Welcome To Home To Home

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Hi, I'm Alexa.

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And I'm Rory. And together we are the Romies. We're a husband-wife duo and longtime travelers who believe travel isn't just about where you go. It's about how it shapes the way you live when you get home.

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On the Romies podcast, we explore where to travel, how to travel, and why to travel. The Rowland is creativity, wellness, and everyday life.

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We're calling it this season home to home. As we travel near and far, we're sharing the ways we bring inspiration home. Daily rituals, business and design ideas, and the renovation of our historic picture upwards.

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It's all about making travel tangible, livable, and meaningful long after this event.

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So whether you're planning your next adventure or reimagining the life you're building at home, you're in the right place.

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Now, let's get into today's episode.

Tubing The Frio River

SPEAKER_13 1:01

Oh, look up, look up! Get off! Almost smashed you.

SPEAKER_12 1:14

She said lift your butt up when you hit the rope. Good advice for that time.

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I gotta take control. I'm gonna grab a ground. Listen to that. Whoa! We're cruising now.

SPEAKER_12 1:54

Y'all, that was us on the Frio River in Uvaldi County, Texas. This is our U is for unique episode. Welcome! Uvaldi County not only starts with the letter U, but it was the perfect setting not only for Rory and me to get away for a weekend to enjoy ourselves and the beautiful, refreshing outdoors, but it also offered so many unique experiences that we left with a new memorable favorite, and we highly suggest that you add it to your bucket list. And you know, it's not that far from San Antonio, maybe about an hour and a half, and that's a place many people love to go and explore and visit. So when you do, we suggest basing out of Uvaldi County and then just day trip up to San Antonio and spend several days in Con Cannon, Utopia to soak up time in this crystal clear river in Uvaldi County. It is so peaceful and unpretentious and wonderfully laid back. I love our river in Waco, but it's very dark and muddy. So on our tubing adventure, we found the Frio to be so crystal clean and clear. It was beautiful and astounding. And one reason is their cleanup efforts with their yellow bags. And Lauren with the Uvalde County Visitor Center, who is sponsoring this episode, so thank y'all so much. Uh, Lauren took us to Frio Fergie's at Seven Bluff Cabins. And so while we were waiting for our tubes, Lauren shared about the yellow bags. Tell us about the yellow bags.

SPEAKER_11 3:21

So the yellow bags are biodegradable bags that are used for out when you're out on the river and you find trash. You can put it in the yellow bag and then deposit it in one of the dumpsters that has our logo. It says river trash only on it. And that's how you help keep our rivers clean.

SPEAKER_12 3:37

We had so much fun and we didn't think we'd find ourselves finding trash just like floating along the river. But as we went along, it kind of became this sort of fun scavenger hunt game, like keeping an eye out for trash and trying to maneuver over to go get it. So cleaning up the river was not only a way to give back while we travel, which you're gonna hear more about in our next episode, but it was also just fun and rewarding. So thank you again, Frio Fergies, for those great tubes.

The Yellow Bag Cleanup Challenge

SPEAKER_12 4:03

The Frio River, F-R-I-O River, is one of three rivers in Uvaldi County. And we met in the Frio. Yes, I said in the Frio. We sat and chatted with Christy to tell us about the region. I am here with Christy Greenwald. She is the what is your official title at the Uvaldi County Visitor Center?

SPEAKER_09 4:24

I am the executive director. So really that means that we are promoting tourism for all of Uvaldi County. And we also focus on river cleanup and stewardship for our three rivers, the Frio, the New Asis, and the Savannah River. So this area encompasses three rivers.

SPEAKER_12 4:42

And then like how many cities? Because we're Uvalde County, but there's it's it's big.

SPEAKER_09 4:48

It is large. What are we, what are we doing here? So in Uvalde County, you of course have Uvaldi. You've got Montel, you it goes into Campwood, which all those two are on the New Aces. You have Con, Utopia, and Concan is on the Prio, Utopia is on the Sabanal, and then you also have Sabanal, which is on the Sabanal. So it is quite a large area. Okay, great.

