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Beat the Winter Blues with 36 Hours in the Texas Hill Country

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Enterprise Hill Country

We are about to hit the winter doldrums and this momma is ready for a road-trip. We have an upcoming 3 day weekend and with no sports commitments, I want to hit the road and explore the Texas Hill County. So I put together the perfect 3 day road trip and pitched it to my hubby to go along for the ride.

There are loads of wineries just west of Austin that I have been dying to go to but unfortunately, my husband isn’t the biggest fan of wine. However, he does love BBQ and has been dying to go to a few small-town BBQ joints in the area. Unconventional as it may sound, this couple is going on a wine & BBQ tasting tour of the Texas Hill Country.

Wait. BBQ and Wine? YES! This mom gets to have a few wine tastings while hubby plays designated driver. And the next day, the role gets reversed. What’s it look like?

Saturday: Texas Hill Country 
9:00 am: As we drive to the Texas Hill Country, the winding roads that lead us to the rolling Texas hills takes all the tension & stress of the work week out of us.  It’s a beautiful drive out towards Stonewall, as we stop at our first winery for a tasting, William Chris Vineyards.  After we have lunch on the patio, we head down the road to another amazing Texas Hill Country vineyard, Becker Vineyards.

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William Chris Vineyards

1:00 pm: A bit of history awaits us, as we can drive through the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historic Park.  We can pick up an audio tour at the Visitors Center and make our our time through the late president’s favorite ranch, visiting the Official Texas State Longhorn herd and the Texas White House.

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Grape Creek Vineyard Tasting

3:00 pm: As we make our way towards Fredericksburg, we stop at one more winery, Grape Creek, where you can get a tour of the vineyards and see how the wine is made. We have just enough time to do a little shopping in Fredericksburg before checking into a bed & breakfast there. I’m taking the hubby to The Auslander Restaurant for a traditional German meal.

Sunday: Texas Hill Country BBQ Tasting
9:00 am: We want to save room for some BBQ, so we’ll just grab some German pastries and pick up some more history at the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg.  If we are lucky, it twill be one of the weekends where they are doing a Pacific War Coliseum reenactment.

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Pacific War Museum

11:00 am: Our first stop for BBQ will be at Cranky Frank’s BBQ in Fredericksburg.  We know that our day will be filled with eating, so we have a plan to pace ourselves.  We can only try a few pieces of the cuts of BBQ that the various restaurants are know for.  We hear that Cranky Frank’s has amazing pork ribs & brisket.

1:00 pm: We head on up to Cooper’s BBQ in Llano for our next stop.  We have actually been to Cooper’s BBQ many times, but it’s one of our favorites, so it’s a must.  Cooper’s slow cooks their meat over coals where you can walk right up to the actual pit and pick what meat you want.  It’s most definitely hard to pick what’s their best cut – it’s all good!

3:00 pm: As we will be driving through Marble Falls, we are going to have to stop for pie happy hour at the Blue Bonnet Cafe.  That lemon meringue pie is calling my name.

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Opie’s BBQ

5:00 pm: Our final stop for BBQ is in Spicewood, for Opie’s BBQ. I have heard they have a fun presentation and their baby back ribs are to die for.

7:00 pm:  This mom & dad are not quite ready to go home, so I have one last surprise up my sleeve.  We are staying the night in a treehouse at the Cypress Valley Canopy Tours.  Accessible by zip-line, what a fun way to finish our road trip!

And the best part of our weekend? We are going to rent a convertible from Enterprise Rent-a-Car. With no kiddos along for the ride, we don’t need a big vehicle for our trip, so we are going to pick a fun car (READ: Not practical!) No miles go on our cars and we get to play around in a fun, sporty car for the weekend. Win-win!

So why Enterprise? Simple, it’s a matter of convenience – Enterprise Rent-A-Car has more than 5,500 neighborhood and airport branch offices located within 15 miles of 90 percent of the U.S. population. I have used the Enterprise in our town when we needed a replacement car while ours was getting fixed.  I was impressed at how close it was to home and how helpful the employees are, evening picking me up from the car dealership to take me to their rental office.

So why a road-trip? Why not hop on a plane somewhere for the weekend? Personally, I love to explore new areas, especially ones that are here in my beloved state of Texas. I find road trips exciting and relaxing. We try to not have a time line while on a road trip and stop when something catches our eye. And renting a car is fun, my husband loves to try our new vehicles.

Enterprise conducted a leisure travel survey with 1,000 U.S. travelers who took at least one road trip over the previous year. And some of the findings confirm exactly how we feel:

  • Men love the drive, while women focus on relaxation and rejuvenation.
  • 66% of Americans prefer to take a one day or weekend road trip
  • Over 75% prefer to drive to their destinations because of the freedom it provides

Enterprise Graphic Weekend Travel 9 29 14 447

For more information about Enterprise and to rent a car for a future road trip, visit www.Enterprise.com.

