Slipstream - May 2001

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Hill Country Heaven by Hill Bullock Bluebonnet Driveway. Lining up to start the tour. Having participated in the Fall Arkansas trip, I already knew to expect great driving, wonderful accommodations, and excellent company from one of Nelson Hodges’ tours. I was not prepared, however, for the rare and delicate beauty which awaited us in the Hill Country of Texas. We set off from Benbrook Friday morning, just southwest of Ft. Worth. It was a treat meeting up again with some of the good friends we had made on the Arkansas trip, like Mike Richardson and Betty Feir from Texarkana. The weather was a little overcast, but it made for very pleasant top-less motoring on the way down to Marble Falls, where we stopped for lunch at the Bluebonnet Café; a name which would prove prophetic before the end of the trip. The place wasn’t much to look at, but oh-my did they have desserts to die for. Everyone at our table, which included Al and Le Stickley, ended up with a healthy slice of pie; everything from Peanut Butter to Pecan to Apple Pie a la Mode. Everyone knows there are no calories on vacation! Yum. After lunch, we proceeded down to Wimberly for a little shopping and winding down. Despite it being a Friday and Wimberly seeming like a relatively quiet, small tourist town, the place fairly bustled with activity and the roads around town were crawling with cars. We managed to get in and out cleanly, though, only requiring one mass about-face to pull it off. The next stop was the Haven River Inn in Comfort, Texas; our base of operations for the next 2 days. The Inn was a quite idyllic old 3-story house, sitting atop a small hill in the midst of a pecan orchard. It had a big wrap-around porch, rocking chairs, and a beautiful view down into the orchard and over a small river. This place practically begged you to sit around and relax, but the road begged more, so we rarely got a chance to get too settled. Stretching our legs a little. Lunch on the Riverwalk. Dinner was fairly soon after arrival at a very neat old general store-like place called the Welfare Café. We shared a table with Dan and Bonnie Griffith and swapped stories while enjoying the live music and good food. Dinner was followed by dessert back at the Inn provided by our very own Taxi Breithaupt. So far there had been very few bluebonnets, but plenty of great, curvy back roads with sparse traffic; lots of smiles per mile. The next day we were up early, had a nice breakfast at the Inn, and then headed out for some seriously undulating and twisty roads. It was sprinkling a little bit, so the driving was dampened to compensate, but the roads were still incredible. We headed into San Antonio for lunch, a quick stroll around on the River Walk, and then headed back out onto the twisty roads to get to the Welfare Country Club for a big, buffet dinner. On the way, the “flower count” started heading skyward, as we encountered a large 8
field solid with bluebonnets. We just had to stop and ogle with the rest of the road-side admirers. Plenty of photo ops there. I have never seen anything like it. We were met at the Welfare Country Club by a large PCA contingent from Austin, but due to arriving a bit late, we were only able to mix for a short while. Still, we had a parking lot fairly brimming over with Porsches. After-dinner entertainment was provided by a half-dozen or so gents who repeatedly tried to pushstart a recalcitrant 911. Unfortunately, a push start was not enough to cure what ailed it and the poor fellow was forced to abandon his car overnight. Fortunately, it was in a locked parking lot though, thank goodness. Sunday morning offered another tasty breakfast at the Inn and a later-than-usual start towards Fredricksburg. When we arrived, half the crowd headed into The National Museum of the Pacific War (previously known as the Admiral Nimitz Museum; very interesting) and the other half headed off to sample the shopping. My wife Lisa and I split up, but according to her when we reconvened, the shopping looked exceptional and we would definitely be coming back when we had more time to shop and a vehicle with more storage capacity. Next we headed to Llano for some barbecue at Coopers. But on the way, we took a little detour suggested by Bonnie Glover through the Willow City Loop. This is where the scenery and wild flower viewing went off the chart. We crawled along a little 1.5 lane road with a goodly amount of traffic both ways. The view off the road into the lower surrounding countryside was absolutely gorgeous, with many areas literally carpeted with wild flowers. You never wanted to go faster than 5 MPH just so that you could take it all in. People were parked all along the roadside, completely caught up in the natural beauty on display. Cows wandered around unrestrained and we had several “tire washes”, driving through very shallow creeks which crossed over low points in the road. Everyone was quite in awe of the landscape and the flowers. After some exceptional barbecue at Coopers, we realized it was getting late and started the journey home in earnest. We stopped one more time for gas and ice cream before getting to I-30 and rejoining the automotive masses. Once on the interstate, the group started to splinter as people headed towards their respective homes. What will always unite the group, however, are the fond memories of the great Hill Country roads, wild flowers, cuisine, hospitality, and time shared with good friends. As with the Arkansas trip, Lisa and I have found another annual event we plan to attend on a regular basis. If you haven’t tried it, you don’t know what you are missing. Many thanks go to Nelson for another wonderful trip, to Ted and Bonnie Glover for acting as “slack”, to Al and Le Stickley for middlepack management, and to Mike Oakes and Tinker Edwards for being such a great caboose. And of course, to Taxi Breithaupt for dessert! Welfare, TX Porsche dealership. BBQ at Coopers. RESTORATION SERVICES & COLLISION REPAIR 3151 Skylane, Suite104 • Carrollton (Dallas), Texas • 972.733.4807 9
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Slipstream - May 2001

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