Texas 6/09

Last week the Husband and I spent a week in central Texas enjoying the sights of the "Hill Country", melting a bit in the heat, and staying cool in a couple of caverns. This was my first trip to Texas; the Husband has spent time at San Angelo AFB when he was full time military waaayyy back in about '87-'88. If you were to ask him though, he would say that doesn't count.

Was it hot? you ask? YOU BETCHA! According to our gracious hosts Neil and Dee at the San Gabriel Bed and Breakfast, central Texas is currently experiencing their third hottest summer on record. By 10:00a, it would be 85*. By noon thermometers were hitting 95* easy. By 2:00p in the afternoon it would be a toasty 100* to 105*. We were in Austin one day when they hit a record setting 105*. If you could stay in the shade, it honestly wasn't that bad. At least I didn't think so. Still, I sprayed copious amounts of sunscreen on my pale Minnesota skin just to be safe.



I'll break the trip down into a couple of postings otherwise this will get a bit long.

Sunday we made our way from Killeen, TX (a short 35 minute commuter flight from Dallas-Fort Worth) to Georgetown, TX. When we were deciding what to do and where to go, we decided that Georgetown seemed centrally located and had several nice B&B's to choose from. I picked The San Gabriel House because it was across the street from a private collage which I thought would make for a nice place to walk around in the evenings.



Dee made what I consider to be a perfect breakfast: fruit, egg of some kind, small side of meat and scone or English muffin. I didn't go away hungry and I wasn't overfed! Each morning before breakfast - which we liked to have at 9:00 so we weren't rushed, we ARE on vacation after all - a carafe of hot water with cream and tea would be set in the "common" area upstairs for us. So we could get dressed and read the paper and just hang out before going downstairs for a formal breakfast.



Out of all the B&B's which we've stayed at (which I think is five now), I have to say this one was my absolute favorite. I felt very comfortable just hanging out, I loved breakfast and the tea service, it was a beautiful home, and we had the place to ourselves! It helped that we were there mid-week.

So Monday was supposed to be a more laid back, hang-out, kinda day to recover from traveling. We decided to visit a local vineyard that touted a small bistro - can't get much more mellow than that, right? Alas, upon arriving, we discovered they were closed on Mondays. Plans quickly changed, we found a taco stand in the next town for some lunch then headed to Longhorn Cavern State Park because being underground seemed to be the Right Thing To Do.



This was a neat cave that dated back to the 1930's and had a CCC history. A guided tour lasted about 1 1/2 hours and it certainly didn't seem that long. And they didn't disappoint - partway through they did the whole plunge the group into darkness bit (and it is amazing just HOW dark the absence of light really is).



On our way back to Georgetown, we swung by Buchannan Dam but really couldn't get a good view of it. It is one of the only arch style dams left in the States and they don't make them this way anymore because they are so incredibly labor intensive.

Dinner was kept simple because by this point we were hot and tired. We kept it local both in location and style and went to the County Seat Restaurant. Basic cafe/diner food in a restored historic building. I will say though, my Southern Style Chicken was excellent (sides weren't) and the peach pie was YUM-MEE!

Next post: Austin, TX