The man and I ran away for an incredible weekend thanks to the kindness of generosity of our families. There is a fine line between being blessed and being spoiled and after this weekend, I'm not quite sure which side we fall on. We stayed at our favorite place here in Austin. It's smack dab in the middle of town and is within walking distance of some of the best coffee, dining and shopping in the ATX. When we arrived at our room, it had been decked out by Nana and the kids and it was apparent that my Mama had stopped by as well. Every corner had some bit of celebration or gifty in it. We felt so pampered...the relaxation began immediately. Full size pictures are here.
We got up pretty early Saturday morning and headed out of town. Taking a very leisurely drive through the HIll Country we made our round about way out to Fredericksburg. Full size pictures of the drive out are here.
First stop in Fredericksburg was to go to Dooley's, one of my favorite places in Central Texas. It's an old school dime store. It opened in the early 20's and still has the original wood floors. The first thing you notice when you walk through the door is the smell of the wax that they still use to protect the floors. They carry everything under the sun, including Blue Waltz a cheap perfume that is only sold in a few stores nationwide. I read an article years ago about how women travel to Dooley's from far and wide to stock up on their Blue Waltz. Those of you who grew up in the southwest will probably remember Winn's Five & Dime. Dooley's reminds me a lot of those stores. Piles and piles of absolutely anything you might need, including both fabric and shelf lining by the yard. Full size pictures are here.
Next we spent time in the Memorial Courtyard at the Admiral Nimitz Museum. It is incredibly moving to walk through this courtyard and read the pavers and plaques dedicated to the many service men and women that lost their lives or were injured in the Pacific War. We paused and took a moment to observe the plaque of Frederick George Crawford. He was the namesake and uncle of our Fred...husband to Nana. It was our first opportunity to see the plaque since it was dedicated and it was a privilege to take a moment and reflect. We spent some time walking in the Garden of Peace and then we made our way back out to Main Street. Full size pictures are here.
Fredericksburg has loads of touristy charm...and along with that comes copious amounts of crap for sale...but there are a few select antique shops that I love to roam and daydream. I think I deserve some type of prize for not buying one durn thing in these stores. They are so full of color and texture and ephemera...and you always feel like if you don't snag what you love the opportunity will never come again. :) Full size pictures are here.
The last place we hit before we left town was the Fredericksburg Brewing Company. It was our first time in, and it was an easy place to feel at home. We sat in the back room, watched a little college basketball, and relaxed a bit before hopping in the car and driving back to Austin. Full size pictures are here.
We got back into Austin in time to get gussied up and go to Vespaio for dinner. Words can't even express how yummy our dinner was. Nothing really tasted good for days afterwards...my taste buds compared everything to those memories of yumminess. Sorry I don't have any pictures of our meal, I spared the Man the camera at the table for our evening out...I'm afraid I couldn't do it justice anyway. We wrapped up the weekend with a nice sleep-in and a bento box breakfast in the room. Spoiled, I'm telling you. Whew! What a weekend. It's always so lovely to have one-on-one time with the Man...to put the work away for a while and pretend that we don't talk to each other all day long about one work thing or another...to let the daily stressors just melt away and allow us to really see each other again.