Yeehaa! Rodeo time!

Saturday afternoon was spent at the Austin Rodeo with Bob and Mary showing us the ropes and translating the cultural niceties!   

First all the fun of the fair!  It was busy, colourful and spread over a wide area with a huge number of rides all of which we resisted the temptation to go on.  Cowards every one of us!  

Then we realised we might be a mite peckish, so we changed money for more tokens and ordered some hot dogs, hamburgers and a frito pie!

 Then off round the fair again and into a western show which started off with a mock shoot out and some very mock dying and then the safety lecture!  Some fine moustaches on show!

The wild west show inside was a demonstration of horsemanship and lasso work on a couple of horses with magnificent manes.  Then we made our way towards the stock show ring, stopping on the way to pretend to be a farmer.......and for a beer and to admire the livestock and the retail opportunities.

Then it was time for another snack! 

The rodeo started with a prayer and the Star Spangled Banner and then cowboys and cowgirls did their stuff!  Steer roping, bull riding, bronco riding, jumping off a horse and catching a steer and turning it on its side (must be a proper name for that manoeuvre) and more. Also very small children bare back riding sheep!  They were well protected with helmets (the children, not the sheep) but it must have taken some nerve to hang on at all when the sheep are let loose and bolt across the arena.  It was good clean fun and a great atmosphere.  Despite the availability of beer there were no drunken louts...

Disappointingly it was impossible on my camera to capture the actual rodeo action but I hope the snatches of video capture the atmosphere of restless to-ing and fro-ing in search of seats and food! 

We decided not to stop for the all night music and staggered back across the car park and home to the Duce's for a nice cup of tea, a bowl of ice cream and bed!

After a good breakfast at Bastrop we headed back to College Station for Skyping with Simon and Tania and Nancy, Eliot and Abe.  Saul was asleep and under the weather.  

Then to the supermarket where all the students had returned from spring break and were busy stocking up their refrigerators.  The place was heaving!   We had a healthy supper of vegetable kebabs (and sausages - oops!).