Welcome to the Wonderful Wimberley Walk - Sun., Apr. 27

OK, I admit it, I put off my Saturday "W" word until Sunday when we did the Wimberley, Texas Volksmarch. On our 1-1/4 hour drive to Wimberley from San Antonio we had enough mist that I had to use windshield wipers most of the way.

We met Peri and Jim, Susan and Darren, and Susan's friend, Carol, at the Wimberley Community Center, the start point of the Volksmarch sponsored by New Braunfels Marsch- und Wandersgruppe and the Mayor's Fitness Council of Wimberley. Bob made the trip to Wimberley, but had to forgo the walk due to a basketball injury from yesterday. (He rolled his ankle.) He stayed in the air-conditioned community center and read his study book for an accounting exam he will be taking a week from Monday in Dallas, Texas.

Bob with his study text.

While Bob read, five of us headed out together: Jim, Peri and I opted for the 5K (3.1 mile) Volksmarch; Susan, Darren and Carol walked the 10K. The two walks shared the same route until the first checkpoint when our two groups headed in different directions and we agreed to meet for lunch.

Darren, Peri, Jim

Fragrant honeysuckle in bloom.

Dead trees carved into totem poles.

Wimberley shopping area.

Welcome to Texas!

Carol and Susan M.

Heading from downtown to The Blue Hole.

The Blue Hole swimming hole.

Darren, Carol, Jim, Susan A., Peri

Great photo op...Jim "Jimmy" Dean in front of the local
theater's marquee.

Wimberley Players Theater

Following the marked AVA route.

Wonderful Wimberley mural

Look closely at the boots in this photo then see below.

Old boots re-purposed as birdhouses.

Ino'z Brew and Chew

What-cha-ma-call-its and gew-gaws.

Cypress Creek in downtown Wimberley.

Wildflowers currently in bloom.

Luna moth.

Our weather was cloudy, warm and humid, but no rain. However when we reached The Blue Hole, we thought it would feel mighty good to jump in! We didn't though. It would have made for a miserable walk back in wet clothes.

After the 5K walk, we met up with Bob and headed into downtown Wimberley to window shop and look for a lunch place. We made it through two stores before Susan called to say they were finished walking and were driving over to meet us.

Meanwhile, Bob scoped out Ino'z Brew and Chew. It looked good, was close, and that's where we chose to eat. Bob and I both ordered the Grilled Tuna Sandwich. We were expecting tuna salad grilled with cheese. However, we scored. The sandwich was a big hunk of grilled ahi tuna on a whole wheat sourdough bun. Excellent!

After lunch, we took Peri and Jim to Jacob's Well since they had never been there. You can read more about it here.

Jacob's Well in Wimberley, TX

Jacob's Well - popular swimming hole.
Temperature outside today is close to 100 degrees.

After our side trip to Jacob's Well, we dropped off Jim and Peri at their car and headed home. But we didn't quite make it back right away.

To be continued in my next blog....

Piece of Cake, Wimberley, TX - Sun., Feb. 16.

At 8:30 a.m., we headed out to meet Keith and Brenda in Wimberley, Texas, for a day of Wimberley sightseeing. First stop: Kate's Place for brunch. This brunch is ordered off the menu. Keith and I had crab cakes Eggs Benedict, Brenda had regular Eggs Benedict and Bob ordered Eggs Benedict Florentine. I've got to be honest here, the Eggs Benedict left a lot to be desired. The crab cakes were burned, the Canadian bacon was cooked to toughness, the English muffins were so overcooked we couldn't cut them with a regular table knife. A steak knife would have been better. I asked Bob to cut my English muffin for me. At least the eggs were cooked well and the fruit was good.

Second stop: Jacobs Well Natural Area. Jacob's Well is an artesian spring and one of the longest underwater caves in Texas. According to their website, "Jacob's Well surges up thousands of gallons of water per minute and is headwaters to beautiful Cypress Creek that flows through Wimberley, sustaining a Blue Hole and the Blanco River, recharging the Edwards Aquifer, and finally replenishing estuaries in the Gulf of Mexico...The location has been a beloved swimming hole for generations, gathering place for Native Americans and early settlers, and a rich habitat for exotic species."

Jacob's Well Artesian Spring

The swimmin' hole at Jacob's Well.

Brenda and Keith at Jacob's Well.

Jacob's Well Natural Area walk was a warm up for what they had planned next: Prayer Mountain. Say a prayer before you head up this hill. According to Keith's Fit-o-Meter, climbing these stairs was akin to walking up 15 floors. Can you say "Stairmaster"?

Entrance to Prayer Mountain trail.

Bob partway up the stairs.

Keith making his way to the top.

Veteran's Memorial - we couldn't find the entrance!

Just keep climbing the stairs.

Here's a view from the top.

Bob and Keith chatting on Prayer Mountain.

Views galore - still a little foggy

Brenda stayed with the car as her shoulder surgery has not completely healed. You can see her in the photo below.

Brenda at the car

Almost down!

As I came out of the trees, I said to Brenda, "That was a piece of cake. Let me rephrase that...that was worth a piece of cake." We had been discussing where to go for dessert: Wimberley Pie Company, The Wooden Spoon Frozen Yogurt, or Italian Cream Cake at Cypress Creek Cafe. A stop at Cypress Creek Cafe and a look at the exquisite cakes made up our minds rather quickly.

But I am ahead of our itinerary. After Jacob's Well and a failed attempt to find the Veteran's Memorial, Keith took us for a drive along River Road. Even in the middle of winter, it's beautiful.

Blanco River, looking upriver

White Chinese geese with a brown Chinese goose.

Blanco River, looking downriver.

Beautiful Shelby Mustang

Cypress Creek Cafe

Cypress Creek Cafe decor

Cypress Creek Cafe

Lamp for sale

At Cypress Creek Cafe, we ordered three slices of Italian Cream Cake and one slice of double chocolate cake to go. Keith and Brenda invited us to their motorhome for coffee/tea to have with our cake. The cake was awesome...moist, tasty, and huge. After eating most of my slice and a couple of bites of Bob's double chocolate cake, I had to stop eating it due to sugar overload.

We sat and talked and I found myself starting to doze (sugar crash?). Well that was embarrassing. It was time to head out.

Keith and Brenda are very thoughtful. They planned a nicely paced day of seeing Wimberley and scoped out where to find the places in advance. Thank you both so much!

Movie Review: The Monuments Men

Starring: George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, Cate Blanchett, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, and Hugh Bonneville.

George Clooney as George Clooney, oops, I mean Lt. Frank Stokes is tasked with finding and returning art masterpieces which have been pillaged from all over Europe and hidden by the Nazis. The movie was okay and brought to life a period of history I hadn't known about until now. Because of its all-star cast, I thought the acting would be much better. Overall, I would give this three out of five stars.

Travel Bug out.