working, something catches my eye, so I look over to see race fans 100 yards away taking the Banners I just hung.
The morning of the race, traffic gets backed up terribly in some cities. The Texas NASCAR race is like that. So, race fans are in stand still traffic, trying to get to the race. They’re stuck in their car, sitting still.
They look over and see Banners on the fences, so they hop out and go cut them down. This is the bane of a Banner Boy’s existence.
Banner Boy & the Cable Tie Kid have many ‘run ins’ with race fans over stealing Banners. Banner Boy takes Banner Thievery very seriously, as do I.
Race fans can get someone fired. Say they take all of the Banners along the route to the track and even at the track. What will happen to that Banner Boy when his boss doesn’t see but 2 Banners along the whole route.
I enjoyed Bannering. It’s one of the first things I did when I started out in motorsports. There’s something to be said for a sense of accomplishment and with Bannering, you had that. You could physically, see what you had just done.
Get a photo to show your boss because the race fans are coming, lol.
At the Indy 500, I had a great assignment. Go to the campground and hand out free racing Banners to wild and crazy race fans. I loved it.
As you can see, Pennzoil was one of the companies I represented.
The second we would pull up, they’d come get the freebies to decorate their campsites.
One time, we were at the airport with hundreds of Banners in the back of the minivan. Then we had a flat. A nice Indy cop let us change the tire there in the pick up lanes.
The really suck part about it was that the jack and spare tire were in the floor panel, under hundreds of Banners. We had to unload on the sidewalk, right in the middle of the airport, on Indy 500 weekend, to get the job done.
Imagine, a pile of bright yellow Banners, hundreds of them, in a large pile in the very busy Indy Airport pick up lanes. Our minivan was parked next to a sidewalk, thankfully. So we were able to unload onto the sidewalk.
Just think if we weren’t near the sidewalk. I guess drive that bitch until the wheel comes off or you get somewhere that we could change it.
Every year, I met lots of people. And every year we were offered beers. Usually, I never took a drink, but when we were offered Bloody Mary’s, I accepted. They were great.
We’d open the side door of the van, for easy access to the Banners, then just drive around the campground, giving away promotional materials.
I say promo materials because on occasion we had Pennant Rope to accompany the Banners, as well as Decals, at times.
It’s like Xmas for race fans when you give away cool promotional items.
This is a nice photo because you can see the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the background.
In this next pic, you can see the Pennzoil Pennant Rope I handed out the previous year.
If I ever made some ContraGear Racing Banners, I’d personally give them out at this campground. They’d go crazy for my Banners.
I’ve been noticing things and doing a little research. The following photos are from all over the country. And these are just the ones I saw. How many more are out there?
This Pirate Flag doesn’t stand out like the first one, but it’s still noticeable.
Number three is very easy to see.
The fourth flag stands out quite nicely. When you’re photographing a moving flag, you never know what you will get.
There are so many Jolly Roger’s out there, it would be impossible to know for sure how many ‘New Age Pirates’ are out there. If I only had a way to get all of these Pirate fans to check out my sites and logos.
If you haven’t heard of a ‘New Age’ Pirate, that’s because I coined the phrase to help define an attitude that some have about life… and death in the 21st century.
It stands out when it’s by itself.
A little hard to see, but it’s there.
Maybe one day, they’ll be flyin’ my flags.
Even the smaller tents have Pirates in them.
Talking about Pirate Flags and Banners started me thinking. I just took a coffee break and designed a pretty good Banner for the race fans.
The logo is cool. The lettering matches the skull logo. It has the all important word Racing. But notice mine has the word Team added.
You never see companies making Banners that say Racing Team. I’d bet a lot of money that if you gave a racing fan the option of any other company’s Banner or mine.
Well, you just might lose big. If it’s one thing I know, it’s what racing fans like. I made this Banner in about 20 minutes. And most of that was shopping online for some new fonts.
This old bus wouldn’t look as nice without the racing Banners and Pennant Rope. They look like true race fans. And you’d be surprised at this.
If a company doesn’t put the word Racing on their Banners, the race fans won’t want them as much as a Racing Banner.
What is a campsite without a comfy old couch? I almost wrote sofa, but that is definitely a couch, lol.
I always tried to get good group photos for two reasons. One, we used the photos in our ‘After Event Reports’ to corporate, to show them what we were doing in the field and how we were promoting their brand and products.
Two, was that I’ve had my websites for years now and I always handed out a card with my website on it. A few days after the race, they could visit my site and download their photo for free. I was the only Banner Boy offering that service.
So when you look at these next photos, think about me getting the photo right so they’d have a good memory of their race weekend. All of the people came to my site and got their pics. I imagine some got framed and are in the living room somewhere.
Even the ladies got into the Banner Battles.
Sitting around your campsite with family and good friends, drinking while you wait for the Greatest American Race. Not a bad way to pass the time.
Yo whaddup?
As a Banner Boy, part of your job description is pulling practical jokes. Or at least that’s what I thought, lol.
My cohort and I used to pull a great trick on the girls that worked with us. Somehow, we got the keys to their vehicle, most times a van. A van made it easy to get their keys because we always said we had to go load the van with race day supplies.
Johnny and I would take some baby powder and straws to their vehicle. Then, we would load up the air vents, using the straws, to put baby powder in these AC vents.
You turn the AC controls to high, so the next morning, the girls get in, start the van, the AC kicks in on high, and the girls get covered with white powder. Man would they get pissed every time they fell for it.
This next pic makes me laugh. The guy taking a drink of his beer just as the photo was taken, in particular.
He had a checklist for Race Day. Wear a NASCAR shirt to the Indy 500. Check. Get a photo of me drinking my beer. Check.
These next people had the right idea. Party in the shade.
These people definitely liked this photo.
And these guys weren’t having any fun at all, lol. One guy asked if he could take his dick out.
This is a great picture.
While working on this post, I’m missing racing, then I think of the constant traveling, long hours and how it wears you down. I’d love to go back to this campground area again. It’s just as fun for the NASCAR Brickyard 400.
I made it possible for all of these race fans and many more, all across this country, to get fun photos from the races they attended. You know, I never got one single email. Not a single thank you or even bitching about the pic.
I guess they were pleased. Believe me, these days, people bitch at the drop of a hat.
Everybody wants to raise their shirt or show me their garnubles and batons.
Pay close attention to that particular banner. It almost got me fired, lol.
You definitely notice all different levels of camping when you go to the campground. Some have good set ups, while others are ‘roughing it’ a bit more.
You will see most anything and everything at the campground.
Notice this year of bannering, they took the word Racing off of their banners. People still wanted them, but just the word Racing makes it that much cooler.
This guy had a motorized recliner to cruise around on.
I had some beers with these guys. This was his imitation of a driver in turn 4.
This was one of my favorite photos from handing out Banners.
Hey, fix that banner, bunch of slackers, lol.
How would that picture look if they were standing next to three ContraGear Banners?
Even the guys wanted to show me tit.
Hold on there.
Watch out, now.
Banner Boy has fans countrywide. They love to dress up, with the trademark Banner cape, to look like Banner Boy, lol.
That’s me helping Banner a wire. Again, the word Racing makes them look so much better.
These would be taken overnight by someone from the campground across the street if they had Racing on them.
That’s bad for the company who buys them because they’re not up very long if they’re cool Banners. But that company’s Banners are hung up in garages, businesses, man caves, etc. all over the country.
Here I am arranging a group photo.
I think it came out great. I know they loved this pic.
Aw hell, sumbody done done it.
And then they doubled down.
And it’s not even Mardi Gras, lol.
Okay, now here’s where I begin to sweat. I had brought my photographer friend to Indy with me to cover the weekend in photos.
And yes, that’s a dildo. Notice the cardboard sign says, ‘Chicks Ride Free’.
Now is when I was sure I was getting fired. These girls starting showing everything, the crowd was snapping photos and all right in front of my Banners.
At this point, I know I’m going to be working on my resume. Look at this next photo real well.
Yep, that’s a Beer Bong through her legs. That banner was placed so well and here it is, the reason I get shit canned.
And my photographer friend was snapping away with his camera, along with a large crowd of race fans, doing the same thing.
I was worried about nothing. Nothing came up, so I guess it was a case of race fans doing what race fans do, have unadulterated fun.
I think she lost a contact.
Well, that was a look at the wild campground next to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
I also promoted my company when I was talking to all of those race fans.
I hope you were entertained while reading on this article. You see, even Banner Boys get to pose with the trophy, lol.
Until next time, be safe and have a chill day.
That completes this IndyCar 101 Course. Give yourself 3 Credits towards Graduation. Congratulations on your Quest for a Degree from The Universite de Arachnida.
To see other course requirements for your degree, see next link.
Hello, I worked in racing for about a decade. I used to joke that I had amassed enough experience and knowledge that I had earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Motorsports.
I have completed work on a course curriculum for earning a degree in Motorsports. This course load will cover NASCAR, IndyCar and the NHRA (Natl. Hot Rod Assoc.).
Here are the 3 areas of study. Click on them to see the different courses.
Congratulations for seeking a degree from the Universite de Arachnida.
Hollywood is known in every country as the ‘Movie Making Capital of the World’.
The Hollywood sign is iconic and recognized the globe over. it was originally an outdoor ad campaign for a suburban housing development called Hollywoodland and erected in 1923.
It’s aspirational message remains the same, “This is a place where magic is possible, where dreams can come true”.
