Wild Mustang Grapes and the Cotton Belt Railroad - Mon., May 5

Continued from yesterday...

This morning, we had breakfast at the Comfort Inn in Grapevine, then Bob hit the books again to study for his test. Meanwhile, I wrote Sunday's blog, played Scrabble, and read emails and blogs.

Just before lunch, I read a comment from Patty E. (who edits Two Greyhound Town - RVing Across America) on yesterday's blog recommending Uncle Buck's Brewery and Steakhouse at Bass Pro Shop. Such timing. We headed out the door to Uncle Buck's to have lunch. It was awesome. As we walked into the restaurant, we were blown away by the size of the place. It reminded me of the main dining room at The Ahwanee Hotel in Yosemite National Park. The food was good too.

Interior of Uncle Buck's

Bob in our booth at Uncle Buck's

The following photo was on the wall behind Bob. Looks like an early motorhome!

One of the first motorhomes?

After lunch, I dropped Bob off at the Convention Center for his exam. Lucky me, I got to explore. First off, I took a couple of pics at Great Wolf Lodge.

Great Wolf Lodge entry

The Tornado, part of the water park.

Then I was off to explore historic Grapevine, Texas. So often, historic downtowns are in a sad state of neglect with many empty storefronts and run-down buildings. Not the case in Grapevine. This city has a thriving downtown.

Grapevine City Hall

Street scene, notice all the cars?

Can't believe I didn't go into the bakery.

The best shop display, hands down.

More businesses with lots of shoppers.

Visitor Center.

More well-kept storefronts.

There's a lot of history to be learned in Grapevine.

In 1845, Ambrose Foster and his wife Susannah Medlin from Platte County, Missouri, were among the first settlers to arrive in the area known as "grape vine" in Texas. The name was inspired by wild mustang grapes growing profusely in the area.

Photos of the Torian family log cabin. They were also settlers from Missouri.

Torian log cabin.

Bedroom of the cabin.

Cabin living room/kitchen

There was a windmill near the cabin with the following poem:

Cattle raising was the major enterprise prior to the Civil War when beef cattle were sold to Camp Worth (now known as Fort Worth). In 1858 a federal post office was established and run by Solon Dunn. During the 1870s the village was also known as Dunnville.

After the Cotton Belt Railroad Line opened in 1888, the town was a shipping center for cotton, grain, truck crops and dairy products. In 1907 Grapevine incorporated. The name officially became Grapevine in 1914. By 1934 two major paved roads leading to Dallas and Fort Worth were constructed. In 1952, a dam built on Denton Creek formed Lake Grapevine to serve as water supply, flood control measure, and recreational area. The Dallas-Fort Worth airport opened within the city limits in 1974.

Train station and sculpture.

Grapevine train station.

On weekends, the Grapevine Vintage Railroad goes round trip to the The Stockyards in Ft. Worth. The cost is $28 for first class and $20 for coach class. The train waits for two hours in Ft. Worth so people can exit the train and have a meal, shop and explore before re-boarding.

Perspective.

Restored windmill and water tower.

Grapevine also has a number of excellent sculptures, a fountain, and a mural or two. I enjoyed exploring this adorable historic district. But make no mistake, Grapevine is also a modern city with 200 restaurants, a huge convention center, Bass Pro Shop, Aquarium, and LEGO Discovery Center, not to mention a huge lake.

"Walking to Texas" statue and fountain.

"Sidewalk Judge,"
by J. Seward Johnson, Jr.

"Sidewalk Judge" close up.

Water tower.

Grapevine mural.

Benjamin Wall - lawyer, mayor,
brought the first Boy Scout
Charter to Texas, philanthropist.

Calaboose (jail)

Calaboose. Can you imagine how hot this would be in summer?

Great sculpture of kids skating.

Another sculpture.

Vetro glassblowing shop.

When I finished exploring town, I went out near the convention center to be close in case Bob called. I drove on back roads looking for Lake Grapevine. I found a park on the lake, chose a parking spot under a tree, rolled down the windows and read my book. Here's my view.

Lake Grapevine

Meanwhile, Bob had been in the test since 1:00 p.m. He told me the test was 200 questions. I thought he had to finish by 5:00 p.m. When I hadn't heard from him by 5:15 p.m., I drove to the convention center and parked out front. He came out about 5:35 p.m.

His day wasn't as nice as mine. He said the test kicked his butt. When the tester notified the test-takers there was one hour left, he still had 80 questions left to answer. He was really happy to be done with it.

We immediately started driving south to San Antonio. Just south of Six Flags in Arlington, Texas, we encountered major stop-and-go traffic. There was an accident blocking four lanes with one lane getting by. That was the worst of our traffic. We made it home by 11:30 p.m.

Wildflowers are still putting on quite a display south of Fort Worth on I-35. We saw bluebonnets, Indian blankets and evening primroses.

Another road trip under our belts. Travel Bug out.