22 Days of Rodeo

First off, I apologize to my dedicated readers for the lack of posts lately. In all honesty my life has been pretty boring and you haven't missed out on much until recently. I've been working my ass off to not only sell as many tickets I can for the Houston Dynamo, but mostly to keep my boss off my back.

Anyways, yesterday I made my debut at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and I have never before experienced anything like it. For almost the entire month of March, the city of Houston in engaged in daily rodeo, carnival, livestock show and the biggest names in country music. Since my arrival in September I heard rumors of how huge and extravagant the Houston Rodeo is. I couldn't wait. As much as I wanted to be there every single day of the event, I had to pick and choose for monetary reasons.

I picked March 15, the day Brad Paisley was scheduled to perform after the rodeo competition that day. So immediately after the Dynamo season ticket holder event took place that day, I changed into my wrangler jeans, put on my cowboy hat, and jumped on the metro rail to Reliant Park. I met up with some friends from my church class and right away upon my arrival I bought a Bud Light and a BBQ turkey leg. I was more excited to see some real cowboys compete. The fact that Brad Paisley was performing afterwards was an added bonus. I fell in love with rodeos when I was a ranger at the Philmont Ranch in Cimarron, NM and I hadn't had my fix for well over a year. I decided that could definitely compete in the calf-wrestling competition. Basically a cowboy chases down a calf on his horse,jumps off and rolls the calf onto his back for time. Bull riding is the most respected event, but a little too insane for my tastes. I played rugby, so I've brought down my fair share of large, dumb animals. The concert was incredible. Paisley played several of my favorite songs and there is nothing more fun than rocking out to country music.

Once we got out of the stadium, Lauren and I were on a mission to find some deep fried food. This effort forced us to enter the carnival area with all of the carnies out to get your money. We had to be cautious. I decided on deep fried Oreo cookies, which I didn't think was possible, but they pulled it off and were quite delicious with powdered sugar sprinkled on top.

Lauren and I met up with more friends before going into The Hideout. The rodeo turns the floor of the old Astrodome into the giant dance floor. I was a lone cowboy amongst several young women so I had my work cutout for me keeping them all entertained and guaranteeing they all got their fair share of two-stepping on the dance floor. I would dance with one for a few songs, get a drink, then dance with another for a few songs. Very tiring work. Things started to die around 10:30 pm but Lauren and I weren't done for the night so we went to country music club Whiskey Creek in Midtown for more beers and dancing. By 2 am, I was exhausted, dehydrated, and covered in thin layer of salt from all the sweating I had done.

All in all my first Houston Rodeo was awesome and I'm trying to make it out for the last weekend to see the championship series and Brooks & Dunn on March 22.