I saw a viking longboat on the drive home from work today. Seriously. And honest-to-god, 20-foot viking longboat. Granted, it was a small viking longboat, but who am I to quibble about length? Southbound on I-35, halfway between San Marcos and New Braunfels. I knew New Braunfels had a lot of Teutonic ancestry to it, but come on. I came up behind it, and immediately knew something was odd. That boat on the trailer ahead definitely looked too wide to be normal. And it was shallow of draught. I pulled alongside, and the sheer beauty of it struck me full force. The rich, wooden side planking literally gleamed. It was polished to a fine sheen. The bow was carved into that classic, crescent-mouthed dragon head and painted a brilliant crimson. Along the "neck" was carved an intertwined latticework, painted bright metallic gold. There was no mast visible, but then that would be stowed for highway travel. All in all, it looked quite the faithful reproduction. Except that the old blue Ford pickup hauling it spoiled the effect to a degree. Now I find myself wondering if they were headed to--Canyon Lake? San Antonio? There's definitely a story in there somewhere...
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