Blogging Texas

     I wanted to write a short blurb about "Moonshine".  It is a wonderful restaurant located at 303 Red River St. in downtown Austin behind the convention center.  Four of us went and had EXCELLENT food at very reasonable prices.  We sat outside on a covered porch and had drinks (kind of expensive but try the ruby slipper martini!!) and dinner followed by them force feeding us dessert.   Everyone tried something different including the Grilled Pork Tenderloin, Pan fried Chicken Almondine,  Blackened Catfish  and some other fish...I will get back to you on that one... and we couldn't stop oohing and aahing about everything including the sides!   But lets get to dessert...  Betty ordered the Buttermilk Cocunut Pie and stated outright she would not be sharing with anyone!  We also ordered the skillet apple Pie and the Fudge Stout Brownie.  Both were very good and the other 3 people at the table shared these 2 desserts!

     When we left we said we would definitely be back and wanted people to know about this restaurant.  Find them at www.moonshinegrill.com.

     I believe one of my favorite towns is Comfort, Texas.  I discovered it 20 years ago by accident on a "lets drive through towns we've never been through" trip.  Here you will find great architecture and one of the greatest concentrations of antique shops  in a small Texas town.  Although I have never spent the night in Comfort, I have always wanted to stay at the Comfort Common.  Look comfort up at www.comfort-texas.com.

     Gruene, Texas is a fun place to visit.  Park your car because you can walk to everything in this quaint little town.  But I warn you, it gets very crowded at times.  The 2 places we have eaten were the Gristmill River Restaurant,and Adobe Verde.  The Gristmill Restaurant gets very busy on the weekends and at special events!  Gruene boasts the oldest dance hall in Texas and is still going strong!  Gruene has antique stores, gift shops, and a winery.  We especially like Buck Pottery, 830-629-7975 and the Gruene General Store, 830-629-6021.  The General Store has a soda fountain where you can get hand-dipped Blue Bell ice cream as well as a large gift selection.  Importantly, they have some toys in the back for when your child gets tired of looking at antiques, clothing and pottery!

     Along the Hwy 281 corridor you will find the town of Blanco, Texas.  I wanted to list some of my favorite places to stay, eat and shop. 

     We were directed to the Blanco Settlement one time by a visitor center employee in Johnson City when there were no rooms there.  What a Great Place!  They have 9 beautiful cabins that front the Blanco River.  And I mean they are very nice!  In fact, one of  the best I've ever stayed in.  Each cabin has queen or full beds, t.v., phone, small refrigerator, micowave, sink, coffee maker and a nice bathroom with jacuzzi tub.  They also have front and back porches and they have added a pavilion on the riverfont that has a small pool.  Perfect!  We enjoyed sitting on the back porch watching the river and the chickens outside (of course we fed them too!).  On one trip we ended up there on or near the 4th of July and they put on their own fireworks show!  My daughter loved it.  Look them up at www.blancosettlement.com .  We also have eaten several times at Rileys Bar B Q at 318 4th St. on the square, 830-833-4166.  They have very good food and often sell out of certain things!  Get their early! 

 There is also at least one antique shop on the square along with Briegar Pottery, 830-833-2860.  On Hwy. 281 on the south side of town is Rain Bird Gallery, 830-833-5900.  It is in an old church and is full of  great local art work.  Stop and check them out!

Blanco is also home to several lavendar farms.  See www.blancolavenderfest.com .  We will take  pictures when the lavender is in bloom.

     Last night we went to see Wimberley's Trail of Lights at the Emily Ann Theater.  Their Trail of Lights was quite different than both Marble Falls and Zilker Park.  Forget the thousand dollar displays, this quaint community has put together a fun and memorable trail that winds up a hill to give you a 360 degree view of Wimberley at the end.  Along the way, we stopped at the Yule Log or "campfire" as we call it, to warm up,and roast free hot dogs and marshmallows.  My daughter loved this and proclaimed that we needed to get a tent, go camping and roast things over an open flame.  She has it all planned out!!  Also, Wimberley's Trail of Lights provides musical entertainment.....we had a gentleman with a harmonica playing Christmas tunes.  All of the people we met were very nice.  I never have to think too long to remember why I moved out of a big city!

