Beer, Bowling, Pie, Lights…it Must Be Christmas!

We're staying in Blanco, TX for the three days leading up to Christmas.  This small town is located in the Hill Country, about 45 miles northwest of San Antonio and 45 miles southwest of Austin. 

Blanco State Park is located RIGHT IN TOWN!  This makes it super easy to do those not-so-sexy things like LAUNDRY that are always part of a ramble.  The campground has a great vibe to it.  Lots of folks, but not too crowded. 

The park, built by Civilian Conservation Corps, is located on the Blanco River.

Located just outside of Blanco is Real Ale, one of the first microbreweries in Texas. Unfortunately, they were not open for tours while we were there. 

One of the most anticipated reasons for visiting Blanco was the Blanco Bowling Club.   We grabbed seats at the bar and looked on as the locals bowled. 

This is not your average bowling alley.  The Blanco Bowling Club is home of a German nine-pin league.  Look closely in the photo below and you'll see what's different…there's a teenager setting up the pins by hand in lane 1. 

As the bowling alley was league play only, our role was to spectate.  And eat.  We grabbed some local ales and an order of Texas Toothpicks…which are fried jalapeños and onions. 

For dessert, a coconut pie.  Christy had heard such great things bout their pies, and a pie fiend, she staked a claim on the last slice of this meringue topped wonder within 30 seconds of walking in the door.  Unfortunately, it didn't taste as great as it looked, and given that the place was about to shut down for the holidays, we're not sure just how fresh this last slice actually was. 

On the way back to our campsite across town, we passed the Blanco square.  These small towns really went all out for the holidays!

Boot-Scootin' in Austin

No Merry Texas Honeymoon Ramble would be complete without a stop at a real honky-tonk for two-steppin'.  For authentic Texas dancin' in Austin, there's no better place than the Broken Spoke.


Since 1964, James White has been entertaining locals and tourists alike with Texas country and two-steppin'.  We decided that would be the best place for us to get some authentic dancin' in!



We struggled through the dance lessons, finding our pace once we dropped an extra step in our count.  The rest of the night was dance, dance, dance to the live music of the Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash.



In anticipation of more dancing in our future, we went out in search of Texas-made dancin' shoes…and hit the jackpot at Allen's Boots on South Congress.


John is the proud new owner of Lucchese ropers; they look great and are 100% Made in Texas.

Natchez Trace - Sister to the Blue Ridge Parkway

The Natchez Trace, also known as the "Old Natchez Trace", is a historical path that extends roughly 440 miles from Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee, linking the Cumberland, Tennessee and Mississippi rivers. It was created and used for centuries by Native Americans, and was later used by early European and American explorers, traders and emigrants in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

Now, the trail is commemorated by the 444-mile  Natchez Trace Parkway, which follows the approximate path of the Trace.   And that is how we got ourselves down to Natchez, MS today!

Mile Marker 160

We entered the Parkway at Kosciusko, MS, birthplace of Oprah Winfrey.  The visitor's center was staffed by locals, who were surprised to learn that there is a similar parkway in VA/NC called the Blue Ridge.  The town is named for General Thaddeus Kosiuszko, and there was an interesting handout bearing his words.

Kosciuszko's Advice to a Youth

To do honor to your family and yourself and at my recommendation, you must reread what follows every day so that it will be engraved on your memory on which your well being will depend. 

Rise at four in the summer and six in the winter. Your first thoughts must be directed towards the Supreme Being; worship Him for a few minutes. Set yourself to work with reflection and intelligence, either at your prescribed duty carried out in the most scrupulous manner, or perfect yourself in some science in which you should have true mastery. Avoid lying under any circumstances in your life, but always be frank and loyal and always tell the truth. Never be idle but be sober and frugal even hard on yourself while indulgent to others. Do not be vain nor an egotist. Before speaking or answering on something, reflect and consider well in order not to lose your point and say something stupid. Never fail to give due recognition under any circumstances to the person who is in charge of your well being. Anticipate his desires and his wishes. Pay close attention with proper humility. Look for an opportunity to be useful. As you are a foreigner in the country, redouble your concern and efforts to gain trust and preference over the natives legitimately by your merit and superior knowledge. If a secret is entrusted in you, keep it religiously; in all your actions you must be upright, sincere and open; no dissimulation in your speech, do not argue but seek the truth calmly and with modesty, be polite and considerate to everyone, agreeable and obliging in society, humane and helpful to the unfortunate according to your means. Read instructive books to embellish your mind and improve your spirit. Do not degrade yourself by making bad acquaintances, but rather those with high principles and reputation thus your conduct should be such that the whole world approves it and that wherever you may be it will be considered irreproachable.   

T Kosciuszko 

Another piece of local color came in a vignette staged as America's Table, a tribute and reminder to American veterans.

