With the rain coming down pretty steady this morning, Gene checked the weather on the internet. Weather.com indicated that we would have showers until about mid morning then a few hours without rain until the next wave moved in by mid afternoon. The weatherman on the local TV channel concurred with this prediction, so we grabbed jackets and rain gear and set out for New Braunfels. It was a pleasant 40 mile drive eastward through intermittent rain showers. I was thrilled to see water standing in low places and even some water flowing in the previously dry creek beds.
Coming into town, the Information Center was easily found with plenty of parking near the front door. We went in to gather up brochures, talk to real people about things to see in their town and to avail ourselves of their restroom. We learned that the Information Center was actually at the far end of the three blocks or so that comprised the historic district. Stroke of luck there, plus a great place to leave the truck. The only down side to the whole thing was the fact that it was still raining. We decided to walk anyway—after all, we are hikers and have spent days walking in the rain. I stuffed my wallet, phone, and keys in my pockets and shoved my camera as far under my raincoat as possible. By the time we got to the other end of the 3 block area, my hands were cold and my feet were damp. Peeking out from under the umbrellas was not a good way to view the architecture of the old city. We crossed the street to the Naegelin Bakery, one of the oldest bakeries in Texas, with our mouths watering for apple strudel which the young man at the Information Center declared outstanding. A cup of coffee to help dispel the chill in my body would have been okay, too. The bakery was crowded with a steady stream of folks coming in the door the whole time we were there. We were dismayed, however, to find there was no seating inside. Take-out only. We got our goodies and headed back to the car.
At the corner across from the Information Center, we waited for the light to change and the crosswalk signal to give us the go ahead. As I stepped off the curb I noticed a pickup truck pulling into the intersection, but as so many do (myself included) I assumed he would pull up and wait until the intersection was clear to make his turn. I continued across until I realized he was not going to stop. That pickup truck just kept coming. I’m not sure he ever saw me. I had to back up to keep from getting hit and even then I didn’t think I was going to get out of his way in time. When we finally got across the street, we decided that was enough sightseeing for today. We came home having seen very little of New Braunfels. At least we didn’t have to see the hospital.
Today was not a total loss, however. We haven’t had Mexican food since Harlingen—far, far too long ago. This was the day for Mexican supper. We ate at Mague’s on North Main Street. It doesn’t look very promising from the outside and it’s certainly not the place I would have picked out on my own of the several Mexican restaurants in town, but everybody standing in the campground office this morning when Gene asked where the best Mexican food was said “Mague’s”. Well, that’s not really what they said. They said “Maggie’s”, admitting they didn’t know how to pronounce the name. They really didn’t know where it was either, “just up there on Main close to the Episcopal Church. We drove til we found it. They were right. It was GOOD.
Tomorrow we’ll be up early to hit the road to Austin. It is about a 100 miles from here so we’ll have a long day.
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