HILL COUNTRY 2010
  
 

Day 03

May 02

  
  There is nothing better than riding with a local who knows where to go and where to eat. Ken, knowing my propensity and love for breakfast, has just the place picked out.  
   
  It's called "Local Diner" and though the outside does not remind you of what a 'diner' usually looked like ...  
   
  the inside does. I get a bit adventurous - at least for me - and order a tomato, cheese, and bacon omelet. And I am not disappointed in the least for the food is top drawer. It's a typical local place that you would not know about unless you knew the area so once again I have benefited from local knowledge.  
   
  Miss Debbie, Ken's lovely wife, has to get the airport, so we all pile into Ken's SUV with Molly and make the ride in. Fortunately, since Debbie travels a bit, they are not too far away from DFW which makes life a little easier. Molly rides in my lap, but she is none too happy that her beloved mother person is leaving. It is obvious that she has been through this drill before and great disquietude swells in her little furry breast!  
   
  But with matters taken care of, we get back to the house, and we are on the road to the Texas Hill Country. The nice part of the adventure now is all that I have to do is keep up with Ken. He knows the area and the way out town in his sleep so we blast through the remainder of Fort Worth in quick order.  
   
  Soon we leave the congestion of the metro area behind and I get my first glimpse of many of the beautiful wildflowers in bloom.  
   
  The farther away we get the better I like the scenery and the terrain. The land rises up before us as if to say 'come see me'.  
   
  Before long, we make our first gas and hydraulic stop. We don't have a long way to go today, so I am really enjoying having extra time. Sometimes I just have to keep cooking due to time constraints, but today I do not have that burden upon me.  
   
  At this stop there is a ST1300 owner and his son, who is riding a fairly new Buell. With Buell being shut down by Harley Davidson, he said they got a really good deal on it. It's an interesting looking ride but not one that I would want.  
   
  We're back at it and I am a bit amazed at just how tall the hills are in the beginning of the Texas Hill Country. I'm used to thinking of Texas as mostly flat with a few decent rises, but my thinking is about to be changed.  
   
  In this area, the flowers are just starting to come out. But I am still enjoying the bright yellows and reds that dot the landscape.  
   
  At our next fuel stop, there's a feller riding a Beemer and we talk a bit about the bike versus our Hondas. They are both tools to accomplish the same thing and both do pretty good jobs of it - at least in our humble opinions.  
   
  We pass through small town after small town as we make our way to the destination,  
   
  past farmers who make their living out in the heat everyday. Having done a bit of hay hauling as a teenager, my eye is drawn to these larger square bales. The ones I am used to are much smaller and generally weight 100 pounds or less. These bales look like they've been on steroids.  
   
  It's nice for me just to kick back and enjoy the scenery and the curves as they come.  
   
  But I've got to keep a close eye out as Ken is taking us on a less than straight path to our destination.  
   
  I'm really enjoying chasing Ken down FM581 as it winds through the countryside following the pleasant, rolling rises and falls of the area. As we roll along, we discover that Ken's CB Starcom radio setup is just not working. He can hear me fine, but all he is transmitting is air. Since this stuff is expensive, I find it extremely frustrating that problems like this (which are pretty typical) should occur.  
   
  And every now and then we come to a flat out stretch where a feller could be tempted to see how fast an ST1100 can go ....  
   
  As I round this bend, I finally get to see some of the famous Texas Blue Bonnets, state flower of Texas. It is a little past their peak, but some are still lingering around.  
   
  And an old country church that has weathered many a storm, probably both physically and spiritually, stands as a silent testimony to the folks of the area. The graveyard out in front reminds me that this life is far shorter than folks care to think about.  
   
  I am always fascinated for some reason by windmills and we pass by a fine example. They are such a simple, elegant way of pumping water without expending a bunch of electricity. To me, simple and functional is always more elegant than fancy.  
   
  I'm used to seeing some color on Tennessee roadsides, but this is a visual treasure to me, painted by the Master Painter.  
   
 

Soon we reach our destination for the evening, Marble Falls. And the question that always crosses my mind when a city has 'falls' in the name is -

"Are there really water falls here?"

You would be surprised at how many towns have 'falls' in the name and there are no falls anywhere nearby. Marble Falls is right in the middle of Texas Hill country on the Colorado River in what is know as the Highland Lakes Area. And indeed there were falls here before they built the dam and created the lakes - in case you were curious.

 
   
  Ken has booked us into a nice LaQuinta up on a high hill overlooking the lake and the city.  
   
  From this vantage point, you get a little better lay of the land. It is one of the prettiest areas of Texas that I have ever been in.  
   
 

We ask the desk clerk lady about places to eat, and she recommends Russo's just up the hill. I ask her

"Can you walk to it from here?"

"Well, you could but I wouldn't recommend it" she tells us.

So Ken and I decide we'll ride up to it instead. We chill for a while in the room, and I check out my wifi connection which works pretty well. With our stomachs playing the funeral dirge, we soon mount up to find the restaurant. As it turns out, Russo's is just right behind the motel as the crow flies, but you would have to be a traffic dodger and a mountain goat - or a crow - to get there by foot.

  
   
 

We are seated out on the balcony, overlooking the area (it's at a higher elevation that the motel). The food and service is excellent as we talk about tomorrow's plans. On the way out, I ask the lady standing at the front entrance -

"Are you the manager?"

"Well, who do I need to be?" she says with a smile as big as Texas.

"I was just curious about who had to deal with all the headaches. The food and service was great, by the way" I tell her.

She thanks us (probably relieved that I was not going to fuss about something) and wishes us a good evening.

When we get outside, there's a rider on a Harley gearing up also. He asks us -

"What do you think about those Honda ST1100s?"

"Well, they're bad bikes, you wouldn't one" I say with a mischievous grin.

We chat a little bit, then I must confess -

"But then on the other hand, I do own three of 'em and have put all three in 48 states."

We have decide that we'll get up and out in the morning cool, and hit the Blue Bonnet Cafe, a well known local eating place. With this important decision made, I close my eyes and quickly drift off into a peaceful slumber, leaving poor Ken to catch up with me.