We Be Trippin': The Great DIS-nee Road Trip

[madbrad76]

Rules for Cat's portion of the Road Trip

OK – they’re not exactly rules – they’re more like GUIDELINES!

1. No one gains weight on my portion of the VIRTUAL road trip! The first person who complains about getting fat or needing to exercise will be required to virtually leave the bus, and virtually walk to Austin!

I'm so glad Cat established this GUIDELINE at the beginning. Otherwise, someone would have to ROLL me along the rest of her leg of the Road Trip.

 

[catotigger]

So why is it called College Station?

Because the rail line went right by the new College, and where it stopped was called College STATION!

Now, I'm afraid without going through some history, I'll never be able to explain some of the things we'll see of our tour of the University. So if you're bored, feel free to skip, and just look at the pictures!

For those of you who don't know, land-grant colleges are all over the United States and are defined this way:

land-grant colleges and universities U.S. institutions benefiting from the provisions of the Morrill Act (1862), which gave to the states federal lands for the establishment of colleges offering programs in agriculture, engineering, and home economics as well as in the traditional academic subjects. Another provision of the Morrill Act called for the establishment of a military training program, now part of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC), at every land-grant college.

The Corps of Cadets was founded in 1876 with the creation of The Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, which was established as an all-male military college. Texas A&M remained a primarily all-male military institution with mandatory membership in the Cadet Corps until 1963, when Corps membership became voluntary and the school also began admitting women

In fact even today, as a Senior Military College, Texas A&M is one of three public universities with a full-time, volunteer Corps of Cadets. It provides more commissioned officers to the United States Armed Forces than any other school outside of the service academies.


Those early Cadets at the college had it tough - living in tents for many years before all the buildings were built!

There are all these great legends about this time period - including stories of wolves attacking the cadets as they went to class!

 

[catotigger]

Just a few more photos to prepare you for what's to come!

Circa 1878:

Circa 1894:

Unknown:

Okay - knock off the cobwebs, and get ready to tour Texas A&M as it is today!

 

[catotigger]

Cat - Yum!!! Thanks for the great meal and the fine touring. I'm having a blast!

Agreed- I am now officially very hungry! And those grapes look beautiful.

I'm so glad Cat established this GUIDELINE at the beginning. Otherwise, someone would have to ROLL me along the rest of her leg of the Road Trip.

And thus, the reason for the Guideline!

Since you all brought it up, this is as good a time as any to pause for a meal. We'll start our tour of the campus tomorrow.

We'll be having lots of meals at our Messina Hof Vintage House, but just to prove we have more than one fancy eating place (we have TWO) in the area, we'll be eating at Christopher's World Grille tonight!

What is really cool about eating at Christopher's is instead of one or two side veggies, each entree is served with little portions of 8-10 interesting veggies!

In this picture, you can see carrots, mushrooms, asparagus, zuccini, spinach, fried strips of sweet potato, some kind of mashed root veggies, and more!

Christopher's World Grille Menu

They have Jazz playing in the evenings, and they have the most AMAZING desserts!

Here's Christopher himself, with the dessert tray!

Here's my favorite!

Remember Guideline #1

 

[tothesea]

Before we start any site seeing, let's check into our base camp:

Messina Hof Winery & Resort

Messina Hof Winery & Resort, a Texas vineyard established in 1977 by Paul and Merrill Bonarrigo, is rooted in the union of two family heritages. Winemaker Paul Bonarrigo’s family dates back seven generations to Messina, Sicily. Merrill’s family is from Hof, Germany.

As our many devoted enthusiasts can attest, it is our goal to share the good life with you. Stroll through the vineyard. Smell the roses. Sit by the waterfall. Relax with a glass of crisp Riesling or rich Shiraz. Indulge in fresh vineyard cuisine. Linger over candlelit conversation. Enjoy a quiet evening among friends or with the one you love.

If you enjoy kicking back with a bottle of Messina Hof or Paulo just wait until you visit the Messina Hof estate. Our 100-acre estate, of which 42 host the vineyard, is nestled in Bryan, Texas. In addition to the winery, the estate is home to The Villa bed & breakfast, The Vintage House restaurant and the Winemaster's Room wine bar. Tours and wine tasting are offered seven days a week. Our calendar of events is packed with cooking classes, wine appreciation classes, food and wine pairing seminars, murder mystery and winemaker dinners, and more!​

We'll be staying at the Villa Bed & Breakfast:​

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Click here to see the Available Rooms:


Lancelot & Guinevere
Romeo & Juliet
Camelot
Napoleon & Josephine
Antoinette
Messina
Thomas Jefferson
Hof
D' Artagnan
Venus



I wonder which one Tothesea and DISgeeks will want!

Very nice place Cat! Excellent choice! I made sure that Disgeeks got the room she wanted this time...after all, what are friends for! Besides, she has a family with her and they need more space.

