hill country vacation

this weekend Bill and I took an extended weekend vacay to the Texas Hill Country. we were celebrating our 2nd anniversary which is tomorrow!

1st stop: Austin, TX

Let me first preface this blog by saying that the entire weekend was a monsoon. it rained 95% of the time. and by rain i mean, nasty misty, constant drizzle, to full out downpour. it was gross, and honestly, made me a little angry. grrr rain. therefore, i did not get a lot of good pictures. i'm pretty disappointed by this, because i love taking lots of pics. so, i'll try my best to paint the picture of our vacation.

moving on... we made it into austin around 11am and decided to grab some lunch before heading out on our adventures. me found a little mexican restaurant in, what i think was called, the arts district. austin is known for its wierdness. they like to be different, and let me tell ya, this different was good. i loved all the little unique shops, and fun restaurants. there was a western store called Allen Boots. two words. BOOT. HEAVEN.

i could have spent all day in here trying on boots. they had SO many. and lots of them were vintage style. oh they were beautiful. if the boot gods are listening, i would like a camel colored vintage pair with turquoise details and roses. thank you.

next we went to mellow johnnys bike shop. bill wanted to check it out because, well he's mr. cyclist now, and this is lance armstrongs bike shop. it was a cool place. i think we spent the most money there. ha!
bill was embarrassed at me taking his picture like this. ohhh, life as a husband.


we went to check out the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum. we had to get a little culture on the trip. this place was very nice. it was good to learn a little about this wonderful state we live in.
this was in front of the museum. gotta love the lone star.

by the time we left the museum the skies let loose and it really began to rain. we wanted to go walk around the university of texas campus, as much as it pains me to do so. i mostly wanted to get a pic of me doing the horns down thing in front of some longhorn fans. we did drive around the campus the next morning. it really made me miss being in fayetteville. seeing all the students scattering to class, driving around the football field, and seeing all the school pride and spirit. *tear.

so, that night we decided to drive out to Driftwood, TX to go to a place called The Salt Lick, a well known BBQ joint. it was about an hour drive outside of town, just really in the middle of nowhere. well worth the drive, and getting drenched. good stuff, i tell ya.

we were going to check out 6th street after we got back from dinner. buuuuttt, you guessed it, still pouring. so we skipped out on it, and watched a movie at the hotel.

Friday morning we grabbed some breakfast and headed out towards Fredericksburg. we stopped in Johnson City to see the LBJ State Park. It is where Lyndon B. Johnsons boyhood home is. we got there around noon and they close the exhibits for lunch and we didn't feel like waiting around, so missed out on that. as you head out further towards Fredericksburg, you go by the LBJ ranch. so we drove thru it as much as we could. we couldn't get close to "The Texas White House" because the river you have to cross to get to it, had washed out the road. boo rain, again. oh well, onto the main event.

we arrived in fredericksburg and walked around main street, where all the shops, antique stores, and restaurants are. we had lunch at a local brewery. for those that may not know, fredericksburg is a little german town. so all the store fronts look like a little german main street. and a lot of the restaurants are german, biergartens and all.

we stayed in a little cottage, that is a guesthouse behind someones real house. this place was so adorable. the lady that owns it is an interior designer, and has been recognized for her designs. most recently this cottage was written up in the latest Cottage Style magazine.

this was the bathroom. it had a cute antique sink, and lots of antique mirrors.

this was the dining area. she used all black and white decorating. so many little details too. the pics don't do it justice.

view from the front door. it was so quaint and peace full. we loved it, and i highly recommend it.

these are a little out of order... this is the front of the cottage. not too much to look at from the outside. but we learned that before she renovated it, it was a laundry building because the front house were apartments. the front house was built in 1907.

my best attempt at being artistic. :) this is what the guesthouse was named.

on our second day in fredericksburg, we got breakfast at a little bakery. which i bought a cookbook from. sooo delish. we did more walking around main street. bill actually enjoyed looking in the antique and furniture stores best. i was surprised. there were cute clothing stores as well. there, he was not so interested.

we decided we wanted to do a little exploring, so we did a little hill country driving. we found a spot in the middle of nowhere to have lunch. it was called the Hill Top Cafe. such a cute spot, and amazing cajun food.

this, sadly, is the only pic i have of both of us... this is in front of the hill top cafe. my favorite place we ate.

after lunch, it had actually gotten sunny out so bill decided he wanted to take his bike out for a spin. and i went and did some more shopping. much easier to take my time and look when the hubby isn't waiting outside the store for you. ha. i found a few souvenirs, and gifts for other people.

that night we ate dinner at a german restaurant called, Auslander. i had wiener schnitzel. well actually it was called texasschnitzel. regular schnitzel with a texas twist. it was tasty!

after dinner we decided to drive out to Luckenbach, TX. they were having their first annual hat festival. oh my. so fun. luckenbach is all of like half a mile long. there is what used to be the post office, now a general store and souvenir shop and a dance hall. ha! this was pure country folks. the bands were really good, and lots of two-steppin' going on. of course, we joined in.

famous luckenbach dance hall.

"...out in luckenbach texas, aint no body feelin' no pain."

famous, and some not so famous, peoples signatures are scribbled all over the store.

to get home today, we decided to take all back roads so we could see the country and the wildflowers. it was such a pretty drive. i've never seen so many bluebonnets. of course, i didn't get a pic because well, you know.... trust me it was pretty.

all in all, bill and i had a wonderful weekend. it was relaxing. there was no schedule or agenda. just enjoying our time together celebrating 2 years of married life.