The Hill Country of Texas is a very special place. It is beautiful, but in a purely Texas kind of way. The Hill Country is full of swimming holes, caves, cypress trees, oaks and lazy rivers. You’ll see beautiful wildlife, winding roads, and Texas wineries. Kayaking, tubing and floating are always summertime options. There are endless things to do in the beautiful Texas Hill Country!
[Read more…] about Photo Friday takes us to The Hill Country of Texas
Austin, Texas is one of those places known as “cool”. Austin has always been a cool place to be, whether you are a college student or a Texas politician *(it is the capitol of Texas). It is also a vibrantly active city. The river runs right through downtown (*but it is known as Town Lake, or Lady Bird Lake) and nature exists right in the heart of the city. People are jogging, paddle boarding, kayaking, walking…and there are dogs with their owners. Like I said, a very cool town.
My husband and I drove down to Austin yesterday to visit with our son while our daughter and her friends are having her “bachelorette” weekend at Lake Travis, only an hour away. Coincidentally, our daughter’s car full of young women left Dallas about the same time we did. Lucky for them!
I received a call about 20 miles north of Temple, Texas from my niece who was in the car. “Tam, the air conditioning just suddenly went out. It’s not cold air.” Uh oh. That may not sound like a tragedy to people living in more temperate climes, but in Texas it is a calamity! They were driving an older Escalade, so I called the Cadillac dealership in Temple and arranged to meet the girls there.
They needed a new compressor. Did they have the part? No. Could they get the part? Yes. They really went out of their way at Garlyn Shelton Cadillac to help us! We spent 2 and a half hours with the young women (it is hard not to call them girls even though they are in their late twenties…a sure sign of advancing age) and we just laughed and said it’s another Minton adventure. Life is full of the unexpected, and since the unexpected seems to be the norm in my world, we just flow with it.
We ended up late to meet my son for dinner, and we were even later to our hotel, the Hyatt Regency Austin (the view is AMAZING!). We met our son at a delicious sandwich place called the Noble Sandwich Co. which has been featured on Food Network. Delicious? Oh yes, and we were very hungry!
So off to the Hyatt where our room awaited, and the view sparkled from our window. I know I am going to enjoy this stay!
For non-Texans, the diversity of Texas scenery may come as a surprise. From prairie to mountains to coast to piney woods to desert, Texas landscape changes are frequent. Right now Randy and I are in the heart of Texas, the Hill Country. The Hill Country encompasses Austin and San Antonio, Kerrville and Fredericksburg, San Marcos and New Braunfels. We have been driving the region this last week, enjoying the deer herds, the hills, the buttes, the college campuses, and the quaint village of Gruene.
Visit the Hill Country, y’all!
5/12/15: a little reminder about how wonderful the Texas Hill Country is! First published on 6/6/13
I took a little trip this morning in order to hike to Hamilton Pool. Hamilton Pool is an historic swimming hole, about an hour outside of Austin. Hamilton Creek empties into the Pedernales River, spilling over limestone outcroppings to create a 50 foot waterfall. In Cozumel, this would be known as a cenote. I thought it would be worth a look, and I was absolutely correct.
The pool is about a mile from the entrance to the trail. It is the Hill Country, so it is up and down, up and down. The path is rocky and uneven with plenty of gnarly roots. I had no trouble on it, actually, I love nature and I love paths like this. I am quite surefooted on uneven surfaces, it is only on smooth flat ground that I fall…or smooth steps. Hamilton Pool is one of those places where generations of people have enjoyed the “swimming hole”. The water is cool and green, and looks inviting, but sadly, there are times when one cannot swim because of high bacteria levels. Today was one of those days.
After the hike, I could see why you would want a swim. Whew. So I checked out the caverns and the pool, and enjoyed some time just watching and listening to the waterfall. It is nice and cool under the roof of the outcropping. It was nice to actually sit behind the falls as well.
I headed back after 20 minutes at the pool (since there was no swimming I didn’t stay for a long time) and somehow, I missed the turn off to the main path back to the parking lot. Instead, I hiked an additional mile along the Pedernales River. I have no idea how I could have missed the main path….but I was in unfamiliar territory, and I thought, great, I can see myself lost, wandering along the river to the pool and back again for hours. I can hear Randy and the kids already, another “kooky” mom story! Fortunately, I managed to find the path again and headed up. And I mean UP. The Hill Country is very hilly indeed! So I did over 3 miles of up and down terrain. I can hear some snickering that 3 miles is not much distance. But hey, I am over 50 (I cannot believe that, it is astonishing to me) and I have a few health issues. I have an erector set in my spine, 8 pedicle screws and rods holding it all together, so I am pretty happy with my hike this morning. Of course, diving or snorkeling would be better, but the water didn’t look too clear, and I admit that freshwater fish are kind of boring. Most of my trips tend to be near diving, but not freshwater. I have been diving in the cenotes, with incredible geological sights, but there are no fish at all in cenotes, so I only did it once. Kind of boring. I need action! Anyway, if you are near Austin, Tx or in the Hill Country, take a hike to Hamilton Pool. It is a beautiful place to relax.
