The Great Gobbler Visits Hondo, Texas

On Saturday, we were invited to a feast of a family we aren't even related to - such an honor. Our good friends, Michael and Regina, are lucky enough to have all of his family in the Austin area, and they often invite us to family gatherings, like Ashlynn's birthday party. We were thrilled to get to go to Hondo, a little town 30 minutes west of San Antonio, where they have a great ranch house on their family land.

There's a sign as you enter Hondo that says, "Welcome to Hondo. This is God's Country. Please don't drive through it like Hell!"

There were 3 fried turkeys, and they were good. Moist and not too greasy. (Later I caught Colin wandering around, holding a crispy wing, gnawing on the back attatched). All the invitees brought the side dishes. I saw several old aunt types mixing up Jello and CoolWhip "salads." (How can something with no vegetable matter be called a salad? Rest assured, Anthony was appalled.) There were other great offerings, cripsy rolls, green beans, squash casserole, dressing, and oh yeah, more turkey. Then there was the dessert TABLE.

When I unleashed the Pumpkin Cheesecake from the springform pan, Michael grabbed the pan and relieved it of several fingerfulls of cheesecake, which he shared with his wife and mom before properly cleaning it and returning it to me. There were also date bars, made with their Grandma's recipe. She's gone, but the date bars live on, even served on her famous china date bar platter. There was a homemade coconut cream pie with a short homemade crust that gave me pause, and a plate full o'cookies that every child snatched from.

After the big meal, it was time for the Great Gobbler hunt. Michael's very creative and generous mother knows the "Great Gobbler", who leaves a trail of goodies for all children (defined as those who have not graduated from college). The Gobbler leaves sacks of goodies tied to trees along the trails on their ranch, and the kids take turns driving the caravan of golf carts around the trails, pausing along the way for each to untie their goodie bag. Inside the tie-dye cloth bag was a bandana, monkey hat, and a wallet containing a real dollar, monkey necklace, and monkey tattoo. After the 18 bags were collected, we followed the trail of feathers the Great Gobbler left, to a pile of hay that contained candy and Lotto tickets. Hey, we won $10 with our scratch-offs!

After that, we were given a list of items for the nature scavenger hunt, things to find like lichen, a maroon leaf, and a burnt orange leaf. It was boys vs. girls, and everyone had to show what they found at the end, although everyone got a prize - custom burned CDs.

We talked and played until it was dark, then it was time to head back. Anthony and I didn't realize our invitation included an overnight stay, but we had left Montana behind, so we needed to get home. Both kids fell asleep on the way home, tired and happy, clutching their Great Gobbler bags.



Hondo ranch house, from across the pond.

Ashlynn and Anna played "doctor," operating on each other to get things out.

Ashlynn cuts Anna.


Here, Anna returns the favor. Hey, what can I say, both of them have veterinarians for Mommies!


The Great Gobber Caravan.


Colin and his snagged turkey.

The next day I asked the kids what they liked best about Hondo. Anna said, "Playing with Ashlynn." Colin said, "The swing. The ladder. The slide." I said I liked all the nice people and all the good food. Anna said, "Mommy, I have another one. I liked all the cookies."