Free Beer - 287 miles ahead

I needed something. Something to do or someplace to go. So I got out my AAA map books I got when I drove across the U.S. a few years ago. I realized Shiner, Tx wasn't as far as I thought.
  Shiner, in case you don't know, is a very small town south of Austin where the delicious Shiner Boch beer is brewed. 

I took off about 8:30 Tuesday morning and on my way I stopped in at a place called Czech Stop in West, Tx and filled up the car with (cheap) gas and got me a kolache. Let me just say, it was filled with the best sausage I've ever laid my lips on. Dense and meaty with a slight black pepper flavor. I learned all the meat they sell there is processed in a plant just down the road in Waco. I took I-35 to hiway 77 and kept south. Just a little over 4 hours later I arrived at the Spoetzl brewery where they make all kinds of delicious Shiner beers.

I've been here!

 On the tour, I told some people that I was looking for Laverne and Shirley, but we didn't see them. After the tour, we got free beer!

my new favorite

me taking a pic of my reflection in one of the huge copper vats

 I tooled around the gift shop and small theater talking with everyone then asked where I could get some food. I was told about a few places to go and picked Werners. It's a typical American food restaurant, but it has a few German dishes since this area of Texas is highly populated with German, Polish and Czech immigrants. The sirloin almost melted in my mouth! The flavorful grilled onions and potatoes were lip-smaking too! The bonus was not a dessert menu, but the pickled vegetables loaded up on the salad bar, because I love pickled veges, in case you didn't know.

Next, I strolled down to a place called Antiques, Art & Beer - and that's exactly what it is! I grabbed a bottle of my new favorite Shiner and took my time looking around at the art hanging up and the antiques scattered around. I now believe every antique store in America should have a bar, then husbands wouldn't be so reluctant to accompany their wives on a day out. I didn't see anything I couldn't live with out, but I did find something I could have done with out:

a prosthetic leg being used for a flower vase...
is it just me or does anyone else find this
just a bit disturbing?

I strolled around town a little bit then decided I was too tired to drive to Austin to stay with some friends. I tried to find a place to stay in Shiner, but all the rooms were taken by the oil drillers working in the area, so I drove 14 miles to Halletsville and called it a night.
Even with the blackout curtains on the window, light started filling my room at 6:30 a.m.! I awoke with a headache and felt sick. It could be due to the heat and the beer from the day before, but I prefer to blame it on the onset of my period, it's always ruining my life anyway. I decided to sally forth and see what there was to explore on my way home. Driving through Shulenburg, I was met by a large statue in front of The Knights of Columbus Hall:

I didn't know this was their symbol, apparently they feel
very strongly about this

I also saw this place, but decided not to stop:

I liked that it says "come as u r bring ma n pa"

I stopped in Lagrange because I spied the courthouse building from the intersection. It's a beautiful stone structure with carvings around the windows, gargoyles below the clock tower and it's surrounded by pecan trees. A generous Veterans Memorial flanks the N.W. corner.

The square is filled with cafes, shops and businesses. I walked into a place called Flair & Co. and got to talking to a lady named Andi. She recommended a couple places to eat and I decided on Bodega for a chicken salad sandwich. This place is mainly a wine bar, but when I walked in, a group of ladies were seated, chatting and sipping their various drinks while snacks were spread out among them. I also thought the scene was set just right because they were seated under a sign that read "good friends, good wine, good times". After I finished my fresh, flakey croissant sandwich and butternut squash/ginger soup, I cruised around the square looking in shops and found the Texas Quilt Museum. It was closed due to a private function, but it looked cool from the outside.

Now the time came to leave and I wasn't looking forward to returning home. What was I gonna do, sit on my couch? But I had to, I was out of money and the cats had to be fed, too.

please enjoy a few more pictures I took that I thought were cool: