Category Archives: History

And Then I Fell In Love With Gruene, Texas!

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Love at first sight.
Feeling at home within seconds of an arrival.
This is what Gruene is to me. Let me introduce you!
Gruene is a tiny, Texas town on the outskirts of New Braunfels (between Austin and San Antonio). Within the last month, I’m pretty sure I’ve been told by a handful of different people that I would absolutely LOVE this town and that I must go. So I went. They were right.
Much like other towns in the Hill Country, Gruene was founded by German influence around 1845. The founders of Gruene (Ernest Gruene and his two sons) planted the land with cotton which became a huge cash crop. This also brought businesses and many families to the surrounding area. Businesses included a merchantile store, a cotton gin that was powered by the Guadalupe River (which runs thru town) and the construction of Gruene Hall.
In 1920, Henry Gruene (son) passed away and soon enough the town becgam to crumble and soon the Great Depression hit. All businesses closed, except for Gruene Hall (which has never closed). In the 1970’s, the Gruene estate was sold, new businesses moved in and Gruene became part of the National Register of Historic Places. Without all of this history, Gruene wouldn’t be the town that it is today.
Gruene Hall. I pretty much ran smack dab into the building before I realized what it was. It was “the” building that I came here to see. I LOVE dancehalls just as much as I love Texas towns like this. Give me a dancehall, watertower and an old Texas downtown and I’m pretty much in love. There’s so much character and history.
Gruene Hall is a dancehall. More importantly, it is the oldest dancehall in the state. Lyle Lovett, George Strait, Jerry Lee Lewis, Garth Brooks, Willie Nelson, those are just a few of the artists who got their start here. If you are more into movies, the dancing scene in ‘Michael’ with John Travolta was filmed here. There is live music here everyday – just another reason to check it out. Honestly, it’s just a place where I could sit down all day and just imagine of all the people who have walked thru the doors and soak up the atmosphere. Amazing.
The walls are just filled with memorabilia of the folks who have come in. I became in awe for a few minutes.
This may sound weird, but I loved the floors. They were so old and you could feel each board move when you walked. Completely filled with character and charm. Absolutely authentic.
(Above) This is actually the outside of the bar. Fenced in, it’s like an adult playground. There’s a basketball hoop, many picnic tables, tons of room to move about. The sides of Gruene Hall are actually just screened, opened windows so you won’t be misisng out on the music that’s playing inside.
(Below) is the main stage. If walls could talk and tell me about the shows that have gone on in here. The acoustics sound great. It’s raw. No offense Billy Bob’s but Gruene Hall is where it’s at!
We arrived right in the middle of Jeff Strahan’s CD release party. This weekend getaway was a birthday getaway and coincidentally, shortly after arriving, Jeff Strahan began saying how it was his son’s birthday. He then asked if there were any other birthdays. Sy immediately began saying “Right here! Right here!” and pointing to me. Jeff Strahan’s attention was caught by someone else (where I’m thinking to myself, “phew!”) then he came back and said there’s a young lady in the back too – what’s your name. Sy says “Diana!”. “Happy Birthday Diana” says Mr. Strahan.
What’s persues? The entire crowd in Gruene Hall, and the band sings Happy Birthday. I have to say, it was pretty darn awesome and a memory that I will not forget. I kind of wish I had it on video but at the same time, I didn’t want to focus on recording it. I just wanted to soak in the moment. It was pretty darn special. Thank you Jeff Strahan!Please check out a video of the “Happy Birthday” song on Jeff Strahan’s You Tube page, here!

Jeff Strahan is an Americana / Blues artist. From what we heard of him live, he is fantastic! We bought his cd “Blue ‘Til I Die”. The cd is great but listening to him live is just phenomenal. I definitely recommend looking up his schedule and checking him out!
Well, Sy finally got me to walk out of Gruene Hall (only to have me turn around and walk back in to buy a cd). Once we made it out, I realized that there’s just too much to explore in the time that we had. So I had to be quick!
Across the street from Gruene Hall, is the “town” of Gruene. We made our way into Gruene Antique Company where Sy found himself some coins (the man likes coins) and this Vermonter found herself something maple related! Who would’ve thought in Texas?!
It’s amazing how small of a world this is and every so often, I am reminded. This was not only a reminder but it was meant to happen to me. 2,000 miles from Vermont, what do I find? Not one, but two old maple containers. I have been surrounded by maple syrup my entire life. I LOVE it as much as Texans love their steaks. This wasn’t the most interesting part in finding these. If you notice, the container on the left has the name of H. W. Russell & Sons. The name sounded familiar but I wanted to call my dad and tell him of my find. Sure enough (it shouldn’t be a surprise) my dad knows H.W. Russell & Sons. Small world. (My dad’s been in the maple syrup business for a LONG time. It’s not really a surprise that he knows them.)
Some other finds in town included the General Store, more antique shops, wineries and miscellaneous shops. The Guadalupe River is nearby as well if you wanted to float the river. Generally, it’s a tourist town but it’s one hell of a town. If only I had an chair that I could park on the corner and just sit and try to soak it all in all day!
Love those watertowers!
Our meeting was far too short Gruene, Texas! I’m already thinking about when we can meet again! I can’t wait!

San Antonio Riverwalk

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The Alamo and The Riverwalk go hand in hand. If you check out one, you might as well check out the other, they’re neighbors!

San Antonio has created quite the name for itsself. The Riverwalk and everything that I’ve heard about it, is true. It’s a great place to be in the heart of San Antonio. We were only in San Antonio for a day, well not even, but we both gained a great perspective and appreciation for the city from the water. The Riverwalk is not only a tourist spot, but a local destination. Sure you will find a lot of tourists in the area but you will find the locals as well and it’s because the city was built around this waterway.

