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engaging venues (all for sale) are a ut let’s not forget that Texas Hill Country is primarily about the
refecton of who scenery and the landscape. Outdoor actvites abound here, and
the Boltons are and Bfor good reason. A perfect example is Enchanted Rock, located
Becker Vineyards: what they love, and 15 miles north of Fredericksburg. This huge, pink granite “exfoliaton
www.beckervineyards.com/ their unique space dome” rises 425 feet above ground and covers 640 acres. It’s one of
Carol Hicks Bolton Antquités: is available for small the largest batholiths (underground rock formaton uncovered by
www.carolhicksbolton.com/ scale receptons-cum- erosion) in the United States, and was declared a Natonal Natural
shopping excursions of Landmark in 1970. Visitors can hike, backpack, camp, rock climb,
Grape Creek Vineyards: up to 30 or so people. picnic, bird, study nature or stargaze here. Maps and info can be found
www.grapecreekvineyards.com/ at www.tpwd.state.tx.us/state-parks/enchanted-rock.
lthough it’s tough For something a litle less strenuous, consider the Texas Hill
Hangar Hotel: to capture the Country Lavender Trail, a group of a dozen or so farms scatered
www.hangarhotel.com/ Attle of Most across the region that every October ofer walking tours through
Luckenbach: Unique Space in a place their expansive lavender felds. Find a list of them at htp://
www.luckenbachtexas.com/ that’s full of unique hillcountryoutdoorguide.com/browse/lavender-farms/.
spaces, the Hangar A road cyclists dream, the Texas Hill Country also ofers many
Messina Hof Winery & Resort: Hotel, just a couple of miles of quiet hilly roads, substantally great weather and friendly,
www.messinahof.com/ miles from downtown entertaining towns for serious riders. The website www.cycletexas.
Fredericksburg, is a com promotes self-guided bicycling in Fredericksburg and Hill Country
Pedernales Cellars: top contender. We’ve areas, ofering detailed Cycling Routes with maps and turn-by-turn
htp://pedernalescellars.com/ all seen our share of instructons, as well as rehydraton resources, points of interest and
Vaudeville: “theme” hotels – some “hills of interest.”
www.vaudeville-living.com/ that work and some For hikers, the American Volkssport Associaton, headquartered
that don’t. This one in Texas, ofers fve diferent walking tours in and around
defnitely works. Of Fredericksburg. Find them at htp://clubs.ava.org/ava_search.
course, being right next asp?search=true. Kayaking and canoeing? Select a trip at htp://
to the runway of the Gillespie County Airport helps, as does the fact hillcountryoutdoorguide.com/actvity/kayak-trails/. For more
that the hotel’s architecture is a spot-on replica of an old wooden on Fredericksburg-area recreatonal opportunites, go to www.
hangar at Brooks AFB in San Antonio, TX. This 50-room, boutque fredericksburgtexas-online.com/Recreaton.
property, with its adjacent, 1940s-style diner, is based on a concept
that a hotel should be more than just a bed and shower – the owners o, Bereit zu schlafen? Ready to sleep? That’s understandable.
call it “an experience, a tcket to days gone by, an escape from the Texas Hill Country ofers so much to do that you’d be forgiven for
everyday” and rightully so. But it’s the building next door that really Sbeing worn out. But that’s Texas for you. Even the small towns
cements the deal. have big agendas. And Fredericksburg certainly fts that bill.
Behind the diner you’ll fnd two massive hangar-sized rooms – Next tme you’re thinking Austn or San Antonio, do yourself a
the 9,800-square-foot Airport Conference Center with its main hall favor and head for the Hills instead.
and two Quonset briefng rooms, and the 10,000-square-foot Pacifc
Showroom, a painstakingly detailed replica of a 40s-era dance club and fnding fredericksburg…
tki bar with a stage that can handle anything from a small combo to
a big band of more than 20. Sitng amid the palm trees and tropical
fowers with the band in full swing and a mai-tai on the bamboo table • American Volkssport Associaton:
in front of you, you’d swear you’re on the set of South Pacifc, just www.ava.org/
waitng for the Shore Patrol to burst in and drag you and your buddies
back to base. An experience indeed. • Cycle Texas:
www.cycletexas.com
istory bufs can expand on that WWII theme with a visit to the
Natonal Museum of the Pacifc War in Fredericksburg, the only • Enchanted Rock:
Hinsttuton in the U.S dedicated exclusively to telling the story of www.cruiselakegeneva.com/
the Pacifc and Asiatc Theaters in World War II. First opened in 1968 • Hill Country Recreaton:
in the nearby Steamboat Hotel, once operated by Admiral Nimitz’s www.fredericksburgtexas-online.com/Recreaton
grandfather, the museum has since expanded to occupy a six-acre
campus, gaining a reputaton as one of the premier military museums • Kayak Trails:
in the naton. Long before the wineries, galleries and boutques htp://hillcountryoutdoor.com/actvity/kayak-trails/
arrived in Fredericksburg, the Natonal Museum of the Pacifc War
was atractng thousands of visitors to this tny Texas town – veterans • Lavender Trail:
and their families who came to tour the 33,000-square-foot George htp://hillcountryoutdoor.com/browse/lavender-farms/
H. W. Bush Gallery with its 40 media installatons, 900 artfacts and • LBJ Ranch:
hundreds of photographs, as well as the Memorial Courtyard, the Plaza www.nps.gov/lyjo/index.htm
of Presidents and the Japanese Garden of Peace.
And there’s more history just down the road at the LBJ Ranch near • Marktplatz (Market Square):
Stonewall, now part of the Lyndon B. Johnson Natonal Historical Park. www.fgtx.org/index.aspx?NID=237
President Johnson had a deep atachment for place and heritage – the Natonal Museum of the Pacifc War:
LBJ Ranch was where he was born, lived, died and is buried. Afer the •
President’s death in 1973, Lady Bird Johnson contnued to live at the www.pacifcwarmuseum.org/
Ranch part tme untl her death in 2007. Visitors can tour the LBJ Ranch • Texas Wine Trail:
at their own pace by car or van and are free to stop at sites along the www.texaswinetrail.com
way, such as the President’s birthplace, Johnson family cemetery,
and the famous “Texas White House.” A veritable tme capsule of the • Wine Road 290:
1960s, this is another “must-see” stop on any trip to Fredericksburg. www.wineroad290.com/

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