Vineyards RV Campground and Cabins (3-10 Apr)
We are back in Grapevine – and at our favorite campground to date, The Vineyards RV Campground and Cabins! After spending the majority of the Winter in Bandera, TX, we have begun our western trek for the Spring! Our travels will, of course, be revealed as we go, but we are at the start of a “new for the camper” six-state tour! We are planning to see parts of NM, AZ, NV, UT, WY and CO this trip while adding stickers to our map! Grapevine, as mentioned, is a re-visit, but we are seeing things we missed last year.
The first stop was not a new one, but a mandatory one! The Farmers’ Market in the historic downtown area of Grapevine was a requisite stop to stock up on delicious fresh fruits and vegetables! While only a temporarily fulfilling re-stock – it is tasty! We also revisited Tolbert’s for a bowl of their famous chili! Oh so good and highly recommended if you get here!
We picked Thursday (Tina’s day off) to explore the local area – mostly Fort Worth! We started by going to the Woodshed Smokehouse Restaurant along the Trinity River in Fort Worth. Tina went for the Bulgogi Tacos and I had the Woodshed Burger. Tina thoroughly enjoyed her tacos. The burger . . . well, it was a burger. As many of you may know we also seek out and rate our favorite burgers. This one will not go on the list. It was edible but was just not that exciting. The staff/service was great and knowledgeable on our questions about the restaurant and other things to do. Not a bad stop at all, but I was not a fan of the burger!
After lunch we made a quick stop at the Fort Worth Water Gardens on the way to a distillery. That area is a surprisingly serene site in the middle of the city. Flowing and spraying water in several locations, it encompasses a small city block. Parking might be a challenge, but it was worth the short stop to see the design and architecture of the “hole.”
One of our distinct highlights was a trip to the “TX Whiskey” Distillery near Ft. Worth – only a short drive from Grapevine. Say it “T” “X” not the state of Texas! First of all, it is on beautiful grounds that we learned used to be the Glen Garden Country Club and golf course where Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan started their golf careers working as caddies! The current buildings were constructed so that looking down the main walkway, there is a wonderful view of downtown Ft. Worth skyline.
The tour started with some history of the brand and its founders, Leonard Firestone and Troy Robertson who established the “Firestone and Robertson Distilling Company” in 2010. The first craft distillery in Northern Texas was a near instant hit with carefully and deliberately crafted whiskey. So successful in fact, that in 2019, the company was acquired by Pernod Ricard, USA division. Ricard owns 16 of the top 100 spirit brands across the globe and is the number two worldwide producer of wines and spirits.
All of the interesting information aside, our knowledgeable and entertaining tour guide, Tracy, led us around the facility where we saw the distilling tower, the storage vats, the fermenting towers, the bottling plant and the barrel barns. It is quite the science and of course we got to sample the various flavors to finish the tour. New to us was the fact that TX released its first bourbon in 2016 and has various infused flavors currently for sale. Tina was quite excited about their Cognac infused and the Barrel Proof flavors. We may have picked some of those bottles up for later consumption to be sure we really like them! 😉 Of course we will share!
We were also excited to meet our new friend Kathy! And it was not just because she was working the bar and showing us all the wonderful drinks you can make with TX! When you speak of a small world, you are speaking about our meeting! It turns out that Kathy knows some of our dearest friends, Gary and Anne. We are all retired military and worked together in various locations during our career. As it turns out, Kathy’s husband relieved Gary at a job in Africa. From that job, Gary moved to Maryland where we were neighbors! It was great getting to know Kathy and confirming the fact that the world gets smaller every day!
After our TX Distillery tour, we visited the Fort Worth Stockyards! We started that tour watching a “cattle drive” of Texas Longhorn Cattle and a short history of the Texas Cattle industry. Quite interesting to say the least and seeing the Longhorn cattle was memorable! A bonus stop at the Stockyard was the John Wayne Museum. As a long time, diehard JW fan, it was a GREAT stop! Funded by the John Wayne Foundation and donations, the museum was an incredible motherlode of memorabilia and biographical information on the life and career of John Wayne. It is a well done memorial and a mandatory stop for any true John Wayne fan!
Another great event for us in Grapevine was attending the Texas Star Dinner Theater! Set in 1880s West, the actors played out a murder mystery of a local, very influential – not well-liked businessman. It was a very well done and very well portrayed mystery with great audience participation. The dinner was great, the service was outstanding, and the entertainment was top notch! Most definitely on the “to do again” list!
We spent Saturday night having dinner with friends and local residents, Larry and Jeanne at Farina’s Winery and Café. We started with appetizers, then dinner and followed it all by listening to the live music. On many Saturday nights, Farina’s provides live entertainment with a local talent. This time we were excited to listen to not only a local talent, but also a local hero as Willie Lain is also a city police officer! Willie did a great job playing some classic and current country music! Garth, Willie and the boys were well represented!
Our last night in town was again spent with Larry and Jeanne as their guests for Easter dinner. Larry and Jeanne are both accomplished cooks on the grill and in the kitchen and the smoked feast of lamb and beef ribs was delicious! The sides were also great and we happily waddled away! Dinner was fantastic and we are again deeply indebted to their hospitality and grateful for their friendship!
That closes out our visit to Grapevine and on to Abilene we go!
P.S. Want to give a shout out to our “neighbors” at the Vineyards that we met on our last night! Thanks for the helpful insight on our upcoming journey west! Safe travels to Fred and the family as they head in the other direction!
Camping up with the Joneses 