Solo Road Trip

A few years ago I sat in my house trying to think of what to do. My kids had just left to visit their dad for a week in the summer. I could clean the house or watch TV or catch up on sleep. I didn’t want to waste this week, it would be over before you knew it. I didn’t want to sit around and miss my kids either. So I decided really quickly to pack a bag and hit the road. I love reading articles by the Huffington Post. I had just read something about the perfect Hill Country Weekend Road trip. I called my sister and brother in law who advised me not to go alone. My sister thought it was unsafe and my brother in law didn’t trust my car to get my there. But I was single and had three kids. If I always waited for someone to go with me I would never do anything. It was funny how my sister lectured me to check in with her at all times and that I had better answer my phone.

The plan was to drive to Gruene, TX where Gruene Hall is located. Gruene Hall was built in the 1800s. It is Texas’ oldest and most famous dance hall. I wanted to eat at the Gristmill and then go get a beer and listen to music at Gruene Hall. The Gristmill is located under Gruene’s famous water tower. It is a restaurant built out of a cotton gin from the 1800s.  I booked a room at the Gruene River Inn for one night. The next day I would drive down to the Comal River and float the river, alone (Dunn Dunn Dunn). Next, I would drive to Wimberly to go to Jacob’s well. Wimberly is a town everyone loves. It has unique shops and eclectic art. Jacob’s Well is a natural well that people from all over go to visit and explore. When I was done there I would drive to Fredericksburg. Fredericksburg is an old German town in Texas. I booked a room at the Hampton Inn. My plan was to eat German food and listen to music that night and then wake up early to climb Enchanted Rock. Enchanted rock is a pink granite mountain located north of Fredericksburg. Legend has it that Indians said it had magical powers. Hence the name “Enchanted Rock”. The Europeans said that unexplained creaking came from the rock. This later was explained as the mountain contracting at night after the heat of the day had worn off. People still put their ear to the rock to see if they can hear it. And yes I tried it. I heard nothing. After hiking Enchanted Rock I would go to the natural bridge caverns.  Then the trip would come to an end.

There is nothing like a road trip. I rolled my windows down. I didn’t care how I looked. Hair on top of my head, jean shorts, t shirt, jammin out to only Texas country. No one gave me their opinions or changed my music or had an alternate itinerary. I drank my coke zero and headed away from any worries. I like to say that I ate like a forager that first day. I stopped along the highway to buy peaches, blackberries, walnuts, and figs. That was my road trip picnic that sat next to me in the passenger seat. I finally got to Gruene River Inn. It was a block away from Gruene Hall. It was old and quaint looking. I went to check in and met the lady at the desk. It was a Monday. She told me that I was the only person staying at the hotel. She gave me a key. She said “After 10:00 tonight the grounds keeper will go home. If you come back after that you will have to unlock the outside of the hotel and lock it back. Breakfast will be in the dining hall tomorrow. You are our only Guest so would you like breakfast tacos?” Of course I said I did. I got the key and headed to my room. My room was awesome. Queen bed, old firewood burning stove, and a balcony overlooking the river and trees. The balcony was small and the banister moved when you touched it. I sat in a chair very close to the wall. I made up my mind to be back at the hotel by 9:45 pm. The image of me coming back to an empty hotel and someone following me in and murdering me flashed through my mind over and over. So I unpacked and got dressed in Jeans and boots and curled hair. I walked the block to Gruene Hall. The Gristmill restaurant is beautiful. It is right next door to Gruene Hall. I was seated and ordered an Alamo beer and a burger. I sat under all of the trees and watched the sun going down. I looked out over the water. When I was done eating I walked to Gruene Hall. A band I cant remember the name of was playing. It was a Monday so it wasn’t a big concert. I ordered a beer and listened to music. A guy asked me to two step. We danced to a song about Donald Trump being orange. I got another beer and listened to more music. At 9:30pm I walked the block back to my hotel room. My sister was blowing up my phone. I got into my room and candles and flower petals were around the bath tub. A note from the hotel said something about it being complimentary. Again, murder crept through my mind. I eventually got over it and  turned the candles on (batteries). That night I read books that I had brought and fell asleep. The next morning I sat out on the balcony. This was the first time that I started to draw. I am not good at drawing or painting but I like to do it. I am not being humble. I am not good. ha. I drew Gruene Hall. I tried to draw the river and failed. I packed my bag and went to the breakfast room. I sat in the huge breakfast room alone eating breakfast tacos with hot sauce. I was sitting against a window high above the river and trees. Humming bird feeders were placed all along the outside of the windows and tons of hummingbirds were flying around while I ate. I had one of those moments where you just feel like you are blessed to be exactly where you are. Before check out I sat in one of the hotels reading nooks. I drank coffee and read some more. I wished I could stay longer but I had more places to go.