The awesome part of the Riverwalk is that you can do anything in this area. Walk, sightsee, dine, shop, stay. All available. Sy and I actually took the boat tour which brought us all around the Riverwalk and city. It cost about $8 and lasted around 30 minutes. It gave us a great insight and a whole new perspective “from the river” of the city. You can also take taxi’s on the water. Pretty unique.
This is the “flat” building (above). The architecture of the buildings is really interesting. No two are the same, many buildings are no longer what they originally were. History is hidden in every corner.
One of the many restaurants along the water (below).

Below, is the office of the architect that designed the Riverwalk. The buildings were built around the waterways and more importantly (and very interesting) the buildings could not cast a shadow on the Alamo that is nearby. The city was literally built around the San Antonio River and the Alamo. History is preserved.
This is the observatory where you can go up and view San Antonio from the air. It’s similar to the space needle in Seattle and Toronto. We thought viewing the city from the river was much, much more interesting.

(Above) The Convention Center

The mall is also located right next to the San Antonio.

The San Antonio River and the city of San Antonio were actually named at different times but as fate would have it, they have the same name. They are named after Saint Anthony, patron of lost things and children. This statue was a gift to the city from Lisbon, Portugal.

Many of these buildings were built for the World’s Fair in 1968. This includes the below hotel. A year before the Fair was scheduled, every room in the below hotel was booked. The only problem was that the hotel was yet to be built. The hotel was completed within 260 days (or something like that). The solution was, each room was built off-site and then fit like a puzzle at it’s present location. Interesting, eh!
This is the site of the theatre in San Antonio. We were told that there are often live performances here that the public can come and watch (the stage is obviously across the river from the audience). This is also where Miss Congeniality was filmed with Sandra Bullock.
Below is one of the more interesting, unexpected sights of the tour. Two trees, growing thru the wall and still alive. Amazing.

After we were done the boat tour, we ate lunch at Casa Rio. Casa Rio is a little, family owned Mexican restaurant right along the water. It is the oldest along the Riverwalk. You can eat inside or out and the food was very good.

The Riverwalk was gorgeous when we went. The trees, flowers and ambiance of the area is amazing and very relaxing. During the holiday season, the Riverwalk is completely lit up with lights. I can only imagine how beautiful it is.

Missions San Juan, Espada & The Alamo

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And the Mission Trail continues!
Let’s get ready for the last three.
Down the road from Mission San Jose you can find Mission San Juan and Mission Espada. They are very close to each other (as well as close to a small municipal airport).
As you can see above, we hit Mission San Juan at a bad time. They were reconstructing the mission. Some quick history: This mission was built here in 1731, right along the San Antonio River. The river bank provided a rich farmland, orchards and herding ground for livestock. The herds were said to hold at least 3,500 sheep and just as many cattle. Now that’s a lot of livestock!
Mission Espada is right around the corner. The oldest mission, founded in 1690 but built here in 1731 along the San Antonio River (just like Mission San Juan). Even today, this mission is pretty remote. (Below) This is where the old church stood. You can tell where the alter use to be.
Beautiful! Inside and out! I love the bells.
Some say the broken arch above the door was a builders mistake. I didn’t even notice it until I read about it. It looks beautiful, even if it was a mistake.
Last stop and it was in the dead center of town. That’s right. San Antonio was built to surround the Alamo. It’s amazing how many people there were visiting the Alamo compared to the other missions (which I found to be so much more beautiful and interesting). I’ve learned since I’ve moved to Texas, if you are going to live here you MUST visit the Alamo. (This is another Texas pride example.) It’s a huge part of their history so… I visited the Alamo.
As mentioned, the Alamo is in the dead center of town, near the Riverwalk. It is currently surrounded by huge buildings and shopping centers. Fun fact – all of the buildings which were built surrounding the Alamo had a building restriction – they could not cast a shadow over the Alamo. Quite interesting, eh? It is also the place where Ozzy Osbourne peed in public and has since been banned from Texas. (No joke.)
The Alamo was built in 1718 and was the first mission along the San Antonio River. It’s original name is Mission San Antonio de Valero. Let’s try a quick recap. The Alamo is most famous for the “Battle of the Alamo” which took place over a 13 day period between the Mexicans (around 4,000 soldiers) and Texans (between 100-200 men). The most famous defenders for Texas were Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie. There is a lot of debate regarding the stories surrounding the Battle of the Alamo however a few things are certain. The Santa Anna army ended up seizing the Alamo and many, many lives were lost. For this reason, this area is known as the Shrine of Texas Liberty in honor of those who fought for Texas freedom.
 The Alamo is a popular place. Be prepared that there may be a line to walk in. Don’t worry, it goes pretty quick. Next up, be prepared that you cannot take any pictures inside and you cannot touch the walls. The inside of the Alamo is pretty much one big room with a couple small rooms on the side. There are some artifacts inside, a huge model showing how the Alamo looked back in the day and a memorial for all of the men who fought for Texas. Believe it or not, there was even one from Vermont! How about that?! There were also some volunteers on the property telling stories and showing some items which would have been used during this time period. The below pictures show some buildings on the property and this enormous tree that I love!
The only picture I could get of Sy all morning!
If you are in the area, I highly recommend checking out the missions. They are beautiful!
Info: They are all free, easily accessible and have an information center. All missions have a model showing how the mission property was laid out hundreds of years ago. Although I’m not a “Texan” it was great learning about this part of their history.