Travel Texas ~ Salado, TX

    

     Located in Central Texas, almost equal distance from Austin and Waco, lies the village of Salado, Texas.  In 1859 the Village was founded because the locals wanted to have access to a strong education, creating Salado College, located near a spring fed creek.  Between the creek and the college Salado found itself to be a viable settlement that has stood the test of time. 

The local downtown of the village boasts over 175 shops, dining and historical spots.  Antique shops, boutiques, and so much more entice visitors to spend time visiting the village and exploring the historical significance of this central Texas village.  Take a walking tour of the historic sites, and learn more about how the Village came about and take a step back into the past.

If you are looking for entertainment outside, the Tablerock Amphitheater is going to be the place you want to stop.  Music, plays, and so much more are scheduled to perform on stage under the stars.  But that’s not all, the amphitheater sits on 13 acres filled with trails for hiking and biking. A must do while visiting Salado.

If live music and theater are not what you are looking for Salado has a season of Annual events that happen throughout the year that include art, holidays and even golf.  Nine different annual events are scheduled for guests to enjoy and some cross over to multiple weekends such as their Christmas Stroll.  You might not want to miss the Scottish Games in November, travel back in time to see men in kilts, toss a caber, play drums and generally show off how strong they are for all to see.  

If you are looking for places to stay, look no further than The Yellow House Bed and Breakfast.  Located just outside of the village, Yellow House has a room for everyone.  With a main house, that has four rooms, two cottages and two guest houses to rent for parties of varying sizes.  Sara, your innkeeper, makes a homemade breakfast the morning of your stay that you will not want to miss.  Yellow House also does special events such as a charcuterie class, cookie decorating, and cooking demonstrations.  The chef kitchen is perfect for learning new techniques with friend and family.  

Of course there are other places to stay such as the Historic Stagecoach Inn and your standard hotel.  Take a break from the norm and step out to explore a new way to travel and stay with local accommodations.   On our last visit to Salado, we wandered the village and even stopped in for a local trivia night at Chupacabra, which had a great selection of beer and wine for patrons to partake while dining. 

Salado is a wonderful place to visit and you can spend any number of days in the village and still not see it all. Plan your stay and explore this little slice of Texas that is right off the interstate. You will not be disappointed with your visit.  

Travel ~ Road Trip!

 

               The Great America Road trip, where you pile your family into one car and hit the road.  Have you made that trip? If so where have you ventured to?  We tend to make a road trip at least once per year, but sometimes those trips are little more than going from point A to point B.  The best road trips are when we can take a little bit of time and explore the road ahead. 

 

               We did this, for the most part, when dropping off number two at college.  We picked him up in Nashville, since it was “on the way,” and he was coming from another state other than Texas.  While there, we explored Nashville a little bit, but definitely could do with more exploration. Our highlights from our short visit, were the farmers market, where we picked up some micro greens and vegetarian jerky.  Surprisingly the jerky was pretty tasty.  We also stopped by and walked around Aphrodite’s Temple, which is a replica of the one in Greece. The temple was pretty amazing.  Once we retrieved the kid from the airport, we hit the road for real.

 

               Our end goal was Maine, and there are a few different routes you can take, and we figured since we were taking the Northern route, we would stop by and check out Niagara Falls.  That did not disappoint!  What an amazing experience to see and experience this natural wonder.  Imagine being an explorer and paddling along the river, to suddenly hear the roar of the water gaining ground towards the falls.  Turn back and bail out.  Hopefully no explorers went over the falls before realizing what lay ahead.

 

               From there we made our way to Maine to drop him off and hug the girl, before departing on a few days together.  We did not make our destination as soon as we had hoped, but we had great food and fellowship with the girl and her boyfriend’s family before hitting the road again.  We finally made it to Vermont.  A new State to explore and experience and it was worth the trip. 

 

               We found a fantastic Bed and Breakfast, The Feather Bed Inn, to spend the night and explore the Mad River Valley of Vermont.  Our inn keepers were wonderful and sent us in the right direction for dinner and fun.  All of her food recommendations that we tried were delicious and a would go back experience. Plus, the Inn itself was situated on a beautiful piece of property, with a pond that backed up to a hiking trail that connects all over the valley.  Most definitely worth a multi-day stay to explore those trails. 

 

               We also happened to be in the area when a local flatbread restaurant was having a flatbread festival to celebrate their origins and bring food to the people.  The flatbread was free, the line was long and the music was hopping.  This restaurant incorporated an art show along with messages about how food has changed over the years and how that has affected farmers.  A beautiful functional garden with pigs and chickens is also situated on the property and guests could walk around and see a little bit of how this family has managed their food and grows what they use on the flatbread.  The whole experience resonated with us and what we try to share with our guests. 

 

               Sadly, we had to leave the next day but would plan to return during any other part of the year to experience the valley.  Winter would be amazing, since the Featherbed is located minutes away from two ski resorts, and Spring and Summer allows for great hiking, biking and water exploration.  Since the valley is surrounded by low mountains the color change in the fall must be a sight to see.  Before we left, we did take a hike up to catch the view from one of the mountain tops.  What an experience!

