Browsing category: Texas Travels

08 Nov 2019

Where to Buy Texas Pecans for Your Holiday Pies

By Brenda McDearmon / No Comment

Where to Buy Texas Pecans for Your Holiday Pies Until I started researching Texas pecans for this post about where to buy them, I was totally oblivious to most every pertinent fact. Only one thing did I know for certain on the subject. Pecans are my favorite nut, and Thanksgiving can never come and go at my house without at least one slice of pecan pie. But, hey. A pecan pie made with Texas pecans? That's got to be the ultimate.

Photo - Goode Company Pecan Pie made with Texas Pecans If I Were

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25 Oct 2019

Hamilton Pool Preserve – The One Last Thing

By Brenda McDearmon / No Comment

Hamilton Pool Preserve When we moved to Austin in January 2014, it was the dead of winter in the place we were leaving and nearly spring in the one to which we were headed. After living our entire lives in the Texas panhandle, we were making an Over Fifty move to the Texas Hill Country. From the normal to the “weird.” From the land of cotton and windy days to the land of wineries and cedar haze.

Eeek - know before you go. This rustic ladder is the only way down to the pool.

On Every

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22 Oct 2019

Let’s Go to Luckenbach, Texas

By Brenda McDearmon / 4 Comments

Let's Go to Luckenbach, Texas! Most Texans can sing right along with Willie Nelson's famous song that put this tiny Texas spot on the map. But a whole bunch of us really have no idea where it is, much less what we'll find once we get there. When we lived in Austin, one of the long-time locals asked if we wanted to see this Texas hole in the road for ourselves, and what did we say? You better believe it. Is the Pope Catholic? Do fish swim? Is Willie Nelson the king of country music? We were all in. Let's go to Luckenbach,

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10 Oct 2019

Lady Bird Hike-and-Bike Trail (Austin) – 15 Things to Know Before You Go

By Brenda McDearmon / 01 Comment

The Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail in Austin

The Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail around Lady Bird Lake is a 10-mile stretch of outdoor beauty, thanks to the effort of two very forward-thinking Austin friends. On a trip to London in 1971, as Ann Butler and Lady Bird Johnson stood together admiring a portion of the beautiful Thames Path, they wondered if something similar could be accomplished in Austin. When they got back home, these two visionaries decided that it very likely could. And then it

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02 Oct 2019

What it’s Like to Visit a Starbucks Reserve Bar – My Review of the Experience

By Brenda McDearmon / No Comment

What it's Like to Visit a Starbucks Reserve Coffee Bar Marketing marvels exist in so many ingenious ways, don't they? There's the start-ups that end up going gangbusters (Facebook), the solutions that soon become sensational successes (Dave Ramsey), and the institutions we see as commonplace that got that way because they refused to be common at all (Chick-fil-A). And then there's Starbucks.

Photo - Starbucks Reserve Coffee Bar experience menu Starbucks - a Dot on the Over Fifty Timeline When I think

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20 Sep 2019

A Romantic Weekend in the Backwoods at Caddo Lake State Park

By Brenda McDearmon / 4 Comments



Romantic Weekends Back in the Day When we were younger and had a nest-full, I agonized relentlessly about leaving the kids at home while my husband and I were off on a romantic weekend away. Would they remember to do their homework? Would they forget about a project that was due? How would my mother get them to all their activities? And mostly, how well would they b-e-h-a-v-e? Oh, well. In the end, my man always prevailed in convincing me that a weekend away from our kids wasn't going to kill them or us. <br

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5 Ways to Beat the Heat
14 Aug 2019

7 Cool Ways to Beat the Heat and Enjoy What’s Left of Summer

By Brenda McDearmon / No Comment

Summertime ... and the livin' is easy. - DuBose Heyward and George Gershwin If you're good about introducing your children to different genres and styles of music, you're to be commended.  

My mother was good about that.

She invited me to watch nostalgic old musicals with her on television, announcing it something like this.

"Show Boat is coming on tonight. It's a really good one, and I think you'd like it."

She was probably using a little positive psychology of some

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Fredericksburg Texas is known for beautiful orchards and vineyards.
23 Jul 2019

Fredericksburg is Known for Its Orchards and Vineyards

By Brenda McDearmon / 4 Comments

Most people in the Texas Hill Country are well aware and pretty well-acquainted with a little German town situated between Austin and El Paso. Well, actually, it's a mighty "fer piece" from El Paso, but, still, it is between here and there. Fredericksburg is Home to Many Orchards Since at least as early as 1936, the Fredericksburg area has been the natural home for growers of pretty peaches. A short search reveals red dots on the map, indicating names like Eckhardt, Marburger, Vogel and Jenschke, family names of orchards that

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Texas is Big on Farmers Markets
19 Jul 2019

Texas Farmers’ Markets Sell Bushels of Fresh Veggies and Homegrown Fun

By Brenda McDearmon / No Comment

Texas is Big on Farming and Farmers Markets Not everyone in Texas has had the privilege of growing up on a farm. But every Texan knows how to appreciate the homegrown goodness from the acres and acres that make up our local agriculture. What is a Farmers' Market, Anyway? By definition, a farmers' market is an indoor or outdoor marketplace where consumers buy fresh eats and locally-inspired products. Most Texas farmers markets sell a spot for 30-50 local growers to set up their own unique space. When the market opens, eager

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Texas Day Trip
25 May 2019

How to Plan the Perfect Texas Day Trip

By Brenda McDearmon / No Comment

One thing about Texans that seems to be true across the board is this. We love our day trips. Day Trips are Part of Being a Texan People who live in other states enjoy a nice Saturday outing as well, but there's something different about the Texas day trip. Most Americans probably want to see parts of the states in which they live, however, we who claim residence in the Lone Star State are loath to think we will never cover every square mile of ours. There's Only One Problem All it takes is a picnic basket and a full tank of

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