Trillcation: 2 Days, 1 Night in Wimberley, Texas

Saturday, August 24, 2019 (CST):

6:00 AM – Depart Oak Cliff, Texas

8:20 AM – Arrive at Storm’s Drive In Restaurant (Hamilton, Texas)

9:00 AM – Arrive at Central Perk (Hamilton, Texas)

11:30 AM – Arrive at Pedernales Falls State Park

1:00 PM – Arrive at Driftwood Estate Winery

3:00 PM – Check in to The Lodge at Cypress Falls

4:00 PM – Arrive at Jacob’s Well

8:00 PM – Arrive at The Leaning Pear

August 25, 2019 (CST):

7:00 AM – Wake up, Eat [Free] Breakfast, explore Cypress Falls area

9:00 AM – Arrive at Blue Hole Regional Park

12:30 PM – Arrive at The Salt Lick BBQ (Driftwood, Texas)

At the time of this trip, I was in sales and since my birthday is at the end of the month, there was no way I would get that time off approved. And technically, Saturday was a work day so it was still a stretch to squeeze in this trip, but we made it happen because I work to live, not the other way around. Probably why I am no longer employed. Ha!

I lived in Austin for a couple of years and Blue Hole was and still is one of my favorite watering holes in that area. Zach had never been, and like I mentioned in our Utah to Colorado post, I do not often like repeat visits to places, so I had to throw in a place I have always wanted to visit but never got the chance to: Jacob’s Well. Both spots require reservations, so that actually makes it much easier to plan a trip when you have to plan around those 2 variables. Since they are the focal points of this trip as a whole, I’ll highlight them first before you also decide to center a whole trip on watering holes like we did.

Jacob’s Well + Blue Hole Regional Park:

Jacob’s Well is way colder than Blue Hole so keep that in mind when booking. The only time slot available for Jacob’s Well was the 4-6 PM and while it was a little chilly once you got in the water, end of August in Texas is still pretty hot so it’s definitely bearable. The concept of having to book for both of these places is to control the amount of people at each location, which is always appreciated and probably much better for the land. You can read all about Jacob’s Well on their site, but the short and simple breakdown is that there is a well (or hole) in the water you can opt to jump into from various heights, or not at all. Something I did not expect is that there is a little trail you follow with various points of interest on the way before you get to the well. For instance, we found a tree swing on the way out and got to enjoy that for a minute before leaving.

There are a few places right around the well itself to sit in and out of the water, but the idea is that you can just chill if you want or get adventurous and literally jump in. This is less of a place for swimming and more for wading.

Half of the fun is watching people overcome their fears and finally jump into the hole. I must say that the camaraderie that develops is the best part of the whole experience. Everyone is cheering each other on and only positive words of encouragement and applause were offered. It’s a beautiful thing. Plus the water is so pretty and refreshing after a little sunbathing. And, to ease your minds about the cliff jumping, there is someone on site to kind of watch over everything.

Blue Hole, on the other hand, is more of a “controlled environment”. There’s no hike to get there and the lawn is taken care of like a museum lawn would be taken care of. Certainly ideal to bring a picnic blanket, chairs, food and drink. You can definitely swim here and I would even recommend bringing a float/tube to relax on.

There are also two “rope” swings (two different heights) in their designated areas and still leave plenty of room for people to swim around the splash zone. There is not someone on site per se (there is a box office at the entrance so someone is technically there at all times), but it’s certainly not as risky as Jacob’s Well. Blue Hole is more polished than Jacob’s Well, but I think it’s fun to visit both in one trip and they are only about 5 miles apart. If the reservation times would have allowed it, I would’ve done them both in one day.

Day 1

Storm’s Drive In Restaurant:

I wish I could tell you how I found this restaurant, but I can’t actually remember. I’m sure I just Googled what restaurants would be on the route from Dallas to Wimberley. Storm’s has 3 locations: Lampasas, Burnet, and Hamilton which are all not that far from each other, but Hamilton was the closest to Dallas so we stopped there. They have a breakfast menu, but it only made sense to get a cheeseburger too (I think that’s what they’re known for). It was a very satisfying classic cheeseburger, even at 8 in the morning. When we start getting out of major cities in Texas and in most of the South, I start getting anxious because most of the time, the only Asian person they’ve seen in awhile is on TV, if that. I got my usual stares, but overall it was fine. It’s also a shocker to most that I speak English, but let’s not get into that right now.

Central Perk:

We started driving towards Driftwood Winery (which was on the agenda) when we did a double take and saw Central Perk coffee shop with the same exact logo (which is always a balls-y move) as on the TV show, Friends. Zach and I can’t help ourselves when we see things like this, so we had to stop. Of course, most of their food menu items are named after the characters on the show, but aside from that it’s a normal coffee shop/bistro. We had already had coffee at Storm’s, but why not get some breakfast pie while we’re at it? I think it was so early that the key lime pie (my favorite pie of all time) was still frozen? I don’t know why it was frozen, but I ate it regardless and it was good.

