HIPPIE DAY DREAMS

John and I went to Wimberley Cafe for breakfast this morning - his once a week break from whole grains. It was nice and cloudy when we came out, had even sprinkled a bit, so I suggested "Hey, let's take our walk right now, here in town, before the sun comes out full force." We took a little side road off from the square, which heads out past Dandy Dog, then winds through a cluster of interesting little houses that I'd never paid much attention to before. It got me to thinkin', about how convenient it would be, in my old age, to live somewhere like this, where I was able to walk to the cafe, the grocery store, the community center, the library... But then I'd have to give up my balcony porch, the view, the sunrises. If I did that, how would I ever come up with stuff to write about?

Our path swung us out behind the large chunk of land that's behind, and a part of, the old Cypress Creek Cafe property, which has been on the market for nigh on a year now. It then circled us back to the main road, and we passed by the front of its two-story stone building. It made me so sad, to see this wonderful old building, the cornerstone of the whole "square", sitting empty and forlorn. I glanced up at its upstairs balcony, the much envied spot for viewing the upcoming Independence Day Parade. "You know John, I always thought it would be so cool to 'live above the store' somewhere. We should just buy this property, move in upstairs, and open some kind of business downstairs." "Sounds good to me," he replied. "From that balcony up there, I could see everything that went on in town, and I'd never run out of things to write about!" "Yep." "What kind of business could we have though? Ooh! Ooh! I know! It could be just like Onion Creek Cafe and it's sister restaurants in the Houston Heights. We could try and convince Isaac to sell his other property, and lease the downstairs here from us instead. It could be the place everyone comes to in the morning for coffee, pastries or a light breakfast. The courtyard in back would be a great place for kids to play while their moms visited. Business people and tourists could eat a simple lunch here, and in the evening it would be the wine bar/brew pub where everyone in town comes to hang out with friends and neighbors or hear some good music." "Yep." We were halfway home when I started hopping up and down in my seat, and cried out "Ooh! Ooh! And we could let The Bountiful Sprout use it as their pick up spot too!" "Yep."

Of course, they are probably asking at least half a mil., more than double what we could get for our place, if we could sell it at all. It did sit empty for several years before we were crazy enough to snap it up, and this isn't exactly a seller's market right now, either. Still, as far as day dreams go, this one ain't too shabby, eh? Guess I'm still looking for that "third place."

P.S. Many thanks to houstonist.com for the image of Onion Creek Cafe.