THIS TRAIL SUCKS!

When I posted my list of things to do in Wimberley the other day, a friend left a comment on facebook saying I had forgotten to include the nature trail that runs along Cypress Creek, from downtown Wimberley over to Blue Hole Park. I walked it a few times when it first opened, but hadn't been there recently, so I decided to give it a try.

Before, I always reached it via the little playground just past the shoe store. Yesterday, however, I was lunching at Inoz, so I figured I'd just head down to the creek path from there. That was my first mistake.

The size of these old cypress trees just boggles my mind!

Unfortunately, the trail grew precariously close to the creek, and then tumbled right off of the edge! That's when I remembered that, when I'd entered from the playground before, the path seemed to run along the bottom of the cliff below all the shops, then a stacked-stone wall, for some ways before moving over towards the creek. So I headed into the woods and wandered around a good bit until I finally picked up the other trail.

That was my next big mistake, for it wasn't long before that trail disappeared as well! From that point on I seemed to hop from one bit of trail to another, as each one disappeared under piles of felled trees and flotsam. Finally it hit me. The Halloween flood must have re-mapped this entire area. No wonder I couldn't follow the trail!

Just when I was beginning to despair of ever finding my way out again, I spotted the house that marked the end of the trail. Halleluiah! Guess what else I spotted? A barricade blocking the end of the trail, with this sign posted on the other side:

 
NOW they tell me!!!

Ah well, at least I made it out in one piece. Let's just pray I didn't crawl through any poison ivy in the process.
 

BUT NOW HE'S BACK!

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know that my hubby's retirement hasn't exactly been a barrel of laughs. First he had a mild stroke. Then he passed out at Mima's one day, conked his head, and had to be life-flighted to Austin with bleeding in his brain. A few months later, when he was threatening to pass out again, we rushed him back to the hospital, where we discovered he had ventricular tachycardia (which probably caused the Mima's episode) and needed a pacemaker. A short time after coming home we discovered his pacemaker had come with a bonus -- a nasty staph infection, which was already coursing throughout his bloodstream by the time we got him back to the hospital. After another week in the hospital under the care of an infectious disease specialist, they let him keep the pacemaker, but sent him home with a picc line and a man-purse filled with antibiotics, which were pumped into him around the clock for six weeks.

A few weeks after finally getting the all-clear, we took our first little vacation since it all started, and the infection came back! Which meant paying an extra thousand bucks to get a flight back one day early, so we could rush him straight to the hospital and his cadre of doctors. They yanked the pacemaker this time, left the wound open to drain, started pumping him with antibiotics again, and eventually put in a new pacemaker on the other side of his chest. As you can imagine, it has taken quite some time for him to get over feeling like he was a doomed man!

When he first retired and moved up here to Wimberley full-time, his plan was to do some consulting work now and then, just to keep his toe in the water, and to have a bit of fun-money. When an old work-buddy approached him last year about doing just that, he turned him down. Not only was he not up to it physically, he wasn't certain he was still up to it mentally. Could you blame him for getting depressed?

So, imagine my surprise when he announced last week that he might be taking a 6-8 week gig down in Sabine Pass! I guess he figures that, if he managed to survive a week at SXSW, he ought to be ready to take on anything.

You've come a long way baby!

WHEN IN WIMBERLEY...

Several people I've met or reconnected with recently are planning trips to Wimberley, and have asked for recommendations on what to see and do when here. Instead of sending them each a list, I thought it might make more sense to post a list here on the blog. That way people can leave comments, reminding me of all the important things I forgot to include. If I can figure out how to do it, I might even link it to a button over in the sidebar, so you can find it easily if you want to refer back to it later. I may even edit and add to it as time goes by, if I think of more good stuff to add.

So here it is...

THE WIMBERLEY TO-DO LIST

OUTDOORSEY STUFF 

A Rafting Trip in New Braunfels, Back in the Day

Blue Hole Park - Swim there in the summer. Hike, bike, or picnic year round.

Jacob's Well - another swimming hole, this one happens to be the spring that is the source of Cypress Creek, and opens into a series of underground caves.

Wimberley Zip Lines

Tubing - head over to San Marcos for this. Rent your tubes from the Lion's Club then float down to the park behind the River Pub, where there are a couple of water chutes. When you finally wear yourself out, buses will pick you and your tubes up and take you back to your car.