In 1949, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce began to repair and rebuild the sign. The contract with the Los Angeles Parks Department stipulated that “Land” be removed to spell “Hollywood” so it would represent the district and not the housing development. And so history is made.
This article will focus on Grauman’s Chinese Theater and the Walk of Fame.
Sid Grauman and a friend went to check out his new house one day and when Sid stepped in the wet cement he got the idea to create the famous impressions in front of his theater.
Mary Pickford was the first person to leave an impression in the forecourt of the theater. Millions have visited the Chinese theater just to see the stars footprints, handprints and signatures.
Charlton Heston is in some of my favorite movies that I watched while growing up. He was in The Ten Commandments, Ben Hur, The Omega Man, Solient Green and especially The Planet of the Apes, just to name a few. He won the Oscar for Best Actor for his role in Ben Hur in 1960.
He has one of the more recognizable signatures at Grauman’s.
Sophia Loren has been a sex symbol her entire life. She’s an Italian born actress that began her acting career at 14 after winning a beauty pageant in 1949.
Sophia won the Oscar for Best Actress in 1962 for her role as Cesira in the foreign language film “Two Women”.
She has one of the neatest signatures at Grauman’s.
Kirk Douglas, and his dimpled chin, became a leading box office star in the 50’s and 60’s. He appeared in more than 90 films. I really liked his Western movies.
He made his impressions the same year as Sophia Loren.
Jimmy Stewart is in one of my favorite films, “It’s a Wonderful Life”. The movie plays several times a year during the Holidays and I always try to watch it at least once.
He is another person who made an impression that is easy to read. He also put the day in the date… Fri – 13.
Steve McQueen is another of my favorite actors. My favorite movie that he is in is “The Great Escape”. At one point he steals a German motorcycle and tries to ride to freedom. This is a high point in the movie for me and millions.
He made his “T” in Thanks look like a “J”.
Samuel L. Jackson is a very well-known actor. Some have said he’s in every great movie of his generation. My favorite movie of his is “Pulp Fiction”.
He’s the only person that I saw that wrote out the month in word form for his impression.
Michael Keaton was a surprise choice for his role in Batman but he did a great job as the caped crusader. There’s a lot of his films that I like. “Beetlejuice” is a great one and so is “Nightshift” but you can’t forget how funny he was in “Mr. Mom”.
I also heard that his movie “Birdman” was really good and he received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. He lost out to Eddie Redmayne, who played Stephen Hawking.
It looks like he ran out of room for his date. He should have written the date below his shoes and he would have had plenty of room.
Bruce Willis became a star after his role in “Diehard”. He went on to make several more in the franchise as well as many other great movies. I think “Diehard” is my favorite though.
He wrote his catchphrase from “Diehard”. Yippie Ki Yay! He’s one of many impressions that have cracks in the cement.
Jim Carrey made the jump from T.V. to movie stardom. I like his comedies and also his more dramatic films.
He wrote “MERRILY MERRILY MERRILY MERRILY” in his impression. The rest of that is “Life is but a dream”.
Tom Hanks won two Oscars and is a well respected actor. He’s another who made the jump from T.V. to movie success. My favorite Tom Hanks movie is probably “Saving Private Ryan”.
Check out how thin his shoes were when he made his impressions. He must have small feet.
Jane Russell was a sex symbol in her movie career and made many men’s heart throb. Howard Hughes developed the underwire support bra for Jane because of her amble bosom.
jane and Marilyn Monroe made their impressions together and signed it with a movie they made together, “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”.
Marilyn Monroe is everybody’s favorite actress. She’s still popular today and many people get a tattoo of her on their bodies.
My favorite Marilyn movie is “The Seven Year Itch”. If you haven’t seen it, do yourself a favor and watch it.
Marilyn wanted to make a butt impression and have Jane make a boob impression but they were nixed on the idea.
Marilyn left a Rhinestone to dot the “i” in her name but a souvenir hunter later chipped it out and stole it. You can see where it was in the picture below.
Here’s a photo of Marilyn and Jane leaving the impressions in 1953.
This is what the two impression look like side by side. You can tell they were wearing high heels when they did their feet.
This was a great day for both women. I wonder if they went out and partied afterwards.
Before I start showing you the ‘Stars’ on the Hollywood ‘Walk of Fame’ I have to tell this story.
Johnny Grant is the MC for all of the events at Grauman’s Chinese Theater for making impressions in the concrete and also for the ‘Stars’ on the ‘Walk of Fame’ ceremonies.
When he got the chance to make an impression in the concrete at Grauman’s… he misspelled his own name.
He wrote Johny Grant. He forgot the second “n” in his first name. It’s a little hard to make out in my photo but if you try you can see the error.
Can you just imagine… You get the chance to be immortalized with all of the Hollywood “Greats” and you screw up your own name for everybody to see FOREVER!
I have more photos of cement impressions from Grauman’s Chinese Theater on my website but now I’d like to show you some of the “Stars” on the Hollywood “Walk of Fame”.
John Lennon became famous while he was in the Beatles and later had a successful solo career. Many people blame Yoko Ono for breaking up the Beatles and many still dislike her today for it.
My favorite John Lennon song is “Imagine”.
You’ll notice that John has a record with a needle on his star because he received it for his music.
Jimi Hendrix died too soon. I would have loved to see what he would have done musically had he lived to old age.
He has the record and needle for his music as well.
B.B. King just passed away recently and had a very long and successful career. I would have liked to see him play live but never got the chance.
He had his famous guitar named “Lucille” with him until the end. He also has the record and needle on his star.
Walt Disney is world famous for creating Mickey Mouse and other notable Disney Characters. His name is also well known because of the theme parks.
As a child, I used to hate Sunday evenings because school was the next day. The bright spot was that I could watch Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom and then The Wonderful World of Disney next on Sunday evenings. I never missed either show.
Walt has a T.V. on his star because of his work in television.
Many don’t know the face of this next person. Care to venture a guess?
It’s Gene Roddenberry, the creator of T.V.’s Star Trek series. He’s got the T.V. on his star also.
Everybody knows this next person. It’s Leonard Nimoy, better known as Spock from Star Trek.
Leonard just recently passed away but will always be remembered for Star Trek and also from his star on the “Walk of Fame”.
He has a movie camera for his work in movies. Some entertainers have multiple stars on the “Walk of Fame”. Leonard may have another with a T.V. for his work in television.
George Takei played Hikaru Sulu in the original Star Trek series on T.V. He’s now more famous than ever and regularly makes public appearances at Comic Con type conventions around the world.
He’s got a T.V. too.
Johnny Carson is known as the most popular late night television host ever. I used to watch his show regularly and would laugh a lot. My favorite character he played was Floyd R. Turbo.
Some of his funniest moments were when he would invite animal experts on his show and he would interact with the animals. I think a monkey peed on his head one time.
Katherine Hepburn is another one of my favorite actresses. She and Spencer Tracy made a lot of good movies together.
She has a movie camera because she was a big time movie star of her generation.
Bob Hope was an entertainer all the way up until he couldn’t do it anymore. Not only did he make funny as hell movies, sometimes with Bing Crosby, and also host the Oscars the longest stretch, he also did USO tours for the troops overseas.
Bob is remembered with a movie camera on his star for his work in film.
Dean Martin is another of my favorite entertainers as a child. I’d watch his movies and television show. He also was a member of the “Rat Pack”. I bet he did an awful lot of partying in his day.
I think Dean is one of the celebrities that have multiple stars on the “Walk of Fame”. I think he also has one for his music career. “When the moon hits your eye, like a big pizza pie… that’s amore” was a famous line from one of his songs.
Sammy Davis, Jr. was another member of the famous “Rat Pack”. He converted to Judaism and married a white woman during his career and in those days this didn’t sit well with many.
Sammy has a star for his music career and maybe one for movies too.
Grace Kelly was a beautiful actress that married into royalty from another country and quit acting. That’s too bad and I bet many hated that she retired from acting at such an early age.
I loved her in “To Catch a Thief” with Cary Grant.
Kirk Douglas is one of the people that have an impression at Grauman’s Chinese Theater and also a star on the “Walk of Fame”. Basically, everyone from Grauman’s also has a star as well.
Kirk Douglas was a stud actor that had great looks and great talent. My favorite movie of his is “There was a Crooked Man” I think.
On Saturday morning’s I’d wake up early, grab a bowl of Captain Crunch cereal and plant myself in front of the T.V. for the cartoons.
After Bugs Bunny and Scooby Doo, I’d love it when a Tarzan movie came on. I watched and loved them all.
Everyone of my age and older remembers Johnny Weissmuller as the original and only Tarzan.
Johnny was the best Tarzan, in my opinion, because he was a swimming champion. He was one of the world’s fastest swimmers in the 1920’s. He won 5 gold medals in the Olympics and one bronze for water polo.
He won 52 U.S. National Championships and set more than 50 world records, both in freestyle and backstroke. He was also purportedly undefeated in official competition during his entire competitive career. You name me another Tarzan that has the same credentials and I’ll mow your lawn for a year.
Harrison Ford will always be known as Han Solo to many millions even though he has had a spectacular acting career.
Star Wars was his break out role and he’ll always be remembered for it first when thinking of Harrison.
Other than Star Wars, my favorite Harrison Ford movie is the Indiana Jones franchise.
The “Walk of Fame” even has a dog with a star. Rin Tin Tin was a German Shepherd that was rescued from a World War I battlefield by an American soldier named Lee Duncan.
