A Short Trip

You know how restless Donna and I can be. We needed to get out of town for a few days, so we put together a short little 2 night trip.

The center piece of our trip was a visit to see some of Donna's family. On Monday, we made a leisurely trip over to Georgetown, where we spent the night. For some time now I have been curious about Sun City by Del Webb, an "active retirement" community just outside of Georgetown. So we made a run through that community, but quickly ruled it out as someplace we would like to live. To be honest, I don't think I want to live within 100 miles of Austin, and that is a shame. At one time, the Austin area was our favorite area of the state. But that country has been ruined by simply too many people moving there.

But I digress . . .

As we circled around the 2 car accident blocking Williams Drive and headed into Georgetown, we made our way to Plaka Greek Cafe. We really enjoy Mediterranean cuisine and were hoping this place would be good. We were fairly happy with our meal. The gyro was pretty good, and we enjoyed the Greek style meatball, which we had never had before. There was plenty of food; I was unable to clean my plate. But we also agreed that we have experienced better Greek food on many occasions. Would we go back? Probably.

On Tuesday, we visited Donna's family in the general area. We had a good visit, a very good lunch, and then said our goodbyes. We headed south from there. Donna wanted to do some shopping at the outlet malls in San Marcos. We checked into a hotel near the malls, then spent the evening shopping. Donna really enjoys the Vanity Fair outlet store, while I always pick up slacks at the Haggar store.

On Wednesday, we took our time coming home. We had a nice breakfast at the hotel, then headed west, eager to get away from the heavily populated Austin area. Since we had the entire day for a 200 mile trip, we decided to take things slow and easy. We picked up FM 32 west of San Marcos, which we followed to Blanco. Along the way, we stopped at a roadside park and enjoyed the view from atop the Devil's Backbone, a limestone ridge that runs through the area.

View north from overlook along Devil's Backbone. People have taken to decorating the chain link fence with trinkets for some reason. There is a legend that the Devil's Backbone is haunted. Perhaps this is why.

At Blanco, we headed west on FM 1623 and followed the Blanco River through some lovely country. Where 1623 turns sharply north, we continued west on FM 1888. Eventually, the highway turns northwest, pulling away from the river. We then took FM 1376 north, then detoured briefly through downtown Luckenback where I snapped a few pictures.

The Blanco River. Photo taken from low water crossing over Crabapple Road just off FM 1888.

Old Engel family house near downtown Luckenback

Downtown Luckenback

Downtown Luckenback

Old post office, the heart of Luckenback

We stopped for gas and coffee in Fredericksburg, vowing that we had to return soon. It has been a while since we've been there. This old German town is home to some of our favorite watering holes, and they are calling to us. Well, they're calling to Donna, and I just like to follow the old girl around. That's what I do -- try to keep up with Miss Donna.

From Fredericksburg, we head north on US 87 to Mason. Just north of town, we turned west on Texas 29 and made our way to Menard. We detoured through the downtown area, then took the low water crossing over the San Saba River. From Menard, we headed north to Eden, then west to San Angelo and home.

San Saba River as it runs east about a block or so north of downtown Menard. The headwaters of the San Saba are about 25 or so miles west of here. That is the US 83 bridge in the background.

Old growth pecan trees along San Saba.

It was good to get away, if only for 2 nights. So, now it is back to the maps and planning for the next trip.