Day Two in Brenham, Texas

On day two we enjoyed a leisurely morning starting with a gourmet breakfast at the Brenham House Bed and Breakfast created by our host and hostess, Susan and James Lopez.  We started with a homemade sorbet, enjoyed a lovely breakfast of deviled egg benedict, cherry tomatoes with herbs, and ending with pancakes garnished with whipped cream and cherries.  Yummmm! Several of the ingredients were from their kitchen garden in the backyard.  Sigh.  Wish I could eat like that every day (you know, where someone else does the cooking and cleaning up!) Ha!

After a nice chat and that great meal, we set out for the Antique Rose Emporium. What a great place -- their mission has been to save heirloom roses and other plants, taking cuttings from old homesteads and graveyards in Texas, along country roads, etc.  They have quite a collection.  Of course, I bought a beautiful rose to commemorate the birth of our first grandbaby this year - I found the Katherina Zeimet, as KT's name is Katherine. We also bought several other plants for the yard.  It's hard not to go crazy there, so be warned!

After the garden, we stopped at the Windy Winery since it was nearby.  Had a great tasting of the wines they make and bought a few bottles to share with friends.  Very nice couple and great to talk to.
A stroll through the downtown antique and knick-knack shops followed.  

Then back into town to see the Blue Bell Creamery and find out where the "little taste of heaven" is made.  What a bustling place!  Crowded!  We had a cute little film about the history of the company and then got to see the production and filling lines.  They were making vanilla (they run vanilla every day since it is the #1 most popular flavor) and a berry flavor that day.  Another room was where they were making several of the stick novelties, and ice cream sandwiches.  Nice that they are not open on the weekends - they like to close so that their employees have the weekends off.  Must be a nice place to work.  We ended with a scoop of our choice of flavors.  I took "Grooms cake" and John stuck with a favorite of his, "Chocolate Mint." 

We finished off the day at the Pleasant Hill Winery "Wind Down" where we had some great wine and a cheese tray out on their great deck.  This was obviously a favorite of the locals because they had a pretty steady business. Of course, we brought a few bottles home to try another day.  

All in all, Friday was great fun.  It's all we could do to get back to our cute little room at the BandB and crash!  More tomorrow!