Having eaten our body weight in ice cream at Blue Bell, (see previous Blog “Goin Down South”) we hauled out of Brenham with Rachel at the reins and JW riding shotgun. We headed on past Austin (at this point of writing the blog and to get in the mood I have The Sky is Crying by Stevie Ray Vaughan playing on the IPOD) to our next destination, a little town called Fredericksburg.
Now Fredericksburg, as the name may suggest, was founded by German immigrants back in 1846 under the Society for the Protection of German Immigrants in Texas. The name was chosen to honor Prince Frederick of Prussia. Today the town remains quite small, with a population of around 12,000 but still retains its Germanic roots.
Rachel had booked us in to a wonderful cottage that screamed old school from the outside but was beautifully furnished inside.
Our homestead for the next few days.
We were located in a quiet suburb some 10 minutes from the centre of town ( in fact everything in Fredericksburg seemed to be located about 10 minutes from the centre of town).
As soon as I saw it I was in my happy place. I wandered around the “Hood” taking in the surroundings and enjoying the light and shadows.
Embracing the shadows in our rear garden.
Saying “Howdy” to the neighbors.
I am a complete sucker for a windmill.
The view from our porch.
As usual I became completely absorbed in my surroundings and very soon was completely lost and it was starting to get very warm.
Ominously there were many vultures soaring above me (I seemed to attract vultures throughout my stay in Texas) so perhaps they sensed the chance of a tasty piece of English beef for lunch!
Ah Berry Street & Green…..Means nothing and I am still hopelessly lost.
Whilst in the U.S. I have had a fascination with fire hydrants, windmills and post boxes; I guess because we don’t have these in the UK. Eventually I spotted a landmark I remembered and made it back to base.
At last a landmark I remembered.
Now who doesn’t enjoy a glass of wine? Well my mate JW was on it and had selected a local Frebericksburg vineyard, “William Chris Vineyards” so that we could sample first hand the development of wine making in this part of Texas. Indeed JW and I were keen to make the sacrifice and lend our taste buds to fully assist them with their wine making endeavours.
William Chris Vineyards.
The vineyard was in beautiful countryside some 30 minutes outside of Fredericksburg and upon arrival we registered and were immediately offered a welcoming “sharpener”, a delightful little chilled Rosé that I necked far too quickly. My taste buds were tingling and I was on a roll and keen to sample more.
A welcoming sharpener to kick-off proceedings.
Well they have won plenty of awards so all bodes well.
Next was a rather tasty number, a very pretty nose with a rather pleasing complexion. Her name was Kim and she would be our guide for the wine tasting!
Kim - our hostess for the morning.
All in all we tasted six wines, 2 Rosé and the remainder red. The grape varieties ranged between Sirah, Grenache an Mourvèdre.
To be frank I quite liked the 2 Rosé varieties and I thought both would work equally on their own as a drinking wine or to accompany food, although we all struggled with the reds. The reds all seemed quite dry and were served supposedly at cellar temperature but for me, they were too chilled and would have benefitted from being allowed to warm to room temperature and then being served from a decanter.
I suspect that if we lived nearby and with sufficient practice, we would learn to appreciate their particular style of wine making. Indeed, JW did take a bottle of the 2020 Grenache and it will be interesting to know how it tastes when served a little warmer and with more aeration.
After the tasting we were allowed to wander around the vineyard which gave me an opportunity to capture a few images.
The wine matures in oak barrels.
Oh yes, there is definitely enough to go around.
Getting up close and personal with the vines.
William Chris Vineyards
What a great morning. We had learned something about Texas wine production and whilst a Californian Pinot Noir it is not, they are well on their way to putting their own original stamp on Texas wine production.
Unlike everyone else and in the tradition of the Chivers family, during the tasting I didn’t spit out a drop and as a result I was feeling in a very relaxed mood and was having a bit of trouble using manual focus.
So we decided to head back in to town for a spot of lunch and a black coffee and perhaps some retail therapy. On the way back I set the Type 246 to range focussing and took an opportunity to grab some imagery out of the rear window or our car..
Indeed many people are praying for a calmer outcome to the pending U.S. elections. At the time of writing its neck and neck between Harris and Trump.
At the traffic lights I snapped this shot of “Doug The Pug” who seemed quite happy to pose for me.
Well that’s clear as mud then!
The back window of the truck says Jesus or Hell! I am hoping there is somewhere in-between.
American Muscle.
Main Street Fredericksburg.
Yes I know, yet another fire hydrant!
The good thing about Fredericksburg is that there is no shortage of places to eat. Mrs. C and I only managed to stay in the same size wardrobe by sharing everything as portions of both food and drink seemed huge.