Duncan trained him and he began to work in Hollywood.
Rin Tin Tin was an immediate box office success and went on to star in 27 films during his career that gained him worldwide fame.
If Rin Tin Tin has a star you should assume that Lassie has one too. And you’d be correct.
In front of Grauman’s Chinese Theater you see many different people dressed up like characters that are famous and / or from the movies.
Here I am interviewing Elvis and Marilyn Monroe.
I met with “Charlie Chaplin” also. He kept putting his had out for me to shake it then he would pull it away just as I reached for it. Such a smart ass, lol.
“Crocodile Dundee” was cool. And he really looked like Paul Hogan as the character.
I got to interview “SuperGirl” as well. I thought she looked cute in her outfit.
Something worth mentioning, as I wrap up this article, is the mural just off of Hollywood Boulevard. It has all of these famous actors and actresses seated in a theater. Can you pick out Marilyn Monroe?
This next photo was from when I was invited to an Awards Banquet in Hollywood for a Screenplay I had written. It was a fun trip and I enjoyed receiving the award for my hard work.
The photo below is just down the block from Grauman’s Chinese Theater.
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading a little about Hollywood. Until next time, have a chill day.
I was working on a section in my other site, SpiderMichaels.com about the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and I got to a photo of this girl and her two friends. Then I remembered something that I had forgotten a long time ago.
I went to Sturgis, SD for the rally several years ago. I stayed the full week of the rally. I wanted to see it all. I brought a friend, Matt, with me. I gave him a camera and a videocam.
Each day, we would separate on Main Street and go on a quest to get great photos and video of the rally at it’s best. We went everywhere there was something going on and covered it for my websites.
We got so many different pics from the rally that when I returned to Houston, I had to categorize the photos in order to write blog posts about them.
On this blog, you will see posts about Sturgis in the column on the right of every page. These posts cover: Women of Sturgis (My most popular blog post – it’s been viewed over 50,000 times), Nice bikes of Sturgis, Unique Headwear of Sturgis, and many more.
Anyway, I just went a long way around to get to the point of this post. At the end of my week there, I met another cute girl and we made a date for our last night in town. She’s the one in the hat. She said that hat was her trademark.
She was staying in Deadwood, so I drove over that evening. When I met her at her hotel, we decided to go to Saloon #10.
Saloon #10 is famous for being known as the place where Wild Bill Hickok was killed.
In 1876, Hickok was shot from behind and killed while playing poker in a saloon in Deadwood, Dakota Territory (present-day South Dakota) by Jack McCall, an unsuccessful gambler. The hand of cards which he supposedly held at the time of his death has become known as the dead man’s hand: two pair, aces and eights.
Here’s a photo from inside Saloon #10.
We drank shots, laughed and had a great time in Saloon #10 that night. We talked a lot about Wild Bill Hickok and drank more and more shots.
When it was time to close, we walked, make that stumbled, back to her hotel. She invited me up for another shot so I went. What followed was the wildest night of my life.
She kept yelling, “Do me, Wild Bill!”, “Ride me, Wild Bill!” and other stuff like that. We did it on the bed, the couch, the floor, up against the wall, everywhere in that room.
At one point, the manager came to the door and said that a lot of guests were complaining about her yelling.
The next day, I was walking funny when I left her hotel. My legs were so sore from ‘riding’ all night. When I was walking through the crowded lobby the next morning, she yelled over to me, “See you later, Wild Bill.” Every eyeball in that large room went directly to me, Wild Bill. And then they saw me hobble out, lol.
Okay, I have to be honest. None of that ‘Do me, Wild Bill’ story is true. I just made it up to make you laugh. Pretty funny though, huh? I did have a date with her and we did drink in Saloon #10, but there was no riding going on, sadly to say.
I did it in honor of Wild Bill. I think if he ever read this, he’d laugh. I’d like to party with Bill some day. Maybe we’d double date and they could yell out ‘Do me, Wild Bill’ for him and ‘Do me, Buffalo Bill’ for me, lol.
I’d like to go back to the Sturgis Rally, but I’ll wait until they invite me back.
I visited three museums on my first trip to Santa Fe. This museum was probably my favorite.
When you first walk into one section of the museum, you’re taken aback by so many crucified Jesus’.
To have this old wagon on display is a very cool thing.
There’s lots of things associated with cowboys and their equipment, like these saddles.
This old drum has some serious mileage on it.
Having these old playing cards on display was pretty cool.
I liked that with the uniform they had a portrait of him wearing it. This was a good display.
The museum had lots of guns on display. There’s no getting around the fact that New Mexico was part of the Wild West.
This is a replica of the gun the revolutionaries used. Their supporters would hide bullets in loafs of bread to supply them with ammo.
The first gold strike in the Old West was made by Jose Ortiz in 1832 south of Santa Fe, New Mexico, in what would quickly become the boom town of Delores.
The era known as the Wild West began after the Civil War in 1865.
The period ended around 1895, lasting for 30 years.
The most famous gunslingers in the Wild West were James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok and William H. Bonney aka “Billy the Kid”.
The Santa Fe Trail ran 900 miles from Independence, Missouri, to Santa Fe (now New Mexico). The Santa Fe Trail was one of America’s great trade routes until 1880, when it was replaced by the railroad.
There are young people today that don’t know what this is, or how to use it.
I can’t imagine the hardships of crossing America in a covered wagon. Rough and tough times for the frontier people.
This is a cool picture they had on display.
I enjoyed looking at this painting.
It looks like this woman is baking something in this photo.
Never a shortage on religious items.
Here’s a nice set of very old silverware from back in the day.
This is Pancho Villa’s death mask after he was shot and killed.
At the end of the second section, they had lots of photographs about things in New Mexico.
The photos were fun to look at.
In a third, smaller section of the museum, I saw this old printing press and had to get a picture.
The museum has some interesting things to occupy your time. The photos you’ve just seen are of the things I thought were most interesting. A lot of the other stuff wasn’t photo worthy.
I’m standing in front of a very large map of New Mexico that has lots of info on it about the state. It was very interesting to look at.
You should try to visit as many museums as you can. You see all sorts of interesting things and learn some great facts.
Overall, the New Mexico History Museum was definitely worth visiting.
On one of my visits to San Francisco, I decided to go see Alcatraz Island.
Myself, and a few friends I was working with at the time, took the tour boat over from the Fisherman’s Wharf area.
It’s a short ride and before you know it, you’re there.
The federal prison on Alcatraz Island in the chilly waters of California’s San Francisco Bay housed some of America’s most difficult and dangerous felons during its’ years of operation from 1934 to 1963.
No inmate ever successfully escaped The Rock, as the prison was nicknamed, although more than a dozen known attempts were made over the years.
Today, historic Alcatraz Island, which was also the site of a U.S. military prison from the late 1850s to 1933, is a popular tourist destination.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons viewed Alcatraz as “the prison system’s prison,” a place where the most disruptive inmates could be sent to live under sparse conditions with few privileges in order to learn how to follow rules, at which point, they could be transferred to other federal prisons to complete their sentences.
According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Alcatraz typically held some 260 to 275 prisoners, which represented less than 1 percent of the entire federal inmate population.
There was one area that we visited that was the Solitary Confinement area. That’s the next photo.
It was here that it got especially cold with the doors facing the wind and large gaps under the doors.
One of the worst things about Alcatraz is the noise. By that I mean, the prisoners could hear people across the water partying, drinking and carrying on at night.
What a totally depressing thing. You’re locked up for a long time, or even for life in some cases, and you have to hear people nearby, across the water, having the time of their lives while you rot in prison.
Many don’t know this but the guards and their families also lived on the island. Can you imagine growing up on Alcatraz Island as a kid. What a very unique experience.
Here’s a photo of the prisoners in the dining area. I bet the food was horrible.
The prisoners also had jobs while incarcerated. Here they are sewing something,
This next photo is of the hospital. I can’t imagine you received real good medical care while at Alcatraz.
This is a picture of the yard. You’ll notice the prisoners wearing coats because it’s chilly even in Summer in San Francisco.
Here’s some photos of the cells. If you do the crime, you better be ready to do the time.
Can you just imagine what life in a small cell like this was like. Prison is not supposed to be easy, in order to punish someone for their crimes. Alcatraz was not easy.
I bet these toilets were horrible and personal hygiene was hard to stay on top of.
You basically exist in a small bathroom, smells and all. No Glade back then, lol.
On June 11, 1962 three men escaped from Alcatraz: Frank Lee Morris, John William Anglin and Clarence Anglin.
If there was ever an inmate who was destined to escape from Alcatraz, it was Frank Lee Morris.
In the movie entitled “Escape from Alcatraz” starring actor Clint Eastwood, Morris was accurately portrayed as the keen and brilliant mastermind of one of the most famous prison escapes in history.
The escape plan took several months to design, and it would necessitate the fabrication of clever decoys and water survival gear.
Here’s a photo of the holes they made. Notice the fake wall to the left of the hole. That was used to conceal the hole from the guards while they worked on it.
Frank Lee Morris had spent a lifetime navigating the prison system before his arrival on Alcatraz.
Morris was credited by prison officials as possessing superior intelligence, and he earned his ticket to Alcatraz by building an impressive resume of escapes.
Here’s the other cell with a hole.
In case you’re wondering how these holes could have been concealed so well… here’s a photo of one of their cells. Lots of clutter to help hide their work.