SPEAKER_12 5:12

We have found it's such a fun place to just enjoy the river, enjoy nature. And that's why we are taping and filming this little segment um at the river because it's such a happy place. And I'm sitting here with my feet in the water and it feels so good. Um, what are some of your favorite things to do or and that you find a lot of people love to come here and enjoy and do?

SPEAKER_09 5:34

If you are on the Frio, Mills dining room is a must. Hippy Chicks is super fun as well for dinner. Of course, tubing the Frio. If if people say Con Can, they know you're on the Frio River. So tubing or just hanging out, sitting in the water, playing on a rope swing. I love to kayak the new Aces. So our family will put our kayaks in and kayak for three or four hours, um, which is definitely unique. There's not restaurants, it's very rustic and rural, but you know, also another beautiful, pristine, clear river. And then Utopia, as you found, um, has some really cool spots as far as um pie at Lost Maples and the Blue Flame, which has live music. And then you can go to Utopia Park and hang out on the Savannah River, and it is beautiful. Birders love it, families love it for fishing. Um, if if you're out and about, you'll always see people, uh especially locals, just hanging out there.

SPEAKER_12 6:32

We've already experienced locals enjoying the birding and all of that that's here, or you know, maybe people are coming for bird watching, so that's really fun. And yeah, we love that there are two U cities in Uvalde County for our U episode. So very fun. Now you mentioned like some of the restaurants and things like that. And wait, where do you grocery shop?

SPEAKER_09 6:52

Like, we are not near any kind of we we saw some chain gr gas stations, and I saw one family dollar on the way to Utopia. Well, so if you go to Frio Country store here, they have groceries, okay. A pine can store, which is kind of the minutes that's on Highway 83. You can grocery shop there, or after that, you've got Bear Market and Lakey, or you go to Uvaldi and you've got HEB and some other stores. But there are definitely some little shops here where you can grocery shop. Actually, Utopia has like a farmer's market. Um, they sell all their own fresh produce, so you can almost just go there and shop for freshly grown produce. So good.

SPEAKER_12 7:34

Now, is there a Walmart at all in any of these cities? In Uvalde. Uvalde. So Uvaldi is gonna be your place to go.

SPEAKER_03 7:41

Super Walmart even.

SPEAKER_12 7:42

Yes, so Walmart, ATB, so some you're gonna find some chain stores. Like how do you get like Target or TJ Maxx or anything like that there?

SPEAKER_09 7:51

Nope. Okay, no. So Uvaldi is the largest city in the county. We've got 16,000 people there. So you do have a Walmart and an AGB and a Bell's, which is kind of like TJ Maxx thing. Really, you're gonna department store vibe, right? Yeah, department store, but really you're gonna go to Main Street Uvaldi to the local shops like Stillian's and Nibita and Dollhouse. There's a whole slew of shops downtown that are super cute boutiques. Um, quite can't the same. You've got Prios Drive 50, local on the Prio. So you've got really cute kind of boutique vibes, or you can find whatever you're looking for, kind of all prices. So good.

SPEAKER_12 8:31

I just yeah, it just gives it so much more character and it's more unique because you are not bringing in all of these chain stores, but you have all of these unique offerings. And I just that's really, really fun. Christy, you mentioned earlier you're part of some of the conservation and cleaning, like when Rory and I got to go tubing on the Frio, so fun. Totally loved it, but the water is so clear, and I think that one of the reasons is because of your efforts to keep the river. Wait, that's like my guess, but tell us about like what you're doing with all that.

SPEAKER_09 9:06

Absolutely. So we utilize plot tax dollars, so hotel occupancy taxes. We are the only county in the state of Texas that has legislation that is directed towards river cleanup. So 25% of all of our funds goes directly to cleaning up the river, all of the river. So not just the Free U, but also the Sabinel and then the New Aces as well. So we have the Yellow Bag program where we ask people to take those on their tubes or kayaks, but also we do river cleanup scholarships. So if a group wants to come and earn money, they'll come, they'll float the river, or they'll, you know, even at the new ACES, we'll send them to a crossing and they will go and clean up and then we write them a check as a scholarship for their help, really to just build good stewardship in the area so that people are cleaning up and keeping our beautiful rivers pristine. I think the other thing that's really cool is during the summer, we have full-time river cleanup crews. So we have a great group of guys who are just out here. They're tubing, they're kayaking, they're at all the crossings, and they are making sure that all the trash is being picked up and they're picking up pop tubes along the way, but they are really working hard to keep our rivers being clean. So it's amazing.

