Texas also has some of the best food and the nicest people in the U.S. Everywhere we went, we made friends and I think between the two of us, we gained enough weight to equal the amount of time we've been married! But it was worth every bite!
We really enjoyed ourselves and in the quaint town of Fredericksburg, we came across this sign in a storefront window that pretty much describes our trip to Texas and our new motto in life!
We really loved the German town of Fredericksburg. Only about 30 years ago, if you didn't speak German, the townspeople would not help you or sell you anything. That's how deep the German culture ran. But the need to survive surpassed the need to retain a cultural "island" and they let go of their rigid expectations. But the town has maintained it's uniqueness and beauty and it was one of the best days spent on our trip! By the way, you're allowed to drink outside of the pubs and restaurants. Needless to say, Randy was a happy camper and so was I! Who wants to sit in a dark pub when the sun was shining and there's shopping to be done!
This was our last day and we visited the Marketplace where one Mexican-American family built an empire starting with a little restaurant counter. This soon became Mi Tierra, the best Mexican Restaurant in San Antonio, or so they say. We had to try it for ourselves and we weren't disappointed. Across from the restaurant/bakery was this neat Mariachi Bar, complete with the painted brick wall that used to be a billboard for cigars.
Our neighbor, George Southern, is a San Antonio native and he gave us many suggestions on what to do while we were there. The best one was driving an hour out of town to visit his daughter's restaurant "Rails". We thought it would be cool to meet her and tell her we're friends with her father but unfortunately, she had left early. However, even after only eating an hour before, we decided to have a light lunch there because the food sounded so good and the service was outstanding! Again, we were not disappointed! The food was out of this world and the restaurant really has a nice, relaxing feel to it. We sat out on the patio and afterwards, toured the inside since it used to be an old train depot and has a really rich history to it. Ironically, Southern Railroad used to run by this station and so it's befitting that a "Southern" owns it!
In downtown San Antonio, the place to be is the Riverwalk. With every restaurant imaginable, a beautiful park-like setting and happy people everywhere, this IS the place to be on a warm summer night. Another place where you can take your drinks with you! We enjoyed the gondola ride and learning about the grassroots history of this fine city!
Of course there's the Alamo. It isn't as big as you think but it's BIG on history and learning of the history and the battles that this little mission endured, is a wonderful experience. Our hotel was right next door and across from that was a federal building that was haunted because it sat on the ground where the most lives were taken in battle. And another thing that was interesting to find out was that because it's a national monument, nothing can be built around it that would cast a shadow on it. So all of the city that has been built around this mission is either low to the ground or faces away from the monument so as not to cast a shadow on it.
Let's not forget that prior to our wonderful anniversary trip, I had to attend a conference, which was great by the way! At our hotel, which had a country-western theme of course, there was the long bar for those evenings after the conference when all you wanted to do was listen to the juke box and drink a cold one! This was the place to be!
Well, that was our trip to Texas. We had a great time and would like to go back someday. I think Randy wants to be a cowboy and move there! We didn't find a real country bar with cowboys dancing around but I did get to wear my boots so I was happy! We did however find some good BBQ, great Mexican food, wonderful cuisine, and some very lovely people!
Thanks Texas! Y'all got big hearts!!!
0 comments:
Post a Comment