The first image on the left is of the Christmas Light Tree at the peak of the trail.  Just to the right is one of the Wimberley Twin Sisters.  The Twin Sisters are hills named after two twins born to the first settlers in Wimberley.  The view from the top is magnificent.  If you have time arrive just at sunset to see the view.  Their is none better in Texas.  From the top you can see the Twin Sisters and make out Lone Woman and Lone Man mountain in the distance.  The sunsets are incredible.

 

The next two pictures are of the trail of lights itself.  Again the pictures don't do the beauty here justice.  This trail will become one of our family traditions each year.

  Yesterday as we were on our way to Houston, my husband said let's stop at any flea market we drive by.  Well, we couldn't find any flea markets on Hwy 71 but we decided to stop in Smithville.  Smithville lies between Bastrop and La Grange.  What a pleasant surprise!  Smithville is like a step back in time.  Once we found Main Street, we were told they have 8-9 antique shops.  We were able to park the car and walk up one side of the street and down the other and see most all the antique shops.  We especially liked a few stores including:  Milk and Honey, Wild Goose Antiques and Interweavers.   Interweavers  specializes in guatemalan primitives and furniture, architectural antiques, vintage ceramics and religious art and accents.  They have some beautiful furniture...very unique pieces.  Go to  http://www.interweavers-gt.com/.  

 

Last year, Smithville made the world's largest gingerbread man.  It weighed in at approximately 1,000 pounds and was 20 feet high .  I was told it was big enough that everyone in town got a piece to eat.  And keeping with the gingerbread theme, Smithville has made the gingerbread man their town theme at christmas.  The town is decorated with approximately 148 lighted gingerbread men!

Smithville has a lot to offer with lodging, shopping and dining choices and sits on the banks of the Colorado River.  Go to http://www.smithvilletx.org/ for more information from the chamber of commerce. 

     If you get a chance, go and see the Armadillo Christmas Bazaar at 500 East Cesar Chavez St.  It's not huge, but their website says they have over 130 artists represented there.  This is an interesting mix of paintings, photography, jewelry, pottery, textiles....etc.  If you want a one of a kind gift, this is your place!  In addition, they have live music daily.  Check out their website at www.armadillobazaar.com and you can find the musical line up for each day.  Admission is $3.00 daily before 7pm and $6.00 after 7pm and on weekends.  The Bazaar runs through Dec. 24th for you late shoppers.

 

If you are driving  North on Hwy 281 through Spicewood, Texas, watch for Mr. and Mrs. Claus on the right side just past the Mueller roofing business and before Spur 191.  They will bring a smile to your face. 

This is not the first time I have seen hay bale decorations.  At Halloween, there are a couple of farms on Hwy. 290 W. between Johnson City and Fredericksburg that have Halloween images painted on them.

 

Last night we finally got out to see the Christmas tree lights in the Hill Country.  We took pictures at every stop. This first picture is of the Johnson City Courthouse.  The whole town is lit up and these web optimized pictures just don't do the lights justice.  Everywhere we turned was beautiful.  We have built a slide show with all of our picutres on a separate page. Click here to see Christmas Tree Lights from Fredericksburg, Johnson City, and Marble Falls.  Note, you will need to have the Adobe Flash Player installed. Here are a few more...

 

If you go no where else this year to see Christmas lights...go to Johnson City.  The City has gone all out.

The next place we visited was Fredericksburg.  Here are the pics...

This is the Library (Old City Hall)

 

This is the light display in the downtown park.  Again we have more pictures in the slide show. Click here for the slide show

Finally we went to Marble Falls.  This light display was also spectacular. We decided that to do the light display justice we needed to get a top down view.  Here is a great shot from accross the river.

 

We went out to see the Christmas Tree Hill on Highway 360 this morning and took some pictures.  My daughter wanted to see what everyone was talking about.  We found that some of Santa's elves have been busy. There isn't much story to go along with the great decorations so far.  The trees magically appeared earlier this week in a night time raid.  Maybe one of Santa's elves will post a comment and give us some detail.

We can only hope.  Whatever set of elves did this...YOU DID A GREAT JOB.  Way to go.

Christmas Tree Hill is located on Hwy 360 south of Hwy 183 and the Arboretum. 

Here are some pictures for everyone to see.