We have always wanted to visit the Texas Hill Country during springtime, when the wildflowers were in bloom. Although the area had been in a drought, we along with some friends spent 2 days in the area to see all of the most noteworthy (at least to us) areas of the hill country. We packed our saddlebags and set upon our route:

• Moseying north to Johnson City
• West to Fredericksburg (where we spent the night), and then
• North and east through some of the state’s prime wildflower country (around Llano and Burnet) before a two-day stop in Austin, the self-proclaimed “Live Music Capital of the World”.  

Johnson City—Art and History

The wildflower display along Route 291 from San Antonio to Johnson City was modest. But we did enjoy our view of a painted, sculpted grain elevator right on Rt 290.

Lyndon B. Johnson National Historic Park

We then stopped at the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historic Park. After an introductory movie and browsing through the visitor center, we took a self-guided driving tour of the ranch where Johnson was born, lived, died, and was buried. We ended up at the Johnson home and Texas White House.

Displays included:

• Air Force One Half, the small commuter jet that Johnson preferred to the larger Air Force One;
• Some of the many of the cars he used;
• A closet filled with Texas and White House-themed gifts that he enjoyed giving;
• The ranch’s old and new show barns;
• The Secret Service House;
• The power station that was built to upgrade the home’s single-line, hand-crank telephone that he used through his career in the Senate into a then state-of-the-art multi-line system (with phones in every room) on which he relied to employ his famous in-your-face brand of persuasion.
• Then there was the old “Cabinet Oak,” which was circled with lawn chairs in which Johnson held Cabinet meetings while he was in Texas.

Although photos were not allowed inside the home or the presidential office, both appeared as they were when he was in office. Rooms were repainted and retrofitted with the furniture, fixtures and personal items (including many of the president and first-lady’s clothes) that were in the home during the couple’s White House years.

Since this historic park and tour were focused primarily on Johnson’s personal life (unlike the Presidential Library and Museum in Austin, which focuses primarily on his political life), it did not get into his policies or the issues he faced in office. However, it did present a vivid personal picture of the man (and woman) who did so much to shape the country during one of its most turbulent decades.  

Stonewall Wineries

The town of Stonewall is Ground Zero of Texas Wine Country. We would be remiss of our duty if we did not sample the wares of at least a few of its producers. Although we tasted almost every varietal, few were really ready for prime time. After all our diligent fieldwork, we discovered that the most promising are wines based on Rhone and Mediterranean varietals—especially Tempranillo.

• Pedernales, where the most interesting were 2012 Albarino, 2011 Tempranillo Reserve, 2010 Family Reserve (a Tempranillo blend) and 2012 Muscat.
• Becker: 2011 Reserve Vigonier, 2011 Reserve Roussanne, 2010 Reserve Cabernet (which is grown in Texas’s much higher-altitude Western high country) and 2011 Raven (a Petite Verdot and Malbec blend);
• Grape Creek 2012 Cuvee Blanc (pinot gris, Viognier and Sauvignon Blanc) and two Cabernet-based wines, the 2010 Cabernet Trois and Cabernet/Syrah blend.
• Four Point which represents wines from three wineries (Lost Oak, Brennan and McPherson) from three different Texas regions (Fort Worth, Comanche and Lubbock, respectively).

Luckenbach

After completing our winetasting duties, we had one more brief stop before reaching our evening destination of Fredericksburg. Luckenbach isn’t so much a town (actually hamlet) as it is an old happening Texas ghost town with only a handful of residents. But it is a fun place to explore.

The town’s fun, touristy/functional Luckenbach General Store and Dance Hall includes a decommissioned Post Office, crowded backroom bar, with a window opening to a serving bar open to a small concert venue. The town “restaurant” and large dance hall are next door.

The town center is a place to behold. It is an incredibly active (for its size). It is a country music venue that has hosted the likes of Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Lyle Lovett. In fact, it holds a spot in the Guinness Book of World Record for the most guitar players gathered at one time to play (continuously, at least 5 minutes)—a total of 1,868!

But if you think downtown Luckenbach is just for tourists, tell that to the chickens who are roaming the yards and the bar.

Unfortunately, we managed to visit on one of the few days in which there was not one of the regularly scheduled Picker Circles, dances, shows and events. You can bet, however, that we will plan our next trip around Luckenbach’s and the Belini Sculpture Ranch’s schedules.  

Fredericksburg as Hill Country Destination 

Fredericksburg is a destination town, as evidenced by the big, somewhat soulless hotels, kitschy tourist shops, and tour buses. But get beyond that. It’s an attractive, lively, 150+ year-old German farming town that is still known for its peaches, lavender and, in Texas circles, wine.

