Ed Closes Another Restaurant

At Llano Grande RV Resort, Mercedes, Texas…

Today began in a fairly unusual way:  Ed, Marilyn, Ron, Verna, Heinz and Irene went to jail!  Now before you swallow your chewing gum, let me hasten to explain that they decided to go and take a tour of the jail.  Okay, whatever.  Heinz said it was interesting, but I am not exactly unhappy that I missed it.  It's amazing, if not troubling, what we retired folks will do to amuse ourselves, isn't it?

After the jail tour, Ed, Ron, Heinz and I decided to go stag to eat barbecue at Smokin' Joe's while the ladies went shopping. Normally, turning the girls loose for such a purpose would cause a loss of appetite for us, but it turned out not to have that effect.  Smokin' Joe's was touted as having some really fine 'cue, and our taste buds were all set for it.  

Now it was Ed's turn to drive, so we all had the feeling that his being behind the wheel could mean the restaurant would be closed, so we weren't terribly surprised when that turned out to be the case.  Once again, Ed holds onto his reputation as a jinx when selecting places to eat.  The guys warned me that Smokin' Joe's was a backwoods joint that really should be classified as something below a dive, and they weren't kidding. This joint is PRIMITIVE.  However, my guess is that it really lives up to its hype. I wished Ed hadn't been the one to suggest it, so I might have had a chance to try it.

Smokin Joe's

Oh well, we will be able to try some of Smokin' Joe's wares tomorrow, as we will find him competing in the local barbecue cookoff.  Joe's prepping for the competition was the reason he wasn't open today.  (So it wasn't really Ed's influence that he was closed, but we gave him a hard time anyway.)

We decided to stop at Nana's Taqueria for lunch; this is a small joint in back of a house that is run by a local family.  Tacos were good, plentiful and cheap, a winning combination.

We returned to Llano Grande afterward with a nap in mind, but I took the opportunity to put together a new Weber Q propane grill that I had ordered.  I had roped the guys into helping me transport the big box from the office to Phannie, using Ed's truck, Heinz's brawn and Ron's…well,  it was not entirely clear what Ron's contribution was; he claimed to be supervising, but I have my doubts. 

Later in the evening, the eight of us attended a mariachi concert at the Basilica San Juan.  The groups were comprised mostly of very talented high school students whose performances were amazingly good.  We enjoyed this greatly; I think it would be impossible to listen to this music and not have a smile on our faces.

Mariachis "Los Lobos" - Fabulous High School Group

What a good day!  Tomorrow is the barbecue cookoff, and I plan to be hungry.