G is for Granbury

My second ABC adventure is to Granbury, Texas.  Granbury is a rural town of about 10,000,  40ish miles southwest of Fort Worth.  It can easily be a day trip, but when you do your research, you discover there's so much to do and there's the cutest boutique hotel ever, you really have to make it a weekend trip.  Thanks to my friend Hannah for suggesting it as an adventure and going along for the ride.

Hotel Lucy is across the street from the Granbury City Beach and it is so precious.  The owners have paid great attention to every detail, down to the bath salts they leave in your room for a relaxing soak in a gorgeous clawfoot tub.  In addition to the unique & beautiful decor, the staff is incredibly attentive.  I received a couple of texts leading up to our reservation, checking in to see if there was anything  needed before our arrival or during our stay.  I really cannot say enough about this hotel.  More expensive than my typical hotel stay, the experience was worth every penny.

Hannah and I signed up for the Granbury Wine Tour.  We visited three wineries that all had something unique about them.  The tour took us to Bluff Dale Vineyards (Bluff Dale), Bar Ditch Winery (Stephenville), and Barking Rocks Winery (Granbury).  It's hard to pick a favorite after hearing all of the stories, but they are all worth visiting.

Bar Ditch Winery

 

Barking Rocks Winery 

     

Bluff Dale Vineyards

 

In addition to the wineries, we spent a lot of time on the Granbury Square.  So many boutiques and fun restaurants.  Who would have thought that Granbury had such an amazing food scene?!?  (I forgot to take pics at Paradise Bistro & Coffee Co., but their pancakes were fabulous!)

French Toast at Square Cafe

Shrimp & Grits at Christina's

Not on the square, but definitely worth going to is Stumpy's Lakeside Grill.  Do yourself a favor and get the catfish and shrimp basket.  A great price for a ton of delicious food.  And if you need something sweet afterwards, you can pop into their sweet shop.

A visit to Granbury isn't complete without a stop at the Silver Saddle Saloon, the local ice cream hang out.  These may or may not be adult shakes.

There's a reason Granbury wins a lot of awards, including best historic small town in America.  The town has so many fun things to offer, whether you're looking for a girls' weekend or a family vacation.  I hope you'll add it to your list of places to visit.

  

  

Until next time . . .

New Adventures

When I finished up my #50by50 challenge, people would ask, what's next?  I've got a few things I want to accomplish over the next few years and one that I was able to start lickety split was the ABCs of Texas.  One of my goals is to visit at least one new town or city in Texas for each letter of the alphabet.  I definitely had a few places already on my list, but I was stuck on a few letters, so naturally I turned to social media for some suggestions.  This will take a few years and it's possible my list will change, but here's the first draft.  Still looking for X & Z.

A - Amarillo, Archer City

B - Bonham, Balmorhea

C - Canyon, Castroville

D - Dublin

E - Electra, Eastland, Ennis

F - Floresville, Ft. Stockton

G - Greenville, Granbury

H - Happy

I - Inez

J - Jefferson

K - Kilgore

L - La Grange, Lindale, Luling

M - Mineral Wells, Mineola

N - Nacogdoches

O - Odessa, Ozona

P - Paris

Q - Quanah

R - Rainbow, Rockport

S - Shiner, Smiley, Sunset, Stephenville, Sulphur Springs

T - Tom Bean

U - Uncertain, Utopia

V - Victoria

W - Waxahachie

X - 

Y - Yoakum

Z

People have asked, will you go in ABC order?  The answer to that is no, Texas is too big and spread out.  My plan is to do it by region so I can do a few at a time.  Luckily, a lot of the possibilities are perfect day trips from Fort Worth, so I won't necessarily have to wait for time off.

#50 Fun Times in Cincinnati

Well, here we are, my final #50by50 adventure and I can't think of anyone better to do it with Anita & Mitzi.  

The original adventure was a quick weekend trip to Cincinnati to see The Chicks.  Not ever having been to Ohio, I was excited to check another state off of my list.  But getting to see one of our favorite groups in a new venue was even more exciting.  And why take an Uber to the concert when you can take a riverboat cruise?  What a fun night!

Beyond the concert, we also spent an afternoon at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.  As you can imagine, it's a somber place to visit, but I highly recommend it.  They do an amazing job of educating visitors on this part of American history, but connecting it with the kinds of slavery that unfortunately still exist around the world today.  

 

You know it's not really a trip unless you've experienced the food that makes a city special.  We were able to have a couple of Cincinnati staples, like Graeter's ice cream and Frito Pie with Skyline Chili.  Brunch at a Taste of Belgium was my favorite though.  I don't know that I've ever had Belgian waffles before; if I have, it was nothing compared to this tasty goodness.

