Kickoff to the Holiday Season: Motorcycle Trip to the Granbury, TX Candlelight Christmas House Tour

I hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving.  Once again, my family spared a turkey’s life and opted for a tart as our entrée.   It was filled with garlic, onion, spinach, chick peas, cranberries, and nuts.  Dad described its appearance and texture as a “pate”.  But Mom, who is more direct and to-the-point, called it a “doctored up can of Alpo dog food.”  Despite these different culinary classifications, we all agreed it was quite tasty.  And with our faux deviled eggs, rabbit buffet (A.K.A. salad bar), mashed potato pie, smashed brussel sprouts, and an assortment of Mom’s sweet treats, it was a mighty fine Thanksgiving feast. We counted our many blessings, including that Dad continues to be in sinus heart rhythm.

The next day, we popped over to Huntsville State Park to walk off some of those holiday calories and catch a bit of autumn colors.

Some Autumn hues at Huntsville State Park.

While in Huntsville, we also visited Sam Houston University Historical Village.  We hadn't been here since 2015 when we first moved to Texas.  From this stuffed rat’s perspective, the repeat visit was a winning trifecta:  gorgeous grounds, friendly fowl floating and foraging, and a history lesson all in one.  Plus, Dad picked up some replacement t-shirts at the Museum store.

The interior of Sam Houston's Law Office

One of the best things about being in Livingston this time of year is reuniting with travel buddies.  We enjoyed breaking bread with several fellow RVing friends and Escapees RV Club members.

The motto of the Escapees RV Club, of which we are members, is “caring and sharing”, and we have tried to live up to that creed.  Hence, we were glad to assist friends Carol/John by towing their fifth wheel back to Livingston after repairs were completed at their dealership in Katy, TX.  They had the misfortune to have a problem with their own tow vehicle, so it, too, was undergoing repairs.   They truly appreciated our help and treated us to a delicious lunch.  We had so much fun chatting, though, that we neglected to take a photo!  Similarly, friends Sherry/Matt found themselves in a dire situation just a few days after our last get together.  The support bolt for their 5^th wheel hitch head broke off!  Thank God, it was as they were slowly existing an RV Park in Houston and not at highway speeds on a multi-lane freeway.  They ordered a new hitch and drove the truck up to Livingston so Dad could assist with the hitch installation using his Spitzlift mini crane.  Afterwards we all enjoyed the hearty lunch Mom prepared for us.  Mission accomplished:  they got back on the road the next day and safely reached their volunteer gig in FL a few days later.

Yikes!  Thank God this did not happen on the freeway at high speed!

Matt/Sherry are all smiles now that their new hitch is installed and they can resume their travels!  Although, maybe they are just smiling at how cute I am!

Since we have been stationary for so long, we took another multi-day motorcycle mini getaway.  It was a blustery but scenic and stress-free 5-hour ride via mostly secondary roads to our destination of Granbury, TX.  We have toured Granbury before, but this time we were coming specifically for their Candlelight Christmas House Tour.  We stopped midway in Buffalo, TX to thaw out and enjoy a hearty meal at Anthony’s Restaurant.  It is always nice to support a small, independent, non-chain eatery, especially one with good food and good portions.  We arrived at our hotel just before dark, showered, and snuggled in for the night.

The next morning was cold, damp, and wet.  So, we popped over to the YMCA.  It’s a great facility with every amenity you could think of, including indoor track and pool.   Best of all, the first 3 visits to the facility are FREE.  We went specifically to play pickleball during their 3-hour open-play session on 4 courts. Holy, moly, this was some VERY competitive play.  Although my parents were out of their league, they were pleased with their performance of 3 wins and 3 losses.  But they sure were pooped.  So, we returned to the hotel for showers and siesta time followed by a late lunch/early dinner.

Granbury holds the distinction of being the first town in TX with a square, and it looked spectacular all adorned with colorful lights and gigantic themed Christmas trees.  We did some shopping (Dad got a pair of Texas Longhorn Socks to match his shorts/shirt/hat/sneakers/sweatshirt.  I think all he is missing is Hook 'Em Horns underwear!), and enjoyed all the shops' decorations.

Just one of several gigantic trees on the Square.

            

The Opera House all decked out...

                                                                                                                                                                      

...inside and outside.

                                                                                        

A lovely mural.

The train station.

