happy trails…

for our anniversary last week – our SIXTEENTH anniversary – rob and i took a trip out to fredericksburg for a nice long weekend…

it was my year to plan, we take turns every year, so i spent quite awhile searching for a nice, quiet, “little cabin in the woods” up in the hill country. i can’t tell you HOW MANY little cabins, cottages and bed and breakfasts that i looked at. i was quite bleary eyed by the time i found the perfect place.

it was my kind of get-a-way, out in the middle of nowhere, but less than 10 minutes to get to somewhere! LOL! it was only about 8 miles from downtown fredericksburg, but it was set back on a large acreage that was a pleasant mix of  pastureland and wooded areas. they had horses and donkeys – which we saw, and longhorns and other varmits which we didn’t.

the cabin was wonderful; it was originally a log cabin that was built back in the 1800’s in north carolina, that had been dismantled and then rebuilt in fredericksburg. it was shaded by trees, and had been lovingly landscaped with lots of native texan plants and a rock walkway led up to the cabin…

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on one side of the covered porch sat a pair of rocking chairs with a table built from old washboards sitting between them – the makings of  a delightful breakfast spot. and a nice, wide porch swing hung on the other side – “theatre” seating for the firefly show at night…

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the cabin was both cozy and comfortable; you walked into the living room, which was outfitted with a large overstuffed leather couch across from a nice big fireplace (which we didn’t get to use since the temps are already up in the 80’s and 90’s here!) there was also a rocking chair and a unique little hat rack by the door. the tv was set to a “radio” station that played old country music – a hard to find favorite of mine…

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 there was an antique dining room set tucked away under the loft, which was covered with a western themed tablecloth. the table was already set with plates, napkins and silverware, and fresh flowers were in a jar at the center. also left for us, was a plate of yummy cookies and a note from our hosts…

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the kitchen was cute and efficient, the fridge was stocked with the makings for our breakfasts as well as juice, sodas and water, and there was coffee and tea as well as popcorn and cereal on the counter – very thoughtful…

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the loft upstairs had a VERY high, very comfy bed all made up in high-cowboy style with quilts and pillows with a braided rag rug at the foot. a “bookcase” of quilts was tucked beside the bed, and a sitting area with a rocker had a “vase” of flowers on top of a old flour tin “table” …

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everywhere you looked there were unique little “tex-eclectic” touches; the decor was truly well planned and thought out – a nice mix of vintage and new. they used branches for curtain rods, which were held up by horseshoe brackets. and there was even a little shelf , cleverly tucked away, on the backside of the staircase . i think we found something new each day we were there! i especially liked this trash can! LOL!

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the cabin was named “Happy Trails”, and there was Roy Rogers and Dale Evans memorablia mixed in with all the other decor, there were movie posters, a vintage-type pin ball game, books, signs, a small figure of trigger, a Dale Evan’s lamp, the saddle holder in the dining room had “RR” on it, books, articles, even some of the pillows echoed the theme, i wish i’d taken more closeup photos! 

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here’s a few views of the horses in the pasture…

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we arrived friday, which was our anniversary, so we went into town first and had dinner at cabernet grill…

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i would highly recommend this restuarant if you are in the area, dinner was wonderful! it wasn’t too fussy, just good texan upscale grub! we had a deliciously rich crab gratin to start, then both ordered shrimp – rob had cilantro grilled, and i had sesame crusted – both were terrific! we had to try the deep fried pecan pie for dessert, but i think it lost something in the “transportation” – we took it with us as we were pleasantly full from dinner. i think it probably would have been much better hot from the fryer.

we went back to the cabin and watched the fireflies from the porch swing and listened to the frogs and crickets, it was very peaceful. we were hoping for rain that evening; when we read through the guest book earlier, there were several entries about how nice the rain sounded on the tin roof, but – the rain waited until morning.

we had breakfast in the rockers on the porch – the baked goods left for us were DELICIOUS, and the cinnamon hazelnut coffee made believers out of us non-coffee drinkers. we had some champagne left over from the night before – lightly rose scented – that made perfect mimosas out of the orange juice on hand. so we sat awhile and listened to the rain while we watched the horses and donkeys wander out of the barn one by one.

