Weekend re-cap - traveling, grieving, and eating

{Disclaimer:  I have plenty to say about "family time" from this weekend, but I'll save that for the other blog}

Hubby and I started off our weekend by traveling to a happy place:  Hamilton, Texas.

We were on our way to Dallas for a funeral on Saturday, and thought we might spend the night in Hamilton so we could relax a little, including eating some pork butt sammies (so freakin' good) at a favorite little meat market.  The lady behind the counter seemed a little distracted and not as friendly as before, but they were doing a big business at lunchtime.

 Oh look - three other customers.  In her defense, we weren't locals, so...

We also had plans to enjoy one of our favorite wineries; a little getaway time for us.  We enjoyed said sammies, then made our way over to our Deluxe accommodations for the night.  The Hamilton Budget Inn.  Woo. Hoo.  I took zero pics of the inside of it.  It was pretty loud at night being right on the highway, but we were pretty worn out from the week in general so we didn't care.

 Isn't it swank?  

After we checked in, we went over to Red Wing Dove.  Too bad they are so far away in Hamilton!  The owners are super friendly and the wine is reasonably priced and very good.

We arrived around 4 p.m. under sunny skies and reminded the owner that last time we were there (St. Pat's Day) we left during a raging storm, complete with lightening and downpours.  He assured us it had not rained since.  So we parked ourselves on the patio, playing cards and listening to jazz, fully intending to enjoy a sunset on a quiet day.  "Honey, what is that in the distance?"

"Looks like rain...but it's pretty far away"  (note: how do people in Texas even judge how much "far" is?)  We sat and watched it roll closer.

"Are you sure that's only rain?  Oh wait...that looks and sounds like hail hitting the metal roof."  Cue downpour...We stayed until it let up, then tried to get rainbow pics with the few folks that were also on the patio - no luck.   And of course, Hubby made a friend in the form of an elderly gentleman who wanted to know what we were drinking (ruby cabernet) then proceeded to tell us all about happenings in the area.

 Around 7 we headed back to town for dinner at a Mexican restaurant on the square that was friendly with pretty good food.  I had fajita quesadillas, Hubby had the taco salad.  Again, no pictures...we went back to our deluxe room and cranked up the a/c and were asleep by 10 p.m.

******

The next day was a long one.  We got up early and ate chicken fried steak and eggs for breakfast (hey, it's Texas), then drove to Dallas, visited with family, went to the the funeral, did more visiting, then hit the road to head back.  Getting from one end of Dallas to another is not a walk in the park.   It was a freaking long Saturday. {As I said, more about all of that on the other blog.}

 Around 8 p.m. we stopped for dinner at George's, a Waco tradition for us.

 Come to mama.

 I didn't just eat all the delicious fried or Mexican things all weekend - at George's I had salmon and okra and sweet potato casserole.  HUBBY ate all of the fried things.  But their onion rings are legendary, so...

We rolled up to Highlands at midnight, took an Alka Seltzer plus and CRASHED into our bed.  Hubby said it was the best sleep he's gotten in days.  I let him stay in bed until 9 a.m., but we had to get up and at 'em for another fun thing to do - the picnic in the meadow at Torr Na Lochs.  We ate a roll and had coffee, then headed over.  It's literally three miles from Highlands.

Everyone met at the winery and caravan'd  down the road a bit to a separate entrance into their property where there was a meadow and lots of space under the trees for tables and chairs.

 It had a creek running through it - so pretty!

Lunch was deli sammies and homemade potato salad.  And of course, wine.

The picnic included several new wines that wine club members got to try first, along with tasting notes and stories provided by her husband.

The weather was perfect, we had a great lunch, and we met a couple who we had lots in common with...well, the "lots" being love of wine.  It was interesting to hear where all they had been - several places we had wanted to try - and give suggestions about places they might want to try.

The picnic ended around 2 p.m., but we could have sat under their oaks, sipping wine all afternoon.  Just lovely.  On the way out, we got to see the longhorns again,  up close and personal.  We only had a couple more hours of freedom before we headed home, so we made up a pretty appetizer plate and sat out at Highlands, sans wine.  Just enjoying the weather and a lawnchair snooze...

 And *snap* the weekend ended. 

When we got home I made meatloaf with scalloped potatoes and some green beans.  Bubbie's gf joined us.  They had gone to her prom on Friday night so she had pics to share.  And we all enjoyed a good meal, then generally pooped out.  We covered a lot of ground, ate a lot it seems, and grieved with our family.  It was very full, and had it's yin and yang of sad and happy, but I am hoping this coming weekend is closer to home...