Texas might be the Lone Star State, but Texans definitely do not want anyone to feel alone. Southern hospitality is alive and kickin’ there and we were greeted with this common phrase often:
Our story in this big ole state begins off the beaten track in Sonora. Gary is a sucker for caves. So, when we saw the Caverns of Sonora on the map we thought why not? That is the beauty of our home being on wheels, we can stop at anything that interests us (or move if we don’t like it!). We pulled off the highway and the annoying woman on google maps took us further and further back into the country. After a while we got to a gravel/dirt “road” and were a little afraid we were about to go 4-wheeling with our Airstream. You will get the perfect visual of just how crazy this road was when you see our lesson learned below.
After a bumpy few miles, we finally arrived at the Caverns and they have space on their property for RVs. So we checked in, then pulled into the RV park area and it was TIGHT or as a Texan might say the spaces were as thin as a gnat’s whisker. There were all of these big rigs lined up with their side outs open and here comes us in our tiny home and we didn’t actually know if we were going to fit. It was our first experience of how up close and personal you can get in RV spots. Good news is it only took us two circles around and a bit of wiggling to get parked.
Our second and last stop in Texas was in Fredericksburg. If we decide to settle down in Texas, this town would be a front runner. First of all it is in Texas Hill Country. To be perfectly honest we had no idea Texas even had hills! Hill Country is home to three wine AVA regions and Fredericksburg is one of them. It also has a great walkable downtown where everyone is walking the streets and having fun. Probably because you can walk the streets with a drink in hand (wine or even the hard stuff), but hey, it’s Texas!
Best thing we did?
Touring the Caverns of Sonora. How do I know this was the best thing? We have 543,000 pictures to prove it’s true. We never knew there were so many food inspired formations in caves. Everything from bacon to popcorn to soda straws (these are real cave terms by the way). Just of a few of the pics are here for your amazement. I know, pictures of caves blah, blah, blah…just be glad we stopped at a few!!!
Best thing we ate?
Walking through downtown Fredericksburg it is easy to get overwhelmed with all of the options. So, that is what Yelp is for, right? One of the top places that came up (almost 5 stars with 244 reviews!) was a simple burger place and from the name we should have known we would be hooked: Jennie’s Smoked Burgers and Tornado Fries. We did not meet Jennie, but she smokes a mean burger! The smoked brisket burger was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! I guess it isn’t just traditional BBQ places that know how to use smoke. Jennie has it figured out 🙂 So much so that Gary has been trying tirelessly to create a copycat version of it along our travels.
What we learned?
Lock it down! Below is the precarious situation we found when we pulled in to our campsite and opened the Airstream doors. This does tell you quite a bit about Texas roadways, but it also tells you we are still newbs who need to learn to lock it down. Lock everything down! It really doesn’t matter if the cabinets click into place. One crazy pothole and your microwave can be destroyed and destroy fifteen things in its wake. Get straps, hooks, bungee, whatever it takes to lock it down!
Next Stop: Hot Springs National Park