When the kids are away, the parents will play

On Wednesday, Jeff's parents picked up the kids around noon, on their way out to the ranch to prepare for the Watts' family reunion. That left us with a couple of kid-free days, so we set out to make the most of them.

We kicked off the fun with lunch together in Marble Falls at a place we hadn't tried yet. Then, we were back at the house for a few hours to get some work done. (A necessary evil before more fun could be had.) And, then, we were off to Austin to check in on the work being done on our house there, which may or may not have involved an attempt to break into the (tenant-free) house. Since we were already in Austin, we decided to slip over to the Alamo Drafthouse for dinner and a movie. We saw Now You See Me, which we really enjoyed. After the movie, we headed back to Marble Falls, where we stopped in at Chili's for drinks and dessert on the deck overlooking the lake. It was lovely.

Thursday morning, I had a pedicure and did a little shopping, before collecting Jeff for a surprise date I had planned. Before my plans kicked in, we stopped in Johnson City for lunch at a place we had never tried. Then, we were on our way to Fredricksburg, where the adventure ramped up. Our first stop was at Grape Creek Vineyard for a tour and tasting. What a beautiful place! We thoroughly enjoyed the tour and the wine.

From there, we made our way to Cotton Gin Village, where I had reserved a quaint little cabin for us for the night. We spent some time in the cabin, resting and reading, before enjoying a fabulous meal at the Cabernet Grill, a wonderful steak and seafood restaurant on the property.

Our after-dinner plans took us to the Rockbox Theater, where we experienced a most enjoyable music and comedy show.

Finally, back at our cabin, we enjoyed coffee and s'mores, before turning in for the night. It was a really wonderful and much-needed break from the every day.

Grape Creek vineyard

The barrel room

Cotton Gin Village

Cabernet Grill