later, since it was still raining, we played cards – with a deck thoughtfully left on the coffee table. i dubbed the deck magic as i have NEVER had better poker hands, and kept beating Rob game after game! LOL! we switched the rummy, but i still kept winning!

the rain let up a bit, so we headed into town for lunch. we decided on the fredericksburg brewery as one of rob’s co-workers had recommended it for it’s chicked fried steak. we ordered an appetizer of grilled pepperwurst sausage, sharp cheddar and onion rings – it was named “just enough” but i don’t think it was named correctly! WE WANTED MORE! especially more of those onion rings, light, sweet, golden brown and DE-Li-cious! we could have made a lunch out of a few orders of that!  thankfully, rob had noticed that the chicken fried steak was a HALF A POUND, so we opted to split it. it WAS all it was cracked up to be, the batter was light and crunchy, and the meat was fork tender. both the batter and the gravy were laden with pepper which upped the spice factor. i am NOT really a chicken fried steak fan, but i REALLY liked this one!

i knew there was a scrapbook store in town, so we wandered in and i shopped while rob dozed in a chair up front. he got caught napping by a few other other gals browsing the store and decided to take a walk outside after they woke him up with their snickering at him! i found a few things that i hadn’t seen, so i managed to fill up a basket!

after that, we wandered over to a store that had a lot of collectibles and picked up a john wayne shirt for my dad, then ran across a 5 and 10 store that reminded me on the winn’s of my childhood. i had a wonderfully nostalgic time browsing the aisles and  found a pair of cap guns to take back to the kiddos.

then we headed back to the cabin and played more cards – yep – i kept winning! later we headed back in town for dinner at hondo’s – there was supposed to be a patsy cline tribute band playing – and i LOVE pasty cline! but when we got there, a little after the time the band was supposed to start, there was no band in sight. we asked, and were told, that the band was running late. we decided to leave but as we were driving off, the band pulled up! so we went around the block, parked – again, and went in and ordered. we decided to split – again – since the burgers were BIG too! we had a nice, big, juicy cheddar, bacon burger, that was on a slightly sweet bun – it was GREAT! we had also ordered a side of chips which were handmade, crispy, hot and covered in parm cheese! YUM! the only problem was the music, an opening act – which hadn’t been on the bill – started up after we got our food, and still hadn’t wrapped up by the time we were done. not that the opening act wasn’t good, he WAS, it just wasn’t what we came for. since it looked like the main event wasn’t happening for awhile still, we decided to head on back.

the drive up to the cabin was pitch black, the only lights were our headlights, which rob thought would be fun to turn off and on a few times! when we got to the gate, i had to get out and open it – and of course, rob couldn’t resist turning the lights off again. when he turned them back on, he gave a little startled “oh” and said, “they are right there!”, i couldn’t see ANYTHING but the headlights – which were blinding me, so i had no idea what was “right there!” he said it again, and i was a little panicky – what was it – a snake, a raccoon, something bigger? then i saw it, one of the horses was still out – it was after 11:00, and i guess he had ambled over to say hi. we had to move fast to get the car inside and the gate closed before he came in – we had been told some of the critters liked to munch on car parts! while i was doing that, another horse came up! they just hung their heads over the fence and watched us. we weren’t expecting them to be “out so late”! LOL!

in the morning, we had a leisurely breakfast and got packed up to leave, i wasn’t ready to go – i think i could have stayed a week! we took a few self portraits in front of the cabin, this one wasn’t too bad…

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then, we headed over to the trade days, 6 barns and 6 acres of collectible fun! for me at least, i don’t think rob was as excited about it. i wasn’t interested in the fredericksburg BLING, or the jams or jellies, i was after vintage pottery and stuff, so i was able to go through it fairly quickly. i did find a haeger tv lamp that i liked as well as a mccoy vase and a pair of vintage flower pots. they were pretty heavy to carry, so we walked a little quicker after that! LOL!

we had lunch at mamacita’s before we left; we first discovered them in san marcos, and LOVE their fajitas. their queso dip is so yummy you’ll want to ask for a glass so you can DRINK it!

all in all, the weekend was everything we wanted, just a little escape from the hustle and bustle, and a bit of time just to enjoy the peace and quiet…

p.s.: i’ve added the album from our trip to the sidebar {may 2009 – fredericksburg trip} so you can view the pictures in COLOR if you wish!