The plan was extremely complex and involved the design and fabrication of ingenious lifelike dummies, water rafts, and life preservers, fashioned from over fifty rain coats that had been acquired from other inmates – some donated and some stolen.
The heads were crude but lifelike, and were constructed from a homemade cement-powder mixture that included such innocuous materials as soap and toilet paper.
They were decorated with flesh-tone paint from prison art kits, and human hair from the barbershop.
Here’s one of the heads they made to fool the guards. It’s been said that necessity is the mother of invention. They needed to escape and they came up with these heads to aid them in their quest.
This is a photo of one of the dummies in bed as the guards would have seen them. It looks realistic and would fool a lot of people.
The FBI doesn’t believe that they made a successful escape. Here’s some of their reasoning why the escape didn’t work.
The formal plan was to steal a car and then perpetrate a burglary at a clothing store. No reports of any such crimes were filed in Marin County within a twelve-day period following the escape.
Sources reported that these three men had neither friends nor relatives with the financial resources to come to San Francisco and assist in the escape.
There would have been no way to communicate with outside contacts in order to confirm the date of the break and the progress of their preparations.
I guess you could assume that they drowned, but their bodies would have been found floating in the area.
And last, they could have been eaten by sharks.
Here’s all three heads.
I’ve saved one of the best facts about Alcatraz for last.
Among those who did time at The Rock was the notorious Prohibition-era gangster Al “Scarface” Capone, who spent four-and-a-half years there during the 1930s.
According to the biography “Capone” by John Kobler, Capone once told the warden, “It looks like Alcatraz has got me licked.”
I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at Alcatraz Island. I enjoyed my visit there and would go back again. If you’re ever in the Golden Gate area, you should visit Alcatraz. I know you’ll enjoy the tour.
I always look forward to the Pirate weekend at the Texas Renaissance Festival. The festival opens at 9am. I left my place at 10am and it usually takes me about an hour to get there.
On this day, it took me 3 1/2 hours in bumper to bumper slow moving traffic. It was a beautiful day and Pirate weekend is really popular so I guess everybody wanted to go this day.
After 3 1/2 hours in traffic, I was burned out by the time I got there so I didn’t stay too long. The last thing I wanted was to get into traffic on the way home too. I still enjoyed my time there.
These two were having a good time.
I love taking group shots of people enjoying themselves.
This girl was busting out of her top, literally.
Here’s a good shot of a family. The dad had his whole head painted.
This couple looked great.
Here’s my favorite family shot. The little girl is holding up her hook hand. This gives me pleasure to provide a good memory for people. They’ll enjoy this picture for years to come.
These two girls were cute in their pirate gear.
This one girl is wearing fairy wings. They also have a fairy weekend too.
Notice how thin this ladies waist is with her corset on. Wow.
These two looked great also.
This was another nice group shot they’ll cherish.
I liked this girl’s face painting.
There were also barbarians there.
And Romans too.
Plenty of places to sit and eat. I love the food there.
I especially love the “Steak on a Stick”.
Here was a girl made up like a statue. She looked awesome.
This guy with the horse body is always there posing for pictures.
This lady was lying on the ground and when she moved and growled a little kid started screaming and crying. It was funny.
If I go next year, I’m leaving much earlier to avoid the traffic. But I’ll definitely be back.
I went to the downtown Houston Bayou City Art Festival and it didn’t disappoint. There were lots of booths and people walking around.
This artist used repurposed items to create some really cool stuff.
I didn’t ask the price but from my experience these pieces cost a lot.
Here’s a large rooster with lots of color.
They also had giraffes.
And in Texas, you know you’ll see longhorns.
This painting is of Rio and very cool.
There were lots of food trucks there also.
These skateboards with faces painted on them were awesome.
This was the first art I saw about Day of the Dead.
This mask with feathers was pretty cool looking.
The festival covered several streets in downtown.
Then I saw another booth with Day of the Dead paintings.
I love Day of the Dead items.
These paintings were really beautiful.
If I were a collector, I’d have bought some of these.
This one might have been my favorite.
It was a beautiful day to stroll through the booths looking at all kinds of art and jewelry. If you’re ever in town during the art festival, you should go. You’ll enjoy yourself.
For my birthday, my sister and I went to the circus again this year. It is the first year without the elephants and it was definitely not the same.
For starters, there was no beautiful girl riding an elephant around the arena to the national anthem. In fact, they didn’t even play the national anthem at all this year.
I still got lots of photos with the clowns and cute circus girls before the show.
Before the show starts, you’re allowed to go see the animals.
Instead of elephants, they had camels. Not even close to as great as an elephant.
The tigers are always cool, but the big cat portion of the circus this year was not as good as last year.
There’s always tons of stuff to buy the kiddies.
Before the circus begins, the clowns entertain the kids.
You can put on circus costumes and pose for photos.
Everyone will autograph your program.
This little girl was cute.
They put temporary tattoos on all of the kids.
The greatest show on Earth.
Kids love clowns.
When the circus started, some seats were empty, but they filled up soon.
Last years Master of Ceremonies was black and he sang great songs. I wonder what he’s doing now.
Last year they had motorcycle stunts and this year it was bicycles. Not as thrilling.
The circus is always fun, but last year’s was much better. They had elephants, motorcycles, great horse stunt riders and the big cat part was better. They didn’t even have a trapeze act this year.
I’ll go again, but I’m betting I’ve seen the best of the best and that was last year.
I attended all three days of Houston’s Comicpalooza Comic Con. I met a lot of cosplayers and took some good pictures. Here are some of the highlights from that event.
I told this girl that I liked her wig and she said it was her real hair. I love that color. She said it’s lavender… beautiful.
I see this next girl every year. I think she’s very attractive.
I love purple and she has it in spades.
Here’s a girl with purple hair and face. Nice smile.
I always see Spiderman at these events.
Here’s a good pose.
The Deadpool characters acting up.
Good Joker make up.
I love hats and hers is special.
Here’s a good Winter Soldier.
I also love colored wigs.
A beautiful dress on a beautiful lady.
My favorite Power Girl yet.
Awesome make up job. She always outdoes herself.
Here’s her friend.
This guy looked good too.
I love this guy’s pose.
Here’s Mary, the best Harley Quinn that I’ve ever seen at a comic con.
She does the accent too.
Her weapon is huge.
A cute little Harley Quinn.
And another.
And one more.
Here’s a classic Harley.
And another.
Now here are some other Harley’s I photographed.
Here’s some cute kids.
Here’s some Wonder Woman cosplayers.
I ran into Maira and Ceci, two sisters, and got a pic with them.
Here I am with the classic Harley.
Probably my favorite comic con pic because Christina looks so good in her costume.
If you’d like to see the rest of the photos, you can visit my website.
For some months of the year, the Houston Zoo is free for every first Tuesday of the month. My sister and I went on the first Tuesday of April and enjoyed our day.
The parking was a zoo, pardon the pun. We finally had to park at the Museum of Natural Science and walk 15 minutes over to the zoo because there was never a spot in the zoo parking and there was an endless line of cars patrolling the lot looking for spaces.
We stayed for about an hour or so then the heat got to us and we decided to get some ice cream and water then leave, but we got some good photos while we were there.
The first display we saw was that of the meerkats.
It was feeding time, so we watched as they ate their greens.
Meerkats are a favorite of mine and I’d love to have a couple as pets.
Next, we saw the elephants.
A couple of younger ones were playing with each other.
It’s always more interesting when they are active.
The older one just stared on as they played. You can tell that this was an Asian elephant because of the small ears. African elephants have large ears. Also, this was a female Asian elephant because she had no tusks.
We saw the ostriches next.
I was glad that I brought my zoom lens for these shots.
The cattle we saw next weren’t typical longhorns, but they did have huge horns.
I imagine that these bulls have very strong necks to hold up these heavy horns.
Having my zoom lens was helpful in getting these close up shots.
I enjoy seeing the gorillas.
This one was busy playing with his blanket.
Gorillas are very powerful and dangerous animals.
This one was napping next to the glass and everyone was getting close up photos of its’ face.
These two were grooming each other.
Rhinos are another favorite of mine.
I’d hate to get attacked by a rhino and its’ horn.
The rhino horn is made up of material like our fingernails.
The name rhinoceros means ‘nose horn’ and is often shortened to rhino.
It comes from the Greek words rhino (nose) and ceros (horn).
The last animal we photographed was a group of giraffes.
The giraffe is the tallest mammal in the world, with even new-born babies being taller than most humans.
Baby Giraffes can stand within half an hour and after only 10 hours can actually run alongside their family.
Giraffes spend most of their lives standing up; they even sleep and give birth standing up.
Giraffes only spend between 10 minutes and two hours asleep per day. They have one of the shortest sleep requirements of any mammal.
Just like snowflakes and human fingerprints, no two giraffes have the same spot pattern.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this brief look at the Houston Zoo. I’ll return later this year for more photos of different animals.
I visited Sante Fe in March of 2016. My sister and Brother in Law have a house there now and my sister wanted me to see it.
I was there for 5 full days and returned to Houston on the 6th day.
We flew into Albuquerque and drove about an hour to get to Santa Fe.
My sister’s house is great. They have this life-size sculpture of an Indian warrior in their yard and it is unbelievably cool.
Another great sculpture they have is in the house. This Indian riding a horse with the American flag is so detailed it’s a joy to look at.
