Tip Toe Through the Blubonnets

The time had finally arrived. I had been waiting for weeks to take a romantic road trip and check out the beautiful wildflowers that I knew would be pushing their heads above the grass and weeds near Brenham and Chappell Hill in the great state of Texas. The little beauties didn't let me down, and there they were, in all their splendid glory. Along highway 290, just outside of Chappell Hill, was a meadow full of bluebonnets, Indian paintbrush and buttercups, but surrounded by a rather menacing white fence. Not to be defeated, I hurriedly jumped the monster and joined countless numbers of other folks taking pictures of their loved ones sitting in the clusters of the beautiful flowers and was able to capture a photo of my blonde haired, blue eyed sweetie.

After the photo opportunity, we continued down the road and landed at the Blue Bell creamery in Brenham to take the tour and enjoy a cup or cone of the delicious ice cream at its conclusion. By then, it was lunch and was told by a very friendly young lady that worked for Blue Bell of some great places to grab a bite. We stopped at a little eatery named "Must Be Heaven" located at the corner of South Douglas and West Alamo in downtown Brenham. This place was like a step back in time with an area that served floats, ice cream and shakes that resembled the diner in the old TV show Happy Days. My girlfriend and I ordered a turkey and swiss sandwich complimented by a bowl of twice baked potato soup that was absolutely to die for. The chocolate meringue pie would not let us leave the establishment until we indulged in a huge slice, so that is exactly what we did. After finishing all of this wonderful food, they rolled us out to our car and we continued on our journey down Hwy. 105 to the St. Clare Monastery to check out the miniature horses raised on their property. We took the self guided tour of the horses, Art Barn and Monastery Chapel for a meager cost of $4 per person, $3 if you are fifty five or older, and if you have children, ages 3-12, they can tour for $2. Remember, they are only open Tuesday - Saturday from 1:30 - 4:00 pm and are located at 9300 Hwy. 105 in Brenham, Texas. I might add that this monastery is owned and operated by the Franciscan Poor Clare nuns, that's right, nuns, and they support themselves through the proceeds of the tours and the sale of ceramics and other arts sold in their Art Barn on the premises. Contact Sister Angela @ (979)836-9652 for more information about the monastery.

By now it was getting on in the afternoon on Friday and we proceeded to our most northerly destination, Burnet, Texas, located northwest of the state capital of Austin. After getting off of the "main drag" we drove on scenic farm road 1431 from north Austin to Marble Falls and witnessed rolling hills, curves, and some of the most beautiful trees I have ever seen in the state. This road is definitely a "don't miss" if you are ever in the area. We turned onto Hwy. 281 N. and rolled into Burnet, a town that celebrates the bluebonnets with a festival every year the second weekend in April, about 5 in the afternoon, just in time to check into our hotel and have a drink or two before heading out to eat. The nice lady in the hotel lobby recommended some local spots to dine and we picked the Maxican restaurant where we ate Friday and Saturday nights because the food was so delicious and the people working there were so cordial. The restaurant gets its name from its owner Max, who along with his wife Amber and grandmother, Jeanette, dole out some of the best eats to be found in the area. The eatery is housed in an old Victorian style home built in the late 1800's and serves Tex-Mex dishes, chicken fried steak, and good ole Texas barbeque including finger licking baby back ribs. Amber visits every table, introduces herself, and begins asking your whereabouts and tells some of the history of the establishment. She is with child, to be a girl named Maggie, but that has not slowed her down one single bit as she helps out bringing out the dishes to all of the diners. Jeanette, who everyone working there calls Mamaw, will come up to you from behind and begin giving you the longest, free, out of this world back rub ever. All of the employees at this eatery, located at 402 N. Water Street in Burnet, are cheerful and cordial and welcome everyone to stop by and have a great meal and a killer Margarita, and believe me, you will not be disappointed. Later that evening, we went to the festival sight, visited the myriad of booths selling all sorts of hand crafted items, and danced in the street to the great music emitting from the large sound stage from a country and western band.

Saturday morning, we headed to Lake Buchanan and boarded the Texas Eagle II, a one hundred twenty passenger capacity boat, where we would begin the approximately 2 hour "Vanishing Texas River Cruise" narrated by a great tour guide named Tim who is a retired public servant. On this awesome cruise, one can view the majestic beauty of the Colorado River Canyon and enjoy the waterfalls near Ceremonial Rock, where numerous ceremonial knives from the Indians that once inhabited the area have been found. There are towering cliffs, abundant wildlife including native gulls, snow white pelicans and a bald eagle or two if you happen to sail in the winter or early spring. Box lunches are for sale on the boat for $6.25, however we packed our own picnic lunch, which is allowed, along with many of the other patrons cruising that day. Water and iced tea are provided free of charge and coffee is available for any donation you might want to give to defray costs. The cost of the cruise is about $20 per person and if enough people are interested, the boat will take all interested parties to the winery located on the river at a very nominal charge. The views are magnificent to say the least, so this is one event that is a must if you are ever visiting in this beautiful part of Texas.

On the way back home to the Houston area on Sunday, we stopped at Chappell Hill, home of probably the largest Blue Bonnet festival anywhere in the state and at least 5 times the size of the one we had just left in Burnet. The main drag in the city was blocked off and lined with booth after booth selling just about anything you could imagine. My girlfriend's cousins from the hill country had a booth there selling creative plant stands and their website is www.friendshipgarden.com if you're interested. They always have a booth at Wimberley Market Days and Canton too and many, many other locations. For entertainment, one guy was playing his guitar and singing music by Jimmy Buffet, Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson, just to name a few, entertaining everyone that happened by. Free parking was nonexistent but the charge of $5 per vehicle was not exorbitant and was readily available at different locations around the festival. This was my first time to visit this one, but definitely not my last, and highly recommended for a fun weekend trip just a hop, skip, and a jump from Houston.

Texas is such a huge state with so many things to see and do but hopefully you will enjoy some of the things detailed here. Have fun ya'll.