July means it's time for Beverly's birthday. There have been years when, in the midst of summer activities and trips, it's not been celebrated with the respect that it's due. So, this year Jennifer and I decided that we should take Beverly, aka Bebe, to one of her favorite restaurants, Reata in Sundance Square in Ft. Worth.
If you know anything about the name Reata, you know that it was the name of the ranch in the movie Giant starring Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean. This Edna Ferber "not so pretty" expose' of the great state of Texas was filmed in Marfa, Texas which is near Alpine. And, coincidentally, Alpine just happens to be the birth place of one Beverly, aka Bebe, Phillips.
The original Reata restaurant is located in downtown Alpine near the upstairs room where Beverly was born on July 11, 1953. The doctor that delivered her had an office over a drugstore I think. She was born late at night and it seems that Beverly's Mom had some sort of a disagreement with Dr. Hill and she decided that she would just go home! We think ladies from the church came over after they got home and helped out for a few days. It must have worked fine since Beverly was a healthy and happy baby.
This is a young picture of Beverly and her older sister Deborah when
they lived in Alpine. Their Dad was working on his Master's degree at Sul Ross.
The house in the background was located down the hill from the college. Looks like
Beverly was doing pretty good on groceries!
Our trip to Ft. Worth occurred during the State FFA convention so Jennifer and Presley were able to
join us for lunch. Reata serves some really good high end Texas style food. After lunch, we drove up to the stockyard area on North Main and looked around for a while. We stopped at Hulen Mall for a little birthday shopping. Bev got some La vie est belle perfume and some pampering products at the Clinque and Lancome counters. One of the sales ladies at the Lancome counter took a special interest in Beverly when she heard it was her birthday and they also had a "cancer survivor" connection . She gave her a lot of samples and a special price on one of their special promotions that was coming up. After that, we headed home, fat and happy.
Happy Birthday My Love!
Dan opted for the chicken fried steak. That's about as Texas as you can get!
Beverly loves salmon and Reata did not disappoint!
You're probably thinking, "He can't possibly finish all of that!"
and you'd be correct!
Sweet Presley was in high cotton!
Jennifer also loves the downtown Ft. Worth area!
Reata has plenty of Texas themed decorations, including a life size
figure of James Dean.
This creeps Presley out! Maybe me a little, too! In addition, it's
right by the women's bathroom door!
The girls standing in the lobby of Reatta, soaking in all that leather smell!
You always leave there with a "take home" bag!
Presley and Jennifer left us after lunch to go back to the FFA convention.
We drove up to the stockyard district. Swift and Co. is located in this area and Beverly's
Dad worked for them back in the 50's while they lived out in West Texas.
Cooper's BBQ, a Llano original, has a location in Ft. Worth now.
Coming up on the Tarrant County courthouse.
Dan even bought a new cowboy hat!
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