We made it back home! Loren and I have been out of town for a week now, but have made it back to Houston safely. If you read my very first post from earlier this week you noticed that we were in McAllen, TX. From there we made the trek up to the Hill Country to meet my wonderful parents for a short vacation.
Growing up, both Loren and myself have spent our fair share in the hill country, and now that we are married we get to spend time together and with our family in this area. It is a lot of fun showing each other where we used to travel and hang out before we met. This week we spent time in an area that is near and dear to the both of us. We stayed at some great cabins called Foxfire Cabins in Vanderpool, TX. There is not much to this quiet little town, but it is the perfect getaway for the weekend. It is about 35 miles from Bandera, TX, about 85 miles from San Antonio, and it takes us about 5 hours to there from Houston. Click here to see where we stayed!
Before we got to the cabins we made a stop at HEB to buy our groceries, which is a must whenever we go to the cabins. We usually eat out one meal while we are cabining, which is the great thing about being some place, on vacations, where you have your own kitchen, you can really save money that way. I will have a separate post about the food we cooked while staying at Foxfire.
After arriving on Tuesday and all day Wednesday, we hung out at the Sabinal River which runs through the property. On Thursday, we got up pretty early and headed to Lost Maples State Natural Area to do some hiking. This park has some really beautiful areas and great hiking trails, but it is most known for its wonderful fall colors (yes you can actually find fall foliage in Texas). We ended up hiking about 10 miles, which for me is a huge accomplishment for me, considering I am a mix between city girl and country girl ( a little more city at times).
View from one of the scenic overlooks.
A cave we saw along the way.
Another gorgeous view from the hike.
It is amazing to see all the awesome rock formations.
Loren and I on the hiking trail.
I survived the hike and took a long shower, ate, and took an awesome nap when we got back to the cabins. 🙂 On Friday, we went into Bandera which is one of the bigger towns closest to the cabin. Both Loren and I have wonderful memories there and it was great to share those memories with each other. My mom and I love going into antique shops and Bandera has some great ones right off of the main street. One of the must sees there is Arkey Blue’s Silver Dollar Saloon, a true Texas honky tonk named after the singer and songwriter. They have a street level entrance, but the saloon is underground which is really cool. Inside, they have a juke box and an 8- track player and the floor is cover with wood chips for dancing. There is also a city park where we took a break and had our lunch that we packed; the park is seated along the Medina River.
My parents dancing at Arkey Blue’s.
Friday evening we ate an Mac and Ernie’s Roadside Eatery, which is an amazing restaurant in the small town of Tarpley, about 30 miles from where we were staying. Loren knows the owners of the restaurant and it has also been featured on Diners, Drive- Ins, and Dives, so it was a place my dad has been dying to go and try out. The food at this restaurant was absolutely amazing for being in the middle of no where. The atmosphere was great, you can sit inside or outside and they sell beer and wine or you can BYOB. I had the spicy crab cake with sriracha aioli for starters and then for my main entree I had the Yucatan style pork ribs. The crab cake was amazing, definitely a must for spicy lovers, and the ribs were so tender and the rub on them was so good. Loren got the chicken kebab with honey mustard glaze another great choice. All the entrees come with a salad and your choice of a baked potato or green beans. I got the baked potato and Loren got the green beans, and I would definitely recommend the green beans. The baked potato was good, but it wasn’t anything impressive, the green beans were way better. One of the specialties there is the honey basted quail, which is so freaking delicious and tender. It was by far one of the best meals I have had in a long time and is definitely worth the paragraph that I just wrote. Click here to visit their website for their menu and hours of operation.
We began the drive back home today, but not before stopping in New Braunfels to eat lunch at one of our favorite Mexican food restaurants, Herbert’s Taco Hut. The original Herbert’s is in San Marcos and is an absolute must restaurant to stop and get a bite to eat. I have never been to the one in New Braunfels, but let me just say it is awesome. It is a lot bigger than the one in San Marcos, but the food is just as good.
All in all we definitely enjoyed our mini vacay with the family, and we are glad to be safely back in Houston.
Love Always,
Amie
between the Gray margins 