A little while back, I made a trip out to Texas to visit my best friend from high school. She lives in Boerne, just outside of San Antonio. When we were planning the visit she asked if I wanted to go downtown to the River Walk and the Alamo.
“Nah, I’ve already seen those. You live there so you pick,” I replied.
And did she ever. There is a reason we are best friends. Instead of dragging me downtown to the noise, traffic, and crowds, she took me to some of the small towns around Boerne. Her maroon Ford F150 rumbled along the backroads to places like Sister Creek, Comfort, Fredericksburg, Bandera, Hondo, and every wide spot in the road along the way. We even made a stop at Luckenbach. That’s right Luckenbach, Texas. We talked, swapped stories, and caught up on each others lives. We also traveled long stretches of road in companionable silence.
Here are some of the highlights:
Sister Creek Winery
Cotton gin, winery. Same thing?
Our first stop was Sister Creek Winery. It’s a re-purposed cotton gin. The folks there are friendly and love sharing information about their wine. We walked through the wine making area and ended up where the white oak casks are stored.
Can I take one home?
Luckenbach, Texas
We drove through Luckenbach on the way to the parking lot behind it. I think the parking lot is actually covers more ground than the town itself. We didn’t see hide nor hair of Waylon (good thing I guess) or Willie (I’ll pass anyway), but there were a lot of boys there, on motorcycles, at the bar, and standing on the porch in front of the ramshackle wooden building that serves as both store and post office.
Luckenbach store, bar and post office. The only thing bigger is the dance hall across the street.
The Cabernet Grill
Several miles down the road we came to Fredericksburg. A few miles from the town center is The Cabernet Grill, another re-purposed cotton gin, converted into a fine dining restaurant. As the name suggests, wine is a big part of the experience, especially Texas wines. We had a delicious bottle of Riesling from Becker Vineyards. Our waiter, James, was pleased to bring out a bottle of white wine so he could use their brand new wine buckets for the first time.
Texas-sized wine bucket!
Fredericksburg
After some wine and a delicious meal at The Cabernet Grill, we went back into town for the show at The Rockbox Theater. We were early so we walked along the sidewalk on Main Street, looking in the window of the small shops and boutiques. We passed a couple of shaded “biergartens” along the way, where people were enjoying the mild weather and some live music. One of the things I noticed about every town we went to was the number of small restaurants available. Most of them had outside seating, too. That’s something I wish we had more of here in Alabama.
Fredericksburg is surprisingly the home of The National Museum of the Pacific War, also known as The Nimitz Museum. It’s housed in the former Nimitz Hotel on East Main Street. It was closed when we were there, but would be worth a visit sometime.
Alabama has its share of quirky citizens, but one lady strolling the sidewalk that evening proves that Texas is no different. She was carrying her pet with her, which isn’t really that strange. Women carry little dogs in their purses all the time. Her’s was a bit different, however.
Wall I’ll be darned. It’s a wallaby!
The Rockbox Theater
We were front and center for the show at The Rockbox Theater. It started with a Barney Fife impersonator. He nailed it. The musical production explored the roots of rock ‘n roll from the Fifties up to the Eighties. The contributions of Texas artists to the genre figured prominently. It was fun, family friendly, and entertaining. The show wrapped up with a moving tribute to veterans, past and present.
Not the end of the road…
When the show ended it was time to head back to Boerne. This was just the first day of my visit. It was packed with fun. new places. There’s a commercial on TV that says, “Texas is a whole other country.” After being there for just a short amount of time that is so obvious. They have their own way of life that doesn’t look to New York or Los Angeles for approval. In all those small towns, people are prospering in spite of the bad news on the national level. They are proud to be Texans and reinventing themselves while staying true to their roots, just like the re-purposed buildings I saw. Texas is full of energy and resourcefulness, both in the land and in the people who call it home.
Karen's writing blog 