I drove to a place in New Braunfels where you could park your car and ride a school bus down to the river. The school bus parks and you get out and get your tube and get in the freezing river. I floated down the river soaking up the sun. I watched deer run along the sides of the river. I watched all of the college kids drink way too much. The good old days ha. I would get out of my tube and swim for a while and then get back in and take in more sun. I only went around one time. Floating alone is relaxing but being alone in crowds of people partying feels kind of weird. I returned my float and road the school bus back to my car. I slipped a dress over my swimsuit. Then I headed to Wimberley.

I had never been to Wimberley but I had heard a lot about it. I parked and went in to a coffee shop. I got a coffee and walked along the streets that were filled with shops. I went in and bought random candles and socks. But the main reason I was there was to go to Jacob’s Well. I wanted to jump into the well. I wanted to hold my breath and swim as far as I could down the well. As I walked up to the entrance I realized how I didn’t plan for this. You had to have a wrist band. Your wrist band was a certain color and you could only be at the well for 45 minutes. When your time was up they asked for your color to leave. They were completely sold out for the day. No! I thought. I came all this way. As I was about to admit defeat a couple came walking out. I said, “I’m so sorry to ask you this but since you are leaving can I have your wrist band?” The guy looked at me weird but said sure and gave it to me. I had 15 minutes. I walked the dirt and rock path to get back to the well. About 20 other people were there. They were swimming or jumping into the well. The well just looks like dark water. I swam around for a while trying to get the nerve to go in front of a lot of people I don’t know to jump into an underwater well. As I swam an older, chubby man got up on the rocks to jump in. He was nervous and he was taking a while. He kept wiping his glasses. There was a group of high school boys there. They started chanting, “Gary! Gary! Gary!” and he held his nose and jumped. The boy next to me in the water said, “We have no idea who that guy is or what his name is but he looks like a Gary.” Then the boy asked if I wanted to borrow his goggles. I put them on and swam not far at all down the well before my ears popped. I got out of the water and climbed the rocks. I jumped in the well. I hated it but I did it. When my time was up I got dressed and walked around the property. I saw deer and lizards. I walked under all of the trees. I was walking down a steep trail when I fell and rolled my ankle. I remembered our pastor saying something like, “If you aren’t falling then you aren’t trying”. I thought well at least I know I am doing something. Even if I lack any Grace while I’m doing it. I got in my car and headed to Fredericksburg.

I had left Wimberley and was headed to Fredericksburg. I had a reservation at a hotel there near Main street. It was about 5:45pm when I noticed my tire was EXTREMELY low. My tire gage said 11 and it was going down every mile. I looked up the closest tire shop and it said it was 15 miles away. I called them and they said that if I could get there by 6:00 they could look at it. I had 15 minutes and 15 miles to get to a place I had never been before I was left on the side of the road with a flat tire. I got there and they fixed it in 10 minutes. (This is where it comes in that it might not be wise to travel alone). Then I went to my hotel. I checked in to my room, got dressed, and went to main street. I ate at a place called Otto’s. I sat outside under Edison lights and drank a German beer while I ate German food. Then I walked to a bar and had a beer while I listened to the cutest old man sing and play his guitar. I got back to my hotel and showered and slept.

