Will Road Trip for Peaches...and Beer

Nothing says summer like a road trip to Fredericksburg,TX. My friends On Golden Pond were dying for some fresh peaches, so that gave me a good reason to make a run for the Hill Country. With orders in hand, I loaded up the Jeep and hit the road. I was helping Blur sing Girls & Boys when I realized I had taken the wrong exit off of I-10. Oh well, surely this road will hit Highway 71 somewhere up ahead, and, besides my favorite song Drunk Girls by LCD Soundsystem was on and needed my full attention. It's so hard to clap and steer at the same time. I'm pretty secure in being lost, since I've spent a good portion of my life in this state and have lived to tell about it. Sure enough, I found the road to Austin after a few(dozen)miles.
Had to stop At Ruta Maya in Austin for a latte. I talked to the coolest barista named Nathan. He lamented about the fact that Austin had gotten a little too commercialized over the past 10 years. He also talked about why we call it an "alarm" clock instead of something a little more soothing. The world has gotten faster, which Nathan and I think is sad, so I grabbed my latte and ran to my Jeep! I am 100% American and proud of it.
Got to Fredericksburg and stopped at Silver Creek for lunch. There was a local songstress serenading the customers. All of a sudden, she quits playing her guitar, stands up and yells "OMG! I'm in pain! It's my period!" Don't hold back sister. Gloraline then grabbed her tip jar and went inside for a beer. Who could blame her? Later I headed out to Chisholm Trail Winery where I imparted the story of Gloraline to the Wine Mistress. I thought she was going to pee her britches and I got a nice laugh retelling the tale myself. Everyone is happy in the Hill Country. Wine Mistress recommended the Crossroads Saloon for a drink. You don't have to tell me twice, so I headed back in town to check this place out. I had a great bartender named Jon who could pour a mean Pinot Noir. I struck up a conversation at the bar with John and Susan Hever from Johnson City. They told me the best place to buy peaches, and also told me stories about drinking wine with Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson's youngest daughter, Lucy. The Hevers brought a tear to my eye when they said that the highway from Johnson City to LBJ's ranch in Stonewall was lined with people on both sides to pay respect to Lady Bird when she was taken home to be buried. We then toasted the Best First Lady Ever! John raises longhorns and asked me if I knew anyone that wanted to buy one. I said my friend Ashley wanted one. I forgot to mention that she was a crazy Aggie and would use that poor steer for target practice. The Hevers rolled out to a party, and I rolled out to another bar. I then drank wine at Lincoln St. with the manager, Danny, and some unnamed strange guy that appeared out of nowhere and talked about Idaho for 2 hours. Maybe I was slightly inebriated...maybe not.

After peach shopping the next afternoon, I decided to make a detour home and tour the Real Ale Brewery in Blanco, TX. What a treat. It was nice to see the place full of drunks at 2pm on a work day. Gabrielle, the Mistress of Brew, was serving up wonderful samples of Real Ale as fast as she could. I always support Texas and Arkansas breweries. OK, I support any brewery but Real Ale is definitely in my top 5 .This road trip was a success, and I'm hoping The Ponders will ask me to go back this summer for more peaches...and beer..