Day 4

     

      Today was a fun day.  My parents came up from San Antonio to meet me for lunch in Blanco atTthe Redbud Café.  I went in a little early to Blanco so I could walk around the square.  I visited the Old Blanco County Courthouse which was very interesting.  It was actually only used 4 years as the Blanco County Seat, before the Seat was moved to Johnson City, which is a town about 14 miles north of Blanco.  It was then used as a school, offices, a hospital, bank and many other uses.  It fell into disrepair, but in 1986 the town decided to restore it and it was rededicated in May of 1998.  It really is a beautiful building as you can see from the pictures.

     

    Surrounding the Courthouse are many little businesses, still in the original buildings, but of course not the original uses.  The courthouse has a visitor’s center/museum that has pictures lining the walls showing the old businesses and locals.  It is quite fun.  One of my favorite places to visit in Blanco is Cranberry’s Antiques.  One can spend hours going through all the items in the store, reminiscing about things that were probably in your grandma’s house.  There used to be a restaurant there called “Sunset”.  I’ve only eaten there once, it was New Year’s Eve about 7 years ago, and my husband and I were on our way home from work and decided we would stop there instead of try to find somewhere in Bulverde to eat.  There was a Goldwing motorcycle parked outside and my husband was admiring it because he has a Goldwing, and the owner of the bike came out.  They talked motorcycle for a couple of minutes and then my husband asked him how the food was.  His reply was, “It wasn’t the best I’ve ever had, but it wasn’t the worst.”  Well, that should have warned us, but we went on in.  And he was right.  We both got the prime rib special, and it was ok.  I am not sure it was because of its mediocre food or not, but it is currently closed and for sale.  There used to be a fabulous high- end restaurant which my husband and I would stop by periodically, plus I sold wine to them from the winery we worked at.  Unfortunately, the property is currently in probate court so the restaurant shut down.  In the same building though is  Uptown Blanco Textile shop which I did visit today.  What a treat!  The bolts of fabric were on bookshelves, so it was like a library of fabric, plus they had sewing notions, they do sewing classes, and also had some handmade items for sale.  I love handmade items.  I wish I could sew.  My grandmother sewed.  She used to sew me dresses, and clothes for my Skipper doll.  I don’t know if she ever offered to teach me and I said no, I wanted to play, or if it was her quiet time “thing”.  I did have a sewing class in 7^th grade, and the teacher passed me because I really did try, but I just didn’t have the patience for it I guess.  I’m more of an outside girl.  Let me brush horses for hours on end and I will be happy. 

     The Redbud Café was delicious as usual.  I had the spinach/pear/maple pecan salad and Moroccan chickpea soup (spicy!), Mom had the spinach quiche and Daddy had the meatloaf sandwich.  It was all good.  I haven’t had a bad meal there yet.  Next to The Redbud Café is Brieger Pottery, which of course has pottery but also a ton of fun, eclectic items.  The Redbud Café and Brieger Potter are owned by a local Blanco couple.  For more information on either visit their websites- http://www.redbud-cafe.com/ and http://briegerpottery.com/Brieger_Pottery_site/Home.html. 

    Our next stop was Arc De Texas which is a wine tasting room between Blanco and Johnson City.  They offer wine tastings, glasses and bottles of wine from a plethora of different places including Argentina, France, Italy, California and of course Texas.  I can honestly say from visiting most of the Texas Hill Country wineries, it has the best views, and is worth just going for the views.  They also have a bed and breakfast on site and other areas around the property.  The cost is $12.00 for 5 tastings.  If you like a big, heavy, tannin-filled red, I suggest the Fall Creek Meritus.  It is one of my favorite wines of all time.  I told my mother that it would be the last wine of our tasting, and after she tasted it, she commented, “Why didn’t we just get a glass of this?”  I replied, “It is the experience Mom, and it probably wouldn’t have tasted as good had you not had anything to compare it with.”  You can visit their website for more information- https://www.arcdetexas.com/wine-tasting-destination.  All in all, a fantastic day, and I will enjoy my bottle of Fall Creek Meritus when my husband comes to visit next Wednesday and we grill Rib-Eye.  My mouth is watering now!