Fredericksburg is loaded with German-style stone houses. It has an attractive and lively Main Street, fun bars, good restaurants, and a world-class museum. Besides, where else can you find gourmet chocolate shops that have chocolate-covered bacon, pickles, and jalapeno peppers. Or, for that matter, a wide selection of (We Don’t Call 911”) signs that promote the region’s long-established gun culture

Walk both sides of the Main Street, take a rest in one of the drinking/drinking venues (country and Western, German or Contemporary), enjoy a good meal (ours was at the Cabernet Grill). Then spend three, four or more hours in the fascinating (at least for history buffs) National Museum of the Pacific War. The museum is based in the hotel that was owned by World War II Pacific Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz. It is spread across three primary buildings:

1. Admiral Nimitz Museum is, the ship-brow-shaped hotel that was owned by the Nimitz family and now memorializes the life and career of the man who redefined naval warfare;
2. George H.W. Bush Gallery tells the entire history of the Pacific war, starting with the 19^th-century “Westernization” of Japan and China, which set the context for the war, trhough Pearl Harbor. It provides detailed descriptions of all the major battles, the development and roles of key technologies, and the difficult decision to drop the Atomic bomb. While the story is told primarily through written panels and pictures, there are plenty of historic videos, audio presentations, artifacts and even a multimedia reenactment of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Incredibly detailed, interesting and moving;
3. Pacific Combat Zone provides guided tours that depict life in the war zone. It shows an airfield in which a bomber is being prepared for a mission, a PT base, and even a beachhead equipped with weapons and entrenchments. The Zone’s living history program delves into detailed accounts of U.S. and Japanese weapons and tactics and the planning processes and execution of actual invasions.

Eating in Fredericksburg restaurants,

Unfortunately, we only had time to try only restaurant. The Cabernet Grill is a pretty Texas steakhouse. The two men partook in ritual big, juicy ribeye steaks with a wasabi merlot sauce and maple chipotle sweet potato mash. The women had fish: pan seared Rainbow Trout stuffed with roasted tomatoes, asiago cheese, fresh herbs and applewood smoked bacon, topped with pecan brown butter sauce, and coconut crusted shrimp with five pepper glace and pickled red onion jalapeno slaw. But since entrees (even big ones) are never sufficient when exploring a new restaurant, we had to try the house salad and pecan crusted crab cake appetizers. And since the chicken frying of all types of unanticipated dishes seems to be a Texas tradition, we simply couldn’t pass up a chance to try the Chicken Fried Pecan Pie with white chocolate ice cream. Overall, it was a very good, not to speak of very filling meal.

The Quest for Wildflowers 

But we were also in the region to find wildflowers. While the annual display has been substantially muted by five straight years of drought, we still found plenty to see and do.

Our first stop, out of Fredericksburg, was Enchanted Rock, a 425-foot tall pink granite monolith that covers 640 acres.

Then on to lunch in Llano where we had a hugely popular and very busy Texas BBQ experience at Cooper’s Old-Time Pit Bar-B-Que. After a long wait in line, we reached a line of huge ovens that were filled with all types of barbequed and smoked meats—pork ribs, beef ribs, pork chops, sausage, brisket, prime rib, chicken and more—pretty much all of which we just had to sample. You tell the tender which meat you want and how how much you want. He cuts it, places it on a metal tray and points you to the door. Once you enter, you pass your meat-laden tray to a person who weighs and prices each of your selection and wraps it in brown paper—which also serves as your plate. While this is being done, you walk along a counter at which you select sides (cole slaw, potato salad, baked beans), desert (especially a number of cobblers, including delicious pecan cobbler) and drinks. Then, off to the main room (not to speak of the large overflow room and outside area) to try to find space on one of the long picnic-style tables and benches. Although none of us were particularly impressed by the food (other than the chicken and the peach cobbler), it was a fun (not to speak of incredibly filling) experience. We would do it again.

Fall Creek Vineyards

We then took a slight detour to sample one more winery, Fall Creek Vineyards. Before the drought, Fall Creek Vineyards used to be on the shores of Lake Buchanan.

While it is one of the largest wineries in Texas, we were not particularly impressed by any of its varietal wines. Not till the end of the tasting did we discover the real sources of the demand for its wines—the $9.99 semi-dry (about 2% residual sugar) Ed’s “Smooth Red” and “Just Right White” and the even sweeter (5-6% RS) Twin Springs Sweet Red, White and Blush wines. (They would not even hint at the grapes, much less the percentages, that went into each of these wines. While not exactly our tastes, it certainly helps explain the source of Fall Creek’s demand.

Wildflower Central

While we didn’t exactly fall in love with Fall Creek wines, the drive did take us past some of the prettiest wildflowers of the entire trip. It was a perfect lead up to stop at Inks Lake State Park, which is, from what we heard, Wildflower Central. Although the drought took its toll here too, the drive, combined with a long walk along the park’s trails provided a day filled with, honeysuckles, firewheels, baby’s breath, daisies, broomrape and indigo—not to speak of bluebonnets (the Texas state flower)., mixed in with assorted cacti and succulents.

Overall, our trip through Texas Hill Country was two days that were very well spend. It was a lovely way to relax and see some beautiful flowers, buildings and a part of Texas.