This year, we picked Friday as our Nutcracker Market Day. Big Mistake!!! I should have known it might be a bad idea, when I hit the ferry line at 5:30 am to catch the 6 am ferry. I waited and waited. Finally, I called my husband, “Honey, where is the ferry?” Very apologetically, he said, “oh, I should have said something, there isn’t a 6 am ferry.” Okay, so I sat there for almost an hour to catch the 6:30.
The plan was to meet at my daughter’s house in League City at 7:30 when the others were going to be there. Lo and behold, I made it to Leigh’s house at about 7:35. The others didn’t get there until 8:00. Here we go again … I live the furthest away and I get there before the others who live 5 blocks from Leigh.
Nevertheless, we all ventured over to Juan’s Burrito for some breakfast tacos and made our way to NRG with full tummies.
We pride ourselves as the innovators of tail gating at the Nutcracker. I’m sure if you ever make it to whichever day, Thursday through Sunday, you’ll notice all the folks who tail gate now. We like to get there early, set up our chairs and partake in some Good Morning Mimosas!
The event opened at 10, so we put our stuff away, packed our chairs back in the back of the Expedition and made our way to the front doors. Oh, my goodness, we’ve never seen this many people packed in, the line circling from the entrance to one side of NRG and circling around to the other side. Mel and her Mom, Barbara, trudged to the end of the line and we broke in when we saw them about 15 minutes later. Don’t get me wrong, the wait wasn’t bad at all with all the “people watching.” Oh, the costumes, oh the concoctions these people dressed in. I think the cutest group had on Christmas jammies, they were certainly dressed for comfort.
As usual, neither Leigh nor I planned to buy anything, “didn’t need anything.” We were just going along because it’s so much fun getting together. RIGHT! How many years, none of us can remember. Barbara sent this pic from 11 years ago, I know we’ve been coming longer than that, maybe not all of us together …
I missed one year when I fell and fractured my back. Light Weight!
I don’t remember last year, the necklace Mel got us, or anything about it except what I purchased. So, I guess I went.
I do remember one year, on the way home, I still had my necklace on, I was sitting in the backseat, my necklace was on intermittent flashing, Leigh (the driver) thought it was a police car behind her and sort of freaked out!
Needless to say, Leigh and I did our fair amount of shopping, she had to go out to deposit stuff in the car at least twice. Barbara spent more than she ever has. And Mel, well, Mel is Mel, lots of snowmen things and of course those two found the soup/dip vendor (their favorite)! Caution, “don’t let Mel visit the soup/dip vendor in a warm climate – like summer! I won’t say any more about that subject.
We were all exhausted and Leigh was carrying two big ol’ framed pictures, but, God Bless Her, she walked a mile down another aisle to help her ol’ Mom find the quilt vendor. I was ready to give up, but there she was, the second to the last vendor and, yes, I found another quilt. My last purchase of the day. I was spent – LITERALLY!
Pappasito’s Cantina – all four of us, what a treat! Then Leigh & I went back to her house, pajamas, and talked ‘til 10, then lights out.
I snuck out the next morning to do – what else, more shopping!
