Wineries complement our Granbury, TX B-and-B

Another fun activity for our guests at the Iron Horse Inn B-and-B in Granbury is visiting some of the local wineries. Theresa and I visited two near Granbury last week, and were very favorably impressed with the natural settings, and with the wines. Both these wineries grow their own grapes on site, but supplement their own harvest with grapes from the High Plains of Texas, where the cool nights are more favorably disposed to great grapes.

Our first stop was to the Barking Rock Winery, not too far down the road west of here. There we met Tiberia (pictured with some of his oak wine barrels), who owns and operates Barking Rock with his wife. (We also met Tiberia's hound, who gave the name to the place.) The winery is a very attractive place, with a large hall for wine tastings, and the live music that Tiberia loves to host on the first Friday of every month. Tiberia is of proud Italian descent from upstate New York, but his wife is a native Texan. Barking Rock is open Saturdays from 1-6 p.m., or by appointment.

Next we called on The Winery at Bluff Dale Vineyards (located midway between Granbury and Stephenville), owned and operated by David and Theresa Hayes (pictured behind their bar). We were very lucky to arrive during a fine performance by a local bluegrass, country and gospel group, AcousticBlend. It was a cold day, so the band was playing inside, but generally the live music, every third Sunday of the month, is held outdoors on the deck, which features a lovely view of the valley and surrounding hill country. David is a native Tennesseean who met his wife Theresa, a native of China, at the University of Tennessee. Their attractive winery is open every day except Tuesdays and certain holidays; guests are welcomed to bring their own snacks or picnics to enjoy with the wine.

Now, I can't boast of being a "oenophile," but I can say that both of these wineries produce some excellent wine deserving of a leisurely tasting. So, next time you're planning to spend a weekend in Granbury - hopefully at a certain historic Granbury, TX B-and-B - we'd urge you to make time for a leisurely afternoon at one of these attractive wineries out in the North Texas hill country. For ourselves, we look forward to sending the participants at Theresa's painting and quilting retreats to unwind at one of these friendly wineries. Cheers!

Neapolitan Presepe at Granbury, Tx B-and-B

Occupying a special corner of the Iron Horse Inn in Granbury, TX is a striking example of a very old Christmas tradition from Naples, Italy - a hand-crafted "presepe" or manger scene. As luck would have it, we put up the presepe here at about the same time as a very impressive and beautiful exhibition of the art went up at Ft Worth's renown Kimbell Art Museum, (The exhibit is definitely worth a trip.) The Granbury B-and-B's presepe is very special to me because it was hand-made by my wife, and your Inn-keeper, Theresa, when I was posted at the U.S. Consulate in Naples, Italy. Theresa learned Italian well enough to study the ancient craft of the presepe with two masters, Neapolitan ladies who taught a handful of students at their kitchen table. Theresa spent literally scores of hours patiently sculpting the hands and faces of the figures of Mary, Joseph, the Christ child, and the three wise men, and sewing their silk outfits. Visitors to the Inn who've viewed the Kimbell exhibition have told us that Theresa's presepe is a worthy example of the art form. Besides being a heartfelt expression of the true spirit of Christmas, this piece of art is indicative of the love of the arts that Theresa wants to nurture with the various painting and quilting retreats and workshops that we're going to be offering here at the B-and-B beginning in January. We invite you all to come out to Granbury to our B-and-B, the Iron Horse Inn, during this Christmas season to check out Theresa's presepe! Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays to all!

Girlfriend Getaways at the Iron Horse Inn

This past weekend we hosted a nice group of young ladies (see photo) as our first "Girlfriends Getaway" here at the Inn. These events are increasingly popular as groups of women, of all ages, get away by themselves to have some quality time together in a pleasant environment. The historic Iron Horse Inn is a particularly fun place for such getaways, especially convenient for groups from the Dallas-Ft Worth and Austin areas. Granbury is a very quaint and safe small town, with a historic town square, great shopping and nice restaurants. AND, once a month, the town hosts a "ladies night out" with lots of fun activities, with discounts, planned in the square.

For a particularly special getaway, consider one of our painting or quilting retreats!

