Welcome to CbsoP on the scene at Grapefest 2008 from Grapevine Texas! This post is a first for several reasons. It’s not only the very first travel article I’ve ever done, but it’s also the first time in memory where pictures of your intrepid host will be seen here on CbsoP. The time for avoiding the camera has ended, folks. I can’t do an on scene report without some proof that I was actually there, now can I?

A warning: This is a food related travel post, so by definition, it is image heavy.  I’m not going to bog down your RSS readers with all of them, so you’ll have to pop in to hear about one of the best and worst days in recent memory for those of us on the CbsoP! Team. (OK, my wife, my son and I.  The dog wasn’t allowed!)

The day started much as any day of a road trip will. Car packed, resident couch warmer provided with plenty of food and water, Mr. Seat of his diaper fed and comfy.  One last quick trip through the house to make sure everything is where it needs to be, then realize I need a haircut and I’m going to be in these pictures, so decide to style hair.

Realize that the last time I tried to do anything but get it cut short, Duran Duran was still normal radio fare. I have no clue what I’m doing, and my hair looks worse than before. Admit to myself that I’d rather look like a fool on camera in need of a haircut than a fool on camera who looks like an idiot because he put too much “Bed Head” in his hair. Do a quick under the shower wash while defending towel from 2 year old, run a brush through it and head for the door, map and directions in hand.

Quick stop at the BigScaryMegaMart for water, jerky and a few snacks for the kiddo.  Leave with Water, jerky, a few snacks for the kiddo, three new shirts, a pair of jeans for the wife, chap stick, sunblock, breath mints and bubble gum. Everybody back in the car and buckled up and the trip finally begins in earnest.  We’re off on a two hour drive to the City of Grapevine Texas for Grapefest 2008.

If this sounds like a nightmare so far, it isn’t.  It’s standard road trip day for us, and we love them. Both my wife and I laugh and talk the whole way, stopping occasionally on the way to grab a drink or snap photos of the more interesting portions of the scenery, such as the ones below, taken just outside of Bowie, TX:

A small but still stunning pond in a cow pasture outside Bowie, TX

And this, from the same location:

A lone wood fencepost, still bravely holding a few strands of barbed wire, even though a modern steel fence has been put in just behind it.

We drink in the countryside, make lists of places we’d like to go back and see and generally have a wonderful time. Mr. Seat of his diapers happily sits in the rear, oohing and aww-ing over things that catch his attention, occasionally breaking in with this or that noise or quasi-word, even though he refuses to talk (or is unable to, we’re still working to see which.) The trip itself was mercifully smooth and we found ourselves at the entrance to the event in fairly short order.

Grapefest stretches two full city blocks in both directions through the historic Grapevine main Street, which is composed of buildings that are generally over 100 years old.

One look told us both that this was an all-out affair.  The festival covers all of historic downtown Grapevine, running right up the center of main street for two blocks and ending in a full scale carnival.  There are four stages and three pavilions for shows and demonstrations ranging from jazz to a performance by singers from West Lothian, Scotland, who also had tourism representatives at the festival. Over 100 vendors were present selling everything from food and drinks, to metal and woodcrafts. The selection and variety were amazing.

Our first order of business was to find something to eat.  While we could have chosen any number of items from the carts out front (using coupons, so bring cash!), the temperature was already climbing into the 90’s and the humidity was unbearable, so we settled on one of the local restaurants, called Willhoite’s, which offers a build your own burger buffet and a full salad bar.

Unhappily, I can’t really recommend Willhoite’s.  The burger buffet was probably one of the least inspirational experiences of my life, though the salad bar was of higher than usual standard. My suggestion would be that if you are in Grapevine, visit them in the evening, when the food gives way to drinking and dancing.  It does have a very nice atmosphere.

After our meal and a quick trip to the changing station, we began exploring the side-streets of the festival to see what was tucked away from the casual passerby.  On the third trip away from the common area, we happened upon a small piece of performance lover’s heaven, in the form of a Shelby Dealer who was displaying his current product line.

600+ horsepower and all the looks of the Battlestar Galactica. This is my next car. What's $150,000 between friends, right? (Can you believe he let me touch it!)

And yes, that’s me leaning up against One Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars worth of jaw dropping, mind numbing performance, also known as the Ford GT40.  The little red headlight poking into the frame is the brand-new Shelby Cobra. It can be yours for a mere $90,000. (For the record, the only thing I touched on the car was the weatherstripping.)

(If anyone is interested in a few more photos and the name and address of the dealer, let me know and I’ll find a nice, non-food venue to get that information out to you.)

Once my heartrate had gone back to something that didn’t require first aid, we started our trek up the fairway towards the carnival. By this time I had begun to feel more than just a bit under the weather, and we had only been at Grapefest for a little over an hour. Both my wife and I figured we’d let the little guy ride a few rides or at least toss a ball, but we quickly discovered that he was 1-inch too short for just about everything. (If they’d waited a week, he would have made it!)

The highlight of our day came next. In the very center of the whole affair, we found a Celtic rock band called NeedFire playing on the wine pavilion stage.  Both my wife and I are of Irish decent, and we both adore bagpipes, so it was a lovely time.  So lovely in fact that we went ahead and bout the CD, and I would recommend it as well.

As a matter of fact, I managed to find a clip of them playing live, if you’d like to listen:

OK, moving on…  The wine pavilion itself was gorgeous, with sampling in the rear, but still well within range of the band.

The gazebo at the wine pavilion

At a long rustic bar at the back of the pavillion, my wife and I sampled an Australian and Austrian wine, both of which I will buy again.  The Australian for cooking, as it has much the same characteristics of Burgundy, and the Austrian for drinking because of it’s fruity yet tart flavor.

Unfortunately, this was the point at which we decided it was time to go. The temperature and humidity were staggering, adn we were both dressed a little too warmly to weather it for much longer. To top it off, I was on my second day of antibiotics for a sinus infection, the heat was making me very ill and we were unaware that I was not supposed t be in sustained sunlight (according to the medication’s fact sheet) until we returned home.

As luck would have it however, the best photo of the day was taken as we marched through Grapevine cum inferno toward the exit.

The Pit Master.

This was shot in passing, on wobbly knees and with blurry vision, yet to me it truly is a picture that speaks a thousand words, at last when Texas Barbecue.  Do you see a drop of sweat on this man?  No.  And the smoker he’s leaning against is well over 120 degrees.  That’s dedication!

My only issue with the festival was that it didn’t really seem to focus on wine, or the wineries producing it. As a child of the Sonoma Valley, I’ve attended quite a few vintage festivals, but this had none of that feeling, at least to me.  I have to think that I was forced to leave before that part of the program, since we were not there for more than three hours.

Overall, I’d recommend the festival, it really was a blast.  There’s more than enough going on to keep you busy, the food is phenomenal and the atmosphere is most definitely Texas at her finest.  If you’re in the area tomorrow, drop in.  If you can’t, you might want to schedule a trip for next year’s event.

Thanks Grapevine, We had a good time!