If you want to attract an honorable lady, be an honorable man.

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Manassas Photos

    Ok, I have finally downloaded all my pictures, a little over 450 of them, and will now share some of the best. At the event, there was somewhere around 8,700 re-enactors, and around 4,000-5,000 spectators p/day - a media spectacle to be sure. We were being filmed by National Geographic, The History Channel, and some Prince William County news group.  
Sorry about some of them being blurry. When you are trying to re-enact and take pictures at the same time, sometimes quality goes by the wayside. :)  
Look forward to a whole string of movie reviews soon! I got to see a whole lot while I was gone!



Me in front of the Jackson monument on the actual battlefield.

Dad and I

Dad and I in camp all rigged out.

Stacked arms

Battle weary and sweaty soldiers 

An up close and rather dorky shot of yours truly.

Cannons going off along the line

A blurry shot of the battle field in full swing

Another blurry shot of the yanks in the distance and our men to the right. 

Monday, July 25, 2011

A long road home.

Sitting in a bus stop in Baltimore, waiting for the next bus. I had a GREAT time shooting yanks, despite the horrible weather. It was in the hundreds in temperature with it in the 80 percent or more range in humidity. We nearly sweated to death, but we survived - barely. We are exhausted and wanting to get home. I will try post pics when I get home.
Sent from my dads phone

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Manassas or bust

Sitting in a greyhound rest stop in Amarillo TX, on our way to Manassas VA. Should be in Manasas by Thursday morning. Had long hours on the bus and will appreciate a hotel bed upon arrival. This is sent from my dad's phone.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Springfield XDM: Owner Status

Yessiry folks, I officially own my very own self-defense pistol, and boy is it NICE. We went down to Tucson yesterday and bought it from Sportsman's Warehouse. The title says it all. Its a .40 Springfield XDM. I went out and shot it today, and I absolutely love it. Its smooth, powerful, accurate, and the list goes on. I put around 100 rounds through it without even the slightest hint of a hitch.  

At 16+1 rounds of .40, thats a lot of punch for a medium sized pistol. Any problems I have that involve the use of a gun will not last long!


Dialing in.

The recoil is very controllable and the gun is SUPER accurate. I can blow over a mountain dew bottle from about 20 yards.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Cowboy Status: Achieved

        Well, I heard it said once, that you are not an official cowboy until you have been dragged around by a cow.
        Recently, I just might have achieved that status. I had been asked to bring my lariat to a friends house, to catch a renegade calf that they had turned loose in their arena, since they had disced and ripped up the pasture, making it unsafe for the calf. The poor calf had no shade on the hot sand, so taking pity on it, they decided to move it to the backyard to a shady pen. The only problem is that the calf would not get anywhere near you. Hence, me bringing my rope. So, after chasing the calf around and around this arena, I managed to officially rope a cow for the first time. She drug me around the arena for a few seconds till my friends slowed her down and stopped her.
        Don't worry, the story isn't as lame as all that. It gets better. Securing a lead rope, we managed to get it into the barn, where we had another round of dragging. This time one of my friends was the victim, and I had to rope her again...sorta... to get her back towards the backyard. Things were calming down after a seemingly adventurous project, but we didn't know the fun hadn't started yet. I led the calf, another friend pushing the stubborn animal, and the other holding my coiled rope. We got her to the backyard, with a few more attempts from the calf to bust loose and run, all of them thankfully thwarted. This is where the fun began. The cow cranked its neck to the opposite side of its body, making me unable to crank her back around towards me when she ran, and did just that - ran, for all that silly cow was worth. I held on all the way across the yard, hauling for all I was worth, trying to get enough traction to slow down this brute weighing four times what I weigh. She curved away from the porch that we had been careening towards, and we thought she would turn and head back into the yard. She surprised all of us, me the most, by turning again and diving headlong into the gargantuan bougainvillea that ran the length of their property. I still managed to hold on, still trying to stop her, surviving the bushes at such a high speed due only to the fact that she would clean the bushes out in front of me, leaving me to be clobbered solely by the branches on the sides that she didn't clean out. Then, after plowing halfway across the yard, she decided she had gone far enough and reversed her steps, and went back through the brush all over again, me trailing along behind, trying to survive the brush and cow. After cornering herself, and then making a final dive out of the brush for open ground, my friends managed to control their laughter and throw my rope around the calfs neck, bringing her to a halt--about time in my opinion. I emerged from this whole ordeal with a few scratches on my arm and a little one on my face----remarkably little compared to what I had been dragged through.
        So, I thank God for keeping me safe through all of that, and giving me one of the most enjoyable and remarkable rides of my life. I think it is safe to say that I have obtained official cowboy status, following all regulations and protocol, due to roping my first cow (on foot) and being dragged around by the cow (on foot)-and surviving.
       Agreed? :)