Wimberely

Item 3 - The 21st (Monday) was Michael's birthday. A few months ago we agreed to take Friday and Monday off but at the time didn't have any plans. We just wanted to get the request into work. As the time got closer, we decided to do a trip but didn't want to fly or travel too far. I told Michael I'd plan everything as part of his birthday present. I researched day/weekend trips from Austin and came across the little town of Wimberley. It's only 5o minutes from here and really easy to get to. It's known as an artist community and there's lots of galleries down there. It's kinda a 'one road town' where everything is based around RR 12 that goes through it. It's the type of town you could do in a day or a leisurely weekend. Michael wanted to have a lot of relaxation time, so this fit perfectly. I booked us at a beautiful Bed & Breakfast I found online (http://www.creekhaveninn.com/) and got the least feminine room they had available. Friday we drove down and went to the Wimberely Glass Works (http://www.wgw.com/) which was out of our price range, but stunning to look at. We then checked into the B&B and went down the road into town for dinner. I had chosen an Italian restaurant in the square that had good reviews on the internet. It was really yummy. The town itself is 'dry' in that they don't sell alcohol, but you can bring your own bottles to restaurants and that's allowed. It's a common thing in Texas. Saturday we had a wonderful breakfast at the B&B and then went shopping on the main street and square. There's lots of little shops that have art, pottery, jewelry, stained glass, etc. We were out almost three hours. I bought a gorgeous silver bracelet that was all hand worked. I didn't see any art that I wanted, although there were a couple of bronze statues that if I had $4000 to plunk down would have been coming home with me. We had a small lunch in town and then went back to the B&B to hang out till dinner time. The whole town closes up by 9pm, so I had made reservations at the local steakhouse for 7. I had found it online and all the reviews were positive (http://www.cedargrovesteakhouse.com/). It was an incredible dinner.

Michael always gets the crab cakes for an appetizer if the restaurant carries them. He said the ones at this place were the third best he's ever had (followed by one in Portland and one at some fancy 4-star place he went). I don't even like crab usually, but these were damn tasty.

Some of the reviews said that this place had the best duck they've ever had. I've never had duck, but figured might was well give it a try here. It was so freaking good! It tasted like a cross between turkey and steak. I didn't think it was gamey at all. It was in a port wine reduction sauce and came with creamy garliz orzo (small rice like pasta) and I substitued parmesan mashed potatoes for the asparagus that would've come with it. I really enjoyed it. Michael got a New York strip that he said was really good.

For dessert Michael got the creme brulee, and he said it's the best he's ever had. Even better than Bohanan's. I got the mousse chocolate cake. I'm usually really critical about restaurant chocolate cake. It's usually too dry. This was probably the best I've ever had.

Early in the meal I told our waiter we were here for Michael's birthday and to give the check to me. When he came with the check he said they had comped his creme brulee as a birthday treat! So, we got a $9 dessert for free! Yay! The whole dinner was under $100 which I didn't think was bad at all for appetizer, duck, steak, two desserts, and one glass of wine. I would so go there again.

All in all, Wimberely was just a great trip. Now Michael's all freaked out about how he's going to 'top' this for my birthday. I told him it's not the amount of money spent, it's the thought that goes into it. So, we'll see what he does in October. For his actual gift I got him a kitchen blow torch for making creme brulee and an aquarium that I know he wanted. I gave him a gift card for the plants and fish cause there was no way I was picking that stuff out. So, A+ for me for his birthday.