2021-10-27 Dripping Springs Anniversary Trip

 

Tammy and I celebrated our 37th anniversary in the Dripping Springs area of the hill country, Texas. It was our first visit, having trips to the area in Fredericksburg and Wimberley in years past. It was different being that Covid had affected the area with labor shortages and less tourists to frequent shops. Many retailers and restaurants were closed or opened with shortened daily hours, some closed completely on days like Monday and Tuesday. Even so there was some activity in Dripping Springs old Mercer street which parallels Hwy 290 downtown. We briefly checked out that area on Tuesday afternoon after arriving at 2:45 and settling into our room at the Mt. Gainor Inn Bed and Breakfast. 

The accommodations were a little different than expected since the pictures did seem to represent what an Inn would provide, yet this was more like a main house with our room added and connected on the side. It was still a nice rental for a couple of nights and 15 minutes from town with winding roads, one lane bridges over creeks, and several back roads like we initially drove in using that were fine gravel on tar as freshly applied. Those rural roads required a GPS to navigate and GPS became necessary our entire stay since travel was necessary to do anything.

Our first objective after checking out the visitors center and the actual dripping spring next door was where to eat dinner Tuesday night. Then we drove to the Texas Hill Country Olive Company. Their bistro was just closing and no samples were available so it was a short visit.  Then we drove to one of the two most mentioned restaurants in the nearby town, Driftwood. The BBQ at the Salt Lick seemed preferable instead of a fancier Trattoria Lisina. It was good and had a small plate menu, too, that was more than a meal. Traffic congestion was pretty heavy and we went back to the Inn to watch the Astros play game 1 of the World Series.

On our anniversary Wednesday we ate breakfast in town at the Rolling In Thyme & Dough restaurant that was basically a home converted to a restaurant. With no printed menu you ordered from a chalkboard behind a counter and took a sit to await delivery. Different, but okay. Then we went back to Mercer street where many shops were just opening and picture opportunities were plentiful with antiques and scenery. We then drove to a sculpture gardens to walk and view many sculptures and take lots of photos. We returned to the Inn for a brief rest before heading to the Pedernales Falls State Park where we had reservations for arrival between 2 and 5. On arrival we hiked down river bank steps on one of two trails to the Pedernales River and hiked the area of the river until we found the second bank trail to hike back up and to the car. We also stopped at the bird blind to view some of the bird life. On the way back into Dripping Springs we stopped at the Bell Spring Winery for some hill country sampling. Next we ate at a Mexican restaurant, El Rey, and it is not the same as Houston, but okay. We returned to the Inn to watch game 2 of the world series as the Astros tied the series with the Braves.

Thursday morning we drove to Wimberley's cafe for breakfast on our way back home.  Pictures.   Video of pictures and clips.