Considering the nice weather forecast and the fact that LSU was coming to College Station, it was a perfect weekend to head out of town. Everyone met at the Kettle...some came early for breakfast...and we headed out of town, already having to deal with game day traffic. We left town on Hwy 60 and followed it for quite a while, past Lyons and Hwy 36 until the leader found some farm roads. He actually knew where he was going and had the whole route programmed into his GPS.
Our first stop was in Giddings after about an hour to allow everyone to rid themselves of all the coffee consumed earlier. We found a Dairy Queen that was open and everyone was in and out quickly...without stopping for ice cream...it was too early anyway.
We continued on back roads and headed towards the New Braunfels area. We passed through little towns with names like Roskany, Winchester, Staley and Fentress. Fentress was having a fall festival type affair and the town was full of locals, all dressed up in period costumes and having a good time. We made our way over to Lockhart and stopped for gas. After topping off, we headed west and hopefully better landscape.
Our lunch plans included stopping in Greune and eating at the Grist Mill...always a treat. The weather was excellent...on the chilly side actually...and the roads were more or less deserted except for us. We arrived in Greune to discover that this weekend was when everyone else had decided to visit. After trolling for parking, we decided to go somewhere else for lunch. We ate at the New Braunfels Smokehouse...not bad.
With full bellies and rested behinds we headed off towards the Hill Country via the River Road. I had never been on this road before but it was very interesting and very pretty. Due to the winding nature of the road and some traffic, I couldn't make any pictures so you will just have to take my word for how nice it was...or you can go over to New Braunfels and take a ride on the River Road yourself.
All along the road there are campsites, houses, vacation homes/cabins, places to rent boats and tubes and hotels...and I use the word "hotel" very loosely. However, the river was full in most places and the road allowed a very good view of it. The road crossed back and forth across the river (the Guadalupe River by the way) using little concrete bridges...nothing more than a slab of concrete actually. These bridges had names...1st Crossing, 2nd Crossing, 3rd Crossing and 4th Crossing...very imaginative don't you think. The houses near the end of the road, on the opposite side of the river, were very nice. Each one of them was built 25-30 feet off the water up the hill and had stairways leading down to a dock on the river.
The water must have been too cold for tubing because I didn't see anyone doing so. We did see a hand full of folks in canoes or Kayaks but that was it. Many of the campgrounds were closed for the winter but a few had campers. It was a good weekend for it.
We eventually hit another back road and started seeing the Hill Country type of landscape...rolling hills, twisting roads and the typical vegetation...scrub brush, mesquite trees, cactus and some oak trees. Although it had rained recently, everything looked a little brown. In the spring you can see wildflowers everywhere but October isn't the time for that.
We passed through towns like Comfort and Kendalia and went through many low lying areas that would most likely flood with heavy rains. Getting around this part of the State during a rainy period might bring several obstacles. We passed through 1st and 2nd Coffee Hollow and over Dry Creek, Hickory Creek and Honey Bear Creek. Some had a little trickle of water and some had none.
By mid-afternoon we were ready for a stop and just happened to come to Sisterdale...due south of Fredericksburg and north of Boerne...where we found the Sister Creek Winery. It was a very small building...actually built in an old cotton gin...but made specialty wines. They had a small tasting room...actually a wooden table that sat 8-10 people in a little alcove off the main room. Two or three of the group purchased a bottle of wine while the rest of us walked across the road to the Sisterdale Market to get a soda. Both places were small but fairly popular with bikers as they were on the small, twisty type of roads bikers like.
Following the stop in Sisterdale, we wound around a little and headed in a northerly direction to Fredericksburg, arriving at the hotel about 4:30 in the afternoon...just enough time to take a shower and watch a little football before dinner.
A little before 6 everyone walked down the street, some stopping at certain stores...like the Christmas store for the women and Just For Men for the guys. I didn't find anything I had to have. After looking around some we walked down the street to a nice German Restaurant...very popular based on the crowd gathering at 6pm. As it turned out the crowd got worse as we ate.
We got a table for 8...three couples and 2 class B bachelors...that's guys without their wives. We were the odd man out all weekend too. Anyway, I order Jäger-Schnitzel and potato pancakes while others tried the various sausages...everyone seemed to enjoy their dining experience.
After dinner we were supposed to drive out to Luckenbach but everyone was too full to move so we all retired to our rooms and watched television...football games were plentiful so I watched Texas Tech and TCU...good game.
On Sunday morning we skipped church...that's a joke by the way...ate the continental breakfast at the hotel...terrible!...and hit the road about 8:30. We headed north out of Fredericksburg...I thought it was west or south...on Hwy 16 and turned on the Willow City Loop...about 40 miles of twisting and turning ranch roads...small two lane road without any substantial shoulder. After about 30 miles we pulled off in to a makeshift scenic overlook...the ground was way too rough for it to be planned...and got a beautiful panoramic view of the Hill Country.
Leaving the loop we went through Willow City and headed towards Marble Falls on the shores of Lake LBJ to the east of us. We found yet another farm road and followed its twists and turns until we hit Hwy 281, which we followed into Marble Falls. As we crossed over the bridge into the downtown section of Marble Falls, we came to the Blue Bonnet Cafe. According to the leader, eating there was only going to be a possibility if we arrived early enough and if the crowd was not too large.
We arrived at 1100 and although the parking lot looked packed, the line wasn't wrapped around the building as it tends to be at certain times of the day and year. As it was, we waited in line in the exit hallway for about 20-30 minutes until we got a table for 8. After looking at the menu and talking to the folks around us for suggestions, we ordered. Some ordered breakfast and some lunch...ranging from hamburgers to chicken fried steak...all ordered pie following. The meal was pretty good but the pie was excellent...turns out pie is one of the attractions of the cafe...I'd have to agree.
Following lunch a nap would have been nice but since we were on motorcycles and there wasn't a handy park or picnic table nearby, we continued our trek home. At some point we hit a ranch road...1431 I believe...hand headed in a northerly direction...I think. I've got to get a compass for my bike or start using my GPS more because I never knew which direction I was headed unless the sun was in my eyes, then I had a pretty good idea.
We passed through little towns like Travis Peak and Jonestown and bigger ones like Lago Vista and Cedar Park. We stopped in Cedar Park for gas before heading east through Round Rock, Hutto, Taylor, Noack and Lexington, where we stopped once more...last time. By this time, everyone was ready to be home so upon leaving Lexington we hit Hwy 77 down to Hwy 36 to Caldwell then Hwy 21 to College Station. We finally were able to maintain a descent speed and made it home rather quickly.
After two days of riding and 515 miles, everyone was glad to be home, safe and sound. Nobody had maintenance problems or any other problem for that matter. It was a good trip and I got to know several folks better than before...it was definitely worth the trip. Unfortunately, I missed the dedication of my youngest grandchild...Caraline Kate...so I hope neither her or her mother thinks less of me. As my wife always reminds me, "you're not getting any younger so you should ride whenever you get the chance"...thanks Sharon.
Next month I'm off again to the Lone Star Rally in Galveston. I've never been to a large rally like this so it ought to be interesting. Come back and see my blog after that trip. I'll try to get some good pictures.