The Courthouse.

There's a Christmas mouse in this window display.

The Chamber of Commerce put me to work!

I had a great chat with Santa in his Granbury quarters, and I snuggled with his Mrs., who smelled just like fresh-baked cookies.   I admired all the holiday decorations and lights as we walked leisurely along the trail in Shanley Park.

We spent Friday morning at Dinosaur Valley State Park in nearby Glen Rose, TX.  What a great little Park!  It is very cool to walk in the footsteps of prehistoric creatures who roamed here 100+ million years ago.  You must cross the Paluxy River via a rock “bridge” to see the main tracks.     Some of the prints were under water, making it more of a treasure hunt to spot them.  The Park was sparsely populated, so it was easy to imagine ourselves being back in the time that dinosaurs roamed as we hiked the trails in solitude.

The rock bridge we crossed to see the footprints.

Footprints in the riverbed.

These guys were displayed in the 1964 World's Fair.

We left the Park to have a late lunch when I spotted something unusual in the air.  Was it a bird?  Was it a plane?  Was it Superman?  No, it was my very first sighting of an Amazon drone delivery!  It was interesting to watch.

Soon it was time for our Christmas Candlelight House Tour.  Though many folks drove directly to each showcased property, we parked at the Courthouse and walked to and from all locations.  We started at the Presbyterian Church with an entertaining musical performance by the Melody Belles.

 

The Candlelight House Tour was to consist of 5 residences, a historic filling station, and 8 public buildings.  Friday evening was VIP night, where ticket holders (at a cost of $50/person) received refreshments (many provided from local vendors) at each residence for the extra $10 we paid vs tickets for the Saturday and Sunday tours.  Friday's tour took place between 6:30 and 9:30 pm, and we could not pick up our wristbands until 5:30 p.m.  We have attended Christmas House Tours for decades in our historic hometown in NJ as well as in NY, PA and other locations in TX (You can read about our Jefferson Christmas Candlelight House Tour here  https://ramblingrvrat.blogspot.com/2022/12/a-holiday-season-of-celebration-in.html).  Yet, this was the first time we were somewhat disappointed.  To start with, we received conflicting information on the time to pick up wristbands.  Furthermore, none of the public buildings were open on Friday evening during house tour hours.  Our ticket was good all weekend long, but we had other commitments, so we had to leave on Saturday.  (Fortunately, we had toured several of these public buildings on prior visits to Granbury).    Though all but one of the homes permitted attendees to take photos, we didn’t take many.  One of the homes dating to 1881 wasn’t worth photographing and should not have even been on the tour.  You see, it was merely a construction site.  The entire interior was gutted except for 2 rooms, and the renovations in those two rooms were not complete.  Plus, there were few furnishings or holiday decorations. The only things original to the property were the fireplaces and the cobblestone walkway which was a bit hazardous to traverse!  Thankfully, this joint had tasty refreshments!   Another home was an adorable 1930s converted bungalow, all tastefully renovated and decorated.  However, the entire home was one huge sales pitch.  It is a vacation rental, so the owners used the tour as a marketing tool.  Furthermore, most of the artwork adorning the walls had price tags attached, hawking the wares of local artists.  Other businesses were “promoted” throughout the house as well.  By the time we left, we had received so many brochures and business cards, I felt like I had attended a trade show!      Fortunately, the last 2 houses we visited were real gems, so we ended our tour on a high note.  And we enjoyed walking under the stars on a clear, crisp evening.  Should anyone plan to attend this Candlelight House Tour in the future, here’s Rambling RV Rat’s Recommendation:  Unless getting a glass of champagne and treat at each house means that much to you, save your cheez money and purchase the less expensive Saturday evening or Sunday tour tickets.  This way, all the public buildings would be open for viewing and you would have more than enough time to visit them as well as all the private residences.

An adorable Christmouse Tree!

This home provided a fiddler as entertainment.

This tree had some unusual decorations, like a glass ornament of Havana cigars.

We headed home on Saturday, stopping in Jewett, TX to view their sculpture park.  Then we dined again at Anthony’s Restaurant in Buffalo, TX.  Hey, when we find somewhere we like, we stick with it!  

We enjoyed our mini getaway, but we still had a busy weekend ahead of us as we kicked off the month of December with more holiday events.  I’ll tell you all about them in my next blog.  Talk to you again soon!