So, if you're dreaming up a fun getaway with your girlfriends, look through our lovely themed bedrooms and cottages (with original antiques) here on the site to find the right combination of accomodations. Give us a call, and we'll see what else we can cook up in the way of packages to suit your special interests!

Iron Horse Inn on Candlelight Tour

Granbury's 25th annual Candlelight Tour of homes was pronounced a big success by the organizers (proceeds went to charity). We at the Iron Horse Inn were inundated with a steady stream of visitors last Saturday and Sunday. Theresa greeted our guests decked out in an Edwardian-period costume, as the first lady of the house, Mrs. Lucy Cogdell, might have worn in the early years of the century (photo). The inn-keeper-ette sewed the suit herself! (In the photo, Theresa was explaining to guests our plans to offer artistic and quilting retreats.)

During the tour, a crew of wonderful volunteer "docents" helped us tell some of the stories behind the historic Iron Horse Inn. Coordinating the crew was our good friend, Sylvia Hickey. Theresa and I were greatly impressed by the community spirit shown by all of Granbury's volunteer involved - all these folks have regular jobs and/or their own businesses to run! The kind lady who played the keyboard in the Inn's front parlor, Mrs. Veriena Braune, has her own B-and-B to run, as do 2 of our other docents, Tom and Sarah Baker. Our guests were also regaled by a top-class (in my humble opinion) Barbershop Quartet (see photo) - thanks to all! You guys are a credit to Granbury.

Christmas Festivities in Granbury

Howdy, folks - Last week Theresa and I attended one of Granbury's big annual events - the traditional Christmas parade, which concludes with the lighting of all the town's Christmas lights, for which it's justly famous. Luckily, the weather was mild, so everyone gathered in the town's historic square was comfortable. This is very much a small-town affair, in the best sense of the term - embodying traditional small-town values (sometimes I catch myself almost saying "Maybury" for Granbury...). A lot of guests from out of town crowded the square area, most everyone holding a lit candle, which provided a beautiful spectacle, including the singing of Christmas carols. Then we were treated to the Christmas parade, featuring small floats sponsored by Granbury's churches and civic groups - one of the highlights for me was the wise men riding horses, from a local Cowboy Church (I'm going to have to check that out - stay tuned for a later installment!)

Anyway, the lights are up and running, and historic Granbury is putting on its Christmas best for everyone to enjoy - including the historic Iron Horse Inn (see a Christmas photo here), so please make plans to visit! You might even want to mark your calenders to attend the Christmas parade next year.

NOTE - In a few days, I'll write about Theresa's beautiful "presepe" or traditional Neapolitan manger scene, which, in keeping with the quilting and arts retreats we're offering, she hand-crafted herself.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Here on Thanksgiving Day, Theresa and I realize how much we have to give thanks for, as we begin our new adventure running the historic Iron Horse Inn - to you our guests, especially, but to Bob and Judy Atkinson, the Inn's prior owners who've shown such patience in breaking us in, and to our good neighbors and new friends here in Granbury as well who have made us feel to welcome. And thanks in advance to our prospective guests, and to the folks who've signed up for our quilting and artistic workshops and retreats, on faith alone - Y'all drive safely now, and have a great time with your families!

Quilting retreats (protecting American traditions)

If you've browsed the Iron Horse Inn website lately, you may have noticed that we're starting to offer a regular series of artistic retreats or workshops in quilting, painting (water color, oil, pastel, etc.), polymer sculpting, scrapbooking, and other arts and crafts. These will be taught by masters in their fields from around the U.S. To drum up interest in this new sideline, Theresa and I traveled last week to Lewisville, TX so she could speak to representatives of the Texas Association of Quilt Guilds. I tagged along in my official capacity as "driver" and to give moral support - but I was fascinated by the beautiful quilts that some of the other speakers - professional quilting instructors - brought along. As they say, these are not your Grandmother's quilts anymore. If you have the stereotype of quilting as a boring activity invented to keep old ladies out of trouble, I urge you to check out some of the modern work going on, as well as the beauty of traditional quilting. As just one example, check out the website of Lenore Crawford, who will teach the first quilting workshop in January here at the historic Iron Horse Inn. These folks are true artists, and the artistic detail - to say nothing of the passion - in their work is just astounding. Theresa just put two of Lenore's quilts on display in the Inn's living room, for visitors to this historic old Craftsman home during Granbury's upcoming Candlelight Tour (Dec. 6-7 - don't miss it!).

