Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Let's Go To Luckenbach Texas ...

... with Waylon and Willie and the boys ...

Some of you out there are probably singing along right about now. Most of you probably don't know what the hell is going on here. In any case, I suggest downloading a little Waylon Jennings (specifically the song about Luckenbach) to have some accompaniment music for this post.

I didn't have any events the last three days, but it really wasn't worth it to me to drive home from Houston on Sunday just to have to drive back down to Austin tomorrow. So I decided to borrow my friend Sarah's family for a few days since they live in San Antonio. Today was a very special day. Sarah's mom Candy and her sister Laura and I went on a Texas Hill Country Roadshow Extravaganza.

First we went to the Sister Creek Vineyard in Sisterdale. It's this really old cotton gin that they turned into a winery. Before we did the wine tasting, we took a tour of the place. The first thing I noticed was this flag:

Is it just me, or does that seem dirty to anyone else? Come on, admit it. You were thinking the same thing. Apparently that's supposed to be a cannon. That's bogus. Every cannon I've ever seen has had wheels on it. I don't see any wheels. I know. I need to get my head out of the gutter.

Moving right along, we found these cavernous empty vats. According to our self-guided tour sheets, they are for bottling the wine. I found that they were also pretty good for making some killer echo sounds:

We checked out some more stuff back there, but it didn't take very long. Sister Creek is just not that big of a place. Before we left we stopped to try a few of the wines. I thought they were pretty good, but then again, you're talking to someone who equates "expensive wine" with "gallon jugs." Here's Laura and me enjoying some wine tasting:


We left the winery and headed toward the famed Luckenbach, Texas. I've heard the song at least a hundred times, so it was high time for me to go check this place out for myself. Besides, Candy said it was cool. We pulled up and the first thing I said was, "Is this it?" Sure enough, it was, all ten acres of it. We stopped to take a picture outside the general store, a 150 year old building held together by splinters, mud-dauber nests, and old cowboy melodies:


The general store offered a surprising amount of Luckenbach merchandise for such a tiny little town (Population: 1). The best part though, was the bar. You know what they say: When in Rome (or Texas) ... so I bought a cold delicious Shiner Bock to accompany me on the rest of our stay. Actually, Candy bought it cause I didn't have any cash. We walked out back to the stage where some notable and not-so-notable country greats come to play. I can imagine how lovely it would be to sit out there on a summer night singing along to my favorite Willie Nelson songs with a little help from my good friend Shiner. Another time, perhaps. Today we just stood on the stage and acted like idiots:

We moseyed over a particularly treacherous-looking bridge to check out the idyllic campground next to the river. Someday soon I would really like to pitch my tent there and stumble back over that rickety bridge to it after a rockin' outlaw country show. For today, we just climbed a tree for the hell of it:


We stopped back by the store on our way out so I could get a sticker to put on my trailer. I was feeling friendly after finishing my tasty Shiner, so I started chatting with the guy behind the counter. The he asked, "Do you have a feller, Arkansas Girl?" I replied with, "Nope, do you wanna be my feller?" He said he would very much like that. So I guess if I ever get the urge to drop everything and move to the middle of nowhere in South Texas, I could shack up with this dude:

I probably won't though.

We rolled out of Luckenbach and went to see the home of Lyndon Baines Johnson. That, however, is a whole 'nother story in itself. Let me just say that it was hilarious. I think I will also take this opportunity to publicly apologize to Candy for laughing so hard at her I cried. After that little episode, we met up with Ed, Sarah and Laura's dad for dinner where I had one hell of a good hot dog on a bun. Once our bellies were full we pointed our pony toward the house and called it a night.

I'm leaving tomorrow, but I have to say, it's been a great three days with my surrogate family and I look forward to coming back here (and back to Luckenbach) in March. Oh, and I'm sure you'll be able to see some other pictures and get Laura's side of the store here.

How about that? Two posts in one week. I'm on a roll! You'd better watch your back, Christopher.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm glad "counter guy" is not your feller, that'd be creepy. Remember, the rising of Christ and my birthday...coincidence?? I think not.

Anonymous said...

Glad you had a good time and took care of my family-- even though you laughed at my Mom. That's not cool.

Your feller looks like quite the guy. Have fun at Happy Hour.

kw said...

Y'know, when I had Shiner last time I was in Oklahoma, I just wasn't that impressed.

Maybe it's tastier on draft.

Helen said...

I love your new feller! What a fabulous hat and handlebar!

Anonymous said...

haha sister youre silly. ill see you monday!

Anonymous said...

Looks like a cannon to me. Is the road getting a little lonely? ;-)