Three Rivers And Small-Town Stops

SPEAKER_12 10:20

Christy was also telling us about the impact of the recent flooding in the area.

SPEAKER_09 10:26

We wanted it to be under a certain amount. So, you know, we watched the cubic feet per second of the Frio, but we also watch the new ACES so that we know, like, hey, what's happening here, what's happening in our county. And most of almost all the outfitters at the Frio, I mean, they didn't even rent tooth. If it's flooding and they know it's too fast, they're like, no, it's a total risk.

SPEAKER_05 10:48

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_09 10:48

No, they're very good. Every the community works really closely to keep everybody safe. That's yeah, it's gonna be amazing. Three weeks till the flood clears. That's it was crazy. It was a long well, and that that nuasis flood was historical levels as well. So it wasn't on the Frio. The Frio did flood, but not at that level. So the Nu ASUS was historical levels, uh, but it was probably three weeks before we were comfortable uh kayaking. Yeah, and we did kayak with life jackets. I mean, we always have them, but we were really careful to just kind of like let's be careful. But the community in general is very good about watching that and knowing what's happening. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_13 11:29

You live and die as a community out here, bro.

SPEAKER_09 11:31

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_13 11:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 11:32

So for lodging, what it what do people do out here for a hotel or a stay? So if you are looking for lodging, depending on where you want to go, if you look at visituvaldecounty.com, we actually have a lodging page and it's broken down now. We have a new website that we think is amazing that you can actually look on it and say, okay, I want to stay in Con Can or I want to stay on the New Aces. Um and you can look up all the different lodging wherever you want to go. So right now we're at Frio Country Resort. This resort is on the river, but there's a ton here, you know? We're literally in the river at the resort. But there's a ton, we have a lot of lodging in Concan. If you want an Airbnb, that's an option. Um, you've bought Neil's lodges, of course, that you saw. Um, there's so many, it's hard to name all of them, but there's some off the river that are beautiful as well. You all, I think, stopped at seven Bluff Cabins. That's also on the river at a crossing. They have been around a long time as well. So you've got people who come back to the same places, but then you have people who are looking for new things. You know, where else is there? What's to be offered? So if you want a house that sleeps eight families, that's an option as well.

SPEAKER_03 12:44

Yeah, for such a small town, they have loads of lodging here. Yes, we uh you just turn off the main strip and everywhere you go, there's lodging.

SPEAKER_12 12:50

Absolutely. But you're not gonna find a holiday inn, you know, you're gonna you're gonna find these non-chain options. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_09 12:58

If you're looking for hotels, if Uval D City does have hotels, you know, and I feel like that's you've got hunters that stay there, but you've got hunters who stay in Hong Kant. So I think it just depends on what you are looking for and what price raise they're looking for. There's really something for everyone.

SPEAKER_12 13:14

Yeah. Now we were talking with Christy in the Frio River, which we access through the Frio Country Resort, and it has great cabins and river access. So we were able to connect with them for parking passes, and they'd be a great consideration for lodging, not only because of their fun cabins, but their convenient location to hop on and off the river. There is also food for everyone, especially at the Blue Flame, that offers a brand new menu every single week. We're gonna have you join us there now for some lunch and a chat with Laura, who owns the Blue Flame with her hubby.

Weekly Menus And Live Music

SPEAKER_12 13:48

We are here with Laura Kasai at the Blue Flame, and we're so excited to talk with you. Thank you so much. I know you're so busy. Yes, so it means so much that you came out and talked with us. Okay, there is there are so many things going on here. I don't even know where to start. You have food, you have live music, you have a little market. Yes, and there's I'm sure there's more. And you do events and all this kind of thing. And so how did it all start?

