Next stop ~ Spoetzl Brewery ~ Shiner, TX

Don took this one. I want to give credit where it is due...


I was hoping to take a tour of the brewery at Shiner. They only give tours at 11:00 and 1:30. We got there at 3:30. But we still got 4 tokens for sampling beer. Don mentioned to the "bartender" that he might have to get one of Mom's tokens. The lady let him know real quickly that he was allowed 4 and ONLY 4 cups of beer and she knew that he was at his limit. We must have gotten there as a shift ended as there were workers at the bar drinking their 4 beers. Not a bad place to work I would think....

Last from St. Mary's at High Hill

More from St. Mary's

Windows of St. Mary's of High Hill

These are the windows at the first church we visited. Very ornate and detailed. Lots of statues inside. The alter is very intricate, but not scary... Be sure to click on each picture to see a larger image.

Schulenburg, TX ~ Home of the Painted Churches

When I was talking to Crystal about our trip, she told me of the Painted Churches in Schulenburg so we added that to our trip. The windows in the churches were painted to look like stained glass. We toured two of the churches, St Mary's Catholic Church in High Hill built in 1868 and St. Mary's Parish in Praha built in 1895. Both churches were built/established by Austrian/Czeck-Moravian families. The stone used to build the church at Praha was brought by oxen from a nearby village and the ceiling was painted by a famous Swiss artist and has never been repainted. St. Mary's at High Hill has been placed in the National Registry of Historic Places. They are both very beautiful. The detail of the work is amazing.

First Stop ~ Round Top

We actually came through Warrenton first, but didn't stop because of the rain and cold. However, I did convince Don to stop in Round Top for a little while. The cabin was built in 1823 by John Henry Moore. It is the oldest structure in Fayette County. And I think this must be the biggest oak tree I have ever seen.

Chicken at a gas station???

We stopped for gas in Elgin (I think) and here is this chicken roaming around the parking lot. It didn't seem to be afraid of people as it came about 3 feet from Don. Not sure what he was doing here. Maybe looking for water?

The Step Stool

Anytime Mom or Polly got in/out of the van, Don had to get the little step stool for them, then get the wheelchair for Mom. He's a trooper. Needless to say, his "201 file" is running over!

Wildflower Tour 2008 ~ Day 1 ~ April 4, 2008

Our route for the first day was to leave Austin, go to Round Top/Warrenton for the Flea Market, Schulenberg to see the Painted Churches, Shiner and tour the brewery, then to San Marcos for the night. The theme of the first day was RAIN! And cold...

April 9, 2008 ~ Wildflower Tour 2008 Intro

Don and I started a little tradition with my mom and 2 aunts a couple of years ago. We load everyone up and go on a little wildflower tour through the Hill Country. However, we haven't been able to go since 2005 because mom wasn't up to it. But she has been feeling really good as of late and so we decided to give it a try. We left Weatherford on Thursday, picked Barbara up south of Mineral Wells, got mom in Hamilton and then on to Austin for the night. This was the first time Mom had stayed overnight anywhere since she broke her hip back in July 2005. She was SO excited. Polly had picked our rental van up just before we got there. However, she didn't look in the back to see that it wasn't going to be big enough for luggage and a wheelchair. But we managed it for the night. The highlight of this day was going to El Patio and having my favorite dish, Guacamole Cheese Enchilada's. MMMmmmmm.... After El Patio, Mom wanted to drive down Congress Ave and reminisce as she had worked in a dress shop there back in the 40's. Friday morning Don and I went to exchange the van for a bigger one and to pick up breakfast. As we pulled up to the Taco Shack (about 3 miles from Enterprise Rental) it started to pour down rain. We ran inside, ordered and waited. About the time our order was ready it was REALLY coming down. We decided to make a break for the van. Just as I got to the van, it started hailing. Don was fumbling around w/the lock trying to get my door unlocked and I'm getting drenched just hoping that the hail doesn't get me. I get in the van just as the hail starts pummeling us. It just beat the crap out of the van. Which by the way only had 2000 miles on it. Luckily Aunt Polly had taken out the extra coverage to cover any damages. So that was good! So this brings us to the start of the trip and pictures to come....