Visit to La Grange, TX

Once the rest of the group arrives for our GTG, we have lots of sightseeing lined up. Not wanting to waste a minute of our time here in this area, Birdie and I headed out to visit La Grange today since we knew it wasn't on the planned activities list.  First we checked out an RV park there, the Colorado Landing.  It was okay with decently spaced sites but rather expensive at $39.  The sites were not all level but they had a nice pool and walking paths along the river.  Then we headed to the main part of town.  As with most Texas towns, the  court house sits in the middle of the town square.

It is a beautiful building and quite large.

In one corner of the lawn was a really nice Veteran's Memorial that listed the names of all the veterans from La Grange that lost their lives.  There was a plaque for each of the wars or conflicts - World War I, World War II, Korean, and Vietnam.

There were interesting stores around the square like this one that is housed in an old grocery store.

Then we spotted this interesting building.  It is the Texas Quilt Museum.  The grand opening was Sunday, 13 November!  But it was closed with no hours or days posted.  After some research online http://www.texasquiltmuseum.org once we returned to the RVs, I found out that it is open Thursdays through Sundays from 10:00 - 4:00.  Admission is $8, $6 for seniors and students.  It will be closed for the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years holidays so be sure to check if you are going to visit.  The quilts we could see through the windows were beautiful as were the quilts painted on the outside of the building.  The museum is a unique on-profit project co-founded by Karey Patterson Bresenhan and Nancy O'Bryant Puentes, both experts in the quilting field.  Karey is an expert in quilt dating and Nancy is an expert in quilt care and repair.  They already have 19 tours booked from groups across the U.S. as well as foreign countries.

The museum occupies two historic buildings and right next to the museum is a unique flower garden.

It was about lunchtime so we headed across the square to the Prause Meat Market.  This place has been around for about a hundred years.  It is definitely not fancy.  When you walk in, there is a butcher's glass case with various cuts of meat.  You go around the counter where you will see buckets of three different kinds of potato salad and cold slaw and a number of different kinds of canned soda.  Keep going and they will take your order.  There is no menu or price list anywhere.  They have brisket, pork, and sausage and you just tell them how many pieces you want and if you want one of the salads.  You can have either bread or crackers with it.  The place is packed with locals.  It is old and funky.  But it is delicious!  The brisket was moist and lean and the mayonnaise potato salad was the best I've had in a long time.

We finally found the Visitor's Center which was also the Chamber of Commerce by getting directions from one of the shopkeepers.  It is housed in the old jail so is very unique.  Unfortunately, a unique building was all they had going for them as they had very little helpful info.

On our way back to Carmine (pronounced Carmeen), we stopped at this wonderful little church.  St Martins is the world's smallest active Catholic Church.  The door is unlocked so that you can go inside.

It is surrounded by a very old cemetery which is still in use.

It was a really interesting stop by the side of the road.