Lunch at the Salt Lick in Driftwood TX

Hiking the Gorge at Canyon Lake was originally on our agenda for Thursday morning but plans are made in jello and the ladies who most wanted to do the hike were not available.  Lunch plans were a choice of lunch at the Leaning Pear in Wimberly, the Gristmill in Gruene, or the Salt Lick in Driftwood.  Birdie, Sue, Karen, and Darlene were busy discussing which would be the best choice.

We decided on the Salt Lick and set out with our little caravan.  At our flockings, it's always up to the ladies whether they want to participate or not but we make sure that everyone that wants to go has a ride since a few of the ladies don't tow or have a toad.  Carpooling is more fun anyway.  We made a stop at the Rest Area overlooking the Devil's Backbone.  The view across the valley is great and the whole drive up to Driftwood in scenic.  Sharon and Margareta are watching Carolyn with her ever present camera.

The Salt Lick has several locations but the one in Driftwood is the original.  They also have a winery and extensive grounds for gatherings.

The food is fantastic and prices fairly reasonable too.  Don't be afraid to order the Senior's plates if you are eligible (60+) because you will get plenty to eat.   Just remember that cash only is the rule but they do have an ATM machine available.  You can even bring your own bottle if you want.

This is the pit where all the good stuff is cooked.  It is right out where you can see it.

Our waitress was great.  Here she is explaining the menu.  We had a total of three tables, two long ones and a smaller one to fit all the ladies who wanted to come along.

Lots of happy faces here.  Everyone thought the food was great.  Sauce is served separately so you can apply as much or little as you want.  There are two buildings where they serve food.  This one has huge windows that make you feel like you are outside.

Ribs, brisket, beans, potato salad, and cold slaw was the popular favorite.

Here is part of the group checking out the area.

A couple that was there celebrating their anniversary with their five kids insisted on a group picture of all the RVing ladies.  There are still people out there who are amazed that women go out and RV on their own and meet together for fun.  Go figure!

You can see that some of the ladies had "take home" baggies but I don't think any of the food made it to the dogs.

Lunch at the Driftwood Salt Lick

The last time I saw Diana, she asked if Birdie and I would like to go to one of her favorite places for lunch so we planned a little GTG.   

Birdie and I planned to meet in San Marcos and do a little shopping at the outlet mall before heading up to Driftwood.  She said she was going early and I told her that I would call her as soon as I arrived.  Otherwise, we would just meet up at 10:45.  My plan was to arrive by 9:00AM latest.  The dogs always wake up by 8:00AM and let me know they want out of their crates. Always, except for Thursday morning, when I was counting on them for an alarm clock!  Thursday morning I woke up to silence, looked at the clock and it was 9:05AM.  I quickly got ready to go and headed downstairs.  The dogs were outside.  Apparently DH got up real early, let them out, and went back to bed.  So much for plans!

About 5 minutes south of San Marcos, I got a call from Birdie.  I told her I was almost there and then she told me she was running really late and was far behind me.  She had one of those mornings too.  Normally up well before 7:00AM (ugh), she overslept by two hours and then made 4 circles around the campground before she finally had everything with her that she needed.  Made my morning look easy.  I did a tour of the outlet malls just to see what was there.  Once she arrived, we made one stop before it was time to leave for Driftwood.  Driftwood is pretty much out in the country but not a very long drive from San Antonio and even shorter from Austin.

This is the original Salt Lick out in Driftwood, TX where it all began in the midst of rolling hills, abundant wildlife, century-old oak trees and native wildflowers. Old barnwood looking buildings are surrounded by vineyards.  Of course, the vines were bare this time of year.  

 There are two main buildings, the restaurant and the vineyard building.  In between are lots of outdoor tables.  I guess this is where you wait if you don't time your visit very well.  There is lots of parking out behind the two buildings.

When you want in the place, the first thing you see is the barbeque pit.

You can even see them cutting the meat.  Of course, all those delicious smells make you hungry!

 Unlike many barbeque places where you place your order up front, here you sit down at a table with benches for seating and a waitress comes to take your order.  They only take cash here and you can bring your own bottle with you if you want.

Then she brings the food to you, lots of delicious food. Birdie had the ribs on the left while Diana and I had brisket and turkey.  The barbeque is different here but very delicious.  The sauce is a light translucent brown with a hint of vinegar flavoring.  Even the potatoes have a hint of this flavor.  Takeout boxes were necessary.  Birdie got a large order so she would have a couple of meals left over.

From here, we headed to Cabela's which was just a very short distance away in Buda.  Birdie found some hiking shoes she wanted but they couldn't find the 2d shoe missing out of the box????  She was going to order them but a couple of days later she found her missing winter hiking shoes stored in an unexpected spot in her RV.  Good thing she didn't get the new ones.

Diana headed back to Austin while Birdie and I made one more stop at Crestview in Buda.  She is still looking at Class As so we check them out whenever we find them.  And then we were back on the road to San Marcos.  We didn't get any shopping done at the outlet mall but we had a great day.