Enchanted Rock

Half of our reason of going to Fredericksburg was to hike Enchanted Rock. We actually thought about camping there instead of staying at a bed and breakfast in Fredericksburg, but since it is February in Texas we thought we'd be taking too much of a chance of the weather being bad. I'm glad we didn't camp since it was cold and rainy Saturday! We went up to Enchanted Rock Sunday and thankfully the weather was better. Not warm and sunny by any means, but at least there were patches of blue sky and it wasn't raining!

Although we did check the weather before we left, we didn't plan on it being as cold as it was (thanks Texas weather!). So we had  to make an impromptu Walmart run for long johns and a tacky sweatshirt for me (which is actually incredibly comfortable for being $5). We were obviously the most stylish hikers there.

We had never been to Enchanted Rock before, and I really had no idea what to expect. I knew it was a big rock but that was about it. Y'all, it is a BIG ROCK. Actually a couple giant rocks. When we were driving in we came up over a hill and BOOM there it was. It was beautiful.

The hike up was pretty easy, although it is steep at some points (all depending on the route you go of course, I was following Bear Grylls Jr, so we went the hard way I'm sure), but the views... sheesh! I wish the weather had been a little less muggy so the photos would have come out better because you could see for MILES up there!

I apologize in advance for the sheer number of photos I'm about to post. It was really pretty, okay?

One of the perks of being there right after it rained was that there were little streams coming down the rock everywhere! So many little rivers and waterfalls of the clearest water that I'm certain we wouldn't have seen without the recent rain.

Enchanted rock's most fashionable couple award goes to...

It was so pretty. My sister said the same thing, but I'm kind of surprised I'd never been before. My dad used to take us camping all over Texas, and this place is pretty close to home. But I'm glad I hadn't been before because it was so much fun to explore this new place with Brendon! Yet another adventure for the Hogans. We need to go on more! I always forget how much I love hiking and exploring and being outside. I've become such a city slicker (HA)! It is something we should do more often.

And because there's no better time than the present, allow me to introduce the most recent addition to the Hogan family:

My new car. Although this deserves a separate post on its own, one that I'm not quite ready to write yet, the Xterra has unfortunately been forced into retirement. It's a sad thing. But this baby has helped ease the pain a little. She's fancy and new and comes with all sorts of gadgets. We have been calling her the Bat Car or that Bruce Wayne. She's a Nissan Altima, the Xterra's younger, smaller, and more fuel efficient cousin. We love her and it was fun taking her on her first road trip across a little part of Texas. Welcome to the family!

This weekend was perfect and I wish that Brendon and I could spend every weekend going on adventures together. Even small ones. It was a little peek into what life might be like after pharmacy school. Having free time and doing whatever we'd like with it. I am counting down the days.

The rest of our weekend is here and we stayed here.

Fredericksburg: the cabin

Larkspur Cabin was our retreat for our weekend in Fredericksburg. It was perfect. Like I said in my last post, we booked it through Absolute Charm, and if you're looking for a place to stay in Fredericksburg I recommend starting there! If you can't find a bed and breakfast through that site, you're probably crazy.

If you're lucky your cabin will come with a handsome husband studying for pharmacy school! Also, that little stove? AMAZING. Heated that place up so well. Perfect for a cold drizzly weekend.

Why yes, that is a jacuzzi tub, in the loft-bedroom! Totally a selling point for us.

I mean, pretty perfect right? A rainy weekend isn't so bad when you have this cabin to hang out in! I loved it. Brendon said he thought it was haunted and didn't sleep well because he thought there were ghosts/intruders coming to get us. I slept like a baby. He's crazy.

The one downfall to the cabin?

The TV that is smaller than most computer monitors these days. We had a good laugh about that. But really, why would you be watching TV on your vacation? ESPECIALLY if there is a jacuzzi tub upstairs.

So if you're in the market for a weekend escape, Larkspur Cabin is where it's at. It's quiet, beautifully built (I'm not usually a fan of all wood interiors, 1982 much?, but it worked so well here), and just generally awesome. They took so much time and care in decorating that place. Those hanging window panes were so cool. Such a good idea! Oh yeah and did I mention there's a jacuzzi tub? Perfect.

Up next, we hike all over Enchanted Rock wearing long johns from Walmart!

Fredericksburg: the town

This weekend Brendon and I escaped for a few days to Fredericksburg, Texas. We have been planning this trip since we moved to Austin. Originally we meant to go during our first Christmas here, but we were broke broke broke so that didn't happen. Fast forward a year or so and we finally made it!

This mini-vacay couldn't have happened at a better time. We both needed an escape and a chance to just be together for a few days. Life here is good, but it is not without stress and it is busy busy busy. It was so nice to just get away and do whatever we wanted for a few days. So nice.

Fredericksburg is a bed-and-breakfast-visit-for-the-weekend kind of town. There are hundreds of B&B's, we found ours through a site a local blogger recommended, Absolute Charm. We highly recommend it! Our cabin was perfect, but more on that later. For now, talk about Fredericksburg!

The drive there from Austin is beautiful. I love the hill country, it reminds me so much of home. Fredericksburg is very similar to Gruene, TX or as we recently experienced, Hot Springs, AR; any sort of weekend-escape town. Lots of shops and eateries. Although their "Main Street" area is huge! And there are a gazillion wineries to visit (we didn't see any, although next time I think we should). We really loved the German feel, mostly because we're from a German town, and we loved the German food!

As it always seems to be our luck on vacations, it was cloudy and grey and drizzly. But we didn't mind. We spent our Saturday exploring downtown and although my hair was a hot mess, the rain didn't stop us from having fun!

Hot sauce anyone?

This giant thing was COMPLETELY embroidered. I was in awe. I could have probably looked at that thing all day.

We ate a lot. We had some good German food and some really good beer. And some delicious peach wine (should have bought a few bottles). Also chocolate, ice cream, and coffee. It was a seriously relaxing and seriously wonderful day. After we had hit up all the shops and called the town explored, we just hung out in our badass cabin. Which also came with this:

Fluffy, the coolest cat in Fredericksburg. Yes, we are crazy cat people. Even in other cities cats find us.

Next up, a tour of our sweet little cabin! And then an adventure to Enchanted Rock! Get excited.