Zilker Park is an oasis in downtown Austin – filled with green spaces for sports, picnics, lounging and playing with the dog. It’s a great open space for the city. Inside the park is the Botanical Garden – 31 acres of planned gardens with themes ranging from Asian to a prehistoric dinosaur garden. There is also a butterfly garden, rose garden and several others to enjoy. The garden is free all year, but there is a $3 parking fee from March through early September. It is absolutely worth a visit if you are in Austin!

A water feature in the Asian-inspired garden.

A rose - not perfect, but it was December after all.

A bamboo forest connects one garden area to another.

We visited on a Saturday night. You can walk in any time but I would recommend the evening hours. There are lights twinkling and it has a picturesque quality that might not come through in the daytime. Luckenback is afterall, just a collection of old wooden buildings gathered in the dirt. At night with someone strumming a guitar and singing cowboy songs and the lights twinkling, you can be transported to the idea of the old Texas dancehall. The place where farmers and ranchers gathered of a weekend night to blow off some steam, see some neighbors and just relax after a hard week’s work.

Luckenbach was a busy little town in the 1800s but by the 1970s it was pretty well deserted. The Engel family, which had originally founded the town, put it up for sale. Hondo Crouch and some friends bought it up and made it their own personal playground for silly festivals and other diversions. And, it was a place to just hang out, drink a cold beer, play some checkers and strum a guitar. Eventually more and more people came to drink those cold beers and hear some music and in 1973 country singer Jerry Jeff Walker came to Luckenbach to record an album. He was looking for a laid=back Texas place and he found it. That album really put Luckenbach on the map and more and more country singers came to play the now famous hall. And in 1977 Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson made “Luckenbach, Texas” a hit song all over the country.

And still, when you go visit, it’s a laid-back, Texas kind of place. Sure, you can buy a Luckenbach t-shirt in the little store but you can also buy a real, old-fashioned limeaide and a hot dog for a few bucks too. The beers are cold and everyone we met was friendly. Luckenbach doesn’t seem to know it’s famous and that’s just what keeps it perfect. On a cool fall evening with the moon overhead and some country music drifting through the air, you can believe the Luckenbach is the same as it always has been.

Fredericksburg was one of the first German settlements in Texas and it opened the Hill Country area for a wave of German immigration in the 1800s. The town is still full of historic buildings, both on Main Street and throughout the town. If you go for the shopping and eating, take some time to see the history too – it’s part of what gives Fredericksburg its charm.

The Vereins-Kirche was the first church and community building in the town. A replica, built in 1935, still stands on the spot today and houses a small historical museum. Religion was a large part of the early settlers lives and one of the aspects I enjoyed most about Fredericksburg history, was seeing some of the little Sunday houses. Ranching and farming families built tiny houses in town to use on the weekends when they came for shopping, church, and possibly a visit to the locahall for some dancing.

There is at least one Sunday house preserved in the Pioneer Museum, but there are others about town also. You can pick up an historic district map that will point them out and if you drive around town it is pretty easy to spot some that have been remodeled into larger homes. I saw several that were originally made of stone so they looked like a little stone house, with a big wooden addition around it.

There is also an abundance of churches both old and not quite so old. We spent some time near St. Mary’s which has the original Catholic Church standing side by side with a very grand, and still quite old, cathedral style church. We parked near the Holy Ghost Church which was the home of the first Lutheran congregation (or possibly just protestant) in Fredericksburg.

There is so much to see and read about. The entire Hill Country has an interesting history, and Fredericksburg’s history is well documented and nicely presented for visitors so it’s a great place to start. Instead of just walking around noticing a cute little house there, an interesting stone building over here and all the church steeples reaching into the sky, take some time to find out what those things are. Why they are important and why they have been preserved. It will make your trip so much more than just a cute place to go shopping or some good bratwurst for lunch.

The vast majority of shops in Fredericksburg are located along Main Street. So, once you find a parking spot, you will be able to walk to almost anywhere you want to go. We walked as far down as the Pioneer Museum on both sides of the street and saw a lot of shops. Some are in historic buildings which is very cool. There are lots of benches along the way too, for those who’d rather people watch than go inside.

