I left you browsing around the shops at our first stop on the road to Round Top, Texas Antiques Fair. Thank you for your sweet comments. I hope you enjoyed a few of the items I thought were unique. I forgot to mention they have a country cafe with all sorts of goodies loaded with plenty of calories to help keep your energy levels up for all the shopping ahead. They have greasy burgers, French fries and dessert. Best of all, they have hand dipped Blue Bell Homemade Ice Cream from Brenham, Texas; a small town just a hop, skip and jump from Round Top. I found Donald in this area hanging out with a dip of strawberry ice cream.
We drove a few more miles then stopped at The Big Red Barn. I had read about this shop in Country Living magazine and I was anxious to see what I would find inside, but when the door keeper ask for $10 bucks, I said “no thank you” and thought to myself, “there’s 100’s of free tents to stop and shop why should I pay to look.” Well, I wish I had not been so cheap and paid the $10 bucks, after I met some ladies who told me the entry fee was worth paying. Next time, I’ll cough up the fee and see what’s behind the red door.
We stopped at Blue Hill Antiques for a browse and found several treasures I wished I could take home. I loved the painted furniture. Primitive crates and bread bowls. I purchased a few things here before heading to Main Street in Round Top.
What a cute little town. It’s like stepping back in time. Adorable bungalows and shotgun houses painted in a rainbow of colors. Vendors were selling their goods on the lawns while families snapped pictures to capture the memory of the day. I also read about Royer’s Cafe located on the main drag. This little cafe received rave reviews so I made a note to check them out. We saved our appetite and I’m glad we did after reading the menu. What the article didn’t reveal was that reservations are a must. They have about two seats (just kidding) but really they can only accommodate 30 folks or less at a time.
I noticed folks were cooling off with a cold brew from the vintage cooler on the porch so I questioned why everyone was gathering around the front porch and stealing from the cooler when the sign on the screen door read closed. It turns out, these privileged few had reservations and we did not. We met a group of ladies sitting on the porch, who obviously had reservations and knew the 411 on the dos’s and don’ts in Round Top; they’ve been making the bi-annual trip to the fair every year for the past 30 years. These ladies suggested we wait it out so we did in hopes that a no show would not show up. Lucky for us, we made the cut. This place serves up five star food but you can forget about the five star accommodations.
We were squeezed in like sardines and the bathroom facilities were located outside so once you were seated there was no moving room. Luck followed us right through the door when we were told to sit at the table in the corner where the lovely ladies we met outside were seated. The food was delicious along with their famous homemade pies. Be sure to visit their pie shop located on the square for your favorite pie To-Go. Come back for chapter 3 where I will share the wonderful treasures I found and the end to a wonderful road trip.
Enjoy,
MJ