September 2020 Meeting at the Ellis County Historic Courthouse in Waxahachie
by Jeff Myers

I joined NTNOA in late 2018 when I accepted a job back in Texas.  Settling in beautiful Ellis County, I looked forward to exploring the many curvy motorcycle roads in the area.  Also, wanting to become more involved in the club, I promoted the 3^rd Saturday breakfast, in Midlothian, so members south of the Metroplex would have a regular event to get together.  When September’s meeting was scheduled for the courthouse square, in Waxahachie, I was pleased to see another club event in Ellis County.

The weather forecast for the Sunday of the meeting was excellent for riding motorbikes.  My plan was to arrive in Waxahachie around noon, park the bike, find a lunch spot on the square, then attend the meeting.  I love the area around the Waxahachie courthouse.  Not only is the courthouse one of the prettiest in Texas, but within easy walking distance are a number of local restaurants, a winery with interesting regulars (I may be becoming one of them) that make the place fun, and a brewery with a pretty good IPA.

Late morning, my girlfriend and I climbed on my BMW R90S for a nice backroad ride to Waxahachie.  This was my first opportunity to ride a vintage bike to a NTNOA event.  In fact, this was my first opportunity to ride a vintage bike to any vintage bike event since 2010 when I was last a member of BMOA, in Houston.  I missed it.  Upon arriving, I was happy to see there were already a few vintage bikes on the square.  We parked next to them and went looking for lunch.

We decided on barbeque at The Vault Smokehouse about a half block away on College Street.  After ordering and finding an open table, we were joined by another Ellis County resident, Jay Pope.  Emerging from the restaurant, I was impressed with the healthy turnout of vintage and modern bikes now lined up on the square.  Since there was still time before the meeting started, we walked off the brisket and pulled pork by looking at motorcycles and browsing the Art and Antique shops on the square.  Like others, I also took advantage of the opportunity to buy raffle bike tickets in person from Wendy.

Around meeting time, the attendees congregated on the northeast corner of the courthouse where there was shade under the mature oaks and a nice breeze.  The meeting itself was an informal affair that concluded shortly after it began and was followed by more visiting as attendees talked bikes and planned their routes home. 

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Due to COVID-19 restrictions, we had an informal destination ride/meeting at the historic courthouse on the town square in Waxahachie, which was roughly equidistant from Dallas and Fort Worth.

There was a good spot for the meeting at the Courthouse Park, an open area directly across the courthouse on College Street. It was away from the busy courthouse lawn. The address is 111 S. College Street, Waxahachie.

Photo courtesy of Jeffrey Myers.  Click on photo to enlarge.