We popped our eyes open early and hit the road toward Kerrville, Texas. Why? Because we hadn't seen it yet. At nearly 25,000, Kerrville is twice the size of Fredericksburg, and while I'm sure it has some charm to claim for itself, we didn't find it on our brief visit. We did eat breakfast at a local diner, the Hill Country Cafe, a downtown classic (or so it claims) that's been in business since 1942. If it hadn't been for the oil cloth stapled to the tables, a venerable blond waitress adorned with jeweled jeans and rings on every finger, a table full of baked goods covered in saran wrap, and a gaggle of guys wearing "cammo" coats, I would have been disappointed. The fare was average, but the ambience unbeatable. After breakfast, we had a nice walk on the trail along side the Guadalupe River. We did the form under a covered outdoor auditorium, and decided to find a back road on the return trip to Fredericksburg. We were successful. At Comfort, Texas we turned onto road 473, which is also called "The Old San Antonio Road". It led us to the remains of Grapetown. One thing I love about Texas is it holds on to its history. I think I've mentioned that before, but it was brought home in dramatic fashion today as we toured our third country school: Grapetown #13, which served all seven grades in 1895, and was active into the 1950s. During that time the school employed twenty-seven teachers. In 1902 the pay was $30/month. We also looked around the Hohenburger Homestead, a remarkably well preserved slice of Texas history. The backroad itself took us once again through the rolling hill country. We wound ourselves up, down and around, through the live oak, mooing at the cattle as we passed, though they seemed non-plussed at our presence. Back at the trailer, we had a light lunch and then decided to walk the main street of Fredericksburg, which we hadn't done as yet. That's when it happened. On an impulse, we ducked into a Wine Shop where we ended up tasting several nice wines, joining a wine club, and walking out of the store with three bottles. Who knew! And to top the day off, we went to Luchenbach for the fifth night in a row. Tonight's circle, another small one, was painful. There was one member of the circle, a Vietnam veteran, playing his self made guitar (A three string made out of a cigar box). His tunes, cacophonic creations emitting cathartic emotions, silenced the crowd, brought me to tears, and stretched tight, rigid ribbons across my shoulder muscles. One of his songs, "What am I Fighting For" talked of angels of death, the ineffectiveness of morphine, and the pain of being covered in blood not your own. It was a harsh change from the melodic love songs we've been listening to all week. Having said that, it was truly in the spirit of Luchenbach, which is a place that welcomes everyone. As the back of shirts sold in Luchenbach say, "Everybody is somebody in Luchenbach." So, while pain is part of joy, it's really the circle of life that reminds us to be human. In that sense, life is good, especially today.
The Wiley Cager suffered another loss, and she had to pay for breakfast.
The Guadalupe River.
The water is low now, but there's evidence of high-water along the river trail.
The town school is #13. We've seen three, but clearly education in Texas has been important for a long time. I know that my career was been influenced by Texas, since almost every text book I ever used was produced in Texas.
Art shot of the day. My bald head (And ear) pressed up against the window of the teacherage--Judy's faced peeking into the window opposite.
Two of several of the buildings on the Hohenburger Farmstead. Ferdinand Hohenburger and his wife, Katherine Schultze and their family left Bremen, Germany in 1855. After a 73 day ocean voyage, they landed in Galveston. They first located in Luchenbach, but purchased this farmstead in 1871. Family descendants lived on the farm until 1914.
The main building, which was operated as a country store for many years.
I'm not sure, but this "dog run" style house may have been one of the first buildings on the property.
This fabulous building is the Pioneer Library which is located on main street in Fredericksburg.
Scene of our impulse buy.
This is Rich, who spoke some hard truth, including "Inevitably we all end with God and judgment".
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