Once we put our clothes away, we headed for the town plaza.
Near the plaza in Santa Fe is this old church. They were going to make it taller, but decided to stop where it is today. You can even see the rebar sticking out of the top when you stand in front of it.
Now, the law in town is that no building can be taller than the church.
The statues in the front were pleasing to look at.
I liked the framing of this next picture, with the top cross being over his right shoulder.
The inside was beautiful. They were rehearsing for a wedding the day I snapped this photo.
Having my sister with me meant that I’d get some photos of myself during the trip, lol.
We took a tram tour around town the second day that were we there.
We passed by the Contemporary Arts museum. The painted pillars are nice.
You’ll notice that all of the buildings and houses are the same color in Santa Fe.
They say, “You can paint your house whatever color you want, as long as it matches the dirt it’s on”.
Santa Fe is an art-filled city.
This building had a cool dragon coming off of the roof.
These statues were beautiful.
The artist has the colors patented and they’ll always look this way and never fade.
Absolutely beautiful.
Santa Fe has 80,000 people.
5,000 of them are working artists.
These stallions were awesome.
Here’s another great Indian.
We passed lots of houses on the tour that had their doors and garage doors painted this color. It’s to ward off evil spirits.
Our tour guide does this part of the year and also acts in TV and Film projects because Santa Fe has studios. There are a lot of projects filmed there because of the beautiful landscape.
The town plaza always had people milling around, shopping and eating.
Notice the clear blue sky. We didn’t see a cloud the whole 6 days we were there.
Santa Fe is usually voted to have the cleanest air in America.
These lovely ladies were playing beautiful music in the plaza.
I definitely wanted a photo with them.
A unique thing about the plaza is the Indians selling their jewelry.
You have to be of Indian heritage to sell on the plaza.
Each morning at 7am, a drawing for spots is held and sometimes some people don’t get a spot to sell from.
The jewelry is all really nice.
I heard the Indians and the customers haggling a little also.
I looked for a turquoise ring for me, but couldn’t find one I liked.
There was a fajita stand on the plaza that smelled very good.
It’s fun to window shop at the stores around the plaza. Here is some of the merchandise.
There definitely was a lot of turquoise.
I found some rings I liked, but they were in the hundreds of dollars. Too expensive.
Here are those painted pillars in front of the Contemporary Arts museum. Very nice.
You’ll see businesses and private homes with red peppers on display. Uniquely Santa Fe.
One day, we drove out to a flea market.
There weren’t that many booths this time of year, but enough to go sight seeing through the market.
This booth had so much stuff on it that it was unbelievable.
Nice hats.
Nice used boots.
Lots of rugs to choose from.
Now I’ll talk a little about the food.
Santa Fe has over 200 restaurants and every meal I had was delicious.
This is a crepe I had for breakfast one day. Great.
This same restaurant had lots of pastries also.
We had a dessert at one place that was very good. This is flan with chocolate mousse, whipped cream, coffee ice cream and a chocolate crisp.
We also ordered their version of churros that came with tasty sauces to dip them in. The chocolate was the best.
When we had Mexican food, it was really good.
I had pork tamales.
My sister had green chile enchiladas.
Also, sopapillas and honey for dessert.
At another place, we enjoyed chips and salsa while we waited for our food.
When it came, it was a green chile cheeseburger that we split. Very good.
My sister booked us in a cooking class while we were in town.
This painting on the building of the cooking school was very cool.
The cooking class lasted about two and a half hours.
They showed us how to make quesadillas, soup and muffins. It all tasted so good.
Their dessert was delicious too.
The only time we ate at home, my sister made some spaghetti.
It was great.
On our last day in town, we stopped by a sunny patio for dessert in the afternoon.
I had the chocolate mousse that came with a large strawberry.
For our last dinner in town, my sister made reservations for us at Coyote Cafe.
Here are the crab cakes. Very good.
I had the lobster bisque. Not as good as what I get in Houston, but still pretty good.
For dinner, I had the Filet Mignon and potatoes.
And my sister had a strawberry salad.
We enjoyed our week in Santa Fe very much. I’ll be back.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at Santa Fe.
I’ll have some blog posts about the museums we toured later on.
If you ever get the chance to go to Santa Fe, you should definitely go.
When I was planning my trip to Santa Fe, I did some research on things to do. One of the things that interested me was this bug museum. If you don’t like bugs, you probably shouldn’t continue reading this article, lol.
Harrell House of Oddities had some live reptiles and some dead bugs on display.
Getting a good picture of the reptiles was hard, so I only got two useable photos.
On the opposite side from the reptiles, you could see lots of insects, bugs and creepy crawlies.
The first thing you see in their case are these scorpions. They’re huge. I’d hate to get stung by a scorpion.
The next case had some large beetles in it. The dung beetle is gross.
These two beetles are really large.
This next case started showing insects that could fly.
These next two photos are of some great looking butterflies.
This is a large katydid from Malaysia.
Here are two large grasshoppers that come from Africa, Malaysia and South America.
Here we see some large spiders, a scorpion and what looks like two centipedes or something close.
Check out how many spiders they had on display.
Here’s a closer view.
This case had beautiful butterflies on each side and beetles down the middle. That is a lot of butterflies.
I’m not sure what was in this next case. Most have wings and some look like what we called “Walking Sticks”.
They had Praying Mantises in this next case.
These next few photos I can’t remember what they are.
I heard the owner/collector give the same speech several times to new visitors while I was sitting watching a video.
He would say that it’s his collection he started as a kid and it got out of hand. The visitors all agreed and chuckled.
He also said he had some of these specimens sent to him, so he could add them to his collection.
He said they all come rolled up and he has to hydrate them to spread them out and pin them in place inside the display case.
Next are cicadas, plant and treehoppers and lantern bugs of the world from South America, Malaysia and Australia.
I don’t even want to try and guess how many hours he’s spent touching all of these bugs in order to put them on display like this.
The displays look awesome the way the insects are all organized and symmetrical, but I could never touch some of these things even though they’re dead.
And lastly, here’s some more spiders.
They had a TV showing non-stop insect videos. I stayed there for over 30 minutes watching these very interesting videos.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at the Harrell House of Natural Oddities and Bug Museum of Santa Fe, New Mexico.
On one of the Free Thursday Museum days, I visited the Houston Bicycle Museum.
Every kid remembers their first bikes. It was your first sense of freedom.
You could ride around your neighborhood, visit your friends, go to the store for comic books and cokes or ride to the community pool during the summer.
I loved bikes as a kid and have owned a bike most of my life.
The Bike Museum had lots of bikes on display and they brought back lots of memories for me.
I think everyone knows what an old bike like this first one looks like. I still find it hard to believe that anyone actually rode something like this.
I bet a lot of people busted their asses while trying to ride this thing.
Bicycles are human powered vehicles, typically featuring pedals, a seat, two wheels and a frame.
There are over one billion bicycles found throughout the world.
The cool kids rode something like this one with the extra large handle bars.
Bicycles are used for transport, recreation, competitive racing, courier delivery and a range of other tasks.
Competitive cycling includes track cycling inside velodromes, time trials, mountain biking, BMX and longer events such as the Tour de France.
The Tour de France was first held in 1903 and his since become the most famous cycling race in the world. Held over three weeks, the annually changing route goes through the Pyrenees and Alps before finishing in Paris.
I would never attempt to ride a bike like this one with the pedals out in the front.
The energy required to cycle at low to medium speeds is roughly the same as the energy required to walk.
To get efficient use of their pedaling, cyclists use a high gear when going downhill, a medium gear on flat surfaces and a low gear when going uphill.
Here’s another of those bikes with the pedals out in the front. What a strange sight this is.
Here are some tandem bikes on display.
The longest “tandem” bike was over 20 meters long and it seated 35 people. It was recorded in the history of dumb ideas as a prime example.
Some bicycles feature suspension. This is especially common in mountain bikes where they are used to help deal with the vibration caused by uneven surfaces.
The Bike Museum still had a photo of Lance Armstrong on their walls. What a disgrace to cycling and America he was and is.
They also had a jersey framed with autographs on it.
They also had Eddy Merckx bike on display.
He was one of the greatest cyclist ever.
Road bikes typically have thinner tires inflated to higher pressures than those found on mountain bikes, taking advantage of the smoother surfaces that roads generally provide.
Before the word ‘bicycle’ become popular (coming from the French word ‘bicyclette’), bikes were typically called ‘velocipedes’.
Two wheeled transportation developed in the 1800s, from pushed powered bikes through to mechanical crank drives with pedals.
Cycling became increasing popular in the early stages of the 20th century as cycling clubs and races caught on.
Orville and Wilbur Wright, the brothers who built the first flying airplane, operated a small bike repair shop in Dayton, Ohio. They used their workshop to build the 1903 Wright Flyer.
Fred A. Birchmore, 25, circled the globe by bicycle in 1935. The entire trip, through Europe, Asia, and the United States, covered forty thousand miles. He pedaled about 25,000 miles. The rest was traveled by boat. He wore out seven sets of tires.
There are over a half billion bicycles in China. Bikes were first brought to China in the late 1800s.
About 100 million bicycles are manufactured worldwide each year.
Over the past 30 years, bicycle delivery services have developed into an important industry, especially in cities, where the couriers have earned a reputation for their high speed and traffic-weaving skills.
This is a bike made out of wood. Pretty unique.
