Day 190: Salt Lick BBQ and Fredericksburg, Texas.

After our excursion in Austin yesterday, we actually found a Wal-Mart near the city that allowed overnight parking. At first glance, you wouldn’t think they would allow it because it is a smaller store. After we asked the manager inside, they gave us permission as long as we park in a designated area which we happily obliged.

We decided yesterday that we were not going to stay at a campground which means we are going to be moving on today. 2 nights of free overnight stays in Austin is pretty good especially since we made good use of our time here. Today, we plan on heading west into Texas hill country towards Fredericksburg before continuing on to west Texas.

We have had our sights set on eating at The Salt Lick BBQ for a long while and today is the day. During our 2010 visit to Austin, we missed our opportunity as we drove here from Sonora Texas late in the evening.

Open since 1969, The Salt Lick BBQ is located in a little town outside of Austin called Driftwood, Texas. It was only open a few days a year during its early days of operations. Its popularity has grown so much that they have expanded to opening everyday of the week.

We had no problems finding parking for the Mish here. It is not because no one was here. They actually have a pretty full house. The Salt Lick just happens to be on a large, sprawling piece of land.

Before you pack your trailer and head over to Driftwood, Texas, make sure you bring some cash and a cooler full of refreshments. As popular as they are, they only accept cash and have a Bring-Your-Own-Beverage policy. They will not stop you if you choose to crack open a cold one shuttled from your beer fridge at home.

Now let’s just enjoy a little gratuitous BBQ porn…

Yummmm…

Is this making you hungry?

This is where Ava decided that she likes ribs. You can choose to order items off of the menu, or you can, as most patrons do, order the all-you-can-eat, family-style buffet. They will just keep them coming as long as they can see the bottom of your plates.

After we stuffed ourselves at Driftwood, we continued on to the town of Fredericksburg, Texas. We drove through this little German town in the Texas hill country during our last trip but we did not get to stop and peruse.

Fredericksburg is popular for its agri-tourism as it is the peach-capital of Texas. The unique geography and soil make it ideal for growing peaches as well as many other fruits and vegetables.

We are here much too early in the season as the picking doesn’t start until well into summer.

We ran across this gentleman as we were walking into town. He told us that he was the mayor and welcomed us to the town of Fredericksburg. Mila’s new thing is to ask people we met on the road if they have a family. Mila was very happy to learn that the mayor indeed had a family.

As if we weren’t still stuffed from The Salt Lick, we stopped in for dinner at one of many German restaurants here in town. Our choice was the Auslander. It no Hofbrauhaus but they did make a pretty good schnitzel.

After dinner, we departed Fredericksburg to continue our way west into the wide and expansive plains of west Texas. We will spend the night at a rest stop along the side of I-10 just past Sonora, Texas. Tomorrow we will make a quick visit to the Caverns of Sonora for a little gold panning.

over and out,
dan