SPEAKER_10 14:14

So I put myself in school bartending in college, and my husband had a little studio in Far Oaks, and we ended up working some events together, and it was one of those like a studio because he's a musician? Yes, okay, yes, a recording studio, and we ended up standing in the corner of a lot of events saying, Man, I think, I think we could do this. And you know, it's one of the things like, oh, we could do it so much better. Right, right. Sometimes you got to put your money where your mouth is. And so it was always our dream to have a place of our own. And we've been together almost 14 years, and it's just been a pipe dream, and opportunity literally came and knocked on our door. I mean, that's how we bought this building. The previous owner wanted to retire. She literally came into our propane office and said, I like you guys, I like your family, and I want you to buy my building. Whoa. And I'm gonna give you a great deal. And she did. And so I was about nine months pregnant when that opportunity came and knocked, and we were not feeling like we were in the position to make that kind of a decision. Um, but we just couldn't say no. And we had been open for two years at our previous location, which was very rustic. You know, it's we have a big warehouse and our propane office takes up half, and then the other half was just empty. And people would come in all the time and say, you should do something with all this space.

SPEAKER_12 15:41

So you own the propane company. My in-laws own it.

SPEAKER_10 15:44

Okay, it's in the family, wow. Okay, wow. Yes, and so it's a family business, and that's how we got our name, the blue flame, propane, you know. There you go. Yes.

SPEAKER_12 15:57

And by the way, I will say you mentioned this location, which I failed to mention, which is uh it's a big deal because this is our episode with the letter U, and we are in Utopia. Yes, we are. And so this is really cool that it's in we are in Utopia hearing about the blue flame and hearing about these very cool things. Okay, so go ahead. So you're managing the utopia location of that.

SPEAKER_10 16:20

So that was like we are we built a little corner stage and bought a couple of ice chests and tried to start. And it was really what kind of motivated us to do that was because utopia's been dry traditionally. Oh, okay. When we dry county area, okay, dry. It's actually just a dry precinct. Uvaldi county is not dry. It was literally just Utopia. And like can some areas around Concan were dry as well. Okay. And then I think it was the election year that we voted in Biden or Biden's year.

SPEAKER_13 16:51

We did not vote in but uh he was voted in.

SPEAKER_10 16:55

Yes, when he was voted in past it past year, barely like we're talking like 49 to 51, barely. Wow. Um, but so there's been two other places in town that have opened and sold zoom beer. Okay. They're both closed now. Wow. Very only place in the area where you can come have a glass of wine and a nice meal. And so the competition is low, but our consistency and our quality is what's giving us so much success. We there's a lot of redundancy out here, you know. There's a lot of good restaurants, but they make you know the same thing, and so it's easy to get a little tired of it when there's only so many options, right? So we made the decision um to change our menu every week. So every week we have a brand new menu. Every week we have a new menu. So fun. Um keeps it interesting, it keeps it fun. We're definitely not bored. Um, it teaches us a lot. You know, there's always new techniques and um how you visit all different kinds of cuisine. I mean, we've made pretty much everything from classic American to Asian, Greek, Mexican, I mean South American. Last week we did this month, is beer hall month. So last week was Bavarian. So we're in our talking with you in October. So you've got the Oktoberfest theme. Yes. And so last week was Bavarian, this week was Polish, next week I think is gonna be Czech. And so it's fun, it keeps it interesting. And people always want to come back and try it. And sometimes they come Thursday and have one dish, and then they come Friday and have the thing that they didn't get. Right, right. It's yeah, yeah. We have quite a few regulars and it's great because they just they want to see us do well, and they want to benefit from it as well. And so it's a very cohesive unit out here, you know. It's if you try to stand on your own, and even though we're out here, you know, we could all kind of have to stick together because this can be tough in the rural area.

SPEAKER_12 18:53

Yes, for sure.

SPEAKER_10 18:54

Yeah, and so we started just like I said, you know, very small, and we did that for two years, and we hosted a few festivals. The eclipse came through during that time, and so we had a big eclipse festival. Where we had lots of campers and stuff on here, and we cloud busted the eclipse. It was so cool, and it was so much fun, and uh then we had our Maritobia festival after that, where we had all those fans and artists and vendors, and that was our our big push, and that's where it tested us to our limit, but then we realized that you know we laid in bed after the end of it, and we're like sometimes it works out like just two days. Like it almost killed us when we wanted to do all tomorrow, not tomorrow, but you know, and then uh we had so we started, you know, we really wanted to give local musicians a place to come and be the incubator and where they could come and practice on a smaller stage in front of more intimate audiences, build up their confidence, and then go out and play other places.