Americans use their bicycles for less than one percent of all urban trips. Europeans bike in cities a lot more often—in Italy 5 percent of all trips are on bicycle, 30 percent in the Netherlands, and seven out of eight Dutch people over age 15 have a bike.
The Tour de France is one of the most famous bicycle races in the world. Established in 1903, it is considered to be the biggest test of endurance out of all sports.
Bicycle Moto Cross (BMX), an extreme style of bicycle track racing, became a sport in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China. Maris Strombergs, of Latvia, received the gold medal for Men’s BMX, and Anne-Caroline Chausson, from France, took home the gold in the first Women’s BMX Olympic event.
The fastest man on a bicycle is surprisingly an American, John Howard, who was foolish enough to ride his bicycle 155 miles per hour in the slipstream of a specially designed car. He survived to tell the tale.
This is a display of the evolution of biking helmets.
I was excited to see a picture of my girl, Marilyn Monroe.
These next two photos are of some studs from back in the day.
Check out how short this guys legs were. How did he ever ride this bike?
I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at the Houston Bicycle Museum.
I waited until the last day of the Auto Show because I thought there would be less people and a better chance to photograph the cars. Boy was I wrong.
It seems that a lot of people in Houston like to go to the Auto Show on the last Sunday also. There were so many people that it made getting photos very difficult.
I was able to photograph the cars they had by the entrance, after I waited until people moved out of the way.
I don’t usually like a yellow car, but this one looked pretty cool.
Notice the door slides in and out and doesn’t open up by swinging wide.
They also had an old station wagon on display.
Steering wheels were a lot thinner back then and also, notice no seat belts.
This station wagon had a better paint job.
This old fire truck was in great condition.
Here’s the inside of it.
Can you imagine back in the day when you were a stud if you drove one of these.
This is a version of a ‘woodie’ because of the wood side panels.
I didn’t notice the sign until I got home and looked at the picture. I wonder what the headliner looked like.
It had lots of stickers on each side of the vehicle. Notice the yellow, polka dot bikini… like the song.
Many people drove a VW van to concerts and other events when it was a popular vehicle.
These next pics are of the new McLaren.
I think I heard people talking about the cost being in the hundreds of thousands.
I always like to show the dash of the vehicles I photograph.
This was the only photo I got of this McLaren because the people were so jammed up around it.
You could sign up to test drive lots of cars. Here’s the line for the Hondas. It got longer later in the day.
This was the easiest car to photograph.
It was a MadHouse everywhere throughout the hall. There were lots of people checking out the cars and trucks.
The Alfa Romeo had its’ own stage so it was easier to photograph when you waited your turn to get near it.
These Ford spokesmodels were trying to get people to take Selfies with the Fords to post behind them on their wall.
The Hummers were decked out.
This Lotus looked pretty awesome and pretty expensive.
This was the only car to have a model next to it. I think it was a Lamborghini.
You could drive a Jeep on an incline.
And also over a large ramp.
The same with the Ram trucks. This wasn’t so impressive to me, but I guess it was to others.
You could get an autograph from some Houston Rockets Dancers.
Here’s some more photos to show you just how crowded it was.
These guys were waiting in line to sit in this car.
At one display, you could drive a race simulator.
Lots of people waited in long lines to test drive the cars and trucks.
I’ll never go back to the Auto Show again. It’s too hard to get any good photos of the cars because of all of the people.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at the Houston Auto Show for 2016.
On my quest to tour some of Houston’s museums, I also decided to visit the Cockrell Butterfly Center in the Houston Museum of Natural Science, where they have a simulated rain forest for the butterflies and also insect displays.
Just inside the front door was this caterpillar. Great for the kids to climb on and for family photographs. I actually volunteered to take a photo for a family so they could all be in the picture. They were very grateful and the picture came out great.
The first thing to see was the insect section.
They had great information on display and several TV’s were playing educational videos.
These are Madagascar hissing cockroaches on display. You could tell this area was mainly for kids because the displays were low to the ground at kid level.
This display was a large beetle holding the Earth.
Here were some dung beetles and they had a video of them playing nearby.
This area had games for the kids to play and was a great place to spend some time if you were a parent.
This butterfly display was pretty cool.
They had a wasp nest on display. I’ve been stung by wasps before and its sucks.
This display of some more insects was neat to see with the animal skull in there.
In the Rain Forest area, you could see the butterflies.
And boy was it ever hot.
Seeing the butterflies eating was a nice sight.
There are 165,000 known species of butterflies found on every continent except Antarctica.
Butterflies vary in size. The largest species may reach 12 inches across, while the smallest may only be half an inch.
Some butterfly species lay their eggs on only one type of plant.
The process by which a caterpillar magically transforms into a butterfly, aka metamorphosis, is completed in 10 to 15 days, depending on the species.
Butterflies have a long, tube-like tongue called a proboscis that allows them to soak up their food rather than sip it.
Males drink from mud puddles to extract minerals that aren’t available in flowers. This behavior is known as “puddling.”
Some butterflies have been seen drinking blood from open wounds on animals.
The waterfall near the exit was the most scenic area in the Rain Forest.
Once back inside, there was more info about insects.
Here is a beekeepers uniform on display.
There was a large Vampire Mosquito to check out.
The Cat Flea display reminded me how gross fleas are.
It’s too bad they didn’t have some of these butterflies flying around the Rain Forest area.
I had read about this vending machine when I was researching the Butterfly Center.
It’s stocked with packaged insects, in case you wanted to eat some.
Scorpions anyone?
They had a bug recipe book on display.
And other items for you to serve at a party.
In another area for kids, they had this display set up to show what goes on in a beehive.
I’m sure lots of schools bring their students here.
Even though the insect section was mostly for kids and the Rain Forest didn’t have a large variety of butterflies to see, I still enjoyed my time at the center.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at the Cockrell Butterfly Center in Houston.
I visited The Houston Fire Museum after I found it on some obscure list of things to do in Houston. I bet not many in town even know of its’ existence.
Everybody loves Firemen. Women think they’re Heroes and Sexy. Men and boys want to be one and the Fire Fighters I know are very cool individuals.
The Fire Museum is actually in the first paid fire station in Houston.
It was built in 1898 and opened in 1899.
This old truck was in remarkable condition. It’s a 1937 Chevrolet.
Not much by way of an instrument panel.
This pumper was pulled by the fire brigades. It’s seriously old.
Men in the Fire Brigade would pull this apparatus up to the fire and operate the hand powered pumper.
They had some old photos on the wall, so I thought you’d like to see them also. It’s great having these old pictures to see what it was like back then.
I’m glad I’m living in the era that I am.
They had a bed set up like the firemen of this station would have used.
A desk also.
Many people today would not know how to operate this phone.
There was a children’s area. They could play in this fire truck and have a great time.
The museum had hats and jackets in kid sizes, so they could dress up as firemen. Very cool.
Upstairs, they had another desk set up. This might have been the captain’s.
Something interesting to read.
They also had some old fire helmets on display.
These old shoes have seen better days.
A large banner of those who have died in the line of duty.
By the dates on the pictures, these all must be former chiefs or captains of the fire station.
The museum had lots of things to look through and purchase.
They even sold the kid’s fire helmet and jackets. A nice touch.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at The Houston Fire Museum.
I think there’s a few museums left to tour before I’m finished with this series.
Houston has many great things to see and do. One of the more unique things to see is the Beer Can House.
John Milkovisch, a retired upholsterer for the Southern Pacific Railroad, started his project now known as the Beer Can House in 1968 when he began inlaying thousands of marbles, rocks, and metal pieces into concrete and redwood to form unique landscaping features.
The house in 1968 before the project began.
Ripley’s Believe It or Not estimates there are 50,000 beer cans used in this endeavor.
From 1968 to 1988, 20 years of drinking… with something to show for it, which is more than most can say.
These are all beers that the owner drank, along with his wife and neighbors. In order to get to 50,000 beers, they had to average drinking 6.5 beers every single day for 20 years straight.
I’m surprised he didn’t die from cirrhosis of the liver, lol.
Then again, that would be dying for your art.
He covered the ground with concrete that he decorated with marbles because he didn’t like to mow the grass.
The fence leading to the driveway was covered.
The fence in front of the house also.
Some even 0n the sidewalk in front of the house.
Even the planter had beer cans on it.
The fence that runs alongside the driveway was covered too.
John considered his work an enjoyable pastime rather than a work of art, but he did enjoy people’s reaction to his creations.
He once said, “It tickles me to watch people screech to a halt. They get embarrassed. Sometimes they drive around the block a couple of times. Later they come back with a car-load of friends…”
I went by today but for some reason they weren’t open when they were supposed to be. There’s more to see, so I’ll show you those additional photos when I get them.
Also, there’s another place that is called a monument. It’s closed until March for renovations. I’ll be sure to share with you when it opens again.
On a sunny Saturday, I made the 25 minute drive to Traders Village. It was January so it was a bit cold.
Traders Village is a very large Flea Market. There’s lots to see as you walk around the large area.
The first thing I’ll talk about is my favorite… the food. I love event food. It’s usually fried and very bad for your heart, lol.
When I walked in, the first thing that I saw was the Corn Dog Stand. What temptation it was. But I resisted.
Sausage on a Stick is good too, but I’ve got to watch my diet. Eating this stuff will put you in an early grave with heart problems.
This food booth was called Village Thai. I also like Thai food. It’s a good variety to offer Thai food. This is the first time I’ve seen a booth like this at any event I attend.