Here’s my opinion of Fredericksburg shopping – there were some cool spots and some places that to me, were just not interesting. If you really like poking around in little, cute shops, you’re going to love it. If your spouse does not love it, you will do better to leave them at home because there is a full day of shopping possibilities. Overall, I did not enjoy it as much as I thought I would, but I think it had some to do with the crowds of people. When you can hardly stop to look at something in a store because the people behind are impatiently waiting to move forward, it’s just not fun anymore. A weekday, or less busy time of year might make it more enjoyable for me.

Fredericksburg is a bit different at Christmas time too. Some stores, instead of adding Christmas merchandise to the mix, almost completely replace their store inventory with Christmas items. I was so excited when the first store we encountered was a Texas themed store. Unfortunately, when we got inside, the majority of the Texas items had been replaced with Christmas ornaments. There was a small display of Texas themed items, and at least one Christmas tree with Texas ornaments, but I was definitely disappointed that the regular inventory seemed to be out of sight.

Our next stop was the Fredericksburg General Store. Again, I was excited. We’ve seen some pretty cute General Stores both in Jefferson and Gruene. Unfortunately, as soon as we walked in, I knew this General Store was pretty much the same as what we had seen in Gruene only the day before. I was expecting to find beer steins and some German themed items but overall it was full of trinkets, ornaments and some Texas-themed items. Almost exactly what we had seen in Gruene, except for one small shelf of beer steins. Had I seen this shop before the one in Gruene, I might’ve still thought it was cute, but it was so full of people I couldn’t really look around much at all.

There were some high points though. Don’t take away my girl card, I did enjoy some of the shopping. Red was probably my favorite stop of the day. A quirky mix of old and new with some funky thrown in, it was a lot of fun. The staff was friendly, not caring at all if we sat on the comfy couches and just regrouped for a little while. The store had everything from couches and linens, to DIY cardboard antlers and Airstream trailer books.

I also really enjoyed the InSight Gallery, housed in the historic Hoerster Building, which has a wide variety of art both local and otherwise. There are many galleries in Fredericksburg, and most of them showcase local artists and artisans. Those are always my favorite type of shops to visit – like Brieger Pottery in Blanco.

I also stopped in Dogologie in the hopes of finding a nice treat for our dog. Full of cute doggie shirts, leashes, collars, toys and treats, I was disappointed to find only treats that would be appropriate for our bigger dog (she’s a full grown Lab). There were a few collars and leashes that might’ve worked, but no shirts that I found and no toys that were tough enough for our powerful chewer. But, it’s a cute little shop and they great every dog with a cookie. If you bring your dog to Fredericksburg, make sure to stop in.

I will say this – there is a full spectrum of shopping in downtown Fredericksburg from fine art pieces and beautiful antiques down to inexpensive trinkets and treasures.

The Gruene General Store

More photos after the jump.

The chili pepper light Christmas tree in the Gruene General Store.

We loved the tree since we hang chili pepper lights on our awning when we are camping.

Inside the Gruene Antique Company, Robert made a new friend.

Old printing type in the Gruene Antique Company.

Sparkly glassware inside Gruene Antique Company.

Please take a few minutes to look at the Wandering Off Texas Photo Round-Up post and see who else has posted their favorite Texas photos. And if you have a blog, post your own too! We’d love to see them.

The town square is what I’d call middling – not yet completely full of shops and restaurants but not a ghost town either. There is a pharmacy, a few antique shops, some restaurants, a gallery filled with local pottery and art, a small museum in the historic Blanco County Courthouse and a small visitor’s bureau office.

Our favorite stop was Cranberry’s Antique Mall. It was full of well priced, good quality items. This was not one of those shops with jumbled booths full of random stuff. There was an entire section full of substantial furniture pieces and many booths featuring glassware, linens and all manner of unique items. Items were well priced and of good quality. The Hill Country is known for its antique shopping so sometimes you run into some pretty high prices and some pretty fancy stuff. Cranberry’s was full of items in a range of prices. And, my favorite part was the large selection of spurs, cowboy hats and other Western memorabilia. I can’t say whether the spurs and such were antique but they were well used and would make a nice touch in a Western décor.

The Blanco County Courthouse looked more like a giant house than what you would traditionally think of as a courthouse. There are no domes or big statues at the top. It is a beautiful building though, and inside you can read about the history of Blanco and the courthouse itself.

Brieger Pottery is also on the square and is full of beautiful, functional pottery. I love to bring home trip souvenirs that I can incorporate in to my daily life like a mug or a bowl, and this is definitely the kind of place you can do that.

