Texas Hill Country

 Days 11 and 12? 12 and 13? Something like that. It's getting hard to keep track.

Last time I wrote, I had just spent the night in Houston at Fortress Beerworks, an out-of-the way spot in the big city. Had a glass of beer, walked to my rig, and slept in a pasture. How great is that?

That Friday in Houston was a catch-all day. I had a yummy breakfast with Kate, one of my GISH (Greatest International Scavenger Hunt, which sadly has dissolved) teammates. Kate kindly pointed me to the places I needed, a laundromat and a Target. It was great to have Poppy outside the laundromat door. I got to make a cuppa and work on my blog!

After errands, I got in a shower in at a Planet Fitness on the way to Houston Hobby airport!

I picked up Trish mid-afternoon on Friday, and we made our way to LaGrange, Texas, where we stopped at a family farm/tasting room/restaurant. So cool! Parked in a wildflower-filled pasture and had many neighbors, including guinea fowl, goats, donkeys, cattle, a guardian dawg, and roosters off in the distance. 

Livestock guard dawg greeted me in the morning

Morning view outside the sliding door.

Blissful Folly Family Farm had really nice food and good beer and mead. We tasted a little of everything. We had a restful night and took our time with coffee, tea, and brekkie before we hit the road. 

And hit the road we did! With the app called "Roadside America," Trish found some must-see roadside attractions and she led us to The World's Biggest Gingerbread Man in Smithville. 

Smithville, Texas is a cute little town. Two blocks long and two blocks wide, with about a dozen antique stores. And a nice coffee shop, The General Store.

Find a nice spicy chai in The General Store!

Once we hit the road again, we visited Ms. Pearl the Giant Squirrel in Cedar Creek. And left with $60 worth of pecan goodies. It happens.

Even Ms. Pearl is ready for the eclipse!

All that before we even got to Austin! Once there, we had another set of wonderful adventures with Sister Adventurer Anne! She took us on our own Mystery Tour of Austin, where we visited art installations and the coolest public library in the nation. 

Photos below are Ellsworth Kelly's installation at UT Austin. Super cool to commune with the sun in this way on an eclipse weekend. Photos are inadequate. Go visit when you visit Austin.

Lots of critter art along the public walking mall near the State Capitol building. But I took a photo of just this guy:

Here's your unsolicited Willie pic.

Near Austin City Limits

And the Austin Public Library.:

View from the top floor of the library.

We got 1-, 3-, and 5-minute short stories from a machine at the library. We read them while we waited for a table at a yummy N'Orleans restaurant, Cypress Grill. I had boiled crawfish! Yummy!

We had a comfortable night in Anne's driveway, and the next day, breakfast tacos and a drive to the eclipse venue. 

Thank you so much, Anne, for your wonderful hospitality!

We hit the road and more roadside attractions on the way to Lampasas.

A stop at Dead Man's Hole. Sobering.

Some dark American history. Don't forget the people who died. 

Can you have too many wildflower photos?

A stop in Marble Falls's Blue Bonnet Cafe for PIE! Thanks, Anne, for pointing us there!

Roadside attractions snapped by Trish!

World's Largest Spur? Of course it's in Texas!

drive-by roadside attraction. Is that Nessie in that pasture?!

We made it to the eclipse venue mid-afernoon and set up our spot among dozens of Travatos. It's our first meetup! We'll be for two nights. Seven years of anticipation: it  is happening!

(I know; this is published after the actual eclipse! I'm having trouble keeping up!  More soon!)