Rafting - New Braunfels is the place to go for rafting, plus it's home to the best water park in the world, Schlitterbahn!

Mt. Baldy - the tallest hill in Wimberley, with a gazillion steps leading up to it.

Enchanted Rock - not actually in Wimberley, it's closer to Fredericksburg, but for outdoor people, it's the ultimate Hill Country experience.

EVENING ENTERTAINMENT

At The Corral

Corral Theater - Not a drive in, but a blast-from-the-past walk-in outdoor theater, showing first run movies at bargain rates (summer months only)

Wimberley Players - home of our community theater, located just off the town square

Emily Ann Theater - both an outdoor and indoor theater, and host to various events throughout the year, including Shakespeare in the Park, the spring Butterfly Release and winter's Trail of Lights.

Friday Night Bingo at the VFW - it's a hoot!

Boot-Scootin' - head out to Gruene Hall over near New Braunfels, the oldest dancehall in Texas. Or try out the new dance hall on Mercer St. in Dripping Springs, which is a bit closer. If it's the weekend, there's always live music right here in Wimberley at the bar-with-dance-floor behind Cypress Creek Cafe, on the square.

SHOPPING

Wimberley Glassworks - stop in and watch the glassblowers at work! On RR12, heading out towards San Marcos

In-Style Accessories - the best women's shoe store ever. All their shoes are super-comfy, but also cute and sassy -- not the least bit orthopedic looking! There are lots of other great shops up and down RR12 and all around the square, but I'm not much of a shopper, so I'm not the best to advise you on these. I have found cute clothes and jewelry at both Dove Tails and Vintage Girl, and nice gifts and furnishings at The Tree House. Plus we have a great kitchen shop called Kiss The Cook. Wimberley Fine Arts and Bent Tree Gallery are great places to find local art.

Wimberley Market Days - First Saturday of each month (except Jan. and Feb.) at Lion's Field. Over 500 booths.

WINING AND DINING

The View From Inoz' Terrace

Inoz Brew and Chew - kind of a sports bar inside, with burgers and such, but with a great outdoor terrace overlooking the creek. Great place to stop for a drink, or leave the men while you continue shopping. Just follow the staircase down between Blue Willow and Wooden Spoon (frozen yogurt).

For Breakfast go to Wimberley Cafe in the center of the square, or go to Mima's down 2325, between the two high schools. Mima's specialty is tacos made fresh, from scratch, but they also serve bacon and eggs and pancakes. It's my go-to place for lunch as well.

The Leaning Pear, on River Road just off RR12, is probably the best upscale restaurant in town, with wonderful soups, salads, gourmet sandwiches, woodfired pizzas with unusual toppings, and several nice dinner entrees as well.

Linda Allen's is the home of our local caterer, and the best place to find lots of great veggie choices, for dine in or take out, if you are trying to eat light.

The Salt Lick, over in Driftwood, is the best barbecue spot anywhere, as far as I'm concerned.

Also in Driftwood are Trattoria Lisina (fabulous Tuscan style dining), on the grounds of Duchman Vineyards and Winery. The best place by far if you're looking for ambience!

Another fun vineyard where we like to hang out is Driftwood Vineyards, which is perched atop a hill with a beautiful view.

ACCOMMODATIONS

There are a gazillion B&B's, cabins and inns in Wimberley, and I haven't stayed in any of them. Most all are rented out by lodging services, rather than by their owners. Just google "Wimberley lodging" or "Wimberley Accomodations" and you should get a list of them. The nice thing is they all post pictures so you can see what you are getting. The downside is that they don't really tell you where they are located.  "3 miles from town square" could mean 3 minutes straight down the highway, or three miles out a rutted dirt track requiring 4-wheel drive. You just never know.


So tell me Wimbo buds, what vital places or activities did I forget to include?

COLOR MAD MONDAY: BOTTLE BONUS

Know what's even better than getting a couple of bottle trees? 

It's discovering that, whenever the sun hits them juuust right, you get an unexpected bonus...

Stained-Glass-Patterned-Pavement! Does it get any better than that?

