Birthday MONTH: Day 16, 17, & 18

Part II:   A CORVETTE WEEKEND GET AWAY...

In between all of the food and riding through the hill country of Texas, we stopped in at my most favorite winery and lavender farm, Becker Vineyards.

This beautiful ranch at the end of a long narrow blacktop is a worth a trip in itself, not to mention the wine and lavender!

I could walk around the grounds all day and never get bored. Matter of fact, I think I could take up home in this cute little on-site cottage.

I'm sure that one of those rocking chairs has my name on it!

I'm not the only one who thinks this place is marvelous.

So does a lucky Texas bride!

Preparations were being made for a fabulous wedding surrounded by lavender fields...{sigh}

The smell of fresh flowers was everywhere in the breeze.

This was sure to be one beautiful wedding.

While everyone was inside tasting the blue-ribbon wine, The Man walked in and bought bunches of fresh lavender for me to bring home.

In spite of all the guys picking on him and asking what was in his "shopping" basket, he proudly responded "lavender for my bride" ... He's such a keeper!   ;)

I walked around and snapped some more photos of the property.

I really love coming here. It's one of the most peaceful places I've ever been to.

It reminds me of walking through the vineyards in Italy years ago and sitting under the shaded outdoor patios...

But this vineyard is a special treat as the lavender fields are just over flowing across the rolling hills.

I just LOVE it here...did I say that already???

Sadly we had to leave, but I know I'll be back again soon.

There was much on our agenda but once again, we veered off the beaten path and away from our Corvette group when we saw a sign for "Trade Days". We parked the Corvette in the middle of a cattle field to do some antique shopping...

I didn't take many photos of the items for sale. Most of the booths consisted of handmade items instead of antique or vintage items.

I did get some ideas though as I fell in LOVE with this necklace. I'm going to have to dig up my chandelier crystals and dust off my pearls and make me one of these!

And while walking with The Man and window shopping, I heard someone squeal my name from afar... "Jooodieeee"!!!!

I turned around towards the "food court" and I saw none other than Miss Anne of Fiona & Twig! She was sitting there eating a snack with one of her dearest friends.

Her and I had planned on meeting later in the evening after dinner so that I could see her new home. But running into her at Trade Days was such a surprise!

The Man and I ate dinner with the Corvette gang then met up with Anne and her wonderful husband James at their new home.

It was dark outside but the photos still came out fairly well.

Anne's little farmhouse is precious. They haven't moved in yet as she's taking her time with every little detail. She buys and sells antiques so she has such great taste and certainly knows how to decorate with style...

I can't just name one thing I love about her cozy little farmhouse...it's all the sweet little details that makes this place a "home".

Like the woodwork in the front foyer...

And the bead-board kitchen cabinets with glass knobs and touches of blue along the ceramic tile.

oh...and that vintage porcelain Kitchen-Aid blender...to die for!

The Man says we'll be back to visit soon.

He hit it off good with James...don't they almost look like they could be related?

It must be the hair (or the lack of)  *wink *

Anne has posted about her new farmhouse often recently. If you'd like to see and hear more about it, you can click on her blog Fiona & Twig. She's one of the sweetest Texas gals you'll meet.

The Man and I retired back to our hotel room to rest up for another jam-packed day. The Inn that we were staying at really made us feel at home. This is what was waiting for us upon our arrival...fresh flowers and a cup full of mints! How sa-weet!!!

Anne woke up early Saturday morning to meet me in Fredericksburg. We weren't able to spend a lot of time the evening before as I was really tired from driving all day and we only had a couple of hours to spend again as our Corvette group was headed for the hills for some fast driving and more fun!

Anne took me to this sweet little bakery and cafe where I treated her to a birthday breakfast while we waited for her favorite stores to open.

Anne's birthday was Sunday so I was happy to be able to spend some time with her during her "Birthday Weekend"  :)))

Rather Sweet on Main Street was a precious spot to enjoy a blueberry muffin and some chocolate milk...my favorite!

There were SO many cute shops on Main Street. I only had maybe 45 minutes to shop with her and I was dying...I could have stayed with her all day.

Going to Homestead was a "must do".

Three full stories of nothing but gorgeousness.

NOW I know why Lisa Marie loves her some Rose Hicks and Carol Bolton.

I totally bow my head in shame for not knowing who these inspiring women were!!!

Here is Anne stalking the place for the doors to open at 10:00.

They were about 15 minutes late in opening but when we did get in there...I couldn't breathe. I was HOME! All I kept saying was "oh Anne. Anne. Anne! Look at this! Anne...oh Anne."

I was fortunate enough to meet Tim Bolton...Carol's husband. He even let me take photos! I didn't take many because I was too busy looking at everything and what I did take, sadly didn't come out. Maybe when I unpack, I'll take photos of what I bought.

I could have stayed in there ALL day but I only had a little less than 30 minutes to explore the store. I really didn't cover 30 square feet and I had to make a bee line to the register to pay for the things that I scooped up VERY quickly.

I gave Anne a quick hug and kiss goodbye and I promised her that I'd be back to Fredericksburg to visit her soon :)

The Man and I were soon off to join the rest of the Corvette group again for some fun on the road...

This time, to really DRIVE our Corvettes through what they call the "Twisted Sister Loop".

I had my camera in hand (while driving) but as we got closer to the loop, it was time to put the camera down, step on the pedal and drive my car like it was a Corvette! woooo hoooo! The Man sat in the passenger seat and told me to put both hands on the wheel and DRIVE...and that I did!!!!! We went to speeds well over 100, pulled some G's around some head pin turns and flew over steep hills that made the insides of our tummies flip with excitement!

I kept up with the best of the guys and even made some of them look like sissies. Dang that was SO much fun!

We all stopped and ate lunch at the Bent Rim Grille in Leakey and we did it all over again that evening. It's a good thing I don't live close because I'd burn the tires off of that Corvette often!!

I had THAT much fun!!!!

Sorry there are no photos/videos of the cliff hanger turns, high speeds and beautiful scenery. I was too busy driving and The Man was too busy praying I wouldn't put us over the edge! However, I must admit that he's such an instigator. He kept telling me..."Don't worry about a ticket Baby...just go and we'll worry about that later. DRIVE IT!"

{FYI...there was no tickets, accidents or cops involved!}

Next time, I'll have him video it so I can put it on Youtube!  ;)

So after a long day of driving, our last stop was Texas' very own Stonehenge...

Located in Hunt, Texas...this "Stonehenge II" monument was built by two men with nothing more than steel and concrete.

With no reason except for the sake of doing it, they also made a replica version of the statues located on Easter Island...

If I do say so myself...I don't think they did a bad job either!

The site is interesting to say the least and well worth the stop.

Even if it's just to be silly, have a little fun and pick some nose...

And that my friends, concluded my Texas Wine and Hill Country Weekend with our Corvette buddies from all over Louisiana.

I had so much fun DRIVING that Corvette...I can't wait for the next "round-up".

I still have many birthday presents to open and since I've been away, I've been falling behind.

How about we open a few tomorrow???

:)

I hope you are enjoying the MONTH of October as much as I've been enjoying it...it's been awesome and thank you for coming along for the ride!

To all my blog buddies out there...

I've been a BAD blogger friend!

;(

I haven't been around to visit much lately but I hope to do so soon as my travel plans are starting to wind down and I'm looking forward to spending more time visiting with you  :)))