Gruene Hall Again

The fastest way to New Braunfels (which is the nearest sizeable town to Gruene, home of Gruene Hall, the oldest continuously operating dance hall in Texas) is down I35, through Austin. The more interesting way is through the Texas Hill Country. The former takes about 4 hours; the latter, about 6.

I’ve been moved to a new hotel – from the Embassy Suites to the Holiday Inn. It’s not as bad as it sounds. The “Holiday Inn” brand is re-inventing itself, and the new hotel is not only new – it’s also half the price. Nevertheless, after 3 years of staying at the Embassy Suites, I’ve made a number of friends, and we went back to visit on Saturday morning. The maitre d’, Henry, welcomed us, and insisted on providing free breakfast.

Chili cook-off

After breakfast, we headed over to the Harley-Davidson dealership at Hurst, where a colleague from work was participating in a chili cook-off. His recipe incorporated venison, and, at my suggestion, chocolate. The combination of “venison” and “chocolate” led to the cryptic name “Ohio Convalescent Chili”; using only “deer” and “chocolate” yields “Doc Heat’s Creole Chili”. He won the last round, but, this time, managed only an honorable mention. Oh well – at least he promised me the recipe.

 Ken’s wife organizes social events for a Harley-Davidson dealership a few miles south on Route 20, and so we stopped off there on our way to Gruene.

Hector's bike

We arrived before the Mardi Gras celebrations got under way, but couldn’t help noticing a spectacular bike out front customized with a fairly dark theme. This was Hector’s bike. Hector is a Bandido. Most motorcycle gangs are benign these days; the Bandidos are not, and so we were not disappointed that we didn’t actually meet Hector.

We traveled down through the Hill Country, on Route 281 through Lampasas, Blanco and Marble Falls. I’m happy to say that I can save you some time here. If you’re ever thinking of visiting Lampasas, I’m including a picture of the only thing worth seeing, to save you the bother. Similarly for Blanco, the “lavender capital” of Texas. Unless you’re a particular fan of lavender, you can skip this, save time and fuel, and then I’ve done my bit towards saving the planet.

Lampasas mural

Blanco

Marble Falls is a different story. It’s worth going there to the Bluebonnet Café for pie and coffee, as we did. They’ve been around since 1930 (immediately after the Depression, which has to count as a gutsy move). I can particularly recommend the cherry pie ala mode.

Gruene is not far from San Antonio, and only an hour or two from the Mexican border. Its main claim to fame is Gruene Hall, the oldest continuously operating dance hall in Texas – where George Strait, among others, got started. We can personally testify that the steak and ribs at the Grist Mill restaurant are excellent.

Cactus

Gruene Hall

On the way back, still through the Hill Country but via a different route, Val was fascinated by the cactus growing wild. It has been a dry winter …