SPEAKER_12 20:01

And we got a reputation for having good sound, for really taking care of our artists, and you have good sound because someone who is your husband does really good sound. He's pretty amazing.

SPEAKER_10 20:14

He's incredible as a musician in his own right and super passionate about what he does. He puts his heart and soul into every show, no matter how big or small it is. He wants it to be perfect, and he always gets really good results. And he's definitely why we have found our niche in the Texas music scene. And it's his willingness to, I mean, he he will run sound for practically anything, you know, and he's just trying to make connections and bring people in. And because we're so far away, sometimes that can be hard. But yeah, yeah, you're out there, you know, meeting musicians, it's working hard, it kind of can come to you. It's been happening. Yeah.

SPEAKER_12 20:54

Amazing. Yeah. And tell us about why this makes such a good music venue.

SPEAKER_10 21:00

You'll notice that there's not a seat in this house that really faces away from the stage. And even when we set the chairs, we always bent towards the stage because we want people to know that that's where it's there. We have acoustic treatment on the ceiling, it's under every table, it's under every chair, it's in the flooring, it's in, you know, the choice of the furniture that we purchased, it's in everything. Our big panels that hang from the ceiling are full of recycled denim so that they're safe to hang over, you know, food because you can't hang fiberglass over where we eat. Yeah. Um, and so we had to get a little creative. How do you learn that that in the first place? So my husband can research anything. That man is annoyingly smart. He is practic, I mean, he to say he's a genius would not be far off. He can he can learn anything and he's willing to put in the research and the time that it takes to do it right. Yeah. Um, and so my father in law built the frames and stuff done and hung them, and you know, he'll watch. Around he's flapping corners of the room trying to make sure that it's right. Like, no, I need another piece of it. He's like, listen to this. And I'm like, and he's like, I gotta hang another piece, which got so good. Yeah, I love it. So we this place it comes alive when there's people on that stage, and it's just amazing to see. You know, we stand behind the bar and we kind of we look at what we've managed to build in such a short amount of time, and it's just it's great.

SPEAKER_12 22:28

It's super fulfilling.

SPEAKER_10 22:30

It is, it really is. And watching it slowly and steadily improve and get better. And you know, we have people who come in like, oh, we heard about you guys, and they're not from here. And I, you know, meet people in San Antonio and they're like, Why are you buying all this stuff? And I'm like, Oh, well, you know, I own a restaurant. I say, Well, what restaurant? I say, The blue flint. I'm like, wow, I've heard about you guys, or I've seen you on social media, which is strange for me, but you know, so we're getting out, and that's a good thing. Yeah, we do pretty minimal advertising for this. We really advertise for the shows, and so but people really are coming for everything else as well. Yeah, so the stone is original to the building, the building's almost a hundred years old. In fact, when we ripped up the vinyl that was in here, you could see the impression of the original grocery store fixtures in the foundation, and so there's a lot of energy. That would have been hard to get rid of. Yeah, we just covered it up, you know, still there's a blessing. It's still there. Yes, but perfect. My husband laid this floor board by boards. Yeah, we did everything in the building. We we put we took the drop ceiling out, put in the new ceiling, we put in the floors, we put in the bar, of course. We painted.

SPEAKER_12 23:49

Here's our room to home segment, Rory. She can teach us something that we need to do at the home.

SPEAKER_10 23:53

We'll do it ourselves. We, I mean, the only reason we were able to build this place is because we were willing to put in the swag. We need we did not we didn't take out a, I mean, of course we have a mortgage on the building, but we didn't, you know, take out a big loan to do the renovation. We have to bite off chunk by chunk, and every dollar we make, we're reinvesting into it. This summer we redid our kitchen and it costs a pretty penny, but now the flow is great, the Kwang Shui is great, of course it's clean and to code, and we've got our certificate and everything. And so it's a great bit, right? You know, but it's just bit by bit, every day, every week, we're thinking of a new project. You know, what's gonna be next? What can we improve on? You know, what do we have the ability to do? What has to wait? You know, it's always a shifting of priorities. Sometimes things break and we have to wait and fix that thing or you know, whatever it is, yeah. Um, buy a bunch of wireless mics, you know, for an event or whatever. But it's it's good because we're not getting overwhelmed and there's no one beating our door down saying, Hey, better be successful, or we're gonna uh, you know, I'm gonna take it all away from you. And so it's very homegrown.

