Gruene Living

Continuing down the road on

our Hill Country vacation

with my English relatives......

We arrived at one of our favorite places

to hang out in New Braunfels

Gruene Estate

(Formally know as Rock Street Retreat)

This was the original homestead of the

Gruene Family aka Gruene, Texas

(Home of Gruene Hall, oldest dance hall in Texas)

This is a beautiful old home with lots of great places to relax

inside and outside

Tricia and Anne on the porch

Anne & Andy, my English cousins



Hubby and I were here last October

when the owners of Gruene Estate

 had just begun construction on

a wedding venue next to the Estate

Well this trip the church/reception hall was almost

 finished and everyone was working hard

to get it ready for their first wedding the following weekend

Let me show you around....

Upon this Rock I will build my Church

They are going to plant lavender fields around the church

What a heavenly place to be wed

They were still working on the reception area but I know it will be divine also!!

We had such a fun time at this beautiful place

Every Little Birdie says-

Check back tomorrow and I'll

tell you all about it!

join me over at

http://www.rainonatinroof.com/2013/05/give-me-goods-monday-link-party-8.html

Fun in Fredericksburg

Yesterday I promised to share

photos of our fun family trip

with my English relatives

to Fredericksburg.....

First stop Saturday morning
 was the Wildseed Farm

If you've never been to this place it's a must!!

My sister and cousin, Andy at the gardens

Beautiful flowers around every

corner outside

beautiful gift items inside

beauty everywhere you looked

after a family discussion

we decided to make our next stop

at one of the local winery's

Here we are making our tasting selections

Serious business!!

Let the tasting begin!!!!

After our tastings each couple ordered

a glass of their favorite wine

which we paired with a beautiful cheese and fruit tray.     We spent the rest of the day shopping and then to the Brewery for a meal

Andy digging into to his huge "Chicken Fried Steak"

Andy, Anne, Tricia & Hank

After two wonderful days in Fredericksburg

we left our historical accommodations and

 headed down the road to New Braunfels.....

Every Little Birdie says-

but that's a story for tomorrow



Pretty Part of Texas

In my opinion the Hill Country

is the prettiest part of Texas

So last Friday we hit the road,

with my cousins from England,

and headed to Fredericksburg

to meet my sister and brother in law

First stop ......a beer garden for lunch

Then a drive around the Willow City Loop



and of course a picture in the bluebonnets

Love the rustic beauty of this area

We stayed at our favorite place
Settler's Crossing

it's on Luckenbach Road right outside town

Hubby and I stayed in this cute little log cabin

and the rest of the group

stayed in a beautiful historical home across the street



We spent a lot of time in the

pretty sitting area around back of their house

Our view from the patio was pure

Texas country with a few deer strolling

in from time to time to eat out of the feeder

We were here for two days and packed a lot
into our time.  A trip to the Wildseed Farm,
wine tasting at a local winery, dinner at
the Brewery, and of course shopping, shopping, shopping

Every Little Birdie says

Check back tomorrow to see pictures

of our fun time in Fredericksburg......

......and from Fredericksburg we traveled through the

beautiful wildflower hill country 

to New Braunfels...But that's another story,

for another day

Texas Spirit

Wednesday we took the

"English" to historical Goliad

to learn a little about

the spirit of Texas

We stopped at the square in Goliad

to take in a few shops

Dan played a little tune outside this shop!

Cousins!!

Then we drove out to

Presidio La Bahia

The most fought over fort in Texas history

and the historical site of the Goliad massacre

of Fannin and his men

We learned all about the Texas Spirit

and our battle for independence

a couple of the many flags flown over Texas

The beautiful little chapel located at the fort

While we were in the museum

the temperature outside dropped

about 20 degrees

Brrrrr

That's Texas weather for you!!

We had lunch at the

"Hanging Tree"

restaurant named

for the famous

live oak that stands

across the street in front

of the courthouse

(once used to serve justice from it's great limbs)

After a leisurely country drive home

we treated them to a Cajun Shrimp Boil

for dinner

Today was a lazy day

and warm again......



for some it was a very lazy day!!!



Tomorrow we are off to the Texas Hill Country

for five days.  Check back next week for

a post on our "bluebonnet trip"

Every Little Birdie says-

Cherrio for now.......

On Holiday

My cousin and his wife are

here visiting "on holiday"

from England

They arrived last Thursday

and we immediately started

getting about the job of having fun!!!!

We made a pitt stop at Papacitos in Sugurland, Texas

 on our way home from Houston Intercontinental

 for nachos and a cold beer!

Saturday night we had a

"burger cookout"

to introduce them to some

of our friends

(Sorry I was too busy having fun to snap any pictures)

and earlier that day we'd stopped by

the Victoria Gardens

Sunday after church we went

to the Pumphouse Restaurant

for brunch

We sat outside at a table over

looking the Guadalupe River

and as the English say

"It was very lovely"

and today we hit the beach

Magnolia Beach on Port Lavaca Bay

We pretty much had the beach to our selves

It was a very relaxing day

OK, Sara and Debbie, now you
know what your parents have been up to!

I promise to keep you posted on all our

fun adventures

Every Little Birdie says-

Ta Ta for now folks