This morning we took the Harley and the truck to Camping World in New Braunfels. We left the truck there to be set up so we can tow it behind the RV. Tomorrow we’ll take the RV so they can install something in it that will coincide with what they put in the truck today.
We left New Braunfels on the Harley and headed to Gruene (Green) where several people have told us we should go. The three things I was told we had to do in Gruene were to see the oldest dance hall in Texas (the sign actually says it’s one of the oldest), eat at the Gristmill, and get something at the old fashioned soda fountain in the General Store.
We actually started out by looking through an antique store in a building named for Henry D Gruene, the founder of the town. He bought 6,000 acres of land (according to Wikipedia), built a house near the Guadalupe River, and planted the rest in cotton. Share croppers came to help with the cotton, so he built a store to supply them. Things grew from there, until in the 1920s it was hit by a boll weevil blight, then the Depression, and finally the highway construction bypassed the town. Gruene became a ghost town until it was resurrected as a tourist destination in the 1970’s.
After checking out the antique store, we walked across the street and looked around the Gruene Dance Hall. Some famous people have played there. In fact, I guess George Strait was somewhat of a regular there until he made it big in Nashville. Part of the movie Michael with John Travolta and Andie MacDowell was filmed in the Gruene Hall.
Gruene Hall, one of the oldest dance halls in Texas!
Right next door was the Gristmill Retaurant. We stopped in and had lunch. There were big windows looking out on the Guadalupe River and we ate in the Lupe Room. There are other dining areas as well. The actual grist mill has been gone for several years, but the grounds are nice.
The entrance to the grounds
The old water tower
The Gristmill Restaurant
From there, we walked around looking at other little shops. I have to tell you that ever since I first knew Mark and visited him in Oregon City, there was an antique store that always had old toys in the window. It stirred up a desire in me to have a set of Pick Up Sticks like I had when I was a child, but all I could ever find were these horrible giant plastic sticks. Today I found a set of old fashioned wooden Pick Up Sticks in a store there and Mark bought them for me. That’s one game he says he wouldn’t mind playing with me. He has a better chance of beating me than he has with Banana Scrabble!
Finally we stopped at the old fashioned soda fountain. Mark had an Icee and I had a root beer float, although I was a little disappointed that my float was served in a Styrofoam cup.
Disclaimer: Stopping at Gruene today since we were in the area was a spur of the moment decision and we didn’t have our camera with us. Because I believe pictures make it easier to visualize what I am describing, I picked up some literature that had pictures on it and Mark re-shot the pictures for my blog.