Fall is as good a time as any out here.  Great weather to be active and plenty of things to do within a 45 minute drive.  Just choose your direction and go.

Mason is deep in the Heart of Texas.  Historic downtown with some great scenery all around. They have a nice Art Walk during the first weekend of each month in the fall.  

This is the first weekend: http://www.masonartwalk.org/

Head South to Blanco where there is always something going on.  This weekend is the Ladies State Chili Championship of Texas 

Hit the Fall Lavender Trail - http://www.mjlavenderfarm.com/services.html

And of course: Oktoberfest.  Some notable options are listed below, but there are plenty more around...just ask the locals.  

Fredericksburg Oktoberfest is this weekend.  Rated one of the Top 10 in the country.  http://www.oktoberfestinfbg.com/

Walburg, TX has a month long celebration in one of the friendliest settings you will find. http://www.walburgrestaurant.com/

San Antonio is a bit of a drive, but the Beethoven Maennerchor has a great weekend celebration coming up.

And finally, Texas Wine Month Trail opportunities will  break out all month.  -   http://texaswinetrail.com/

Start planning!!

As usual, a big weekend coming up with some great choices.

Burnet - We'll hit the Burnet BBQ Cook-off and Music Festival on Friday or Saturday Night.  It will depend on what where we decide to spend Saturday.  Looks like fun either day.  

Inks Lake State Park - About 4 miles away and some great stuff going on all day.

GeoCaching in the Morning

Devils Water Hole Canoe Clinic and Tour after lunch

Last Weekend of the Sunset Cruise

We'll have to save Hike The Hill Country and Fishing with a Ranger for another weekend next month.


Johnson City -  The last Saturday Art Walk and Live Music at Pecan Street Brewery is a great way to relax and will be tough to pass up.  Might be a "gameday" decision.

Either way, kicking back at home on Sunday with the fishing pole, some local wine and/or some football will be in order.

It's not too late to plan your Hill Country "Home Base" at The Estates on the River and begin making great memories with Family and Friends next summer.  We've listed a few things below that we had fun with this past summer .  And don't worry, summer here is not limited to Memorial Day - Labor Day, so you can enjoy most of these things before everyone else even thinks about getting their sandals out of the closet.

Hiking and Exploring at Inks Lake State Park, Longhorn Caverns and Enchanted Rock

Adult Soapbox Derby in Marble Falls

Drop-off and Pick-up at Camp Longhorn (and resting while the kids are at Camp)

The Slab

Rodeos and County Fairs in Llano, Burnet, Marble Falls and Johnson City

Wine Tastings and Grape Stomps at our local Vineyards: Perissos and Fall Creek

Shopping and Wine Tastings in Fredericksburg and Johnson City

Aquaboom in Kingsland

Terrific 4th of July Fireworks from the nearby Shangrila Neighborhood

Blanco Lavender Festival 

Great Coffee and lunch at Kingsland Coffee

Sweet Berry Farms

BBQ - Too many to list and all are favorites

Golf 

Marble Falls Lakefest

And of course boating, skiing and fishing at Lake LBJ, Inks Lake, Lake Marble Falls and Lake Buchanan

We missed a few of course, but there's always next summer!!

Looking Forward to Marble Falls Lake Fest this weekend

With so many fun events throughout the year in this area, it's tough to stand out in the crowd.  The Marble Falls Lake Fest has no problem being noticed however.  It's a great weekend event that let's spectators get an up close look at incredibly fast drag boats during the show and shine on Friday Night, then provides fun racing all day Saturday and Sunday.  

We have a lot of fun checking out the action, but it's even nicer to know we are just minutes to home and our quiet surroundings when it's time to slow down a bit.