Sunday Gospel Spicewood Style

Perfect. I'm still driving the truck after having it inspected this week and I get in and start it up and KVET is playing the Sunday morning Country Gospel show.  Willie's singing "What a Friend You Have In Jesus." I'm making another attempt to go for breakfast at the Bluebonnet Cafe in Marble Falls.  It's rainy and gray and I'm up much earlier than I normally would be on the weekends.  I have a friend who thinks I sound cute when I'm sleepy, so he calls me on the weekends at like 5:30 a.m.  Oh, yea, I am simply adorable at that hour!

I drive out Highway 71 crossing the Pedernales River, which is very low again so the boat docks sit on green grass out of the water.  It's very peaceful and few cars are on the highway as I make my way to 281. I like coming over the hill into Marble Falls and catching that first glimpse of the Colorado River.  At this time of year, it's empty, but in the spring and summer there are lots of ski boats and fishing boats out on the water.  At Christmas time if you drive into Marble Falls at night, there is a very sweet Christmas light display that reflects off of the lake.

I pull into the parking lot and am happy to see that I am here before the church crowd.  There is no line to get in like there usually is.  I enter through the back door and am promptly seated in a tiny booth next to the counter.  Coffee is plunked down in front me before I can even say I want some.  It is just assumed that I would like some coffee this morning and of course, I do.  I'm a creature of habit, so I go with a standard order of again, two eggs over medium, this time with hashbrowns, bacon and biscuits.  She says, "Gravy?" Sure, why not.  This is not the kind of place where you should turn down the gravy!

A sign blows back and forth above the doorway that says "Try some pie!"  A paper flyer on the table list the pies available today, whole or by the slice:  Apple (regular), Apple (no sugar added), Cherry, Peach, Pecan, Fudge, Peanut Butter, Coconut Cream, Coconut Meringue, Chocolate Cream, Chocolate Meringue, German Chocolate, Banana Cream, Lemon Cream and Lemon Meringue.  Holy cow!

Uh oh, the cashier (Nancy) is telling a customer they don't take plastic...I'm in trouble because I don't do cash!  Yay, there's an ATM on the porch of the building.

I am served from the closed side of my booth Waffle House style.  The waitress never has to leave the closed space that holds the coffee pots and cups and the short order window to the kitchen.  The breakfast here is like no place else.  The biscuits are yeast style rather than being made with baking powder and even the eggs taste different and delicious. If this place wasn't on Main Street I would guess that there was a chicken coop out back.  I should get Daniel a donut to go because they are also freshly made and are about the size of small pizza!  Do all waitresses on the morning shift wear Harley t-shirts, because that seems to be a trend I've been seeing lately.  Oh wait, that girl's not wearing one...she's wearing camo, of course.  The owner of the Bluebonnet stands near the register talking to the locals about the last week of hunting season, comparing notes and swapping stories.

You pay your bill up front here, old style.  On the glass top counter sits a pile of Bluebonnet Cafe Cookbooks.  The Bluebonnet has been open for 81 years.  I chat with Nancy the cashier as I pay my bill...we are entertained by our shared name.  We talk about how there aren't many of "us" around.  She says she's Nancy Gail and I tell her I'm NancyLou and she likes that a lot.  She says she's happy that she wasn't named after her aunt Gussy May!!

It's raining again as I walk to the truck and I'm very pleased that I'm wearing my leopard and pink rose printed rubber cowboy style rain boots.  It's the perfect day and absolutely the perfect town to embrace this fashion statement of mine.

Phooey!  I realize outside of town that I'm completely out of gas.  I'll make it to the Spicewood General Store.  Now this place is an experience!  The signs painted on the windows say "We do fried!" and "Beer Ammo Bait".  Inside you can order breakfast, burgers and fried catfish while you are picking up your plumbing supplies, milk and, of course, your ammo and bait.  If you have a real emergency you can duck into the ladies' room where you'll find the toilet paper hanging on a chain over the door.  Make sure you pick up a t-shirt from here for next year's White Elephant Christmas party.  They say "Spicewood, Texas" on the front and "We're all here because we're not all there!" on the back...choose your style - plain black, tie dyed or (you guessed it!) camo.

"I cling to the old rugged cross and someday I'll trade it for a crown..." twangs through the speakers as I head home.