Interesting sidenote: Some years ago, I accompanied Theresa into a quilting shop outside Austin. I got to talking with the owner, and was unpleasantly surprised to learn that many of the "traditional American quilts" on sale in the U.S. today are in fact made - you guessed it - in China! Once again, proud American workmanship is undercut by cheap foreign labor. To which I say: Support your American quilters! Check out America's rich quilting heritage by looking at some of the quilts on display here at the Smithsonian Museum of American History. Another great site to explore is the International Quilt Study Center & Museum in Nebraska...

Enjoying Granbury Live

Last Friday, we went with Bob & Judy to Granbury Live, one of the two live theater offerings on Granbury's historic downtown square. We got to meet some of the folks involved with the show - including the very outgoing "Mistress of Ceremonies" Sandi McRae (see this link for a short profile of Sandi) before the fun began. The performance we watched was "50s Class Reunion," a review of some of the classic music from that decade. The show really was good, clean family fun - the Granbury Live folks are forthright about the Christian orientation of their performances, which traditionally end on a very moving patriotic note. Given the wealth of musical talent that was on display, we're really looking forward to the next show on their schedule, "Lone Star Christmas," which opens November 21.

When you stay with us at the Iron Horse Inn, we'll be happy to make reservations for you at Granbury Live or any of the town's other entertainments.

Discovering our hike-&-bike trail

At the Iron Horse Inn, we're extremely fortunate to be located right on Granbury's up-to-date "Moments in Time Hike-and-Bike Trail" (here's a map) - a nice paved trail that, in one direction, runs from the Inn through one of Granbury's greenest parks at the Granbury Town Hall, which features beautiful fountains and ponds. That end of the trail ends up right in Granbury's lovely old historic district on the town square, with all its quaint shops and restaurants - just about a 10-minute walk from the Inn. In the other direction, the trail runs all the way out to the airport, for a total distance of over two miles. The trail is a nice, quiet place to stroll during these golden autumn evenings. We've been happy to discover that Granbury as a municipality does things right - so the trail is very well maintained and always clean.

GREETINGS from Paul & Theresa

Hello Folks -

This is new Iron Horse Inn-keeper Paul Martin. In early December, my wife Theresa and I will be completely taking over from Bob and Judy Atkinson, who are still showing us the ropes. Judy kindly introduced us in her previous blog entry. Bob and Judy, besides being just wonderful people, are going to be a hard act to follow, hospitality-wise. But Theresa and I will be doing our best to keep up with the high standards their guests have come to expect.

I am finally returning to Texas after 22 years of being posted abroad with the U.S. State Department. This is Theresa's first time to be lucky enough to live in Texas. We have already learned that Granbury is a great little town to get away to, with warm, friendly people. In the coming months, I'll be using this blog to pass on some of our reflections on Granbury, and to try and keep our guests informed of some of the fun things to do here. For example - in the past few days, we've been watching the Christmas light displays going up all over town, so folks visiting after Thanksgiving will be in for a real treat in that regard.

So I invite you to visit our website ocassionally to see what's new!

Take care,
Paul

A Fond Farewell from the Atkinson's!

Can you believe that we have been here for 14 years? The time has come for us to retire! We will miss our friends that have been so special to us over these years. Please call us, or look us up in McKinney. (Our address is 3600 Rottino Drive, McKinney, TX 75070)

Paul and Theresa Martin have great ideas for the artistic classes - we hope you will support them by coming on the weekend, or during the week. We will be here until Dec. 2nd, so come and stay with us before we leave!

How to describe these years? Awesome! The greatest home, the huge live oak trees (wish I could take those with us!!), the gardens, the staircase, the wood, the huge rooms, the gorgeous windows...these are things we will miss. Our breakfasts are going to be awfully quiet! We thank you for giving us wonderful stories, great laughs, and your awesome hugs. We have felt the warmth and true love and concern for us...and it has been mutual. I think when we close the door to all the great family and extended family events that have happened here, it will be hard to not be sad. But, new adventures await us! Please keep in touch! We could meet in downtown McKinney. Until we meet again!