During the summer, I bet this Ice Cream booth makes a lot of money.
I could eat a Funnel Cake everyday for breakfast. They’re really good with the powdered sugar on top, but it’s all fried food which is bad for you.
This booth seemed like a healthy option.
What a mix this little booth had. Ice Cream Pop and Coffee.
I bet that Fresh Fruit Water has a ton of sugar in it. Not good.
Something else that they had was a rides area. It was mostly for the kids, but I bet they love this area.
The carrousel looked nice.
I loved Bumper Cars when I was a kid.
This was the only real thrill ride that they had. You get strapped in, then ride to the top where they drop you suddenly and real fast. I wouldn’t ride it.
When you’re in Texas, you know you’re gonna see cowboy hats for sale.
There were several booths offering cowboy hats.
Here’s a pink one for the ladies.
And two more pink ones to choose from.
There were other types of caps also. They were very decorated.
Here’s some very colorful choices.
I saw a lot of booths with shoes for sale.
These booths I call the Nomads. They bring their stuff every weekend, set up and sell. Then they take it with them.
Whereas this little store has its’ own space in a building. They can put everything inside and lock the door when they are closed during the week.
These are more permanent options.
Here’s another Nomad selling used boots.
Belts, belts and more belts.
Along with belt buckles. It is Texas.
You could pick up some furniture at the flea market.
Bunk beds.
And mattresses too.
These Nomads were selling items like cleaning supplies and other household things.
Here’s clothes washing detergents.
This booth was a mixture of everything. What a mess.
Fresh fruit was offered also.
You could get yourself a used lawn mower.
In two different places at the flea market.
They had bikes.
And more bikes.
Some booths sold flags. I guess there’s still some people that use that flag.
This was a nice way of displaying the flags.
You could get used luggage.
Or new luggage.
A used baby chair for a car.
And you could even get a laptop at the flea market.
I saw several booths selling speakers.
And also speaker boxes.
These were some big speakers. Who plays music that loud? Kids that want to go deaf by 30.
The ladies could get make up.
And jewelry.
Even some silver items.
You could find some perfume at the flea market also.
There were quite a lot of booths selling clothes.
The permanent booths were selling new clothes.
They had the clothes displayed nicely on mannequins.
You can tell they put some time into their presentation of the clothes.
I saw some winter hats for ladies as well.
Notice that the new clothes are displayed nicely in the permanent booths.
Now we’re getting to the Nomads.
Some were folded but it’s starting to look a bit messy.
There were lots of clothes on racks to look through.
These clothes have to be very inexpensive.
Each day this person has to set up and take down this little selling area.
Now here’s a mess to look through for anything to buy.
And after you get your clothes, you could get some new socks.
There were lots of booths with things for the kids.
I wonder how long these little vehicles would run before they break down.
So much to choose from.
This is a lot of stuff in a small space.
It looks like used Barbie dolls in the top left of this picture.
You could get yourself a motorcycle.
I saw a few booths that were selling used tools.
This was a Nomad. Can you imagine packing all of this stuff up and loading it each weekend.
I saw cages with real birds in them. They were busy chirping away.
Here’s the second booth I saw with live birds for sale.
You could get yourself some “Designer” shades.
And also here.
It’s Texas, so you’d expect to see a bull somewhere. The price tag says $650.
If you didn’t want to spend $650 on the first bull, then you could get a skull cheaper I bet.
This booth had a lot of Texas things for sale.
The star is also a symbol for Texas.
Years ago, I went to this booth and bought some things. Probably my favorite booth at the flea market.
I’m not so sure I’d bet my life on a 14.95 stun gun.
I saw music CD’s also.
Soccer is big among the Hispanics in Houston.
Here’s another booth with Soccer stuff.
This booth had a lot of Jesus figurines.
There was pots and pans for the kitchen.
These vintage looking signs were cool. If you had a Man Cave, they would look good in there.
I also saw some Airsoft Guns.
This was a cold day, so it was a sparse crowd at the flea market.
There were many rows like the one below. It’s a huge flea market. There’s so much more for sale that I couldn’t photograph because it was inside of a booth.
I didn’t want to get asked a lot of questions, so I took all of my photos quite slyly.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at a very large flea market in Houston, TX.
On my quest to tour and photograph most of the museums in Houston, I came across the Houston Maritime Museum.
It’s not in the museum district, but worth going to. It’s in an old house that I think is about 75 years old.
The admission is $5.00, which is quite reasonable to see all of the cool things they have inside.
The first model I came across was this one and I knew I was going to see some pretty cool stuff this day.
There were several military ships on display.
This one had the water in waves on the side of this ship. It made it look that much better.
Here’s another with the water.
They even had a U – Boat. Most say submarine.
This photo came out good. Some of my others didn’t because of reflections on the glass cases the ships and boats were in.
Their attention to detail was superb.
I wonder how many hours to create something like this boat. I like the colors with the white.
I saw several ships like this one below. Some like this are called Caravels.
Seeing this Riverboat that was operated by steam was very cool indeed. Lots of fun was had on these boats back in the day.
This model had some very large sails on it. It’s small with large sails so I bet it was very fast in the water.
Here’s a model of a working vessel. Notice the Heli – Pad in the rear.
Here’s another boat with lots of color. Very nice.
These next four photos are of models of offshore oil rigs. I was really impressed with them.
This ship was huge. It dominated the room, with it being in the center and so large.
This was beautiful to see up close and in person. The photos are good but not nearly as good as being there.
Pirates believed that having women on board their ship was bad luck. They also believed that whistling on a ship would cause the weather to turn stormy; as in ‘to whistle up a storm’.
Almost all pirates stole their ships because they couldn’t buy ships in case they got caught and sent to jail.
Once they had taken over a ship they had to convert it for pirate life, this usually meant making more room for sailors to live on board and strengthening the decks to hold the weight of the heavy cannons.
Although pirates have been around since the 15th century, most pirating happened between 1690 and 1720.
This model has the actual helicopter on the back. It’s yellow.
Here is a Steam Liner that was used to make ocean voyages. The Titanic was similar.
I hope you have enjoyed this look at the Houston Maritime Museum. There are many more models of ships and boats to see other than the ones in this blog article.
I’d like to thank the Docent, Eric Young for walking around with me for a while and taking the photo below for me. He’s very nice and very knowledgeable.
I enjoyed my trip to this museum and writing this article for you to see some of the very cool models on display.
Let me begin this blog post by saying that I’ve never been more impressed or surprised by a museum here in Houston.
What you are about to see is pretty amazing, if you ask me.
When I began this quest to visit the most interesting museums in Houston, I had no idea about this museum. I found it listed in the Things To Do in Houston list, but it was way in the back pages and you had to go looking through everything to see it.
It’s not in town, but out near the Intercontinental Airport, a bit of a drive… but well worth it.
The first thing that I noticed when I entered was this Presidential Hearse. I knew then that there was going to be some pretty cool things to see here.
These photos must be from the funerals of Reagan and Ford.
They had the uniform of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
And they had other uniforms on display as well.
There was one section dedicated to Abe Lincoln.
Here’s a mannequin that looks like Abe in a casket.
This was pretty eerie. Notice the flowers are in the shape of AL for Abraham Lincoln.
There was a display behind glass of Abe’s funeral.
Very detailed and very awesome to see.
Next, I saw the boots of the calvary that ride in the funeral procession of a President.
There were old newspapers.
They especially had ones for JFK.
Here’s little John John saluting his dead father’s casket.
They had a replica of JFK’s casket.
This was a good display.
They even had a replica of the Eternal Flame that is for JFK.
They also had a replica casket for Reagan.
In the big room, there were several hearses.
I had never seen a casket for a man, woman and child. Kinda sad actually.
I thought this casket looked pretty cool.
They had a display of a casket maker.
Here’s another older method of bringing the casket to the graveyard.
There were lots of hearses on display.
I never thought I’d see a hearse on sleds.
This one was probably the best looking one. It’s small, so probably for a child.
Here’s another ornate one.
Here’s some more.
This was a long line of hearses.
Now, here’s what the back of those hearses looked like.
Probably the coolest area that they had was the ‘Thanks for the Memories’ section.
To the left of the entrance was this Wizard of Oz display.
Very funny.
They, of course, had the King of Rock and Roll.
Nearby was the King of Pop.
And next to Michael was his favorite lady, Liz Taylor. She’s one of my favorites too.
They had Shirley Temple Black.
Lucille Ball.
And for the NASCAR fans, Dale Earnhardt. The famous number 3.
Sally Ride.
Neil Armstrong.
The astronauts from the space shuttle tragedies.
This wall had those that were ‘Gone too Soon’.
In the center, it had those that had all died at 27 years of age. Very interesting to see.
Some Star Trek fans would like to see their show represented.
Walt Disney was in this area.
They even had Snow White’s glass casket.
Very cool.
Sadly, Paul Walker was also in this area.
They had people from the Wild, Wild West.
Most would probably only know John Wayne though.
They also had old newspapers in this area.
Some will remember the TV series Bonanza.
Here’s the main characters.
They had other famous people on banners near the top of the room.
There were cases with memorabilia also.
And good old Bob Hope. As a kid, I loved his movies. Always funny.
I didn’t know he lived 100 years.
Right outside this area, they had shoes that Robin Williams had worn in the movie RV.
They also had the hearse for Grace Kelly.
And here it is.
Here are some more hearses.
I think this was for 9-11.
