Adult Spring Break
Forget Christmas - to some, THIS is the most wonderful time of the year: Adult Spring Break. Or as it’s more commonly known, the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo. Animal count and beer consumption are at an all-time high, and even the biggest city slicker finds his inner cowboy for 3 glorious weeks. But let's not forget the event that kicks it all off – the World Championship BBQ Contest, ie Cookoff.
Now, some of you are not from Houston, so ima give you an education. A Rode(o)cation, as it were.
Cookoff starts tonight and is comprised of white tents spread about NRG park like beacons in the dark night. The public is welcome, but you must know someone for entry into a private tent. Kids, it ain’t Disney, but for your mommies and daddies, it’s still one of the most magical places on earth. Once inside a tent, food, booze, and bands abound. Nothing can keep me from Cookoff. Rain? No matter. Cold? No matter. Crowds? No matter. I'm like a salmon swimming upstream against hordes of drunken peeps headed the other direction. My husband is on a team and his tent is my Canaan. Instead of milk & honey, it flows with beer and BBQ, and man is it good.
Now keep in mind, Cookoff always falls during Lent so if you’re Catholic like me, attendance on Friday night means bean sandwiches. Saturday is your optimal day to go & enjoy all the meats, but unless you also gave up alcohol for Lent, there’s plenty of that, so something tells me you’ll be just fine. Do consume responsibly or you may drop your Ray Bans in a porta-can, (Kelly) or wake up the next morning complaining of chest pain only to realize you slept on your boot on your closet floor. (Ruth) *Both names have been changed to protect the identities of my friends.
Hubby & SIL. It's a family affair!
Serving line with a favorite of mine.
The only time Cookoff is not so magical is when you’re pregnant. Like 7 months pregnant. Now, I have gone to Cookoff pregnant before, and I guarantee there will be tons of pregnant chicks out there, but I am now deterred by the following:
Pouring rain - wet
Commute from car to tent - far
Porta-can lines - long
Saying cranberry vodka, hold the vodka - sad
However, it's basically like I experienced Cookoff this morning, since my OB/GYN's office is walking distance from NRG. I went for a check up, got rained on, had to walk far, & was inundated with barbecue smells. This in turn made me hungry. My hunger quickly dissipated after the nurse weighed me and said I gained 10 pounds in a month. After laughing somewhat hysterically, I was distracted with the sight of the carnival's ferris wheel from my exam room's window and suddenly all I could think about was a corn dog. #herestoanother10
The only other part that sucks about Cookoff now is that it steals my husband away for 4 solid days. I'm left to parent our children alone & have to somehow explain why daddy is gone so long. (Um, he’s cooking meat? Like a lot of it? For strangers?) This sounds weak but I know how much joy it used to bring me so I soldier on, do another wild bath and bedtime by myself until it's time to retreat to my parents’ house for help.
So babe, I hope you're having fun and staying dry. Instead of hitting the dance floor, I'm hitting our bed, while visions of barbecue dance in my head. Until next year!
