Valentine's Day Hide-a-way for 2
For Valentines' Day 2000, Jay snuck us away to nearby
Fredericksburg, Texas, for a few days. We stayed in a small cabin on the Cold Creek Exotic Game Ranch, on the east end of town. We thought you might like to see pictures of the animals on the ranch, as well as our day trip to Enchanted Rock State Park - so here they are!A viwe of the small but cozy cabin!
First, here are the roses he sent me, the week before Valentine's Day, from Buffalo, NY.
The first animals we went to visit at the ranch were Ring-tailed Lemurs. There were two of them, Weezie (a girl), and George (a boy). The owners said that Weezie and George liked to eat Fig Newtons, so we took some to their cage, and fed them. Weezie and George shared their cage with a quail (we think), and we tried to get a picture of it too.
After we visited the Lemur cage, we turned around to look at the animals in the pasture. There was a group of Oryx, and a group (herd?) of Blackbucks. The Oryx made me think of gazelles mixed with horses, and the Blackbucks made me think of Springbucks (the animals that "prong" when they run around). Here are some pictures of both.
The Oryx and the Blackbucks shared space with a few domestic creatures as well. There were 4 miniature donkeys in the pasture area, and they were very friendly. We didn't feed these guys, as the owners had stated that they would come right up to the cabin door to "ask" for more food. But, they followed us around a bit, and were very curious about us.
On Valentine's Day proper, we made a day trip out to
Enchanted Rock State Park. Jay wanted to climb the Summit Trail, so we did. It was only a 0.6 mile trail (one way), but it climbed over 450 feet in that amount of time. Once we were up top, we stayed for about 30 minutes or so, just taking in the view. By the way, if you don't already know about Enchanted Rock, it is the second largest outcrop of granite in the States - really impressive to see in person!squirrelintree.jpg (Jay saw a squirrel - this picture is more like "Where's Waldo?" to me)
All in all, I must admit, it was one of the shortest vacations we have taken together, and one of the most worthwhile. If you ever want a quick getaway from Austin, we highly recommend Fredericksburg. An hour and a half's drive, for a world's-away experience! You will find many unique shops, and wonderful dining experiences. We went to the
Fredericksburg Brewery for lunch after our hike at Enchanted Rock, and not only was the beer excellent, the food was very complimentary to it! We also dined at Friedhelm's Bavarian Inn (FANTASTIC German fare), and der Lindenbaum.
