In a spontaneous rush to get the kids out of the house, a friend & I ended up in the historic district of Gruene (pronounced "green"), Texas. Our destination was an antique store, which, with five kids in tow, ranging from 1-8 years old, and all my life's experience had warned me, was NOT a good idea. But I'm a glutton for punishment, and a sucker for adventures, so off we went!
And luckily, we were able to get my husband away from the football games and join us (one of the few times I've been grateful for internet/data plans on mobile phones). He was someone familiar with our destination and the added adult body meant we weren't so severely outnumbered by excitable kids.
Amazingly, we got there, the kids were very well behaved, and the town was overwhelmingly charming and quaint. Everywhere we looked, there were gorgeous landscaping and picturesque details.
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| rustic fencing of Grapevine, enclosing a lovely seating area filled with barrel tables and a cozy fire pit |
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| the wooden facades on the buildings and well thought out plantings adds so much to the district |
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| Antique bikes by the Old Time Photo studio. Not sure what I could do with this, but the boys got a kick out of it. |
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| Old western covered wagon. We took lots of shots in front of it, where there are hay bales, barrels, and whiskey jugs to scatter ourselves. |
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| This swinging bench is so simple, but so very inspirational! |
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| beautiful classic pump water feature |
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| My little model was very enamored by the sound and movement of the water |
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| This part of Gruene Mansion Inn just explodes my mind with possibilities. |
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| A lovely green lawn with elegant backdrop gives kids lots of room to play |
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| My little one feeling out the field for me |
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| The barrel planters in front of Gristmill gives so much life and charm to the streets |
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| How can I get a rusty of sign for myself? |
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| The boys were helping me explore the breadth of the land |
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| Having little kids with me really helps me to see the details which I might have missed from my grown up height & point of view |
We were only able to explore a small corner of Gruene before we had to move on to forage for food (eating ice cream takes up a lot of time, but doesn't fill the tummy very well). This easily became one of my new favorite locations, and I predict many more return visits.
To be continued!!
Mui Chao
Photographic Artist
3 comments:
I'm actually doing a shoot there tomorrow! Very nice pictures!(: What parts of Gruene do you suggest for family portraits?
- Calcote Photography ^
my apologies for the late reply! Gruene has so many wonderful hidden little spots, you really need to scout it out. Wander around the restaurants and allies, even the rustic bathroom doors could potentially be wonderful for portraits. It depends on the look you have in mind.
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