The next morning I woke up very early. I packed my backpack with drawing materials, books, water, sunscreen, and a polaroid camera my sister had bought me. (This is way too much weight to hike with, I learned that quickly). I was ready to hike Enchanted Rock. A lot of people I knew had already done this and I had always wanted to. I went down to the lobby to get coffee first. In the back of the hotel there was land to walk around. There was a stream that I sat next to while I drank coffee. It was probably 6am. I loved it. When I got to Enchanted rock I went inside to pay for a ticket. It was early and only about 10 people were inside but people were freaking out. I asked a girl what was going on. A Spurs player was there and everyone was trying to get a picture. I’m sorry I cant tell you who it was because I have no idea. I got my ticket and left. I saw the poor guy basically running out of the office as I walked away. He got a ticket and was trying to get away from the teenage girls who probably never watched any of the games. It is a big rock and I didn’t see him again. It is beautiful out there. The rock has a lot of paths, easy and hard. I saw couples and kids and families all hiking up to the top. As I was out of breath and hiking a lady came up to me. She had two kids with her. She said, “Excuse me miss but are you hiking alone?” I said yes. She said to her kids, “I told you she was hiking alone. Isn’t that brave guys?” Then she asked me if I would like to hike with them. I politely said thank you but that I was okay. I later told my brother that story and he said, “Why the hell would you want to hike with a random family for?” ha I don’t know but I’m sure she was just very nice. Probably half way up the rock I sat by myself next to a cactus with flowers. I got out my drawing stuff and started to draw probably the worst cactus ever imagined. A man stopped and said, “Are you an artist?” I said, “Oh God no, I’m terrible. I just like to do it.” He began telling me how I am probably being modest and how his son wanted to be an artist. He said his son was at the top of the rock but maybe he could see some of my drawings when he came down. I again told the man that I was in no way an artist and he didn’t want to use me as an example. He did not listen and said they would find me on the way down. I took a different way down. I finished my terrible drawing and hiked to the top. I stood at the top with wind blowing and hawks flying above me. I towered over all of the trees and land below. I stayed there for a while and then hiked back down and got to my car.

The Natural bridge caverns are right next to Enchanted rock. I bought a ticket and spent 45 minutes walking through them. I saw stalactites and stalagmites. I saw a room called the room of Giants. The tour ended and I headed to Main street to eat at the Old German Bakery. That’s the name of the place, “Old German Bakery”. I sat at a table and ordered coffee and all the food. I got German pancakes which are flat dense pancakes. I got a pastry from the huge display case and I ate German sausage. I people watched and thought about how one day I would write about this trip. I finished eating and visited the pioneer museum. You walk through pioneer homes and businesses. Beware the creepy mannequins that are in some of these houses. This was the final plan I had for my trip. It was time to go home. I got in my car and got back on the highway. Not too long after I was back on the road I saw a small road sign for Luckenbach. I had heard a lot about Luckenbach. I turned. Luckenbach is an unincorporated community 13 miles from Fredericksburg. It is famous for country music and good BBQ. It has a post office and saloon on the property that dates back to the 1800s. It is now used for a venue for country music and has become a spot that draws tourists in. Willie Nelson has been known to visit there. I was on a dirt road for a long time when my GPS stopped getting signal. Great, I was going to be lost in the middle of nowhere. Then I saw a sign that said Luckenbach loop. And another sign that said “Park Yonder”. I parked in a dirt parking lot and walked up to the old post office. I walked inside to find a shop and a bar. A dead possum was stuffed and in a display case. A Rooster named Rusty walked around the shop. He has his own facebook page. There was a truck selling BBQ so I bought some and a coke. I sat at a table while three men with beards played their guitars and sang. I felt far away from home. I walked around the land and across a bridge and sat under huge trees. I loved feeling far away from everything. But I also knew my kids would be home in two days. I had a great trip. It was better than I expected. But I was ready to go home. I got in my car, rolled the windows down, put on Texas country and drove back home.

A couple years later my mom and I took my kids to Fredericksburg. They hiked Enchanted rock. They ate peaches from the stands along the highway. We stayed at a small motel and they swam in the pool and ate German food. They even got shirts that say “I don’t give a schnitzel”. I took them to Luckenbach where they ate BBQ and pet the Rooster. Jack even found a pocket knife buried in the dirt by one of the huge trees. A solo road trip is something I think everyone should do. It was such a good experience for me. But taking your kids on trips like this is the best. Going with your significant other is awesome too. Duane and I have been back to Fredericksburg and have had new experiences. We ate at a restaurant that is technically underground and stayed in a cabin from the 1800s. We ate peach ice cream and hiked Enchanted rock together. We went to a winery and to Arc de Texas to see amazing views. If you do decide to go on a solo trip, that’s awesome! But a few tips…. Maybe don’t stay at a hotel as the only guest. It has a major “The Shining” vibe. And check your tires before you go. Make sure you have bought wristbands ahead of time if you need them. And have an uptight sister who bosses you around makes you check in with her 20 times a day. But besides that I highly recommend it. Thanks for reading.