Grapevine, TX

Vineyards Campground and Cabins

(17-22 Aug)

Back after a short hiatus while we enjoyed time with friends, transited across country and attended school.  We are currently at our last stop in Dry Ridge, KY before ending our “Summer Tour 2022” back home in Sparta. 

Grapevine, TX was one of our favorite stops on our summer tour! Picked Grapevine on purpose to spend some time with our friends Larry and Jeanne, and originally, her brother Dan and his wife Sue – our former neighbors in Virginia Beach.  Something came up precluding Dan and Sue from making the trip, but the rest of us worked really hard to make up for the loss! 

Larry and Jeanne are long-time Grapevine residents, and we couldn’t have asked for or had better tour guides!  They were also fabulous hosts on a couple of days providing a welcome respite in the Texas heat and some good old home cooking!

Old downtown Grapevine is a wonderful place to eat, drink, and shop.  We went above and beyond to see and sample as many of the favorite stops as we could work in on a busy afternoon.  Tina and I started with a walk around the Grapevine Main and the Train Station.  The train station is still a functioning station and makes regular runs into Fort Worth.  That one is on our ‘to do’ list for our next visit. 

We met Larry and Jeanne for lunch at “Jakes” restaurant where we enjoyed their famous burgers and some Shiner Boch!  It was all good, but little did we know this was the tip of the iceberg for the day!  We moved onto another local favorite, “Farina’s Winery – where friends meet.”  It was a nice wine bar and we sampled several of their offerings.  It was a nice transition as moved down the street to “Big Fish” seafood restaurant.  We shared some oysters and buffalo shrimp. The buffalo shrimp were some of the best shrimp I have ever had!  I am sure I wasn’t just hungry, so they had to be tasty!  Our last stop on the food tour was “Tolbert’s” for their famous chili.  It was definitely good chili – good enough to get some to go for another day!  We made one more stop in honor of Dan and Sue at a local bar on the way home.  I don’t remember the name – it had been redone and renamed – but was not memorable enough for any future visits!  Ended the day with the group stopping by the rig to say our farewells prior to our departure the next morning.  

I sort of glossed over some prior events that we managed to work in before our food tour.  There was one craft brewery and of course we checked it out.  The “Hop and Sting” was a quaint, mostly outdoor micro-brew.  We sat outdoors and that made for a shorter stay once again because of the warm days.  There was also the “Farmer’s Market” and we caught a craft fair while touring the historic downtown district.  

Final comments are reserved for the “Vineyards Campground and Cabins.”  According to Tina, it raced to the top of our fab favorites list!  Not one to argue, I was very impressed with the campground.  It was purpose built in a very thoughtful way so that almost everyone gets a great view, and the sites were roomy.  All the sites were level and on concrete or asphalt.  Situated on the southern fingers of the Grapevine Lake, it was scenic, well maintained and surprisingly robust in wildlife – mostly bird species.  Grapevine was a great time for all the reasons mentioned above and definitely on the list to revisit at the earliest opportunity!