Yup, the Hitchin’ Post sounds like my kinda place.
One particular store caught my eye, “Rustin Robs”, which specialized in all manner of hot sauces. Indeed, some are so hot that there is an age restriction whereby you have to show you are over the age of 18 before you are allowed to buy.
Feel The Burn - Rustin Robs.
Outside nearly all the shops had signs stating that the open carry of dangerous weapons was not permitted inside. Good job I kept my automatic lip salve in my man bag then!
Our final stop-off after an afternoon of shopping was to a wine store owned and operated by Ferris & Fletch, another local wine producer. As we walked through the door we were greeted by Kevin, a most hospitable and gracious host. Kevin is my kind of guy and as we were shaking his hand he was already pouring us glasses of wine to taste.
After a couple of glasses of their fabulous Pinot Noir JW bought a few bottles for his cellar, Kevin was happy to pose for a picture and I was ready to go home for a much needed afternoon siesta.
What a great host - Kevin at Ferris & Fletch Wine Co.
Both evenings during our stay the temperature was perfect and we were able to sit outside at local restaurants, enjoy a wine or cold beer and sample the local fare. What a great place to visit and if you have a chance to spend a couple of days in Fredericksburg don’t hesitate. Also be sure to visit Kevin at Ferris & Fletch!
The next morning we hauled out of Fredericksburg, took the “Devils Backbone” down past a little town called Purgatory and headed for a place called Bastrop. I simply love these place names and it makes we want to take out my guitar, raise the action, tune to drop D and play some good old Texas slide guitar.
Again, this small town only had a population of about 9,000, a Main Street and plenty of places to eat and drink.
It is also famous for the number of buildings listed in the National Register of Historic Places, resulting in Bastrop earning the title “Most Historic Small Town in Texas”.
Old School - I just love the look of these cabins on the outskirts of Bastrop.
Main Street.
Got a keeper as soon as I got out of the car.
Classic Bastrop circa 1902.
You can’t take a drink inside as alcohol kills but guns are fine.
On the street with the Type 246 and 28mm Elmarit.
Fast food Bastrop style.
Now Rachel and JW have a knack for finding great places to eat and drink and Bastrop was to be no exception to that rule.
Maxine’s Cafe & Bakery is well known in these parts for serving excellent food.
Maxine’s, our destination for lunch.
Inside everything is old school Texas and the place was absolutely humming with people.
Old school family restaurant.
Should I have the Catfish or the Fried Green Tomatoes with Ranch Dressing?
For me the dish of the day was a starter of fried green tomatoes smothered with their speciality ranch dressing. Simply superb and not to be missed.
Suitably fed and watered we decided to walk around town which provided me with the opportunity to grab a few more images.
Go Longhorns.
No afternoon in Bastrop would be complete without stopping off at Lock Drug Store. No longer a drug store (a.k.a. pharmacy) but this building, which dates back to 1855 is a fantastic ice cream parlor / bakery.
The ice cream was wonderful (yes it came from our old friend Blue Bell Creameries) and the girls running the place were super chatty and welcoming.
Old school and delicious.
Time for a team selfie.
Main Street Bastrop.
Now as you know Texas is all about “Big Oil” and I had been going on to Rachel about wanting to photograph the old-school “Nodding Donkey” oil pump. So to my astonishment on the way back to Houston we pulled off the interstate, down a dirt road and there it was, a genuine nodding donkey.
Nodding Donkey Oil Pump.
I was ecstatic and then, to my complete surprise, an actual donkey appeared in the field with the nodding donkey. You just can’t make this up.
A Nodding Donkey and an actual Donkey.
Now you will recall that I seemed to be being stalked by vultures. Just 5 minutes from Rachel and JW’s house in Houston is a small park which is full of, yes you have guessed it, vultures! Well I had to grab a shot as Rachel had assured me that vultures were only interested in eating dead things.
A “Committee” of Vultures.
Indeed, as I got closer and closer to grab an image the vultures totally ignored me. However, I was being chased by an angry flock of ducks. Rachel did join me to lend some support and watch my back. She then said don’t look up, so of course I looked up. I was being surveyed by a whole tree full of vultures!
Vultures everywhere.
Ah but what about the Bench of Contemplation. Well this image of Mrs. C sitting on the porch of our cabin in the outskirts of Fredericksburg is my choice.
The Bench of Contemplation.
I hope you have enjoyed this look at parts of Texas that the average tourist might not necessarily see. Stay tuned for more adventures as we head for Louisiana and New Orleans in my next blog, NOLA,
See Y’all soon.