Texas Hill Country: Luckenbach Part 2 (of 2)

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Luckenbach, Texas has been on my list of places to visit for a long...long time. I can't explain it, but it seems like an important place to visit as a Texan. I grew up listening to Willie Nelson, and this played prominent in those radio tunes emitting their songs about crying, lying, unrequited love sighing. Oh, the poetic abuse in a country tune. Country takes up the first two choices on my radio pre-set buttons. You can learn a lot from a country song....more on that later. I doubt many people suspect this about me, and it was a winding road to discovering my country roots. It didn't come naturally, but this isn't about that, it's just important to know 'that' to understand why Luckenbach seemed like a good idea to me!
First....a little mood music (ignore the video itself, and the spelling, it's not mine, but it's the only one I could find without 'fine feeling women' scrolling through the video).

And now....a little info about my Luckenbach experience.
After dinner at the Auslander, we headed out to Luckenbach. It's about a 20 minute drive down a (barely) paved road....and I suggest you get directions.

I had been warned by a friend in advance not to expect a 'town'....it's a post office inside a general store, a bar, and a pavilion that calls itself a dance floor, and lots of picnic tables. It was exactly that...and more....hello, they have chickens....lots and lots of chickens-pretty neat.

Here is the store/post office...

Here is the bar....

They also have a snack stand that sells food, sodas, and other fun finds.
There are benches, and stages, and free musicians that play throughout each day, along with acres of the 'town property' you can walk around. We bought tickets for a concert that began about 9. They place long benches and tables inside the 'dance hall' and there was an opening act, and then we enjoyed a serenade by Bruce Robison and his band. They sounded amazing, and it was fun to watch all the good....and less than 'good' country (two step) dancers find the beat.

Let me pause for a minute and say last week I told someone I was going to Luckenbach, and they asked who was in concert. I told them it was Pat Robertson. I didn't even think about it until I repeated this same name to Maggie. She quickly corrected me, laughing and reminded me it was (the singer/song writer) Bruce ROBISON and not Pat Robertson (the eccentric, outspoken, religious TV preacher). I told her she may be correct, but it might have been more interesting if Pat had shown up at Luckenbach....I certainly would have a much different version of the place!
I'd definitely recommend it, it was a really intimate concert, and if you like to two step...everyone was having a good time. It was also a pretty mature crowd, in that they were having fun, but they weren't preventing other people from having fun by being too obnoxious or inconsiderate. It was really laid back, and a lot of fun.
This was also the quickest tour of the Hill Country ever recorded, and I hope to enjoy more of these sites for longer in the near future! Here are (most of) the photos I took this weekend. http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=4124805&l=cb3a052520&id=725172809

4 comments

Lori said...

Was Wayland Jennings and the boys there?

Unknown said...

Looks like a fun place to visit. I just found your place. It was fun looking at your pics and ideas!

Katie said...

Looks like a great place, the kind you read about in Southern setting novels, although I realize Texas is not in the South.

Christy said...

@ Katie....yes....Texas wasn't in 'the south' during the war, and I'm grateful for that, but we aren't exactly in the West either...it's just sort of a 'place of it's own.' It's the only state that retains the right to secede and be it's own country....and I'm not sure most Texans are aware that we haven't done this. ;o)