Giveaway

So does our Wine & BBQ Hill Country Tour beat those winter blues for you??  Where would you go if you had a free weekend? Tell me in the comments below for a chance to win one of two $100 Mastercard Debit Cards for you to take a weekend road trip with!   Enter to win with the rafflecopter below.  Contest starts on Wednesday, February 11, 2015 and goes through Wednesday, February 18, 2015.  2 Winners will be chosen by rafflecopter and informed by email.  Winners will have 24 hours to claim their prize or another winner will be chosen.  Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Enterprise Rent-A-Car. All opinions are 100% mine

Comments

  1. Michelle says

    I’ve always wanted to go snowshoeing and wine tasting. Every winter around this time, my anniversary, I get the hankering to drive up into the Colorado mountains and chill for a while with my husband. It’s hard to appreciate the beauty of snow covered mountain tops when mucking about in the city. As soon as you drive uphill the incredible landscapes will take your breath away.

  6. Holly Krause says

    I love this idea! I would definitely do this during a winter trip. What a great getaway in my own neck of the woods!

  7. christy says

    Your road trip sounds awesome! We’ve heard great things about Destin Florida. We are going to try and take a road trip there this summer!

  8. Trey says

    Luckily here in Texas it doesn’t get too cold so you can stay in-state for a winter road trip. I’d probably travel south down to Corpus & South Padre Island to enjoy some of the beach while it’s not too cold.

  9. Brenda Haines says

    Would love to go see some snow, all we have had here in this part of Oregon is rain.. Buckets of rain lol #OregonWinter

  10. Melida Innis says

    Honestly I would love to be one of the Winter Beach people who rent a waterfront condo for a whole month. Either in Port A or Galveston.

  12. Celia says

    Thanks for this! Very timely for us since my husband told me last night that we will be going away to the HorseShoe Bay area for the weekend!!!
    I just loooooove sight seeing. The roads provide an excellent view and lets my mind dream… I hear it might get a little cold this weekend but even better I say. Some warm pie @ Bluebonnet maybe.
    Going to see about this bbq place you mention.
    Thanks again. I love all your posts and ideas for us to do with our son. xoxo Celia

  13. Teresa says

    I’d just keep driving south until there isn’t snow on the ground anymore – that’d be my destination! 😉

  19. Nicole says

    We have been to Fredricksburg but have not gone on a BBQ Tour. Sounds like something my family would enjoy!

  20. Shannon says

    Um? I would most likely go somewhere warm like Florida. I have only been there once and would love to go back. Thank you for this chance to win!

  21. Bobbie Viktora says

    I would love to go to the hill country. To do some wine tasting and stay in a bed breakfast.

  22. Marilyn says

    I would love to go to Fredericksburg! Growing up in Germany, I think the city would fit me well. 😉

  24. Susanne/The Dusty Parachute says

    What a fun getaway – I think we may have to copy this stop by stop for our next weekend roadtrip. For our 3 day weekend this weekend we’re flying to Idaho to visit my mom and meet up with my brother and his family. Not very adventurous but we’re sure looking forward to being with family!

  32. Tina W says

    I would do the Central Coast of California for wine and seafood.
    (although I am super jealous of your Texas BBQ!!!)

  34. Nicole Dziedzic says

    I would love to take a road trip to the Fort Worth Texas area this winter, my sister lives there too!

  37. Laura J says

    Oh anywhere warm! 🙂 Going to be -30 today with Windchill!!! BRRR!
    I would love to take a road trip to Georgia! Carter is in love with Whale Sharks and the Georgia Aquarium has a Whale Shark tank that we watch on Youtube all the time! He would love to go! A road trip to Georgia would be wonderful!!!

  38. Kendra says

    i’d love to go one a safari adventure! I’m so used to city life that I think visiting the wild side wouldn’t be so bad…I’ll just bring a portable air conditioner 😉

  44. Clarissa says

    we took a winter road trip from PA to Florida last week and I would love to do it again, and drive to Key West.

  57. Tabitha says

    I love your tag line about travel making u richer! I am planning a trip with 2 of my GF that are also mommies. We all are in great need of a trip and when we went last year to Fort Lauderdale we had a ball! No specific plan or destinations there, we explored and made our own adventures! We made memories and laughed till we cried; I can’t wait for this next trip! Thank you for the chance!!

  67. steve weber says

    I would love to go somewhere warm, like Los Angeles or Miami, anywhere warmer than Wisconsin.

  68. Stephanie Reed says

    We are going to Malabar Farm State Park this Friday and then to Grandpa’s Cheesebarn. Only an hour and a half from Columbus, OH and close enough to home to make it home if it starts snowing again.