I am very much liking the balcony in my room--the views are just beautiful! I did see some funkiness while some where stomping the grapes! Quite a show!

 

[Mrs. Fleagle]

Glad we're still rolling along here....I have A LOT of catching up to do! Looks like I missed some fun...and FOOD! Yum

 

[catotigger]

Just so you know why the trip has come to a halt - I have a killer migraine. I should be fine to continue the trip tomorrow.

Talk amongst yourselves...

Cat

 

[Circusgirl]

Just so you know why the trip has come to a halt - I have a killer migraine. I should be fine to continue the trip tomorrow.

Talk amongst yourselves...

Cat

Take care, Cat! So sorry about the migraine - I get them too so I maximally sympathize!!

 

[3guysandagal]

Hope you feel better Cat!

And now an update on the map as my route was off on the last one.

Great tour so far cat!

 

[FirstTimeCaller]

After the Murder Mystery is solved, we can go out on the deck, and sip some wine!

I know! The butler did it! Hey... wait, that's me!

 

[catotigger]

Howdy! (vague response from audience)

I said HOWDY! (at least 2 people still lurking respond with a small howdy)

Welcome to Texas A&M University!

I'm Cathie, Class of '83!

Before we start touring the campus, I have a special surprise for you!

Introducing Segway Bob!

That's right! We all get our own Segway to ride for our tour of the campus!

Segway Bob - show us how to ride our Segways!

<OK - everyone pretend you're riding a Segway!>

 

[Justin M]

Wow, Cat! I picked the right time to check back into this thread! I can't wait to see your tour!

 

[catotigger]

View the Welcome to Aggieland Video for an intro!

The Old Administration Building:

The Academic Building:

E. King Gill, the original 12th Man:

The 12th Man Legend:
The tradition of the Twelfth Man was born on the second of January 1922, when an underdog Aggie team was playing Centre College, the nation's top ranked team at the time. As the hard fought game wore on, the Aggies were forced to dig deep into their limited reserves because of injuries. Coach Dana X. Bible remembered that a former squad member, who was playing basketball at the time, was in the press box helping reporters identify players. His name was E. King Gill. Gill was called from the stands, suited up, and stood ready throughout the rest of the game… which A&M finally won 22-14. When the game ended, E. King Gill was the only man left standing on the sidelines for the Aggies. Gill later said, "I wish I could say that I went in and ran for the winning touchdown, but I did not. I simply stood by in case my team needed me."

This gesture was more than enough for the Aggie Team. Although Gill did not play in the game, he had accepted the call to help his team. He came to be known as the “Twelfth Man” because he stood ready for in case the eleven men on the gridiron needed him. That spirit of readiness for service, desire to support, and enthusiasm helped kindle a flame of devotion among the entire student body; a spirit that has grown vigorously throughout the years. The entire student body at A&M is the Twelfth Man, and they stand during the entire game to show their support. The 12th Man is always in the stands waiting to be called upon if needed. ​

Kyle Field:

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​

Fly by over Kyle Field:

A really neat thing happened during a football game shortly after the 9/11 attacks. The students managed to organize a Red, White, and Blue "Standing for America" day! The band did their part by spelling out USA instead of the traditional block "T":

 

[catotigger]

Wow, Cat! I picked the right time to check back into this thread! I can't wait to see your tour!

Hey Justin! Just in time to ride a Segway!

I've been following your adventures on your CMO thread, but I'm glad you came over here for a visit!

 

[madbrad76]

Cat, thanks for the tour of Texas A&M. I've really enjoyed it so far. I just have one thing to say though ... ROLL TIDE!!!

It wasn't too long ago that Texas A&M stole a certain coach away from us. That's OK though because he turned out to be not much of a steal after all.

That's OK. Our 2 greatest coaches did in fact come from Texas A&M. One was one of the winningest college football coaches and coached us to 6 national championships (Paul "Bear" Bryant).

Our other coach that was a product of Texas A&M led us to 1 national championship (Gene Stallings).

 

[catotigger]

Cat, thanks for the tour of Texas A&M. I've really enjoyed it so far. I just have one thing to say though ... ROLL TIDE!!!

It wasn't too long ago that Texas A&M stole a certain coach away from us. That's OK though because he turned out to be not much of a steal after all.

That's OK. Our 2 greatest coaches did in fact come from Texas A&M. One was one of the winningest college football coaches and coached us to 6 national championships (Paul "Bear" Bryant).

Our other coach that was a product of Texas A&M led us to 1 national championship (Gene Stallings).

Yeah, yeah! Rub it in! I wish Coach Fran had stayed with y'all! I knew the way he desserted you guys that he wasn't someone we wanted here. Unfortunately, I don't get a say in who we hire as coach!

