Today we headed west, into Hill Country. We wanted to check out that area (to see if it really was hilly) and while there, check out a winery or two.

We first stopped at a winery called Driftwood, about 45 minutes west of Austin. It has a small tasting room, but has really great views down into the valleys. We spent about an hour here, drinking some nice wines and chatting.

It was around lunchtime, so the woman at the winery recommended a BBQ place called Salt Lick. It’s a really huge place, laid out with picnic tables. You can get regular BBQ plates and sandwiches, but we went for the Family Style. They give you three sides (slaw, potatoes, beans) and a plate of meat. The meat plate is sausage, pork ribs, and beef brisket, all heaped together and then sauced.

I wouldn’t call it healthy, but it was delicious! Plus, if you order the Family Style it’s all you can eat! We really loved the ribs, so we ended up getting more of those. All you can eat BBQ for $11 a plate ain’t too bad either.

If you are going to go, it’s best to do lunch during the week. It was busy, but we got seated and served pretty quickly. During the weekends the place is a madhouse. We asked one of the cooks (Mexican, of course) and he said they get about 1,000 people on Saturday nights! People wait for nearly 2 hours just to get in. (I believe it–the parking lot was the size of a Walmart lot.)

After being stuffed with tasty BBQ, we headed over to another winery to the west, located between Fredericksburg and Stonewall. It’s called Becker Vineyards and is one of the bigger tourist winery stops. It’s a bigger place than Driftwood, but slightly more annoying (tourists). It quieted down after a while and we were able to sample a number of sweet wines (our favorites–we like Reislings). After tasting half a dozen of them, we walked out with six bottles.

We asked the guys if we could get a tour, but they were a bit hesistant. Then they asked us where we were from, and Evelyn gave her “I just got back from PR working at the worlds largest radio telescope” speach and we were in. The entire room of people were listening to her tell the story! It was pretty darn funny.

So, we got to tour the winery. Saw where the grapes are pressed and stored, saw all the oak barrels, and the bottling system. Also went down to the celler. Amazingly, it’s the largest private basement (of any kind) in Texas. But here’s the kooky thing: It’s only about 3 times bigger than ”normal” sized Chicago house’s basement! It was big, but was nothing like the huge underground spaces I’ve seen in other places. It’s just that basements are so rare down here, I guess. Anyhow, the tour was very nice, and the guide, Henri (a Frenchman who came to Texas to be a cowboy–really!) was great.

It was about four by now, so we headed back to the Austin area. On the way we stopped at the LBJ State & National Park, which is located west of Johnson City (the birthplace of President Johnson). We weren’t sure what to expect, but it ended up being very cool. You can take tours, and they have a whole farmstead recreated with people living on it. Basically, you get to see “living history”–real people doing real chores around the farm.

It seems really cool, but we got there late (4:30) when they were shutting down, so really couldn’t see much. However, one of the people “living” there stopped to introduce herself and explain what was going on. We explained to her that we were thinking of moving to Austin / Hill Country and she gave us some background about the areas. It was very nice of her to do that, especially since she was getting off her shift.

I must say, all of the people we’ve met down in Hill Country have been really nice. Maybe it’s because we’re tourists with our Chicago accents, I don’t know. But face-to-face interactions have been great.

The driving is a different matter: I do believe that many of these people went to driving school in Puerto Rico. That’s a good and a bad thing. Good because they are more adept at getting from point A to point B–unlike people from Chicago, who seem to take a minute to decide to turn right at a green light. Bad because they merge in without looking or signaling. It’s nowhere near as bad a PR, but it’s a lot less like Chicago and a lot more like PR. Maybe it’s the heat.

Anyhow, we got back to the hotel safe and sound, but Evelyn was pooped and fell asleep. It’s around 9 PM now, so I’ll have to wake her soon so we can get some dinner.

Update: Oh, I almost forgot: Yes, Texas Hill Country is hilly. It’s not high mountains, like PR or eastern TN, but it is hilly. It’s nice and rolling without the stomach churning curves of PR. A very pretty area, even in dry season (now).