#10 Burger -- Alamo Springs Cafe

I'm going to throw Texas a bone right now by putting the burger at the Alamo Springs Cafe as my #10 all time burger. I'm making it a provisional rating because one of my rules for rating burgers is that I have to visit twice before ranking the burger. But I believe this is the best burger I've had in Texas, beating out such mainstays as the Counter Cafe, The Cove, Parkside, Phil's Icehouse, Hut's, Mighty Fine, La Tuna Grill, Chris Madrid's and a few others.

Margaret did remind me of another great thing about the Alamo Springs Cafe: no other burger I can think of comes at the end of a more beautiful drive. As you head south from Fredricksburg on Old Antonio Road, you're treated to 12 miles of some of the most gorgeous scenery in Texas Hill Country. Perhaps that made the burger seem even more delicious, but so what.

My new buddy!

You gotta love donkeys. Well, I guess you really don't, since I know a woman who has a deathly fear of them (their hee-haws scare the crap outta her, and she was bitten by one as a child). But everytime I meet a donkey, it's sweet-natured, friendly and absolutely beautiful.

I met the one above while visiting a friend earlier today. He walked right up to my car, stuck his nose inside and let me pet him. I think he wanted a carrot or some other type of donkey treat, but he still let me pet him for a good minute or two. Then he started to follow me as I headed down the road. I had to back up and wait for his owner to grab him and lead him back to his yard. I could just imagine letting him follow me all the way home and then asking everyone, "Can I keep him?"

Texas in the Spring

When I first moved to Central Texas last September, the area had just been through one of its hottest summers ever. To put it bluntly, the whole place looked like ass, all brown and burnt up and dry. After a somewhat rainy but typical winter, my view of Texas didn't change, even as the hills started to turn green. Once spring hit, however, the area around my home was literally transformed by bluebonnets, indian paintbrush and other wildflowers. Now I understand why the locals think that Texas Hill Country is among the most beautiful places in the world. These pics were taken this morning just a few miles from where I live.