There are many other interesting things to see and do around Blanco – several Lavender farms to visit, Blanco State Park and more antique and specialty stores scattered throughout town that we did not have time to visit. I don’t think I would call Blanco a destination on it’s own unless you were going for the Lavender Festival in May, but it is a nice stop if you are exploring the Hill Country area.

On December 25, 1776, Washington and his troops crossed from Pennsylvania into New Jersey in order to get a sneak attack on Hessian soldiers (hired guns for the British) at Trenton. The icy river was challenging and it took 10 hours to get all the troops, horses and cannons across the river. Washington, hoping for a night attack, could’ve turned back, but fearing his men would revolt if forced to go back over the river they just crossed, they pressed on, starting the march to Trenton at 3am.

The bridge is in the spot where Washington crossed the river in 1776.

The troops surprised the Hessian troops and had a victory – the first American victory in some time. Several other victories followed and turned the tide for American forces. Some historians say that Washington’s crossing of the Delaware that Christmas night and the resulting victory at Trenton is the event that kept the Revolution from being lost.

Replicas of the boats that were used by Washington & his men.

If the Revolution had been lost, we might still be citizens of Great Britain, without the rights and freedoms we enjoy as the United States of America.

That history makes the river, the parks and the bridge seem so much more significant. George Washington was right there. George Washington! There are some things to keep in mind to get the most out of your visit to Washington Crossing though.

• The New Jersey Washington Crossing State Park has one of those museums – old stuff crammed into glass cases with tiny cards telling you what it is. Somewhat cool to see actual Revolutionary War stuff, but, only for a few minutes. The New Jersey side has a new movie depicting Washington’s crossing of the Delaware River and events surrounding it though, which I found very interesting.
• The Pennsylvania Washington Crossing Park has a better feel to it – a small bit of the town is recreated as it would’ve looking during Revolutionary War times. You can see the replica boats that the town uses to cross the Delaware on Christmas night each year. And if you collect postcards, patches T-shirts or whatever from the places you visit, the PA side actually has a gift shop.
• Both sides are worth visiting, but if you can only do one, read up on some of the history first, and then go to the PA side – especially if you have kids. You can easily see both sides in one or two hours though.
• There is a bridge that spans the river between the two parks. If you are driving an RV, do not, under any circumstances, try and drive across that bridge. I took our pickup truck across and when I met another pickup in the middle there was not even 5 inches between our trucks. A pickup can do it (if it doesn’t have dual wheels) but when they say 6 foot wide lanes, they mean it. Fold the mirrors in and hope you only meet up with compact cars coming from the other direction! There are other, much wider, easier bridges you can cross within 10 or 15 miles in either direction.

A view of the crossing site from the New Jersey side. Again, with the very narrow bridge.

The museum takes you on an interactive journey through Lincoln’s life, starting with walking through a replica of the cabin Lincoln grew up in. You progress from the cabin into Lincoln’s early adulthood as a shopkeeper and finally, his move to Springfield to open a law office. Each phase of life is depicted with life-sized dioramas – the cabin, Lincoln’s store, his law office – along with illustrations and information. After Springfield you move along through his campaign, election and finally the Lincoln family’s move to the White House. Every step is brought alive by audio, video and clever staging of items. At the end of the walk through there is a room with a more traditional museum feel which houses one of Lincoln’s stovepipe hats, a handwritten draft of the Gettysburg Address and many more artifacts of Lincoln and his family.

The Lincoln Museum, which was redesigned in the years leading up to the bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth in 2009 is a very modern museum. You don’t just read plaques on the wall or index cards next to items in glass cases. In one section you watch a TV special in which news anchor Tim Russert talks about the various candidates running for office in 1860, and shows the possible campaign commercials. Nearby you also see a map depicting the Civil War in 4 minutes. And I have to say – it was the clearest picture of the Civil War I have ever had. As the seconds tick by, you see the red and blue dividing line slowly undulating across the middle of the country. You see major battles pop up and all the while you see the death toll slowly climb. I have certainly learned about the Civil War in several history classes over the years. But this was like all of them rolled into one, shrunk down into 4 minutes, and completely crystal clear to understand.

