It feels as if there is not much to celebrate or look forward to these days. The hubs and I are usually jet-setting to global destinations each year, but 2020 has had us land-locked. Looking at our glass half full, we thought – wouldn’t it be great to use this time to explore local destinations? Hello Fredericksburg, TX.
We live in the Hill Country so Fredericksburg was a quick 1 hour drive from our house. It was founded in 1846 by German settlers and this small Texas town is chock full of charm. We have been to Germany and this local excursion brought back some wonderful memories. The Main Street is full of restaurants, bars, lovely shops and – BONUS! – you can enjoy your wine or beer while you stroll because sidewalk consumption is legal. Hooray!
We started our adventure down Main Street with a stop at Altdorf Biergarten. We sat outside at a socially-distanced table and enjoyed the local Altstadt Kolsch (delish) and a classic German pretzel with (legit) mustard for dipping. Afterwards we grabbed some cold beer for roadies and slowly wandered up and down Main Street, stopping in shops and listening to live music from the biergartens.
Our original plan for this trip was to hit a bunch of wineries; however, because of COVID, only one winery was truly open. I assure you, we made the most of that one winery – Grape Creek Vineyards! Grape Creek’s 290 location has a restaurant on-site, which is what allows them to stay open during COVID. We paid ~$25 each for a tasting, which included (6) wines and the wine glass to take home.
To be quite honest, we came in expecting to taste mostly white (and mostly sweet) wines. We were SO surprised to taste some truly wonderful reds. We liked them so much we joined the Wine Club that day – which turned out to be a hell of a deal. We were refunded our $50 for the wine tastings and only had to buy (3) bottles of wine, which were less than $30 a piece. We also get a free glass of wine anytime we come back and discounts at the restaurant. Our favorites that day were the Rendezvous (red blend), Bellisimo (Tuscan style red), and the Muscat (a chilled white that wasn’t too sweet – perfect on a hot summer day).
We stayed at a local B&B run by Absolute Charmed B&B. They did an awesome job DM’ing with me on Instagram for up-to-date local tips for enjoying the area during COVID. The property we stayed at (Victorian Mansion) had a wonderful pool that was perfect to relax in when it was too hot to do anything else.
The next day we wanted to hit the LBJ National Historical Park. We went early to avoid the heat and had the opportunity to walk around the Sauer-Beckman Living History Farm. Sheeps, turkeys, cows, and chickens roamed freely throughout the property. They have a lovely garden where they use the same growing techniques that were originally used in the early 1900s. I brought home some delicious cucumbers that were only .25 cents a piece. What a steal for organic!
Unfortunately the Texas White House (LBJ’s home on the ranch) was closed due to structural issues; however, we still were able to drive the ranch which was absolutely beautiful. We spent a decent amount of time in the gift shop buying local canned goodies like Green Tomato Pickles and Blueberry Jam. Holy cow, y’all – the canned goods are DELISH! I’m not even joking that I will be driving out there in a few weeks simply to restock on the canned goods. Highly recommend!
We had a lovely 48 hours in Fredericksburg and can’t wait to go back. Stay tuned for more travel tips after our next visit!
Prost!
The Stacy Strategy 