Arriving in Brownwood

Posted on March 13, 2015 by Kori and Eileen

We’re here! Albeit at nearly 9 PM…

We ended up stopping at too many places…. We saw wind turbines and a few more quaint little towns on the way, but we ended up getting here past dark. Which was a lot worse than we thought, particularly because of all the deer running out into the road! We saw SO MANY, with one here to greet us as we drove up to the Hideout.

We didn’t stop to get anything to eat since Austin, and there is absolutely nothing out here besides dirt roads, cactus, and trees for miles. Thankfully there’s a little restaurant and bar here at the Hideout, so we just grabbed ourselves some food. Now we have to get everything put away and prepared for tomorrow. We’ve almost got everything laid out and organized the best we can, until morning. This is our last night of being engaged, tomorrow we’ll be a married couple. We both have a lot of emotions tonight, from feeling rushed to get everything in the room and ready, to the weight of exactly what we’re doing here. We’re excited, we’re nervous, but most of all we’re happy to be with each other and can’t wait to be joined together tomorrow.

-Kori & Eileen

Pilot Knob Vineyard

Posted on March 13, 2015 by Kori and Eileen

We just stopped by Pilot Knob Vineyard and Winery. It was a bit out of the way towards Brownwood, but it’s the first vineyard on our trip! They are actually hosting a wedding on their grounds this afternoon, and were setting up when we arrived.

We tried out their tasting selection and we decided to get a bottle of their PK Cuvée white wine. It was definitely the sweetest, and we both liked it. Going to have to save this for a special occasion.

It’s really nice outside today, so we walked around for a little on the vineyard grounds. The grapes aren’t quite in season yet, so the vines were still bare. There was tons and tons of cactus as far as you can see. And of course more cows, lots more. We passed by a really rustic old barn on the way here. The scenery is just so nice. I’m sure the locals are bored with it, but it’s very new and interesting to us. Looking forward to the rest of the drive. Though if we keep stopping to take pictures of everything we may be getting in after dark.

-Kori & Eileen

Lunch in Austin

Posted on March 13, 2015 by Kori and Eileen

We made it to Austin. After a few detours, and a lot of cows, we’re here at Santorini Cafe. We decided on this place on the way. We made a list a few days ago, but figured we’d decide what we were hungry for once we got close enough.

Eileen and I have been taking this time out here on the patio to reflect on this morning. We had a really stressful start this morning, so we needed to collect ourselves a bit. Everything at the cafe has been good so far. I (Kori) got the lamb plate, and Eileen got the vegetarian gyro. The lady who runs the place has been very nice; she’s been bringing us some complimentary food. Perhaps she’s surmised that we’re getting married, or she has some left over stuff she made too much of (she actually said that about the soup she just brought us). Or maybe because of all the camera equipment I dragged out of the car, she thinks we’re food critics? Regardless, this place is pretty great, and now we definitely recommend it. We’re gonna to get an order of baklava to go!

-Kori

Blue Bell Ice Cream Factory

Posted on March 13, 2015 by Kori and Eileen

Two years ago, we drove to Austin for South by Southwest and drove by the Blue Bell Ice Cream Factory in Brenham, but we didn’t have time to stop, so we knew we had to stop there on the way this time. We wanted to get to Austin by lunch time, so we didn’t take the tour, but we still went to the gift shop, walked around a bit, and took some pictures. Of course, we also had to get some of the free paper hats as souvenirs, so we apologize if we look silly in the pictures.

-Kori & Eileen