14 February Valentine "Candy, Flowers & Wine" Ride
Pictures by Skip Surre & Lydia Harris
Write-up by Jill Severe
I knew our new Ride Coordinators were winners when I read that the Chapter U Ride Schedule for Saturday, February 14th, was titled “Candy, Flowers and Wine”…sure pleasers for the Co-Riders and lots of mileage and new roads to please the Riders. It was a cool, overcast Valentine’s Day morning when 8 bikes of Riders and Co-Riders met for the ride briefing. Gary Skorman had picked the sights and general route, while Court vanSickler and Skip Surre, the Road Captain Lead and Drag for the ride, pre-rode the route to get to know the twists and turns of the “Candy, Flowers and Wine” segments of the Valentine’s Day ride. After a safety briefing, we set out in high spirits with the hopes the day would warm up as the sun came out.
Cool (or was that cold?) morning! Most everyone got there early for coffee or hot chocolate!
Helping Gary raise his windshield. Bikes at the Exxon meeting point.
John & Lydia Harris with their "new" GL1500 SE!! Ride Safety briefing.
We headed up to the Oasis Restaurant, a wonderful restaurant with over the top decorating and views. When you see a space craft, a “Hear no evil, see no evil, say no evil” three monkey statue, and a painted sunflower chair all in the space of a few steps, you know that anything goes. We were well rewarded with tables looking over 180 degrees of water in the distance, and a nude (but discreet) female diver diving off the roof above our balcony into the water below. We obviously beat most diners to lunch and were rewarded with wonderful views and our own section of the building! After eating a wonderful lunch (and warming up) and checking out the small gift shop, we headed towards Austin and the Big Top Candy Shop. We were happy to arrive in one piece as the Austin traffic reminded us of one of the reasons why we don’t live in Austin (or Houston): traffic. We all kept our cool and stayed together using our CBs as traffic became heavier and heavier. It would have been nerve-wracking to ride with a bunch of bikes not aware of how to ride safely as a group in such heavy traffic. Also Skip had brought copies of the directions for every Co-Rider to keep handy in case we were broken up, and let me tell you there were lots of Co-Riders holding onto their directions with pretty tight grips as we moved through Austin. I am happy to report despite merging traffic, backed up traffic, twists and turns, we all went into and came out of Austin safe and sound. It sure did help to have five bikes worth of Road Captains helping keep everyone safe!
Break from the cold on the way to the Oasis! Bathroom was very popular!
Parked out in front of the Oasis. Got there early enough for the bike parking spaces!
The decor is worth the visit all by itself!
Multi-floors and great views! Small house on the lake!
The views must be the best on the lake! We had a nice area to ourselves!
Decisions, decisions! ( and finally getting warm!) Wonder what they are voting on?
As we headed further into Austin, we realized that the traffic was also getting heavier but we managed skillfully to wend our way to South Congress street and parked a few streets behind the hustle and bustle of the main “hip” shopping district…vintage but very popular with Austinites. The Big Top Candy Shop did not fail to please. Of course we were happy there was a bathroom in the back open to the public (with hot water to warm our hands!) but the candy store was full of vintage circus memorabilia and all sorts of candy from black licorice pipes, to “bugs in candy,” wonderful decadent truffles, to violent mints. You really couldn’t tell where to look at first…the shelves of candy, much of which was stored and displayed in vintage cigar boxes, or at the instruments, posters, and costumes from circuses gone bye. It took a while for us all to select and check out…I think almost everyone picked up something to nibble on, and we congregated up front by the windows (and the warmth) to make sure everyone was ready to brave the cool weather to head to our next stop.
Had to park 3 blocks away! Nice sign...very popular place!
Really a neat place! Get a load of the candy girl!
Small but full of candy! Unusual decor! Behind the counter
We had parked in front of a small, old church, and I had noticed as we walked to the corner and up to the candy shop that a 2 story house behind the church had some type of round glass balls along its roofline and it appeared to be painted many colors. Intrigued, several of us walked down to the house before returning to the bikes. We had happily stumbled onto one of the unique sights of Austin…Casa Neverlandia. We know the name as it is on a sign nailed to a gnarly old tree in the front yard (which had a face!) According to the sign, two artists retired there years ago and had bought the house for $13,000 in 1979. After many years of living there and redecorating it inside and out, the taxes have grown to be a significant amount of their gross income, and they were asking people to write their state representatives to support passing a law to limit property taxes levied on senior citizens! The roofline of the house did have glass globes on it and had a sort of moving sculpture in the middle, the front steps had insets of tile, parts of the front of the house also has shimmering Plexiglas, mirror, and tile mosaics, along with lots of different colors. There are illuminated glass brick columns peering through the cedar and oak trees out front, and a xylophone on the front door to act as a door bell! You could see a third story observation platform and a rope bridge….I don’t know if this is the house of Peter Pan, or the gingerbread house in Hansel and Gretel. You never know what you are going to see in Austin!
Casa Neverlandia, just around the corner from where we parked!
We had already decided to just stay with the route but to wave at the Botanical Gardens due to the lack of sun and warm weather and keep moving on to the winery. There was one or two lone irises on watch as we went by and waved. Traffic was heavy as we wound our way out of Austin and at one point, Skip and Beth had to “sweep” up Duke and Chela who were caught in the far right lane for a left entrance to Route one. Brad and I went down the ramp after John and Lydia Harris riding their recently purchased 1500 on their first Saturday ride with the chapter while Skip and Beth rode up to Duke and Chela and helped them come down the next left ramp onto Route 1…with everyone joining up in safe and good order! Love those CBs and everyone knowing they have someone to be with as we dealt with traffic.
Parked up front at the winery! Group headed down to the winery!
Great fountain!! 2 glasses left on the fountain! Romantic?
I would have to say we were happy to leave Austin and end up at the Mandola Estate Winery. This winery has been praised for its lovely restaurant, tasting room, and ability to observe various facets of wine-making. The word was out…the place was packed but we drove up and parked right in front of the restaurant and headed to the winery. The tasting room was packed but we were able to walk down a long wide hall and llook through windows into the various rooms where wine was bottled. Deciding to plan another visit for sampling, we bundled back up and headed towards San Antonio. You know it was a full day when no one wanted to stop for dessert…even for DQ!
Strange clouds on the horizon as we were leaving!
It was a special Valentine’s Day. Thanks to Court vanSickler and Skip Surre for taking on the Lead and Sweep for the ride and Gary Skorman for coming up with the idea for the ride. Chapter U certainly wouldn’t have taken on such a challenging ride without the three of you working so hard. It is really one of the most special events we have had in the three years of the reborn Chapter U. While the weather didn’t cooperate, we certainly had a great fUn, safe time. Thanks to everyone who showed up to spend a special Valentine’s Day with Chapter U!
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