We had a fantastic vacation and it was just what we needed to recharge.
We had decided we wanted to take Smokey on a trip with us this summer, and a short road trip was just what we wanted. We rented a cabin and enjoyed a few days to ourselves. I loved that my cellphone had no service so I could really unplug, and even though I brought my laptop it never came out of its bag. The place did have wi-fi, which came in handy for looking up a few places to go and directions as needed. Mostly, we just enjoyed each other's company and the scenery. We only turned on the tv to watch a movie in the evening, and even then it was movies we'd already seen.
Parts of Wimberley were hit hard by the flooding on Memorial Day weekend, so leading up to the trip I was a little worried at what we would find, but also didn't want to call while people who work in the area could be trying to rebuild their lives. I did ultimately call (had to see if it was ok for us to come) and they said that the place was fine, and so we went -- figure its the best thing we can do, bring our tourism dollars to a city on the mend.
Monday
We drove to Wimberley, driving over the Blanco River (where the worst flooding was) was surreal, all these flattened trees, and piles of belongings out at the curbs. We were also surprised to see disaster relief trailers -- makes sense, we just didn't expect it. The city looked unharmed - really cute little collection of shops of all kinds. We went to the local grocery store to pick a few items we needed (charcoal, juice, half and half -- and a lighter for the grill (very important)) and then went to find the cabin. Finding the cabin was an adventure, the directions were not the best, but we did finally find it -- turns out its on a piece of land with the owners of the property and another rental that they own. Not quite as secluded as we thought from the description, but still plenty of privacy.
We got settled into the place - a very comfortable place with lots of comforts -- they even provided fresh eggs (they have a chicken coop) and locally grown coffee. We cooked outside on the charcoal grill each night - fajitas that night. We also took advantage of the fire pit and made a great campfire and roasted marshmallows for s'mores. We enjoyed the evening and watched the stars come out.
Tuesday
After exploring the grounds, we decided to visit one of the nearby wineries. After looking at descriptions and photos online we chose one that promised great views and also contained vineyards (some Texas ones are only winery - make the wine there, but grapes come from elsewhere).
Driftwood Estate Winery was just what we wanted. We did our tastings indoors and then took our glasses of wine to the grounds outdoors -- beautiful, and they welcome picnics! Its on a bluff so we sat at a picnic table and were able to look down at the valley and the vineyard and surrounding area. Their bubbly white, called Starry Nights, was delicious. Kevin is more of a fan of reds, he liked their Alamo Red.
On the road to the winery, we'd seen a sign for a
rum distillery and decided we had to check that out too. I kid you not, its in a family's front yard! We met the owner (Laura) and they had just recently built an outdoor tasting area, reminiscent of a bar. We were able to to taste all 3 kinds of rum that they make. My favorite was the vanilla one (Laura makes her own vanilla extract for it) and we bought a bottle to bring home.
We enjoyed a lazy afternoon and again grilled outside -- chicken and corn on the cob. I had forgotten to bring corn holders so we had to use giant skewers, it worked but was pretty funny to see.
Wednesday
We wanted a little more active day, so we decided to check out Mt Baldy. Its a large hill in town and limestone steps lead all the way up to the top. Smokey did great going up and down the stairs with us and the views from the top were spectacular.
Afterwards we walked around the town a bit and did some window shopping. We also found a
dog-friendly restaurant to stop into and enjoy the view of the creek, they even gave Smokey his own dish of water. The menu looked good, but we just weren't hungry so we just had a drink and enjoyed the scenery.
We had a lazy afternoon. the heat of the day was a great excuse to read and nap!
That night we prepared one last meal on the grill, burgers.
We headed home on Thursday. Each morning we enjoyed eggs that the homeowners had left for us and Kevin tried out their french press for his coffee - he's a fan.
He turned 40 this week, and boy did we celebrate, it just took a few days for me to come back and post here.