 

Despite all this awesomeness, I think the greatest memory we made this weekend was our day at Midway Airport.  Yep, you read that right.  Our flight out of Love Field was delayed which means we missed our connecting flight in Chicago.  The next flight out was just a mere 8 hours later.  Midway is not the biggest airport and they are still bouncing back from the pandemic, so a lot of places were closed or offered limited menus.  Even our college football options were limited.  I'll be the first to tell you that 8 hours at Midway Airport is not fun.  But life is full of challenges and obstacles and things not going your way. What makes the difference is the people you have in your life and the attitude you choose.  Did the delay mess with our plans?  Yep!  Did we have one less day to do things in Cincinnati?  You bet!  But I can promise you that I won't ever forget the day we had, the laughs we shared and the stories we told.  If you don't have friends you can be stuck with at the airport, you're not doing life right.

After 7+ hours at Midway Airport.

#46 A New State - Wisconsin!

One of my goals is to visit all 50 states and I'm over halfway through.  Lucky for me, my parents believed in the road trip so I did a lot as a kid.  But I still have quite a few to visit.  This summer though, I was able to knock one more off my list . . . Wisconsin!  My family reunion was originally scheduled for Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, but we ended up in the Illinois River Valley instead.  The  good news is, it's only a couple of hours away from Milwaukee, so I decided to head there first.  I was able to pack a ton of things into my two days.

I won't tell you about every single adventure, but I will tell you nothing disappointed.  Milwaukee is a small town city with so much to do!  It is super walkable and the weather was amazing . . .  a great respite from Texas in July.  I stayed at the historic Knickerbocker Hotel on Lake Michigan.  Built in 1929, it has retained its charm and is a great place to stay.

If you know me, then when you look at the things I did, there's probably one thing that might surprise you - the Harley-Davidson Museum.  I'm not a motorcycle kind of girl, so this place wasn't even on my radar.  But I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that every single person I talked to said that it was a must see and since #50by50 is all about new experiences, then I quickly added it to my list of places to visit.  And I'm so glad I did.  I had no idea Harley-Davidson was founded in 1903 right there in Milwaukee.  When you read about the two friends who started the company and how influential Harley-Davidson has been, it really is an interesting story.  Looking at the evolution of the motorcycle, design included, was just as fascinating.

• Milwaukee Public Market & the Historic Third Ward
• Brewery tour and fried cheese curds at Lakefront Brewery
• Pabst Mansion
• Butter burger at Sobelman's
• Harley Davidson Museum
• Milwaukee Brat House on Old World Third Street which was largely settled by the first Germans of Milwaukee
• Frozen custard at Kopp's
• Jewish Museum Milwaukee

The Bronze Fonz

Fried Cheese Curds!

Pabst Mansion

Butter burger at the Original Sobelman's

Frozen Custard from Kopp's

#44 A New Country

As soon as I started my #50by50, I knew visiting a new country would be on my to-do-list.  And a country I've always wanted to visit is the Dominican Republic and I was elated I could talk my college roomies into taking a 50th birthday celebration trip to Punta Cana.

We stayed at Bahia Principe Ambar for 4 nights, which of course, was not nearly enough time.  We ended up spending one day at the pool (yay for swim up bars), one day at the beach, and one day on an amazing excursion to Saona Island.

The excursion was an amazing experience!  We took a motor boat to a natural pool in the Caribbean.  It was so crazy to be so far out from the shore and still be able to touch bottom.  The water was that perfect turquoise color and we even saw a couple of HUGE starfish.  From here, we made our way to Saona Island for a Dominican lunch and a few hours on the most beautiful beach ever!  Crystal clear waters and white sandy beaches full of shells and sea glass for my collection.  We took a catamaran back to port, which allowed us to have a slower, more leisurely experience.

    

I would love to go back some day and experience more of the island.  But this trip was all about relaxation and good times with the college roomies.

#40 Cabo!

Turning 50 is the perfect reason to schedule a girls' trip and I knew it had to be someplace gorgeous and new to me.  A beach was a must and I wanted it to be a quick plane ride away.  I've always heard great things about Cabo, so it was off to Baja California with some of my most favorite people!

Four days at Zoetry in Cabo is just what I needed.  Lounging on a beach bed, relaxing in the pool while sipping on pina coladas, leisurely breakfasts watching the whales . . .  it was an amazing week with friends!

If you are looking for a beach vacation, I would happily recommend Los Cabos.  It's gorgeous and temps were in the mid to high 70s all week.  The views are spectacular.  It would be super easy to stay on the resort all week, but with both San Jose and Cabo San Lucas just 15 minutes away, I would suggest "going into town" at least once for a change of scenery and to experience local culture.