May God shelter your soul,

kind love, and sympathy.

 

New Braunfels Cemetery

Peace Avenue

New Braunfels, Texas

5.1.2015

bird in the window

 

From the alley, it appears that the chicken wire on the Henne warehouse window holds a bird captive.  On second glance, it's a broken pane.  The alleyside of Henne Hardware was much more interesting that the side on San Antonio Street, although the two-story building retains some of the ornamental Victorian embellishments.  Louis Henne began the Louis Henne Company in 1857 at the age of 17 upon the death of his father, expanding the family tin-smithing operation into general hardware and mercantile. The downtown store was built in 1893.  Evidently this mid-20th century sign didn't fit the Victorian architecture so now it resides in the alley.

 



Henne Hardware
New Braunfels, Texas
5.2.2015

she said yes

 

As I drove up to Dry Comal Winery, I noticed an interesting tableau on the front lawn - empty wicker chairs, a lace-covered wine barrel, wine and cheese.  After I parked and walked over, a young couple wandered up, arm-in-arm.  I chatted about what a picturesque scene this was and the young lady answered, "He just proposed to me here" -- about an hour and a bottle of wine ago!  As an impromptu engagement gift, I offered to take photos of Chris and Cara.  I also received an invitation to the wedding -- as photographer!

 



 

Dry Comal Winery

New Braunfels, Texas

5.1.2015

watchful observers

 

I think the best time to visit an urban downtown without the hustle and bustle is Sunday morning.  I did just that on Sunday in New Braunfels.  I'm sure that when the Spass Walking Tours offers a stroll through the past, they didn't mean the alleys.  But I sometimes find the alleys more interesting than the streets.  As I wandered the backside of buildings built around the turn of the century (1900s that is), I was alone except for these two feral cats who kept an eye on me as I walked behind the McAdoo Seafood Restaurant, housed in the former 1915 Post Office.

 

New Braunfels, Texas

5.3.2015



guadalupe river

 

It's great weather for a nice drive along River Road to Canyon Lake.

 

Guadalupe River

New Braunfels, Texas

fall reflection in black and white

 

Guadalupe River

New Braunfels, Texas

11.24.2013



truth in advertising

 

For those of you dying to know, the difference between a coffin and a casket is the number of sides.  A coffin is six-sided (think Western coffins buried in Boot Hill); caskets are four-sided rectangles.  The adjacent window awning of this business reads "monuments" which a more elegant word than "grave marker."  For more information on coffins and caskets, visit the Tombstone Tourist's blog  A Grave Interest.

 

Heritage Memorials

1996 S. San Antonio Street

New Braunfels, Texas

5.1.2014

chon's place

 

What first caught my eye on this building were the diamond windows.  Chon's Place (I first misread the sign as Chong's but a closer look corrected me) is the kind of joint that looks closed but likely starts jiving after dark.  I probably won't be in the vicinity after dark.

 

Chon's Place

2007 Spur Street

New Braunfels, Texas

fall on the guadalupe

 

The nip in the air this morning signals the approach of autumn -- and brings memories of past journeys to places with fall foliage.

 

Guadalupe River

New Braunfels, Texas

11.25.2011

hoity toit...an upper class establishment

 

Bright colors and butterflies seem a strange choice for a beer joint's decor.  I get the pool table, peanuts and juke box, but what's with the Indian in an airplane?  Guess I should have gone at night and asked.

 

Hoity Toit Bar

Torrey and Lakeview

New Braunfels, Texas

"before the cock crows"

 

Amid blustery winds and gray skies, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of St Martin stands stalwart among the commercial enterprises built around it on the Loop 46.  Like many old churches, St. Martin's steeple has a rooster.  Wonder why?   One story has that in the ninth century A.D., the pope reportedly decreed that every church in Europe should show a cock on its dome or steeple, as a reminder of Jesus' prophecy that the cock would not crow the morning after the Last Supper, until the disciple Peter had denounced Him three times (Luke 22:34). Because of this story, "weather cocks" have topped church steeples for centuries, both in Europe and in America.  The rooster also points to the dawning of a new day, and to the joy of the resurrection.  Whatever reason this church has probably had its rooster since it was built in 1851.

 

Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. Martin

New Braunfels, Texas