Tag Archives: Art

Granbury Wine Walk 2013

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Granbury, TX. I’ve written about Granbury in the past (Granbury at Christmas Time and Paradise Bistro and Coffee Shop) . It’s a historic town just outside of Fort Worth. A reasonable distance for a day trip or for a small weekend getaway. The town square surrounds the beautiful, picturesque courthouse. Small shops fill the immediate square but if you look a little further you will find numerous historic landmarks, multiple bed and breakfasts and some really great restaurants. There’s even a drive in movie theatre just down the road for those evenings where you just want to relax.

Do I have a good picture painted in your minds? Well, let’s kick it up a notch.
The wine industry is booming in Texas. It seems like (to me at least) there’s a new winery that I’m hearing about almost every week and wine trail getaways seem to be becoming more and more popular every year. Case in point – the Granbury Wine Walk.
This year, Granbury hosted their annual Wine Walk in the Square. For a $20 admission, each person can attend on Friday and / or Saturday, receive a commemorative wine glass and 15 tasting tickets. Let me be the first to tell you – 15 tasting tickets is plenty. It’s actually quite a bit which is great because it really allows you to spend your time trying a wide array of wines and enjoying everything about the day.
With five locations set up around town, numerous wineries and businesses were found in each “cluster”. The lines moved fairly quickly allowing you to talk to others in line, hear what they like / recommend, peek into the vendor booths and listen to live music within each “cluster”.
(This sausage was so incredibly delicious!)
If you really enjoyed a wine, you had the option of purchasing a glass to take with you – I saw that most were around $5 a glass. If a glass wasn’t enough, you could purchase a bottle. Now I know, who wants to carry around bottles of wine all day?! This is one of my favorite things about this event. If you come across a wine that you must absolutely take home with you, you purchase it at the booth. They provide you with a card / ticket. When you are ready to head home, stop by the wine warehouse that they had set up and provide them with your tickets. They will give you all the wine purchased during the day and off you go! How fantastic is that?! Genius if you ask me!
I also had a chance to check out a few booths and found some great items. Unique, Texas finds are usually on the top of my list.
Sculpted Steel: This was a hand crafted steel guitar. 60 hours went into this and it is absolutely stunning!
I fell in love with this booth. They had a ton of unique wooden items (I bought a flat wooden spatula, because everything tastes better when you make it with a wooden spoon/item!), bright colored decor… I could’ve went on a splurge here.

But the day was all about savoring the wine…

This is a great getaway for a solo trip, couples, groups, girl’s weekends – keep it on your radar for next year. With lodging, dining, shopping and great wine all within walking distance – it’s definitely an event to check out in the future!

Disclaimer: I was not compensated but did receive tickets in return for this post. All photos and opinions are 100% my own.

Fredericksburg, Texas – An Intro

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How do I describe Fredericksburg, Texas….. German, historic, authentic, great food, shopping, art, vineyards, beer, Luckenbach, bed and breakfasts, nature, landscapes, one of a kind destination.

A couple weeks ago, I had the opportunity to visit Fredericksburg. I had been once a couple years ago for literally just for a couple hours and always said I was going to go back. Returning would involve checking a lot off my Texas Bucket List. In the short time I was there, I was able to get everything on my list done (within the area) and even check out a few others. How’s that for keeping busy!
Fredericksburg is located right off Highway 290, just west of Austin (about 2 hours). Sound familiar? I mentioned Highway 290 in last weeks post about Hye, TX. The trip to Fredericksburg is scenic route. Wildflowers graze the side of the highways along with the Texas state flower, the bluebonnets in the spring. It’s the perfect time to drive with the windows down and just enjoy the view and the fresh air. You’ll drive through Johnson City and see Lyndon B. Johnson’s old stomping grounds (if you are into history, you may want to stop by the LBJ State Park and Historic Site). Did I mention the many, many vineyards you’ll pass along the way which will leave you contemplating on whether or not to stop (trust your gut, you probably should). And if you don’t pay attention, you’ll miss that old sign for Luckenbach (I’ll fill you in on Luckenback later on.)
Soon enough, you will come into town. You’ll see the classic Texas town main street, filled with shops, restaurants and many people. Fredericksburg is a popular tourist destination, be prepared but as popular as it is there is a kind of charm that allows you to become calm, relaxed and able to enjoy the moment.
In the coming weeks, I’ll be telling you a lot about Fredericksburg. Whether you have a family, need a couples getaway or even just a getaway for yourself – leave Fredericksburg to be an option for your break from the real world. I’m going to recommend it!
Need a little more convincing?
  • Frederickburg is #2 in the country for a wine destination getaway (right behind Napa).
  • Fredericksburg holds over 400 bed and breakfasts. That’s right – 400!
  • Shopping, eating, drinking, live music – it’s all at your fingertips.
  • Need a break to venture into the outdoors? I’ll tell you about my adventure at the Enchanted Rock and the absolute breathtaking view at the top.
I was able to experience a little bit of everything that I’ve mentioned and will be giving my take in the coming weeks. Hope you’ll join me on my journey!

Related Posts:
History of Fredericksburg, TX
An Introduction to Fredericksburg, TX

Hye, Texas

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I have a little story for you today… and it goes something like this.

A few years ago, my parents came into town to visit. My poor parents, I just kept them on the go the entire time because I wanted them to see everything that I get to experience (it really happens to everyone I know – sharing is caring, right?). So, I took them to the Dr. Pepper Festival in Dublin, TX. While we were there, my dad went and wandered around the little shops and came back with a couple pictures. One of them was this one…

I took a picture of the print. I hope you get the gist of it.

It’s a picture by George Boutwell who is a Texas artist. I’ve come to love his work through the two prints that I have. More importantly – how awesome are the tractor and the old truck in this picture?! People know me well!

On the back of the print, the following was written:
“HYE, TEXAS, is on U.S. Highway 290, between Johnson City and Stonewall, Texas and I’ve been itching to paint this store ever since I discovered it in 1973 on the same trip that I discovered Luckenbach. Rumor is that Lyndon Johnson was one of the regulars that hung out at Hye. – GEORGE BOUTWELL”

Well, I don’t know if it’s the traveler in me or just Curious George but I knew where U.S. Highway 290 was, Luckenbach is one of my favorite places in Texas and quite frankly there is a John Deere Tractor and old pickup in the photo. Next time I was headed that way, I was going to find this place.

So I did….

Here lies the Hye Post Office. The main building is closed. There is nothing there. This building is basically the town. It sits along side Highway 290 where cars literally fly though. I was a little nervous taking the pictures and had to be quick to take the photo. Across the street, looks like an old garage with some cars sitting out front but how awesome is it that I was able to capture a picture of this building that grabbed the attention of George Boutwell 40 years ago. The building still looks great.

Imagine the history. Between Johnson City where Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson were from, just down the road from Luckenbach where Willie and a ton of other musicians have crossed through. Highway 290 carries a lot of history in this great state. What a treasure! Think about it!