Mile Marker 106.9

We pulled off to see Indian mounds, but were surprised at how small they were!  While at the Boyd Site we took advantage of having a mobile kitchen and whipped up some quesadillas, along with fresh-made guacamole.  Delicious!

Mile Marker 102

Since we weren't sure how available gas would be, we pulled off the Trace in Jackson to fuel up.  As it turned out, getting back on the Trace was a little more difficult than we imagined, due to some navigational errors on our part.  Fun adventure, though, now that we're past it!  

Mile Marker 54.8

Back on the Trace, we headed for the abandoned village of Rocky Springs.  All that was left of this once thriving town were a few rusting out safes and some blocked up cisterns.

Posing...	Wait, What?	That's Crazy!	Okay, Here I go...

Here's How It's Done!

	Oh, and an amazing church that was really quite lovely and still used several times a year.

Mile Marker 41.5
Preserved here is a portion of the deeply eroded or 'Sunken' Old Trace. Hardships of journeying on the Old Trace included heat, mosquitos, poor food, hard beds (if any), disease, swollen rivers, and sucking swamps.

As you can see in the background, the trail is not far from 'civilization'…note the motor home peeking through the trees!

Mile Marker 10.3

Emerald Mound is the second largest Indian Temple Mound in the United States. It was built and used between 1300 and 1600 A.D. by the forerunners of the Natchez Indians. These Indians used a natural hill as a base, which they reshaped by trimming the top and filling the sides to form a great primary platform, 770 feet long, 435 feet wide and 35 feet high. At the west end still stands a 30 foot secondary mound once topped by a ceremonial structure.

Getting in the Groove…from GA to MS

Today marked the first true day of our Merry Texas Honeymoon Ramble!

For those of you who are just joining us, John and I married back in September.  Due to pressing work projects, we deferred our honeymoon to the holidays, when we would have enough time to really RAMBLE!

John hasn't been to Texas, and well, I miss Austin really badly, so we've set our eyes on the Lone Start State.  Of course, as with any great road trip, the journey IS the destination…

Preface aside, here's what transpired on Day 1 of the Merry Texas Honeymoon Ramble.

10:00 AM - Left Grandma Evelyn's place in Gainesville, aiming for a westernly route across GA to Alabama.  Neither of us had been to Rome, GA, so we headed there first.

Looking for a good place to eat on a Sunday morning in northwest GA is a challenge.  We settled for mediocre fare at Shane's Rib Shack, Rome GA. From the corporate website, we learned, "What started in a tiny restaurant outside Atlanta in McDonough, Georgia has grown to become the fastest growing BBQ restaurant concept in the nation."

It was really quite underwhelming, but we were hungry and hadn't planned ahead on meals.

Despite disappointment in lunch, Rome GA was a delight to drive through.  It has a really large downtown, with quite a bit of what looks to be resurgent vibrancy.  Just across the river was the most amazing, quite literally breath-taking, cemetery.  Myrtle Hill Cemetery, with its terraced plots, towers over the city.  Apparently it has quite a history, too, as this was once in the heart of Cherokee territory.

From Rome, we continued to head westward, leaving GA and entering into Alabama.  Along the way, we saw a water treatment plant that was quite striking.  We then entered the town of Cullman, AL.  It was a strange experience, as what should have been the historic district had many barren lots.  It reminded us of Waveland, MS, where Hurricane Katrina made landfall.  There was evidence that there had been buildings, but they were no longer.  A quick Google search revealed this was also due to natural disaster…a tornado which struck in 2011. 

It had been a gray sky for us all day, and as we continued westward, puzzling over a large, official but weathered sign, "Road Closed -- Two Miles"  We continued, believing the sign must be in error, though unbeknownst to us, we had missed a turn a few miles back.  Fortunately we heeded a vitally important sign which read, "Road Closed -- Under Water" in time to turn ourselves around without having to back up too far (a challenge when hauling a trailer).  It seems at some point, the road was flooded out with the creation of a lake.

By the time we arrived at Lake Lowndes State Park on the border of AL and MS, we had been on the road for about 8 hours, traveling 312 miles.  The campsite was really great, as we discovered the next morning when we awoke to the sunrise on the lake.

Asheville Skies

We thoroughly enjoyed our campsite at Campfire Lodgings…just outside Asheville, NC.  Super convenient to town.

As Fast As You Can

Took a break from writing a work proposal to get in a little Christmas shopping in downtown Asheville.  While there, we spotted this Christmas icon....

And So It Begins

Trying to get ahead of the impending ice storm, we are heading to Asheville a day early.  Although tomorrow begins a week-long project work session with my colleagues in Asheville, I can't help but think our Merry Texas Honeymoon Ramble has begun.

Yee-haw!

First stop...dinner in Graham, NC.  Most excellent Mexican tacos.