Over the Thanksgiving holiday, we headed to the Hyatt Lost Pines in Bastrop for a quick, much-needed break.  The magnificent giant longhorn was there to greet us:

Although the gardens were not filled with colorful flowers this time of year, there was still plenty of brilliant color from the beautyberry bushes and yaupon holly bushes:

Sitting on a wooden bench under a vine-covered arbor, looking at the clear blue sky on a crisp autumn day, was a peaceful–if brief–respite from the frenzied work and school schedules that dominate our lives.

The next day we dined at Hudson’s on the Bend for our Thanksgiving meal, a very special restaurant in the hill country just outside of Austin.  In the parking lot, my son discovered his dream car, a Hot Wheels camaro:

I’ll buy it for him, right after my Barbie Ferrari arrives.  In the parking lot, we also stumbled across a local bar association meeting (I only get to say this because I’m a lawyer):

Vultures waiting for their next meal

Outside, Hudson’s on the Bend boasts a lush herb garden and charming patio:

There’s also a smokehouse, where the beginnings of some great meals are created:

The dining room is cozy and charming:

Among the highlights of our meal:

Coca Cola baby back ribs with chipotle BBQ sauce and mango jalapeno cole slaw

Smoked Duck Diablos (duck breast, jicama, jalapeño, and figs in balsamic, wrapped in applewood bacon with red chili glaze and dipping sauce)

Rosemary-crusted smoked beef tenderloin with jalapeño hollandaise

 Pecan-smoked duck breast shingled with seared diver scallops, with bourbon praline sweet potatoes and cranberry chipotle sauce

 Ancho-cured pecan-smoked wild turkey with wild boar corn bread stuffing and gravy, bourbon vanilla pecan sweet potatoes, and peppered cranberry relish

 Mixed grill — axis venison, rabbit tenders, pecan-smoked Bandera quail with honey cilantro ginger glaze, achiote-marinated buffalo, and spicy game sausage

The Wild Turtle (caramel pecan pie dipped in Belgian chocolate)

The last time we dined at Hudson’s on the Bend was about 5 years ago, and we took this picture of the kids sitting on the wooden bench in the garden:

Can you guess what the picture is taped to?  Our friend and astronaut Danny Olivas brought the photo with him into space and took a picture of it taped to a window on the space shuttle Discovery (STS-128).  (We had the coolest Christmas card that year!)

Our little getaway turned out to be shorter than planned because we had to return for a high school football playoff game, and what would turn out to be my daughter’s last high school marching band event (i.e., the team lost).  But it was a gorgeous day, an exciting game, and all in all, a pretty nice way to spend a November afternoon.  No complaints here.  🙂