Downtown Fredericksburg

As I’ve said many times, I love me some little downtown areas.  I love walking up and down the streets, especially ones with old western boardwalks, and learning the histories of these places.  Downtown Fredericksburg, in the heart of Texas Hill Country, ranks near the top of all the downtown places we’ve been.

Many of the original buildings are still standing along Main Street.  We noticed two of the larger buildings still had their original name in stone at the top.  There are shops galore showcasing anything you might need or want.  Some of the local wineries had boutique tasting rooms and you can walk down Main street with your adult beverage while you peruse the stores.  This was new for us.  The only other place we’ve been that you can openly drink while you walk is Las Vegas.  Fredericksburg is definitely not Sin City.

A must stop is Rustlin’ Robs Texas Gourmet Foods.  The store is filled with every kind of dip, salsa, jam or sauce you can think of.  We must have been there an hour sampling our way around the store.  We left with two BBQ sauces, several salsas and a bourbon cranberry jam.  Recipe cards abound, showcasing what you can make with each item.  The recipe card with the jam is for pork loin.

Another must visit is Lost Draw Cellars.  It’s a little off Main Street but worth the stop.  Their chardonnay was good, almost shockingly so.  I prefer California chardonnays but Lost Draw’s was right up there with a Sonoma white.  We left with three bottles.  We have one left.  It’s sitting there like the last cookie at a party, waiting to be enjoyed.

But, drum roll please, the highlight for me was the Pioneer Museum on Main Street.  You can’t miss it, there is a white hexagon building close to the street.  The museum details the lives of the German Settlers who founded the town.  You’ll see in the 12-minute video just how hard it was for those first hardy souls.  It was by sheer strength and determination that they survived and made a success of the new land they now lived on.  There are many original buildings on the museum grounds.  Some are still in their original location and others were moved here.  As you walk through each building, you’ll hear direct descendants of those early settlers tell you the stories of the buildings, bringing the buildings to life.  In one house, the man talking to us was actually born in that very room.

The one room school, White Oak School, is set up as it would have been during the 1800’s.  We walked in and sat down where we would have if we were students.  Funny.  I sat in the front and Mark sat in the back.  Being the teacher in a one room school could not have been easy; but these talented teachers also taught everything in English and German.  Wow.

It was a fun time walking up and down Main Street and a great way to spend an afternoon.  We hadn’t even scratched the surface of the downtown area and our time was done.  Admiral Chester Nimitz is a Fredericksburg native son.  There is an entire museum all about his life that we didn’t get a chance to see.  Lady Bird gardens are close by but were closed on our one day in town.

As Mark says, we have to leave one thing undone so we have a reason to go back.  I can’t wait to go back to Fredericksburg.  Tick-Tock.