This display definitely was for 9-11.
They had a wall dedicated to the Vietnam Wall.
Regrettably, we will all end up in one of these.
This is what our final resting place will look like.
Here’s what the big room looked like.
On my way out, I noticed this display for George Washington by the Presidential hearse. I almost missed it.
They have his bill for his funeral and the Eulogy on display.
As I was leaving, I stopped by the gift shop.
They had some really neat items for sale.
Lots of ‘Day of the Dead’ stuff.
There was even Egyptian things for sale.
They had more stuff on the other wall.
And a collection of some very interesting books.
This should be the end of this post, but it’s not.
As I was leaving, I grabbed a brochure and noticed the Pope Mobile. I returned and asked it they had the Pope Mobile on display.
They said yes and then told me about some areas that I had missed.
One lady even walked me back in and showed me around.
Here’s the famous Pope Mobile.
This hearse was very fancy. It’s a German hearse from 1860. Very old and very cool.
This one, not so much.
This next one is a Japanese styled hearse.
Here’s what the back looks like.
They had some ‘Day of the Dead’ skeletons on display.
I was able to see some more hearses.
This next section was a trip.
These are Fantasy Caskets from Ghana.
Most are for children because they are so small.
I now want a Fantasy Casket to be buried in.
Another area I almost missed was the Pope’s area.
Check out this display.
Very detailed.
I’ve never seen a ‘Jesus’ with bloody knees before.
Here’s an actual picture of the Pope lying in his casket.
And here’s another of their great displays.
This was a photo that was taken when a Pope dies.
Check out the long line.
Another great display of the Pope.
Here’s some things from the Pope.
They had a poster with all of the Popes on it.
And I almost missed the Egyptian area.
Their displays were great.
This was a Civil War display showing embalming.
Their attention to detail was superb.
A 19th century embalming room.
19th century funeral attire.
A 19th century wake at home.
Mourning badges from the 19th century.
Another old hearse.
19th century funeral attire.
And this was the last casket that I saw.
The museum is 30,500 square feet and has Event Planning for small 50 person cocktail parties or larger catered events.
Pretty strange place for these types of things, but I guess some people do it or they wouldn’t advertise it in their brochure.
The brochure also says, “Recognized both nationally and internationally, the museum is ever changing and home to many rare collections, some even featured in movies and plays”.
I hope you have enjoyed seeing the Natl. Museum of Funeral History from Houston, Texas.
I really enjoyed my day there and writing this blog post.
I attended the Houston Boat Show on the last day of the show this year. I almost forgot about it.
I like going when there are not as many people because I get better photos of the boats without having a lot of other people in the picture.
The Boat Show has everything to do with boats that you could think of.
The first thing I saw when I walked in the doors were these very large and very expensive motors.
These days, boats are looking more and more cool.
I like seeing the control panel on the new boats. This looks like an expensive car.
There were so many boats to see this year.
Here’s the control panel for the boat above. Very cool.
They had a racing boat on display. It looks huge when viewed at this perspective.
Here’s the U.S. Customs and Border Protection boat.
And here are two Houston Police Jet Ski’s.
There was apparel on sale at the show.
You could also buy a new fishing rod.
I seem to like the darker color boats more than the white ones.
I like when they put the boats in this position.
This was a nice looking boat.
This boat had a video screen behind it playing someone skiing behind the boat as a simulation.
I like this boat design, but I’m not a fan of the color green on it.
This might have been one of the more expensive boats at the show.
Whereas this was probably one of the cheaper. This boat is for fishing and you have plenty of room to stand and cast your line off of the deck. Those open doors are where you can store the fish you catch.
There were boats everywhere. I always wonder how long it takes them to set all of the boats up and how long to get them out of the arena.
I like this boat. Very sporty.
I like this one more because of the black color.
Here’s another boat with that color green. It must be a popular color among boat owners or designers.
When the boats are in this position, you can see all of the seating room very easily.
There was a very large number of pontoon boats.
This boat looked very cool.
They were showing 4 wheelers and motorhomes also.
Here’s a view of some of the boats on display.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at the Houston Boat Show. The Auto Show is the next show that I’m attending.
I visited the Contemporary Art Museum of Houston next in my series of Houston museums.
First of, I must say that I was not impressed with this museum. I didn’t find the “art” that impressive, but as the old saying goes… Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so I’ll let you be the judge.
These first two photos are pretty cool objects, but nothing more than what a good wood craftsman could have made.
This piece reminds me of an antique speaker.
I have no idea what this piece is to represent. It looks like a tent that got caught in a bad wind storm.
This large lamp looking object reminds me of a jellyfish.
Although a nice looking chair, albeit an uncomfortable one, I fail to see the significance as a piece of art to be put on display.
This next display was confusing at best. My instinct was to say it reminded me of something Native American.
This piece had a button that when pushed would raise the silver bridge part in the middle. It raised quite slowly and had the most annoying noise. Then after it was fully upright, pushing the button would cause it to lower, with the same annoying noise.
These stones looked nice on the lit table.
Here are some pictures that actually reminded me of art.
Here’s another painting that I liked, but it was more a collection of images and not a painting at all.
These pieces had nice color to them, but quite honestly could be found in any elementary school finger painting class.
This last piece of “art” on display was a ten dollar bill that was found while the “artist” was searching for his lost car keys in the surf with his toes.
If found money qualifies as art, then I have found a lot of “art” in my lifetime. I actually found a penny the other day, so maybe that qualifies on a lesser scale, lol.
My final review of the Contemporary Art Museum of Houston is to take a pass. Although it was free, I would have been pissed if I had paid to view this “art”. There were many other things on display, but none worthy of a photo to share with you.
I did leave a small contribution because, honestly, I don’t know how they manage to keep the doors open when displaying this quality of “art”.
Houston has many museums, so I decided to do a blog series about them.
The first museum I visited was my favorite, the Museum of Natural Science. A lot of Houston museums are free on Thursdays, so that is always a good time to go.
This is my favorite museum because of the dinosaurs on display.
Dinosaurs were reptiles that lived on Earth from about 230 million years ago to about 65 million years ago.
Dinosaurs lived during a period of Earth’s history called the Mesozoic (“middle life”) Era. They lived during all three periods of this era: the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous.
Meat-eating dinosaurs are known as theropods, which means “beast-footed,” because they had sharp, hooked claws on their toes. In contrast, plant-eating dinosaurs tended to have blunt hooves or toenails.
Look at how large the jaws are on this shark. It could swallow its’ prey whole.
No one knows exactly how long a dinosaur’s lifespan was. Some scientists speculate some dinosaurs lived for as long as 200 years.
Scientists estimate that there were over 1,000 different species of non-avian dinosaurs and over 500 distinct genera. They speculate there are many still undiscovered dinosaurs and that there may be as many as 1,850 genera.
The word “dinosaur” was coined by British paleontologist Richard Owen in 1842. It is Greek, meaning “terrible lizard.” Rather than implying that dinosaurs were fearsome, Owen used the term to refer to their majesty and size.
All dinosaurs laid eggs. About 40 kinds of dinosaur eggs have been discovered.
The first dinosaurs that appeared during the Triassic Period 230 million years ago were small and lightweight. Bigger dinosaurs such as Brachiosaurus and Triceratops appeared during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.
Dinosaurs dominated Earth for over 165 million years. Humans have been around for only 2 million years.
Some dinosaurs’ tails were over 45 feet long. Most dinosaurs had long tails that helped them to keep their balance when running.
Most meat eaters walked on two feet. This made them faster and left their hands free to grab their prey. Most plant eaters walked on four feet to better carry their heavy bodies. Some plant eaters could balance on two feet for a short time.
The largest dinosaur eggs were as large as basketballs. The bigger the egg, the thicker the shell. So if the eggs had been larger, dinosaur babies probably would not have been able to get out.
The Stegosaurus has the smallest brain for its body size of any known dinosaur. Its body was the size of a van, but its brain was the size of a walnut.
Some of the biggest plant eaters had to eat as much as a ton of food a day. This is similar to eating a bus-sized pile of vegetation every day.
Snakes and lizards shed their skin when they grow. Researchers believe that dinosaurs may have done the same.
Something else that is really cool about the museum is the artwork they have on display of the animals and dinosaurs in action.
I’m amazed at how big this shark is.
Whoever did these works has an unbelievable talent for realism.
I would not have wanted to live during these times, when just going to get a drink of water could get you killed.
The museum also has an “Overlook” area to be able to see the entire room from the top.
You really get a good idea of just how big these beasts were.
Some people believe in the bible and some believe in evolution. Either way, it’s hard to deny that these “People” lived and walked the Earth at one time.
The museum also has displays of animals in action. It’s a very cool area to walk through.
They even have an Egyptian area.
Seeing parts of history that are thousands of years old is very awe inspiring.
Seeing a real mummified person is kinda weird at the same time as intriguing.
The Egyptians definitely had their own style and it was very cool.
I think time traveling back to Egyptian days would be very neat to do… but only for a short visit. I like fast food drive thru’s too much, lol.
The Museum of Natural Science has many more areas not covered in this blog post, so it’s worth a trip if you ever get the chance.
And lastly, the gift shop at the Museum of Natural Science is huge. There’s all sorts of neat stuff to see and purchase. It makes your trip to the museum complete.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at one of Houston’s best museums and will look forward to seeing more museums in my series.
Try going to a museum when you have the time. It will brighten your day.