Weekend Get Away from Austin

This isn't a long post, because it wasn't a long trip. It was great getting out of Austin for a few hours and going to Marble Falls. Marble Falls is a little community on the lake about 40 miles west of Austin.

We took FM 1431, which winds through some of the prettiest land in Travis County. Between Lago Vista and Marble Falls is the little community of Smithwick. This is a now nothing more than a church, a community center, and a cemetary. The Smithwick Cemetary is full of memories from a time of yesteryear. One can only imagine what these brave pioneers saw when they reached this land and began to carve out homesteads, ranches, farms, and mills.

In Marble Falls, we stopped at the River City Grill for lunch. I had a local menu specialty there called "Paul's Chicken" which is a chicken breast, breaded in potato chips, fried, and smotherd in Hatch green chili sauce and monterry jack cheese. Wow. Only in Central Texas will fried chicken be covered in homemade hot sauce instead of gravy!

Flat Creek winery is also nestled in the hills off of Travis Peak Road near Lago Vista. We were only able to buy a couple of bottles instead of sitting there enjoying the afternoon because the winery was closing for a wedding. Better luck next time.

All in all, a relaxing round trip in the Hill Country. Nothing beats the hustle and bustle of Austin like driving out to a small town, doing some antique shopping, eating a great lunch, and picking up a couple of bottles of wine.