Getting Gruene

Early last month Mits discovered that Raul Malo was coming to Gruene Hall so a plan was hatched for a girls trip down to south Texas to see him.  Unfortunately, there are so many more Raul Malo fans than we'd anticipated; the show sold out rather quickly and we missed the chance to actually see him.  Even so, Mits and B assured me we'd be able to hear him since he was playing the oldest dance hall in Texas and it wouldn't have been soundproofed when it was built.  Even considering the possibility of being arrested for dancing in public I was more than up for it!!  But then the ice storm hit and the roads were so bad we had to reschedule.  So, in spite of the possibility of unpredictable weather, we chose the last weekend in February; I took heart from the sight of B's quince in bloom and decided that even without Raul this was going to be a great getaway!! 

Always on the lookout for possible competition in her quest to be the BEST FRIED PIE MAKER IN THE NATION, as well as being the sort to consider we'd left home without breakfast, Sister spotted a billboard for "The Original Fried Pie Shop" located in an Exxon station right off IH35 just another exit or two down the road and pointed it out.  Of course we stopped!  The lady in the window looked familiar until I realized it was B with make-up, a bouffant, and glasses!!  But as I walked through the aisles of "Texas-sized" sunglasses and tools I truly had my doubts about what we'd gotten ourselves into; I decided to cut my losses and take a Zegrid before I even saw the pies.  I wish I could say they were awful.  I wish I could say they were rubbery and dry and tasteless.  I can't.  I opted for a bacon and egg breakfast pie.  Aside from being really salty (due, I decided, to the use of real salt-cured bacon) mine was delicious.  We left with plenty of ideas on new flavors of pies but we all agreed that B reigns supreme as the Fried Pie Queen.

We drove straight to our accommodations for the night; a beautiful 1905 Victorian House just outside of Gruene at Acorn Hill B&B.  The setting leaves a lot to be desired, but the house itself more than makes up for that.  Although our initial reaction wasn't all that great when we discovered wasps hosting a soiree in the front parlor!!  We called the innkeeper to deal with it and took off for town.

Having grown up in a small town, I have never become accustomed to big city living in spite of my 30 plus years of doing just that.  I don't walk the streets of my neighborhood alone and I certainly don't leave my doors unlocked.  But I long to do just those things and a town like Gruene would be ideal for someone like me!!  Except for the hoards of people who come to town on the weekends to shop and listen to music.  I suppose though, if I had a little house out away from town I could deal.  I'd like to try anyway.
Aside from the dance hall, Gruene has a number of shops, from antiques to gourmet food to music.  A "must stop" would be Lonestar Music where you can still purchase LPs!!  We went back on Sunday to get a Reckless Kelly CD after hearing them while we walked the streets Saturday night taking pictures.

We found an assortment of interesting items in the Gruene Antique Company, many of which were a bit too bizarre even for me!!  I did consider that the Civil War-era glass eyeballs would have been perfect for Hallowe'en, but at $45 an eye, I decided they would just have to stay in the display case.

We decided to lunch at The Grist Mill which serves unbelievably tasty meals inside an amazing building that rambles along the hillside above the Guadalupe River.  Our seats were not "riverside" but the view was gorgeous just the same and it was hard to decide if what was outside could even compare to what was inside!!  The glass windows seem to grow out of the brick walls and many trees and vines have been left to creep and tower as they will from the ground beneath the building (this picture was taken from our table, looking into another dining area through a hole in the wall).  It is what I imagine all old ruins should look like, but this one also provides tender juicy chicken in your salad, fresh al dente spinach for your quesadillas and onion rings as wide as a razor strap!!  Didn't order those, but they're on the list for next time.

Back at the house with a freshly uncorked bottle of wine, we kicked back and soaked in the ambiance of our beautiful little house secretly wishing it was really ours and discussing all the things we could do in it and to it and from it.  Most of all, we gained an appreciation for the effects of soft colors in large spaces and small accents well-placed.

We all found things to appreciate and make note of for future use.  For instance, I have finally figured out exactly what the built-ins in my living room should look like.  Now I just have to convince Daddio that they're perfect enough to warrant ditching the backless and unsteady, much too deep, freestanding shelves that have been a mainstay in our house longer than moi.  They are nothing more than dust-catchers and non-too-pretty to boot!!  Hopefully, he'll see the aesthetic functionality of this style instead of focusing on the green of the background wall.
All in all I think we had a successful trip.  We never had to break out Mr. Sock or the heavy headache drugs (oh, there are stories we all can tell!!) although another 100 miles of driving could have changed that.  But then, another 100 miles of driving would have had us in Port Aransas, so maybe not.  We were sad to leave and anxious to come again.  And I'm already planning at least one trip-related mini-scrapbook.  Guess that makes Gruene a keeper!!