SPEAKER_12 25:09

You're you're able to do it on your terms and do it in a way that is manageable for you and is also a passion project. Yeah, and that's we enjoyed it.

SPEAKER_10 25:19

Yeah, yes, we do that's so how we try to live. We we say, you know, that we're first and foremost a music venue and then a restaurant with the bar. We don't like to advertise ourselves as the bar. Yeah, and you'll notice, you know, we don't have yeah, I mean, we came here for lunch for free. We don't have ear signs up, we don't have neon signs up or anything like that because we're really family friendly. We have a playroom in the back. I mean, people come and they're here for hours, you know, with their family and having a good time, and it's become like a center of fellowship outside of you know, religious contracts and stuff for people to come and just be themselves and be with their friends and have a good meal and listen to good music. Safe, safe, safe, yes. Um, we have a lot of outdoor space that's about to be renovated. A green uh there's a greenway that runs down the whole back of this wall. That'll be raised beds and gardens. We feature a lot of local produce from local farmers, and we're gonna start growing a bunch of our own as well. That's work. Yep, it is, but like I say, we have an organic gardening company. So I know yeah, tell us yeah.

SPEAKER_12 26:24

So so you run the propane, you manage the propane.

SPEAKER_10 26:28

We manage the propane company, we have Atopin Organics, which sells bulk soils, seeds, amendments, anything you could need to get your garden going. And then Black Bugatti, which is our sound and light and event company. And then I meant you have that.

SPEAKER_11 26:40

So just a few little kinds.

SPEAKER_03 26:44

It's a good thing you don't have any children.

SPEAKER_10 26:46

Except for the two that we have.

SPEAKER_03 26:48

Except for the two that you have.

SPEAKER_10 26:49

Yes, a five-year-old little boy who just started kinder and a 20-month going on 20 years.

SPEAKER_03 26:56

You don't have to worry about it. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_10 26:57

Right, right. Oh, yes, yeah. They're general, that's why we have a playroom because they're mostly here all the time. They're having a little fall fun at the Bandera County fair with their grandparents. Bandera County hasn't had a fair. I don't know if it's ever or in like decades, but it's a new big event for our area.

SPEAKER_03 27:16

So that's fun. I used to love well, parish fairs. I've used it. So we're actually guilty, but yeah, I used to love those.

SPEAKER_12 27:23

So if someone's coming to visit Uvalde County, this that could be a maybe an interesting time to come. Yeah, during if they do another county fair next year or in future years.

SPEAKER_10 27:40

But we have maple trees out here and they call them the lost maples. And why are they called lost maples? Because they don't generally grow here, but for some reason, in this area of Texas, but for some reason with the elevation and the temperature fluctuations that we get, specifically in this canyon and the rivers, they change colors and they're beautiful and they look like they're practically on fire, and it's such a contrast to our you know environment. But gosh, it's breathtaking. It's really, I mean, we get those few good weeks in spring where it's cool and the flowers are blooming, but man, nothing there's nothing like fall out here. It's awesome. That really is. We have our market that features, you know, we have teas and candles and woodwork and paintings and jewelry, and it's all made by local artists. Everybody lives within about 20 miles here, even though we research what the term local means in that actually incomes a 250 mile radius. Really? If you were to you know put a painting utopia and do a 250 mile, you know, circle, the culture and the area, the geography, it's not the same. And so no, we're like local to this in the Savannah Canyon. And it there's so much talent out here and passionate people, and we just want to be the place where they feel like they're welcome and right, and they have a space to create. Yeah, yeah. So good. Yeah. We were just part of the Teratex Art Festival that happened in Lakey either last weekend or the weekend before that. And they did And Lakey's also in Uvaldi County. Am I saying it correctly, Uvaldi? Yes, Uvaldi County. They did they're having a bird scavenger hunt. So there's two birds painted here, and then there's, I think, 30 birds painted in and around the county, and it's a scavenger hunt. It's all on local businesses, and so you can go and you know, bird, bird watch, and they're painted life-size and in a manner that makes it look like they landed wherever they are, so they like they're supposed to be there. So y'all can try to go find out later.

