We wanted to get away for one day, not driving more than two hours in distance, and we opted for the little town between Austin and Houston called Columbus. I had called the Chamber of Commerce and discovered there was plenty for a day trip for the two of us!
The lady at the Chamber opened up for us on a Saturday at 10am (small town friendliness) and took us on a tour of the old 1886 Stafford House, where the Chamber was located on the bottom floor. The Opera House is being renovated, but we loved touring it and learning that the builder made the Opera House so that he could watch the opera from his bedroom window, right next door!
We were hungry for lunch and decided on Dewberry Cafe. The owner of this little diner had grown up in Columbus, moved away and went to college, came back and bought the cafe - and she's 25 years old! The food was delicious. We shared a Chef Salad and a Burger.
After that, we decided to walk the town by the square. There was one strip with cute stores and the MOST friendly owners that shook our hands, got to know us, and we bought a lot of cool things. I even found a vintage ladies jacket for $14 - which is so on trend right now! We discovered there was an ice cream store around the corner and a hardware store that we later wanted to visit.
It was mid afternoon and we drove to Beason's Park by the river. Beautiful spot to park and take a walk along the sandy area where shells filled the ground - I didn't know shells were by the river! A great spot for photos.
By now, we were ready for ice cream at OST (Old Spanish Trail) and sat outside on the one table and enjoyed every bite. We crossed the street to the hardware store and loved it, too! They had fresh herbs to plant and Jon found a bulb he needed.
The last part of the afternoon we took the driving tour of Columbus, stopping at homes and reading the history. Columbus was quite the crime/thriller town back in the day from an ongoing family feud. It was so cool to read about it all. (The Chamber had brochures for all these fun things!)
And finally, we had to find the largest oak tree in Texas, along with multiple other oak trees that were amazingly large that lined their streets.
It was almost dark and we had spent the most fun day away, and stopped in LaGrange at Alejandras for Mexican food on the way home.
It couldn't have been a more perfect day trip... They all invited us back to stay overnight in one of their bnbs - and we might!
The last picture below was taken because the town flies American flags all year, along the streets. It was so pretty and just a normal part of their small town landscape and charm.
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