Lubbock - Family Time and Weekend Fun - Saturday

 Round two of the swim meet starts today, but first, we have a bit of time to explore.  Our first stop is at the Buddy Holly Plaza.  Charles Hardin "Buddy" Holley was born in Lubbock on September 7, 1936 to Ella Pauline (Drake) and Lawrence Odell "L.O." Holley.  The youngest of four children, Buddy grew up in a musical household, with his mother and siblings singing and playing instruments.  Buddy showed  musical aptitude, taking violin, piano and steel guitar lessons.  He took up the acoustic guitar after his brother, Travis, bought a $15 Harmony model.  Buddy, with other young Lubbock "pickers", formed several country groups.  In 1955, he saw Elvis Presley in concert and was impressed by Presley's rhythm and performance style.  Buddy and his friends were opening for big country acts at The Fair Park Coliseum when Eddie Crandall, an agent and manager, saw a performance and helped Buddy broker a Decca recording contract.  Buddy's last name was misspelled on the contract:  "Holley" became "Holly".  Buddy's relationship with Decca was short-lived as his early recording sessions failed to produce a hit.  In 1957, Buddy and his new band, The Crickets, began working with producer Norman Petty in Clovis, New Mexico.  On February 25, 1957, they recorded "That'll Be The Day", the first of several hits on the Brunswick label.  Their success led to the band to tour widely in the U.S. and Canada.  In 1958, Buddy Holly and The Crickets toured England.  The group had a profound influence on rock and roll in England - from their sound to Buddy's distinct look.  On February 3, 1959, during a three-week tour of the Midwestern U.S., Buddy's chartered plane crashed after takeoff due to bad weather.  There were no survivors.  Buddy Holly was 22 years old.

Also in the plaza is the "Wall of Fame" - so many  names I had no idea were from this section of Texas.  I just grabbed a few sections in photos.

Across the street is the the old FW&D South Plains Railway Depot.  It is now a restaurant/event center.

It's coffee time.  In front of the coffee shop, which happens to be right across the street from the place we had lunch yesterday, is this funky bench.  How did I miss this before?

Check out the back - woah!

Monomyth Coffee is the destination and the coffee is fabulous as is the scone.  Score one for today.

Back to the swim meet we go.  Yesterday, I neglected to mention that this is the Regionals competition.  Yesterday was qualifiers and today is finals.  The top two in each event will go to State from here.  The races are in the same order as yesterday, so first up is Jared's 50 Free.  Today he is in lane 3.  Final time is 23:67.

The gap today is a bit smaller, so we are not leaving.  Jared comes up to visit for a bit.

Since we are not leaving, Mister and Louis went to bring lunch back.  Burgers on the bench is the day's food.  Not the best place to eat and not the best burgers, but it filled a need.  Soon, the first relay team is up.  Since they made top eight - they get to do the "walk"

Jared's leg of the race.

His next race is backstroke and, again, the file is too large for here.  I do have some proof that he raced, though.  1:01:28

A second walk-in for the next relay team and Bekah is at the end filming from a different angle.  Fun to see.

Didn't even record the race as Jared was helping the freshmen get a chance to swim at regionals.  Super kind of him.

With that, the meet is over.  It's an emotional time as, for the seniors, this part of their life is over and I remember those changes.  We say our good-byes to Jared and give him some space.  Senior year is fun, but also hard in so many ways.

Today's adventure continues with a spot I mentioned to Mister yesterday.  Here is the LINK to the American Windmill Museum and our fun there.  There was just SO MUCH that it needed a post of it's own.

After the museum closed, a return trip to Bekah's - a chance to say good-bye to Jen and Louis and then to Bekah and Ash.  Should have taken more pictures, but just not the right time.  Hopefully we'll get another chance.  Mister and I are on our own for the rest of the evening.  Let's check out some breweries.  First up is LBK.  While the beer is good --- we are perhaps too old for the vibe.  One and done.  From there, we are off to try something a bit different.  Cactus Alley is the area.

Mano Negra Brewing Co is the final destination.  A small, nano-brewery with GREAT atmosphere and location.  Love, love, love it.  Can you say FUNKY!!

Check out this light over the bar.

Mister orders "something", but he declares it good.

We try the beer and it's good - unique, but good.  Then I get a sample of the sangria.  THIS is what they are known for.

Yep - so, so good.

From there, a second trip back to Two Docs to finish out the night and then back to the hotel.  It's been so fun out together this evening.  We are homeward bound tomorrow.