Saturday morning, it was overcast and humid. I don't miss the humidity even though it does keep your skin looking younger. This morning, we were meeting a friend at a cute restaurant called The Dienger Trading Co. It was established in 1884. A hard-working German pioneer, Joseph Dienger, settled into the Texas hill country constructed the grocery store on the street level and the family living on top. And now it is a bakery, espresso bar and bistro where breakfast and lunch is served.
Sunday morning after meeting family for breakfast at a deli, Max & Louie's, in San Antonio, Kenny and I headed to Marble Falls. Marble Falls is about 80 mile north of San Antonio and 35 miles northwest of Austin. When I lived in Austin, it was always fun to take a Sunday drive to Marble Falls. Back in the 80s, it definitely was a small town. Now, it has a population of about 6,000. More and more people are moving here to get away from the big cities. It is a great place for retirement.
Some history is that it is named after waterfalls which are now located at the bottom of Lake Marble Falls. In 1917, the city elected the 1st female mayor, Ophelia Crosby "Birdie" Harwood, in the nation. Even though women had yet to gain the right to vote when she took over leadership of Marble Falls.
Another fun place to see is Granite Mountain, which is a solid dome of pink granite rising over 860 feet one mile west of Marble Falls. The pink-red colored rock has been used in the construction of the Texas State Capitol in Austin, Texas and also for the construction o f the Galveston Seawall.
With the COVID situation, there are many restaurants and shops that have closed. Praying that this small town will be able to make it. Tourism is so important to this town.
Kenny and I got checked into our hotel. Because it was Labor Day weekend, the hotel was busy. The employees said that most of the summer it had been pretty slow.
A good friend, Julia had moved to Marble Falls about 10 years ago. We knew her well from the church that we attended in Houston. Julia had been a good friend of Kenny's mom. She was turning "90" within the next week, so we wanted to visit and wish her a happy birthday. It was so good to see her. She was moving slower, but she still had that beautiful smile. It is amazing what you learn about a person when you stop and listen. In her earlier years, she had taught music in middle school for almost 20 years and then in the 70's she taught computers. After retiring from teaching, she then did several other jobs and up until about three years ago, she was working for the newspaper office in Marble Falls. She was rolling those newspapers and stuffing them into plastic covers. I always wonder, who did that job. Wow! It just goes to show you that being physically active is very important to your life.
After visiting with Julia, we enjoyed a walk around the park watching the families fishing and playing in the lake. Then to the top evening off was the beautiful sunset. Another fun day on the road.
1 comment:
sounds like you had a good time, I love road trips
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