TRAVEL: Day Trippin’ in Fredericksburg

Every so often it is nice to get out of town for the day.  And, because of this, there will be no cruise to Alaska or trip to Italy this year.

Nevertheless, we are intrepid.  Living in Central Texas means there are lots and lots of cheap and affordable day trips within a short distance.

With the high summer heat starting to be a memory, we decided to zip down the hill country back roads and head on over to Fredericksburg.

In case you are wondering, Fredericksburg is one of those early-Texas-settlement-towns-turned-touristy.  You know the type ~ lots of shops and art galleries in old, historic buildings.

It’s very charming, but once you’ve done the shops and galleries, then what?  That’s the best thing about Fredericksburg, scrape the surface and there’s still lots to do.

So, we did things a little differently.  On the edge of town is a place called Wildseed Farms.  It appears to be this great plant nursery, but it’s so much more.

 

 

So, off to the Pioneer Museum to see how a group of industrious Germans settled a town in a harsh terrain, smack-dab in the middle of Comanche territory.

Ever resourceful, they made good use of the abundant limestone: building cabins, homes, and barns.   

Talk about taking a negative and making it a positive.

Imagine, this is your whole house.  And, this is how it is air conditioned.

These industrious Germans took this hard-scrabble land and made something of it.  They built schools to educate their children.

Their homes were orderly and well managed ~ making, preserving, and storing food.  This is important because here in Texas it’s either drought or flood and you gotta be prepared for both.  And, they were.

They grew cotton themselves {read: no slaves} and prospered, building a lasting community.

I applaud Texas’ early settlers who left far away homes and came to an unknown country.  
They took {literally} nothing and recreated it into a vibrant community that continues.

It is the essence of what it means to be a Texan.