Now, some important things to know about visiting Springfield:

• We arrived pulling our travel trailer. Apparently there is bus and RV parking at the Lincoln Home, but we sure didn’t find it. We ended up parking down a few blocks in an open parking lot. It was early in the morning so there was space. But if you are arriving in your RV, I would take a few minutes to call the visitor center and find out where you can park, before you are in town. You can call the Visitor Center at (217) 391-3226.
• We visited the Lincoln Home and the Museum on a Sunday. When it came time to have lunch, we discovered that all of the many restaurants downtown, near the museum, were closed. Even the chain restaurants in that area were closed. So, if you visit on Sunday, pack a lunch, come after lunch, or make some type of plan. The only thing open was the café inside the museum.
• Wear good shoes. It’s not a long walk from the Lincoln Home over to the Museum and Library, but it’s about 6 blocks. Wear comfortable shoes, find a good (free) parking spot and pick up a map at the Lincoln Home Visitor’s Center. Then, you can just walk around the historic downtown without worrying about moving your vehicle.

There are two sides to visiting LaGrange and Elkhart Counties. For a long time, I saw the tourist side – going to the shops in town, eating at the restaurants that serve the giant family style meals of fried chicken and all the trimmings and watching the buggies as my car slid slowly past.

This time, I wanted to see the other side. I wanted to stop at some of the homes that have handcrafted goods for sale. I wanted to actually talk to some Amish folks and I wanted to get off the main roads and see some of the beautiful countryside full of the neatly kept farms. I think Robert and I accomplished it to some degree. We did go to some of the more English places (what the Amish call non-Amish people). We ate at the Blue Gate – a gift shop, furniture shop, bakery, inn and restaurant. We went to E&S Sales, the bulk foods shop that is filled with both Amish and English customers. But, we also got off the main roads.

We got to visit with Leanna Fry at her little quilt studio at 8340 W State Road 120 in Shipshewana. All of her quilts are stacked on a bed. After letting me know she would need my assistance, we proceeded to turn all of the quilts as she told me the names of the patterns. She then showed me the wall hangings, the lap quilts, and the table runners and pillow covers. All of it was beautifully done and carefully hand quilted.

I told her that I quilted, that I had a beautiful wedding quilt that my mother made for me and that I do not have the patience or the skills to hand quilt. I got to ask how many quilts she makes each year (50.. that’s almost one per week!) and ask about the fabrics she used. She was very friendly and open and willing to talk. I was hesitant to ask too many questions and end up saying something to offend her. I told her I was a writer and when she asked if I wrote for newspapers, I was disappointed to tell her I mainly wrote for the internet – something she will never see.

We stopped in at Owl Toy Craft and talked with Owen Wingard – 9555 West 300 South, Topeka He makes beautiful wooden toys. He was happy to have us look around, and answered questions about materials and construction cheerfully. I did not ask so many questions there – it seems like in a place with a woman selling quilts or baked goods, I got to do the talking and when it was a man’s shop, Robert got to do most of the talking. I wouldn’t say the men didn’t want to talk to me, but it seemed that they were just more comfortable talking to Robert and the women were more comfortable talking to me. Maybe that only seemed to be the case because we were asking about the things we were most interested in and in a woodworking shop I had few questions.

As we drove out to the shops at the farms we got a good view of many Amish farms. The farms are all neatly kept, with flower gardens, vegetable gardens and horses grazing in the fields. I am not sure why, but I loved to see the clothes hanging out to dry on the clotheslines at every house. Maybe it is because I have a clothesline at home or maybe it was the neat rows of identical trousers, each pair slightly shorter than the one before. Spending time in this area always makes me want to come back and immerse myself in the culture for a time, even if it is only a weekend. The way of life is hard, I am sure – working a farm without modern tractors, not having the convenience of a car to take you places and not having electricity to light my lamps, run my fridge or power my air conditioner. Not to mention going without things like computers and telephones. But, it must also be more simple. There are things you must do – grow a garden, cut wood for the woodstove, preserve your summer harvest, and usually, have a trade like woodworking or quiltmaking on top of your other responsibilities. Despite that, going without modern worries is what is most interesting to me. I already grow a garden, do some canning, use a clothesline and heat with wood. Being Amish is about 100 times more involved than the simple efforts I make but still, I am unexplainably drawn to it all, just that same way I am to the clip clop of the horses hooves as the buggies go flying by.

One important note if you do stop and meet some of these Amish folks. Be polite and ask if you can photograph what they have made. Some may have carefully crafted pieces that they do not want to be copied. And do not try to photograph the people themselves. I am not sure if it is a part of their faith or just part of their lifestyle, or a combination of both but Amish people do not want to be photographed. Be respectful and abide by their wishes.