Since Dennis finished up our shower (and we finally got to use it Wednesday morning!), we decided to take a short road trip to relax. We headed out just before lunch on Wednesday and drove down Hwy 16 to Fredericksburg. Although the bluebonnets and Indian paintbrushes are gone (for the most part), the late spring/early summer wildflowers were in full bloom. The drive was gorgeous! It was overcast and slightly rainy the whole trip, which made for very pleasant traveling. I had stumbled onto The Peach Tree Inn while looking for a room to reserve. Our room turned out to be half of a duplex on the back side of the property. We had outdoor seating on the back porch, which offered us such a peaceful and beautiful view! There were also a couple of deer who regularly made an appearance in the evening. After unpacking and having a light supper, we relaxed all evening. Dennis went for a drive through the countryside looking for deer, while I stayed in and clipped on the quilt that I'm making him.
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| Inside of our "cabin" |
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| Our backyard view |
Thursday morning, after fixing a big breakfast of bacon, eggs and (canned) biscuits, we drove down to Wildseed Farms. We had been there years ago and loved it. It was a bit of a disappointment this trip. They have downsized their wildflower fields and planted vineyards instead. I still enjoyed looking at the flowers that they had for sale.
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| A beautifully colored bougainvillea they had |
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| Poppy |
From the Wildseed Farm, we drove back into town to tour the Nimitz Museum. We spent a couple of hours looking at all of the exhibits there. It was very interesting! I also enjoyed the serenity of the Japanese Garden back behind it...donated by the Japanese people in honor of Admiral Nimitz.
Across the road from the Inn where we were staying was a meat smoking plant/deli. So we ordered a couple of sandwiches and took them back to our room for lunch. YUM! Then we spent the afternoon touring the Pioneer Museum. It was SO informative! It told about how Fredericksburg was started in the mid-1800's by a wave of German immigrants looking for a better life in this country.
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| This was a trunk that carried all of the goods that a family could fit in it as they traveled from Germany. |
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| a "necessary" chair |
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various kitchen utensils
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| honey extractor |
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| wire fence weaving machine |
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| baby swing |
After leaving the museum, we drove out to a peach stand we had seen earlier. This year's crop is already available down there, so we bought a box of "seconds". They are SO good! I also bought a pint of local blackberries and a couple jars of locally canned goodies. I was tempted to just eat that for supper, but figured I'd regret it later.
This morning, we went to The Twisted Sisters Bakery for breakfast, then packed up and headed north. Our neighbor, whom we had spent an hour or more visiting with the night before, had suggested that we might want to drive on the Willow City Loop on our way home. It takes off Hwy 16 about 8 miles north of Fredericksburg and is known for it's wildflowers. I am SO GLAD that he told us about it! The wildflowers weren't the best that we saw on our trip, even though there were areas where they covered the landscape as far as you could see in all directions. They were mostly yellow flowers (like brown eyed Susans and coreopsis). But the vistas were breathtaking! Most of the drive is on private land, so you aren't allowed to park and get out to take pictures. But it was well worth the slight detour!
We stopped for lunch in Llano. We ate at a wonderful little Italian restaurant on the square, which had amazing bread and pizza. It was directly across the street from the courthouse, so I had to get a picture. I love the architecture of so many of Texas' courthouses!
Since I still didn't have any pictures of the wildflowers that were blooming all alongside the road, I told Dennis to stop at the next good place we came to. It wasn't the prettiest that we'd seen, but it had a good representation of many of the varieties that we'd been enjoying.
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| white thistle poppies |
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| upright prairie coneflowers |
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| Indian blankets or firewheels |
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| horse mint |
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| This picture doesn't do justice to the lush field of wildflowers! |
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| coreopsis and Indian paintbrushes |
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| such variety and beauty! |
We both thoroughly enjoyed our little get-away, but it is good to be home again. Now it is time to move out of our bedroom and do our last remodel project!
Mt 6:28-29 "So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; "and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. (NKJV)