Lovingly,
Judy & Bob Atkinson

Summer is slipping away!

What is happening to our summer? It is flying by! I can't believe this is July 4th weekend, which is HUGE here in Granbury. Our fireworks over the lake is an awesome, fast-paced show. The parade is on the 5th this year, but is truly small-town feel and look. We have everything full for the weekend, but come to Granbury anyway for the vendors on the square and the festivities.

Hopefully, we are only a tank away for some get-away time! We are going to fill up our car and take off for CO in July, joining us will be our daughter, husband and 7 year-old twin grandchildren, and son, wife and baby of 15 months. This will be our first family vacation and we are all excited about the experiences we will have exploring. Our bags will be packed soon! Meanwhile, Joy and Mac Morris will be inn-sitting for us. Our guests love them...they have been doing this for us for 10+ years!

So, enjoy your summer! We hope you have time to visit us at The Inn sometime soon!

Mountain Climbing/15 Months of Touring

What a diverse group we had here this past weekend - you never know who is coming and their stories! That is what is so exciting! From Florida, we had Ron, a mountain climber, but not just any mountain...how about 5 of the world's highest mountains including Mt. Everest! The procedure of climbing these peaks is fascinating. But mountain climbing is not his only interest/ambition. He and his wife, Dianne, have started a non-profit Climb for Cancer Foundation (www.cfc-foundation.org) with June being the "climb" in 50 states with "50 States + 50 Peaks + 1 Goal). What ambitious undertakings they are going for! We all were fascinated with their stories and their goals. His next big climb is just over a year. You can see the climbing on the website.

Ned and Tessa, from The Woodlands, told about their upcoming adventure. Ted is involved by being supportive at home, but Tessa begins a journey of a lifetime June 1st with 3 children, 9, 11, 13 in their 26' RV. No big deal? Oh yes it is. They are going to the Arctic Circle by RV, then all the way down to the Equator in about 11 months' time. Then shipping the RV to Greece and touring Europe, finally flying to China for 1 month where adopted daughter's heritage is. Total time for educational trip? 15 months. Tessa is doing this by herself, but Ned will fly to locations about once a month. We wish them all safe traveling!

Just an ordinary weekend at The Iron Horse Inn. Wow! Come join us!

Judy

Methodist Women Bishops were here!

The Iron Horse Inn B&B was privileged to host 12 Methodist Women Bishops last week for 2 days before their attending the Conference in Ft. Worth, held every 4 years in a different location. Coming from all over the nation, the guests were greeted individually by Methodist ministers from the DFW area at the airport, and escorted to Granbury. Much laughter was heard from this group of Bishops. A time for relaxation and communicating, they went on to meetings galore for a 2-3 week period. It was great getting to know these busy, religious leaders. Now we are switching hats and ready for a large group of Baptists who say they are more fun than the Bishops! I guess what happens in Granbury stays in Granbury! Judy

Welcome to the Iron Horse Inn Blog!!

Hi Everyone!

This is my first blog - and the first for our Inn. I hope you'll enjoy our comments from our weekends, for we do have some fun times. The 18 guests we had this past weekend were absolutely delightful. From a female tae kwan do 5th degree black belt instructor to 4 hilarious ladies from Houston to a couple becoming engaged Friday night, we had great fun at the breakfast table hearing their adventures. A truly warm, cuddly feeling about our special guests. Thanks for coming!

The weather couldn't have been better - the backyard flower garden is absolutely beautiful! Everyone was enjoying the swing and taking in the smells & sights...even the birds loved our pretty weather.

Exciting news for the Inn this week. We are privileged to host 14 Methodist Women Bishops from all over the nation. They are arriving Tuesday and staying until Thursday, then going to the Fort Worth Methodist Conference, held every 4 years. We will have a busy week, but exhilarating! Bishops are the highest level for Methodists; there are only 18 Women Bishops, so we are really thrilled that 14 will be coming. Watch for our next blog on this experience!

Hope you will stay tuned for the next adventure at The Iron Horse Inn.

Judy