Sunday was a special day for us
Fredericksburg is an old German town established un 1846. Many of the streets were created during the horse and wagon years. You can tell the age on how wide the streets are in order to turn a wagon around. For many years the primary language was German. Admiral Nimitz from WWII birthplace is Fredericksburg. There is a Museum dedicated to him and a WWII Museum behind it dedicated to George H Bush. It has a two-man Japanese sub on display. It is worth the visit.
Fredericksburg is loaded with antique shops, wineries, B&B’s, restaurants, and museums. We have visited the area many times. This area is very popular during weekends.
But this day was a special trip. Very special!
Our day started in Marble Falls for breakfast at Bluebonnet Café. This place is getting close to being 100 years old. It is a hopping place, good food, homemade meals. When you arrive, don’t be surprised the line is all the way outside. Don’t worry, this place has a very good system of moving people. Oh, the pies! Tons of freshly made pies! Oh, a word of advice. Bring cash to Bluebonnet. They do not accept credit or debit cards. The establishment has been a cash only business since it started.
Our next stop was HEB. We purchased two grocery bags of produce. Carrots, cabbage, bananas and apples. We were buying treats.
So off towards Fredericksburg we went. Once we got into Johnson City, we took a side road and ended up at the gates of Hill Country Elephant Preserve. /That’s right folks, we have elephants in Hill Country.
The couple who own the property and animals moved here from California last May. They said the reason for the move was the change in California laws pertaining to exotic animals. They said the new laws made it impossible to work closely with these large exotics. Kari(owner) told me the other reason was society had gotten to close for them. 30 years ago a trip to the store was over 30 minutes. Now it is just a few blocks away.
She also said most of her staff came here with them. Many had been working with them for over 20 years.
For those of you who know me, I am a nut about elephants. My bucket list is a trip to Africa and spend a month with them. We had an opportunity years ago to spend time with elephants on the back side of the Indianapolis Zoo. That was an experience of a lifetime.
When you arrive at the property, you will notice a few red circus type canopies. There is a greeting canopy, main display canopy, bathing, and one for foot care display. There is obvious new construction going on around the area.
Now before I go any farther. These are not wild Asian elephants. They are domesticated performing elephants. They have been in movies, commercials, and other festivities. What you will see is five elephants performing small routines. But mostly this is about learning about elephants, how they are cared for, and some one on one interaction with them. This is not a circus or zoo.
For $75 per person, you get to be up close to elephants. Kari talked about their history owning them, routine for caring for them, described each elephant, and differences between African and Asian elephants. You then follow an elephant to the wash bay. Everyone gets a chance to brush one of the elephants as she lays on the ground. You can watch her breathing while lying there. She was relaxed and seemed to enjoy the attention. During this time the other four are just hanging around away from everyone. Occasionally you would hear one of the trainers call out a name and tell them to back up when they tried to mingle with the crowd.
Next, we went to another area and learned about the anatomy and care of their feet. Did you know elephants walk on their toes? The trainers have the elephants put their feet up on tables for you to see the bottom of their feet. They describe how they inspect and clean their feet. There is an opportunity to feel and inspect their feet. You will be amazed how smooth and cushiony their feet are.
You do get to spend some quality time with a few of them. You will be amazed on how soft their skin is. The owners said they receive daily baths and semi-annual olive oil treatment. Can you imagine how much oil is used to give these girls a rub down? Tai the big girl, she and I can see almost eye to eye. We had some long eye contact. She curled her trunk and checked me out a couple of times. Yes I was in heaven with the trunk checking me out and getting snot on me.
Our time there was almost three hours. I wish I had more time with them. Maybe I can talk them into me going over and just have some play time.
The trip was well worth it. It was a great opportunity to see them up close and able to touch and feel them. The rumbling sounds they make, puts me at total peace.
Before we left, I talked to some of the staff. They pointed to where the elephant barn will be. There are plans on bringing in other exotics such as giraffes. Eventually there will be an Australian petting area with small animals, cabins and a possible event center. I think this will take years to complete. You can see areas where they are building structures now.
Sunday was a very cold and wet day. The weather was gloomy and stayed in the 40’s with fog. Pretty miserable for the human folk. The elephants felt so warm when you held onto them. They have the capability of regulating their temperature much better than we can.
We left telling them we would be back.
Off to Fredericksburg. We decided to have a late lunch. Once we arrived, the streets were quite busy. We wanted to try something different and decided on The Old German Bakery and Restaurant The place was quite busy for being 2:00 on a Sunday. We enjoyed our meal very much. Tracy couldn’t finish her meal and half went home for Monday’s lunch. Unfortunately, or fortunately we sat next to the bakery display. During lunch we kept giving the display a look. We decided to share an apple turnover and a blueberry pastry. Really enjoyed the apple turnover. And yes, we just had to take home a loaf of fresh pumpernickel.
We decided to check out Quintessential Chocolates down the street. /Not bad, not great, but worth stopping by. Sorry, Wiseman in Hico is still our favorite. They have a huge assortment of chocolates. You are allowed one free sample. Tracy really enjoys dark chocolate. I tend to sway toward the milk or while chocolate. Their prices are very good, and the staff is well informed about chocolates. Tracy bought chocolates for her coworkers and a small box for herself. I bought a couple peanut clusters.
We had planned on walking around and check out the shops, but the drizzling started again. It was too unpleasant to walk around being that cold and wet. So, we packed up back in the car and headed to Johnson City.
While traveling down 290 there are a ton of wineries that have popped up throughout the years. Most were pretty busy as we drove by. Tracy couldn’t get rid of that wet cold feeling, so we did not stop. Trust us, it is worth the trip to check out these wineries. Our next trip in this area we will dedicate to wine tasting. There are probably 20 wineries, rum distillery, and a micro-brewery between Fredericksburg and Johnson City.
Our Sunday trip was an eventful one. We were able to experience something the majority out there will never experience. Just imagine, holding onto an animal who weighs about four tons and is as gentle as can be.