Pedernales Falls State Park:

This is actually a place I could not remember if I had been to before. I am almost certain that I have, but that time in my life was a complete blur. We just swooped in long enough to go on a mini hike since it was only half an hour away from the winery. It was so short, in fact, that I didn’t remember to include it in this itinerary initially. It wasn’t until I was going through another batch of photos that I stumbled on the fact that we actually went there. Regardless, based on our brief time at the park, I would recommend a longer visit to do a full exploration. Because based on my vague memory from before before, I knew it was a place worth seeing “to go again”. OR maybe it’s just a glitch in the matrix and I’ve never actually been. Either way, I say go even though I may have forgotten about it twice now…

Driftwood Estate Winery:

Then we were off again. We settled on Driftwood Winery because we read somewhere that they don’t really accommodate organized parties (i.e, bachelorette parties) and that made me like them as a business. When we got there, however, there was a bachelorette party. To be honest, it didn’t really hinder the mood, but I feel like I needed to share that fact.

There are two separate buildings at the winer. One building is where you can taste and buy wine, then the other is for the “food”. You can buy wine by the glass or by the bottle in the wine building and bring it over to the food building. There is also plenty of green space with a very nice view to enjoy your wine. We always want food, so we opted to sit down in the food building. We got a meat and cheese board and that is exactly what it was. Nothing more, nothing less, and nothing extraordinary. That could be said about the wine too. Well, it was far worse than I could have imagined, but I already had low expectations going in so really it fared just as well as I thought it would. Nonetheless, we had fun and it was a good pitstop, and something to check off our list so we never have to do it again. There are only two Texas wines (McPherson and Becker) I enjoy, so I was only playing myself in this situation.

Since we only had one night at The Lodge, we wanted to get there right at check in time. As soon as I got there, I immediately wished we could stay another night. The Lodge itself has its own watering hole that is included in the price of the stay. It is a peaceful little retreat and seems great for families especially. They have an in house bar and a couple of food trucks on site for food and beverage options if you don’t want to leave the grounds.

We were right by an HEB (one of the very few things I miss about Austin) which is a dream and so convenient so we grabbed a few [local] beers, water shoes for Zach at the ACE Hardware store next door, and drove the short distance to Jacob’s Well. You can’t technically take beer into the swimming area, and we didn’t (we chugged a couple in the car beforehand), but no one is checking so you didn’t hear it from me, but I’m sure you could accidentally take some in.

The Leaning Pear:

After a great time at the well, we headed back to The Lodge to shower and get ready for our big dinner in Wimberley, Texas. Zach had made reservations and requested their “tree house” room which is basically a screened in porch with string lights. I really liked it, but it’s not as impressive as it sounds in case you were picturing an actual tree house like I had. I think it may have rained or something and it’s still pretty muggy in August, so we didn’t want to sit outside. Which would be beautiful in the fall, by the way. I know this place is a staple in Wimberley and I am so glad we went, but there was nothing we ate that truly stood out. It could have just been the items we ordered, so I cannot blame them for that. Plus, the service was incredible and I am always just grateful to have food, period. Honestly, I will probably go back because if the service is good but the food underwhelming, I will always return. But if the food at a dining establishment is good and the service horrible, I will not go back.

In hindsight, I would have done a tour of all of the more casual places for dinner, but there is always next time! Especially if you plan on going during a pandemic: I say grab some local alcohol, a variety of take out food, and take it back to your place of lodging and enjoy it under the stars.

Day 2

So we, of course, got what is rightfully ours in the free breakfast (and it’s so much easier than having to figure out what to do for breakfast) and explored the swimming hole on site we could have enjoyed had we the time. But that was cut even shorter because I was just so excited to get to Blue Hole. We were the very first ones there and had to wait at the gate to get in since we arrived before opening time. It was just as beautiful as I had remembered and did not disappoint whatsoever. It had been drizzling a bit all morning but even that could not diminish the magic that is Blue Hole. Zach definitely enjoyed the water temperature much more here and we swam and swung our hearts out before heading home.

The Salt Lick BBQ: 

I know it seems like the only real highlights of this trip were the swimming holes, but that’s because they were. Everything else, even The Salt Lick BBQ, were mediocre but couldn’t even put a damper on this trip because of our watering hole destinations. I do have to admit that The Salt Lick is a checklist destination for sure. There are better BBQ spots, but if you have never been, then it’s an experience worth having. The grounds of the restaurant are massive and the sheer amount of people they serve is impressive in itself.

This very short, but fun filled trip was a highlight of last year for sure. It was only one of two trips we took in 2019 and it was a banger. I’m actually kind of sad I didn’t get to go to Wimberley this summer, though I’m sure it’s great in the fall as well. It is an incredibly charming city and that part of Texas makes you feel like you’re not in Texas for a minute and sometimes that is exactly what you need.