About Grimes County, TX

Before the 5pm Joust at the Texas Renaissance Festival started, there was a warning to people faint of heart and small children that this joust was going to be "to the death".

Here are the four competitors in their finery. I love how they had the horses in their outfits as well.

I was closest to the knight in Green. He was representing France. At the back of this picture you can see the king and queen of England, France and the Ren Fest.

This picture is a little blurry because it was taken just after they two knights had crossed lances.

Once the knights were knocked off their horses, they are forced to fight on foot.

The green knight looks ferocious.

The red and black knight somehow lit his sword on fire. The other knight used that flame to light his whip on fire. It was quite exciting.

The green knight prevailed. The king said the red and black knight had not behaved with honor, so they beheaded him in front of the kings stage.

I have been trying to see the joust for many years, but have had poor timing, so I was thrilled to actually see it today. They actually did a far superior job compared to what I expected to see. Great job!!!

Did you know that you can drive an area for years and never find some of the most colorful things imaginable? We had a vivid example of that yesterday as we searched for a home we had been asked to do an opinion of value on.

With two gps devices and 30 years of experience in the area, we drove around in circles for about two hours before we had success.

On the way in our lost state just cruising the back roads, we made a turn onto a back road behind the Texas Rennaissance Festival. What we found messed with our sense of reality on many levels.

I am always amazed at the creativity of people when it comes to adapting things into living quarters. This road brought that to new heights. We saw an old ship, horse trailer, tents, sheds, storage builings, RV's and other unique structures which had been adapted into the proverbial "roofs over peoples heads."

There was obviously not a sewer system in the area as the use of portacans was prevalant. Just wonder about the use of those in the middle of the night... but since pioneers used outhouses, it must work alright. Bohemian lifestyle was the word of the day. But, Hey..... what do you expect right next door the the Ren Fest? Only these people live like this year round.... Oh My goodness!

For many years The Dixie Chicken has been College Stations’ most famous watering hole. Located right across from campus on Northgate, The Dixie Chicken offers good food, good beer and a good time.

When you arrive at the “Chicken”, as it’s known locally, you will walk through old saloon doors and be immediately greeted by tables of students, families and Aggies playing dominoes and chomping down on burgers, beef jerky among other good ol’ Texas cooking. One of their most famous appetizers are the Texas Toothpicks (fried jalapenos and onion strips).

The restaurant features a rustic wooden décor, blares Texas country music and is perfect for game days (though prepare for the crowds). This truly is a must-visit for any first-time to College Station. For more information about the lifestyle in College Station, visit www.kingoaks.com.

Steam Train 844 in All Its Glory! From April 11, 2010 in Texas.

This steam train is huge. When you stand next to it, you feel minuscule. The black panels on the sides are a little different than I'm used to seeing on trains in the United States. My source says the panels are smoke deflectors.

Here the train is roaring out of Navasota. The amount of steam is impressive. I really like this shot.

I think this is a different angle from the last shot, but this one captures more of the vertical steam and smoke.

I think it is so wonderful that when steam trains have excursions like this, people of all ages come to watch and observe the awesome trains. In a day and age when most people don't know their neighbors, its heartwarming to see the community turn out to laugh and smile together.

The Texas Renaissance Festival in Plantersville, Texas has been going on every October and November since the 1970's.

The structures are built with authenticity in mind.

These ladies have on some of my favorite costumes. They look like velvet or something very soft, and the colors are wonderful.

This is the walking tree. He is over 12 feet high.

Here is a piece of paper that was made at the festival and then they used a Gutenberg Press to print the ink on to it.

Not just the adults dress in period costume, this young lady looks like a queen. She is next to the jousting arena.

Here is the tower climb, for both young and old alike.

Here are some adorable goats that were in the petting zoo. Don't worry, when they are not here at the ren fest, they are at a farm in Cypress, Texas. To see more of my pictures of the ren fest, click on my Texas Renaissance Festival -- Part 1 blog.

For directions, more information and a video of the attractions (belly dancing, etc.) click on the website for The Texas Renaissance Festival.