 

[madbrad76]

I've never cared for Coach Fran after he left Alabama the way he did. Even after publically stating that he wasn't taking the job, he took it anyway. He didn't even have the guts to return to Tuscaloosa to tell his players in person that he was leaving. He did it via video teleconference.

Watch out everyone, there's a new coach in town.

 

[DISgeeksfromDC]

Wow, Cat! I picked the right time to check back into this thread! I can't wait to see your tour!

Hey, Justin! ('Glad you managed to catch up with us for the Texas portion of our Road Trip!)

For those who've been following Justin's CMO adventures, he just updated his thread today with further details about his Disneyland trip in June.

Here's a link: Chat with the Chief Magic Official

 

[catotigger]

Stop here for an Aggie Traditions chat:

So one thing is for sure - we have LOADS of traditions here in Aggieland! (Some people joke that if you've done it at least once...it's a tradition!)

Many of the traditions started when this was an all-male, military college. So keep that in mind!

Football games are associated with lots of traditions...if you read the 12th man story, you know how students STAND throughout the entire game! Yes I did that, too!

Former Students (aka Old Ags) like myself can buy tickets on the side of the stadium where you can sit for at least part of the game! And yes, there are no "ex" Aggies...once an Aggie always an Aggie! Our alumni group is called The Association of Former Students.

Other traditions to know about:

Yell Leaders: we don't have cheerleaders, because we don't do cheers. We YELL, so we have 5 elected Yell Leaders to lead us at each game.

Midnight Yell Practice: This event is held at midnight the night before a home game. As many as 30,000 people show up to practice yells, hear the band, and celebrate being Aggies.

Aggies don't lose - we just sometimes get outscored! No explanation necessary...except when we do get outscored, we stay after the game to have another mini Yell Practice. Because if we didn't win, it was the 12th man's fault for not supporting our team correctly. (I had guilt about this for many years. I still have to say in my head: I am not responsible - my yelling at the tv can in no way change the outcome of the game! )

When the Team scores YOU score! Every time the Aggie team scores points, you kiss your date. Yes, this is still a tradition! Back in the day, when it was all male, girls from women's colleges would come in on the train for game day. In order to ensure a good time in the short time they had, the guys came up with this tradition!


We have a mega arch-rival...the University of Texas! But to be all macho and stuff, we won't call them UT (even tho it's a fine institution) we call them t.u. for texas university. Why? Because WE are THE University of Texas A&M, and they are "just" a texas university. My apologies to any Longhorns that are reading this.

We always win the Half Time Show! We believe the Fightin' Texas Aggie Band is the best in the land - and can't be beat. Can you tell we think alot of ourselves?

What makes the band even more unique is that everyone in the marching band HAS to be in the Corps of Cadets! This explains the fact most the music played is Military marches!

If you have time to watch a video, the best quality is from the Band show.

Since it's a full 20-something minute show, if you want to just skip thru to the band performances:

Click on link below
-Then choose Episode 12 - t.u.
-Once it starts playing, use the progress bar along the bottom to move thru the video - watch the counter on the LEFT
-15:08 for excerpts of UT band
-17:24 for the Fightin' Texas Aggie Band

Click here for Aggie Band Show

If you want to see how they do the cross thru, click here.

 

[catotigger]

Okay, you've all been patient, listening to this Aggie ramble! It's time to hop off your Segways (for now) and head to dinner!

THIS is IT! Just because I've been feeding you la-dee-da food this week, doesn't mean that you've been eating traditional Texas grub! So remember Guideline #1!

Tonight we are heading out to Snook, Texas for a local delicacy: Chicken Fried Bacon!

Yes, you read that correctly - Chicken Fried Bacon!

There is a little hole-in-the-wall place that serves up this amazingly wonderful treat. I first learned of it thru a Texas show called Texas Country Reporter. Here's their video:

Chicken Fried Bacon Video


Now, if you think I was willing to just LINK to this, you are wrong! I needed to explore for myself, so I could report truthfully about this food!

I got all the guys I work with, and we took a field trip to Snook for lunch one Friday.

Leaving the Parking garage - Road Trip!

Travelling thru campus

Fields and Oil

You can tell by the sign, it's a classy place!

Yum...Steak House!

The Menu - please note the ads for a Gun Shop, Home Health Agency, and a Funeral Home!

Ahhhhh - the Bacon!

The whole gang! Check out the salad - drowing in dressing!

Small Lunch Special Steak

Large Lunch Special Plate (takes two plates to serve)

And the amount Sean took home

REVIEW: So, what is it like?
I really can't describe it - it's like nothing I've ever tasted before - but it was good. All the guys agreed it was very tasty!

As for the steaks, they were wonderful! And my memory has left me - but I think the small steak special was 8.95 for steak, fries, texas toast, salad, and a drink!

And one more time...CHICKEN FRIED BACON!!!!!!!