 

               Of course, when we travel we love to find restaurants off the beaten path to dine at while out.  We hit the jackpot in Niagara with a delicious Korean family-owned restaurant and with an amazing  Asian Fusion in the Valley and Italian restaurant in Keene.  I don’t think any of our food choices were a disappointment, since we always walked away full and ready to explore. 

 

               Take the road trip with the family, explore parts of the country that you might not have seen yet.  There are so many great and diverse experiences here in Texas and in the United States as whole that could make your road trip the best ever.

Travel East Texas ~ Road Trip Addition

 

    One of the great American pastimes is to take a family road trip.  You never truly realize how big the United States is until you hit the open road. My daughter and I made this road trip to visit her college before dropping her off.  Our road trip took us through 21 States.  You read that correctly 21.  We travelled from Texas to Maine and back.  We took a different route there than we did on the way home, which is part of the reason we hit so many States in one trip.  

    One of our favorite stops to make on road trips are the little, small town coffee shops along the way.  Since being a previous coffee shop owner, it's always fun to see how people style their shops and what they have to offer.  For me the best way to see if the coffee is any good is to order a cappuccino.  You can determine if the espresso is roasted well, how well they can create the foam and if the drink is too hot.  Of course, we would often grab a quick bite to eat or use this stop as a mealtime, since sometimes breakfast on the road is not what you expect.

    While the miles fly by in the car, we either listen to music and sing along or we use this time to listen to a book.  All in all, on our road trip, she, and I each read seven books.  Don't worry, we had plenty of time to talk, listen to each other and bond while traveling.  For us reading is a perfect way to spend time together and then discuss what we read.  It's part of our bonding process.  Even now when one of us reads a book we think the other will like, we let each other know.  

    All that time in the car means we must take some time to get out and explore along the way.  We didn't really stop too much on the way out since we had to arrive in Castine, Maine by a certain date and time.  But we did explore a little and found some great restaurants along the way.  On the way home we took a little more time to do some sightseeing, outside of Maine.  Castine is just beautiful.  The girl is really going to enjoy her time in Maine, so long as she can make it through the winter.  The city sits right on the edge of the water and offers water sports, boating and a great community environment.  A wonderful place to visit or live.  The towns that are close by also offer great wonderful exploration, we really enjoyed Bar Harbor. 

    I have always loved the show Gilmore Girls, and so we stopped off in Washington, Connecticut to check out the city that the show's location was based around.  Even on a Sunday morning, this little area was busy.  We stopped in for a late breakfast at Marty's cafe.  Bought some books at the bookstore and then just wandered around and took some pictures that highlighted the points of interest in Washington.  The bookstore, had a section dedicated to Lauren Graham's books for readers to pick up and enjoy.  Along with a children's section and stationary.  It was a great stop and we both enjoyed the visit. 

    From there we headed down to Philly.  We figured we would stop by and see the Liberty Bell and walk around the city and enjoy some vegan Philly cheesesteaks.  Yes, vegan Philly cheesesteaks are a thing.  Made with mushrooms and vegan cheese with onions, they were delicious.  The only thing that dampened our time in Philly was the rain.  We left the umbrella in the car and had blocks upon blocks to walk before making it back to our car.  Needless to say, we were wet and so was our food.  

    All through our travels we stayed in bed and breakfast establishments.  After all, what a great way to see how other people run their businesses and pick up some pointers.  Each bed and breakfast were different.  Many are started from an old home that is remodeled into the space it is now.  At some locations we had the whole house to ourselves.  At another we were there with other guests as well.  Breakfast was different at each stop.  Two of them cooked breakfast and served it out, just like we do.  Another had a set menu that you could specify what you wanted, and another had granola.  That might sound odd but it's the truth.  The bed and breakfast we selected in Castine offered a continental breakfast, which really surprised me.  I would have thought they would have put in a little more effort into the food than they did.  Next time we will check out the other bed and breakfast option in Castine.  

    Our favorite overnight stop was just outside of Philly, at Alpenhof Bed and Breakfast.  They had such a unique house design and it was decorated in a such a way that was reminiscent of a mid-evil castle.  They have been operating as a bed and breakfast for over twenty years.  We hope to make that mark one day as well.  Their property and home were well appointed for guests to visit, find a spot to read or walk in the garden.  They even had a swimming pool for guests to enjoy.  We really enjoyed our stop here and would highly recommend if you are ever out that way to make a stop there as well. 

    Since we did not want to drive back through Tennessee, we headed further South towards Georgia.  We stopped in a little town outside of Charlotte, North Carolina called Shelby and we could not believe how similar it was to Sulphur Springs.  The bed and breakfast there is named after the streets it sits on.  The downtown was close enough to walk down to, and the square, was full of shops and dining.  A little bigger than Sulphur Springs, but still made us think of home.  We ate at a great woodfired pizza place and wandered the streets downtown before heading back to get some sleep.

    We had such a great adventure, driving down the road and exploring the country where we live.  No two cities are alike, and no two bed and breakfast stays are alike.  Each one brought something different to the table, with each one leaving a memory for us to look back on together.  While it might take longer to reach your destination, never underestimate the road trip.  It might be the best way to explore different parts of the country.  Grab a friend, some snacks, and a map, then hit the road.  We suggest staying at bed and breakfast to be able to get a better feel for the area in which you are visiting.  Typically, they are run and owned by locals who can point you in the right direction. Happy and safe travels.