Evening: Tonight we headed to the Oasis, one of the most popular restaurants on Lake Travis. The views are panoramic! On the way home, we ran into some of our neighbors! I LOVE wild life!
Wow. That’s really the best way to put it. First, we are in Lakeway, Texas, and it is a lovely little town in the Texas Hill Country and on Lake Travis. Yes, there are hills in Texas, quite beautiful ones…just not in Dallas. The house is absolutely wonderful! Click on the link because I believe it will show you the “wow” better than I can say it. We are enjoying luxury, I will tell you that! Every little detail is perfect, from the decor to the soaps and shampoos in every shower. There are robes in every bath as well, and soft slippers. Any game you could possibly think of to play is here! There are indoor games like billiards, board games, card games, and outdoor games, badminton (that’s us, haha), Bocce Ball, croquet….fishing, kayaking….all accoutrement are here. Our hosts are thoughtful and delightful people as well, very helpful.
Our friends Lyn and Mark came for the first few days to hang out with us and our two Goldens, Luke and Lucy. Lyn kept saying there was no way to get her away from the villa, and actually, except for a trip to the H E B store for groceries, she didn’t leave!
The pool is so inviting, the views are marvelous, there are 3 gas grills, a fire pit, a hot tub….so you can see, there really is no reason to leave. We have been in the pool, explored the grounds (vast, they even have an herb garden!), and enjoyed a movie in their Home Theater. The Home Theater is amazing, and a post on its own. We played a bit of ping pong, Mark and I against Lyn and Randy.
Yes, a little spouse swapping for the ping pong. Mark and I were the victors!
How did we find this lovely oasis? On 3rd Home. 3rd Home is a “club”, really, for those who own second homes. I joined and put our villa in Cozumel into the club, Villa Coronado. When you donate weeks to 3rd Home members you accrue “keys”, and the homes are rated from one key (for smaller homes) to 5 keys. When you have keys you can open the door to any 3rd Home available! Quite a wonderful deal. Though I have donated several weeks in the past couple of years, Villa de Vistas is the first 3rd Home I’ve booked. It won’t be the last! Learn all about it at www.3rdhome.com. If you have a second home in a wonderful location, you really should look into it!
3rd Homes can be found all over the world….except Antarctica! And it wouldn’t surprise me if something was available there. I have already booked another home for August, in Spicewood, Texas, also on Lake Travis. The only drawback to the Lake is that it is 53 feet low. There are docks at the marina I visited that are on dry land. Someone needs to do a rain dance.
One of the most wonderful aspects of this trip has been having our Goldens with us. Since our second home is in Mexico, we would have to fly our dogs there, and that is not an option for our doggies. Luke and Lucy are both rescues, and have a few issues here and there. Luke was abused, we don’t know how badly, but he cringes at the sound of a metal food bowl and refuses to get into a crate. I did coax him in once….he completely broke the crate apart. It is somewhat obvious that he is terrified of it. So, no flying for Luke. Our hosts at Villa de Vistas also have a Golden Retriever, and were kind enough to allow us to bring them as a special favor since this is our first 3rd Home trip. Our little Lucy is a very nervous little girl, afraid and unsure of everything that exists on this earth. She is afraid of trash cans, noises, other dogs, Christmas decorations….you name it! She is the most adorable dog, and so pretty, but it is very tough to get her to relax. They have both absolutely loved being here. There is so much space and they have explored every inch of it. Luke patrols our front windows at home in Dallas, alerting us of anyone in the vicinity. I guess his territory includes the street because he barks up a storm at dogs on walks. Here, he patrols the lake!
He is fascinated by every boat and jet ski that goes by…he doesn’t bark much about it, but his tail is up in the air, and he is on alert. He has been up and down the outside staircases so often I’m feeding him extra food. It has been so much fun to have them with us. There are also deer around, I’ve seen them but the dogs haven’t. I wonder what they would make of a deer?
We have had some amazing sunsets and we look forward to more of them! Tomorrow, we are heading out to explore. Hasta la Vista, baby!
