Gwen and I traveled to the Texas Hill Country this past weekend to visit fellow S19 builder Henry Dainys. As luck would have it the weather was perfect and the Wild Flowers were in full bloom. 

Henry is the owner of the Flying H Ranch, which as it's name implies has a very nice 2000ft grass strip located adjacent to his hanger. 

Local EAA Chapter 889 is also located nearby and we met quite a few of those members. 

After arriving we were invited to lunch at a local restaurant, which was located in a house of dubious distinction. The owners of this establishment had moved the original house that the Texas Chain Saw Massacre had taken place in to it's present position and turned it into an eating establishment. Not a very appetizing thought, but the food was great! It was here that we met one of the cooks for the next days meal. It was reported that his team entered a lot of BBQ contests of which they won on a pretty regular basis. We would later learn why. 

The first evening (after checking out his S19 project first of course) we were introduced to his two "pet" Longhorn Steers, who's names are Blacky and Whitey. As we entered the choral where they lived to feed them we were a bit nervous to say the least. Henry reassured us that it was OK to be in there with them but "just don't try to touch them" he said. We both responded that he didn't have to worry about that! 

The next morning bright and early (05:00) his doorbell rang, the cooking team had arrived and were wanting their coffee. Of course they were accommodated and got to work. 

Around 11:00 the rest of the guests, which consisted of a lot of EAA Chapter 889 and additional Foreign Exchange Students from around the area started arriving. There are a lot of sponsors for these kids in the area and they are a great bunch of kids from all over the world. There are quite a few RANS owners/builders in the area including another S19 builder, who was not able to attend. While talking with one of the guys there I found out that Neil Salmi stays in the area during the winter so it's a small world. 

The BBQ was some of the best I've had and there was plenty for everyone.  

All in all a good weekend in the Hill Country.