CLIMBING OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE

You may not know this about me but, as a rule, I don't walk anywhere that I can't see where my feet are going. I'm not a fan of snakes, especially the kind that wave around a maraca. My hubby thinks it's hi-larious that I spent my entire life trying to get out of the suburbs, but now that I'm finally out in the country, I refuse to wander around in my own front yard, with the waist-high grasses. I love the view from my balcony, though. So, when I take my walks, I usually stick to the pavement. Problem is, after a while, you get pretty tired of walking the only three streets in your neighborhood, day after day.

When the Blue Hole Park opened up a couple of years ago, I began walking there for a change of pace. I knew there were some nature trails there, but I stuck to the nice wide jog/bike path. Not only because of snakes, but also because I have no sense of direction. Seriously. Apparently I suffer from an inability to rotate images in my head, so not only do I have to map out how to get someplace, I also have to map out the reverse course if I want to get home again. So, a winding path with lots of forks and branches, and no map to guide me? Hubby said "I can see the headlines now: Wimberley woman wanders lost for days, within a few feet of her own car!"

After awhile, though, I got bored again. So I ventured out on the tiny bit of trail that led up past the scenic overlook. Once I made it as far as the pavilion, however, I would always circle over to the pavement and head back to my car.

But, you guessed it, I got bored again. Plus, I got this Fitbit doohickey, and was a bit obsessed with finding new ways to get more steps each day. Eventually, I put on my big girl panties and followed this path to the far hinterlands of the park.

What did I find there? I found my Fortress of Solitude.

I found a tree cathedral, where the wind soughed through their branches, making a soft clacking noise reminiscent of bamboo windchimes.

The first time I came to this fork in the road, I chickened out and went to the right -- the one that headed back toward pavement. The next day I stood there for a moment, then said "What the hell? If I get lost, I get lost!"

The left path led me down a little ravine, to a mostly dry creek bed.

To my left was a water-filled depression, where a horde of lusty frogs were singing an ode to spring at the top of their lungs! Nothing to my right. Guess those stacked stones over there mean I'm supposed to cross the creek and climb out on the other side.

Next thing I know, I'm walking along the top of a cliff, looking down on the creek from afar.

At one point I connected with the hike & bike for a while, but soon I was able to head back into the trees.

I had no clue there were actually campsites in the park!

Eventually, I wound up right back where I started, having circled around all the sports fields and parking lots in the center of the park.

Each day I went back, taking different forks each time. Suddenly my walks weren't so boring anymore! And all it took was me peeking out over the edge of my little box.

A few days ago I sent an email to my friend Outdoor Woman, asking if she knew of any maps showing all the different trails in the park. She just sent me this Blue Hole master plan, and asked if I needed a guide to go walking with me. After looking it over I sent back a note saying "No thanks. Looks like I've pretty much covered them all already." Her reply? "Who are you? And why are you using Becky's email address?!!!"

SXSW: FINAL REPORT FROM OUR MAN ON THE STREET

Hubby had a few more photos, from his week-long adventure in geekdom, to share with you. The caption under Lexi's photo is his, not mine.

Just some random dude, boppin' down the street to his 60's hard rock tunes (I forget which band John said it was)

John gets his photo snapped with the Olympic track star who ran the 400 -- same event John ran back in high school.

Lex And Her Brother

They had some guy there doing funny storyboards for several of the speakers.

Another Random Dude

A Street Musician Across From The Old Driskill Hotel

A Very Fashionable Juggler

Tubas? We LOVE Tubas!

All in all, I think my hubby had a pretty amazing time, 'though his tail is definitely dragging now. Too bad it had to end on such an horrific note. As you've probably heard by now, on Wednesday evening a drunk driver drove through a police barricade, straight into the crowd down on 6th street (where most of these pics were taken), killing two and injuring at least two dozen more, some of them critically. So many lives ruined by one disastrous choice.

PEACHY KEEN

Well, our little peach tree started blooming this week -- just in time for another of our infamous 50-degrees-in-24-hours plunges. Fortunately, I don't think it quite made it down to freezing. Plus, the crazy-mad winds we'd had all day finally died down a bit before it got that cold. Sooooo, if we're really, really lucky, and the birds don't beat us to them, we just might get a peach or two this year!

I am ever the optimist.