Masters of RVing Adventures

I’ll readily admit to a few of my Texas preconceived flaws. The first is scoffing when people mentioned that Texas had a region they considered ‘hilly.’ I mean, when someone says ‘rolling hills,’ one tends to picture Kentucky or Tennessee… not flat, hot, 🥵 dusty Texas!

2️⃣ The second flaw is also snickering when friends told us we would love wines produced in the Texas Hill Country. 🍷 Again, I thought, “How can hot, dry Texas possibly grow grapes and produce great tasting wines?”

3️⃣ The third was thinking I would have plenty of down time to catch up on the blog while visiting this quaint, casual area.

OK, so I was wrong about all three! While the area is definitely not mountainous, it is quite hilly; and, after conditioning your palette to less popular wine-making grapes, we were so impressed that we joined two wine clubs! Lastly, even though this area is tucked away with a number of tiny towns with really, really narrow rough roads, there was an abundance of friendly people, main streets packed with touristy shops, and hundreds of wineries, breweries and even some distilleries!

Note: This blog entry is going to deviate from the format of all the other entries for this trip.

Kerrville => Days 65 – 71 – DRV Rally – Olde River Road RV Resort

We caught up again with many of our friends who own DRV Mobile Suites 5th Wheels, as this was their club’s National Rally at a campground still recovering from the devasting floods to this Texas town. Kudos to the campground for their gracious hospitality, large accommodating sites, and amenities.

The club officers put on a fantastic rally with the expected vendors, seminars, address by a manufacturing representative, and annual club updates and elections.

This club truly focuses on the comraderie and fellowship of their members. They had several authentic catered dinners (including one German since the area is heavily influenced by German settlers, one Tex-Mex, & one TX BBQ), one l-o-n-g progressive happy hour 🍻 (groups of 10 went around to ‘host’ rigs for 30-minute socializing before moving on to the next ‘host’), day outings with provided transportation to either wine tours or shopping districts, nightly entertainment, games, or fire pit gatherings (including a ‘Honky tonk’ band) and a finale night with elaborate raffle prizes! They raised over $4000 to give to the local Fire Department, whose building was destroyed by the flood waters.

We had a very busy, fun week. See some of the highlights below:

Timber with ‘Uncle Mike’ – one of his best people friends!

Shopping at Camp Verde General Store – It was originally a U.S. Army post that hosted the U.S. Camel Corps 🐪 but now is an historical site that houses the old remains of a post office turned into a boutique shopping experience and restaurant. (From 1856 to 1866, Texas was home to the U.S. Army’s camel experiment, a ten-year project that used camels to ferry supplies across the deserts of the Southwest. Even though the program was proving successful, the government cancelled the program due to backlash from Jefferson Davis’ policy involvement.)

Mark walking into one of the wineries during the winery tour

Liz and I posing in our new custom branded hats, selected at a specialty boot & hat store in Fredricksburg.

DRV Travel Club agreed to let us attend their National Rally next year in Angel Fire, NM, so we signed up before leaving.

Dripping Springs => Days 71 – 78 – The Fitz RV Resort

Way back when I was planning this trip, our good DRV and Alaska trip friends, Carolyn & Scott, convinced us to stay and visit with them near their hometown of Austin, in a little town known as Dripping Springs. We readily agreed and booked the campground they recommended. Since I knew they were going to be our tour guide, I abandoned any further planning for this week.

Unfortunately, our good friends were not able to join us because their brand new home on wheels was not ready for them to take delivery. They are full timers and have upgraded their DRV to a newer and bigger model.

However, since it would be a lot of rearranging last minute, Mark and I decided to take our friends’ recommendations and keep our week stay.

We mapped out working each morning, then having a late lunch at either a winery or brewery, plus one additional winery or brewery visit. All of the locations were dog-friendly, as well. We even found an exceptional lunch at an olive grove and company!

We ran across a few wineries and breweries where we did not appreciate their flavors and selections; but overall, we were very impressed.

Belle Springs Winery

This was one of the few options open early in the week. When we arrived, we were told the kitchen was closed on Mondays, even though their website indicated differently. So, we went into town and found a very local’s place known for home-style cooking… Oak Creek Cafe…I had catfish with fried okra and Mark had country-style hamburger steak smothered in gravy and onions.

Once we finished lunch, we went back to the winery. It was such a nice fall day we sat outside on their covered porch to sip their tasting flight. The winery had a laid back, unpretentious vibe. Mark went with whites, of course, and I chose reds. It was my first introduction to a varietal known as Tempranillo, a grape of Spanish origins.

We enjoyed their selections so much, we decided to join their wine club to give as a gift.

Jester King Brewery

While we were at Belle Springs, another couple suggested we check out this Brewery for its wood-fired pizza and free-roaming goats. We were not that impressed with the beer or goats, though we did like the pizza and found the old Airstream turned into bathrooms amusing.

Twisted X Brewing Company

We landed here after two prior failed brewery tastings and decided third time’s the charm! We again sat outside under their covered area since we had Timber with us. It was a very windy day and I was huddling between Mark & Timber by the time I was halfway done with my first cider! Nice spacious brewery with a small campground adjacent and a food truck.

Wimberley Shopping Day

Liz and I had so much fun window shopping and browsing through the many shops and stores on Fredericksburg’s cute main street that when a couple in the campground suggested we go into Wimberley for the day, I convinced Mark to agree. We had a great Mexican-inspired lunch in a mostly outdoor cafe, but the town was so quirky that the shops held nothing of interest for Mark or myself (and for me to go through 12 shops and buy ZERO says A LOT!) I did take a few pictures of the many painted boots.

Hawk’s Shadow Vineyard & Winery

Another casual, but rather substantial, winery operation. Continued training my palette on the Tempranillo red and Mark decided he was enjoying the whites made with the Trebbiano grape, especially when blended with Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio.

Overall, we liked this winery and enjoyed talking extensively with the assistant wine maker, but decided they experimented a bit too much for us; as they offered so many blended options we had a hard time keeping their nomenclature straight.

Solaro Estate Vineyards & Winery

Another fantastic wine maker. This family-owned business believes strongly in the agricultural importance of growing and harvesting the grapes they use. The owner’s daughter is famous for being the youngest sommelier in TX. She was underage when she took the test and they made her spit out the wine!

We ended up spending two afternoons at this winery and joined their wine club for our own affinity toward several of their wines.

Texas Hill Country Olive Oil Co.

We had a great lunch on the bistro’s patio at this olive grove and award-winning olive producer. We experienced our first “olive tasting” – a series of four olive oils and two balsamic vinegars served in miniature shot glasses! Very intriguing! You may find a flavored olive oil as a Christmas gift!

12 Fox Beer Company

Mark really liked their traditional German-style beers and I was content sipping one of their crisp ciders. Great outdoor area with tons of picnic tables and a food truck serving eclectic Indian food. Wish we had discovered this brewery earlier in the week!

Overall, we loved the laid back, quaint, casual vibe of this area’s libations. We simply ran out of days to try the distilleries, including Tito’s in nearby Austin. We definitely plan to work this area in as a long stop again on one of our future adventures!

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Next Stop – Day 79 – Houston

My favorite cousin and her husband live slightly northwest of Houston, so our next overnight stop was at a Harvest Host location, Fortress Brewery / 11 Below Brewing, so we could visit and have dinner with my cousin.

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The following morning marks the beginning of our journey home.