SPEAKER_12 29:40

Oh my gosh, that is so fun! Yeah, we just finished a hike this morning at Lost Maples and ran into a group of ladies that were bird watchers, which is and it was just really fun to meet and talk with them just briefly. And just like I was like, How did you all meet? And they're like, So they're bird watching. But Rory, when he got our parking pass or our visitors pass for the park, yeah, they're at the I'm I guess it's a ranger station, the Welking Center Ranger Station area.

SPEAKER_03 30:09

There was a huge chalkboard outside, and it said birds or something like that. Birds seen birds in the area, and people had written in, you know, everything that they've seen. Holy cow, yeah, there must have been close to a hundred out of them on their way to Mexico.

SPEAKER_10 30:24

Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_03 30:27

So apparently, the the and the bird watchers had told us that they get a ridiculous variety of birds who specifically come through this area.

SPEAKER_10 30:35

It's it's cool to see the type of person that this area attracts because we're so far from everything. I mean, we're an hour and a half from an airport. You know, you if you want to come here, you're coming for the area itself and not for a specific attraction. And I think that's beautiful. Yeah, you know, there's not many areas that are untouched, you know, like this it is out here.

SPEAKER_12 31:01

Yeah. Yeah. Well, we're having fun uncovering what those things are and discovering them for ourselves. And it's it's it's just it's we're really enjoying ourselves.

SPEAKER_10 31:10

It's a beautiful weekend to do that. I mean, it is out there right now. And just last weekend it was, you know, 120 degrees.

SPEAKER_12 31:18

We were originally gonna come last weekend and ended up with the rain. We thought it would be raining.

SPEAKER_10 31:22

So the rain stared quite a few people off last weekend and then it didn't rain at all, which is how it happens.

SPEAKER_03 31:28

It was so this is the better weekend, yes, and it's beautiful right now.

SPEAKER_10 31:32

Yeah, good. And generally, our second Saturday is a market day. Most of my vendors are at the county fair this weekend, but every second Saturday we do market days and it's free for youths and non-profits to come instead of table. We have people who come and they'll do produce or eggs or juice or baked goods or whatever they want to do. And it's just love it.

SPEAKER_12 31:53

Now, do they do that outside or is it inside the building? Okay.

SPEAKER_10 31:56

Every once in a while, that's both. A couple weeks ago, I had an expose of Damian Kempers, who is a local craftsman. He's the man who did our bar, and he did a big expose in here, and we he makes anything, but he had a bunch of audio cabinets and a bunch of others. Oh, because that's the one of his back there. Yes, that's one of his, and there's one up there, and things he could do were just incredible. If you need anything made by wood, yeah, Damian Kemper's your man. Great.

SPEAKER_06 32:20

Yeah, beautiful work back there.

SPEAKER_10 32:22

Yes, absolutely.

SPEAKER_12 32:23

Like I said, there's a lot of talent in these hills, and and you're providing a place for people to a place to show it on. Yeah, love that. Yes. Okay, one last question for you. So our theme for this season is from Rome to Home. And so things we're it might be that we bring home a recipe, something that inspired us. Yeah. We we have a 1916 home that we need to renovate. And so it's like renovation ideas or whatever, but sometimes it might be business ideas. So my question for you is y'all are very much like me, I feel like, because not only are we doing a podcast on travel, but we also are touring singer, songwriter, musician people. We I've started a tea company, yes, and I have a nonprofit for teen girls.

SPEAKER_03 33:12

And I just finished my first book manuscript.

SPEAKER_12 33:15

Yeah, he started do writing more like book books, not just only songs. Yep. And so, and and one day down the road, we we've always talked about that we would have a restaurant, and it's kind of been joking, but we know we're not joking, like all at the same time. And so he would have his cage restaurant, I have my venue restaurant.

SPEAKER_03 33:31

But yeah, anyway, and since I'm a big band, like I'm sort of like a Harry Gonnick Jr. in my artist thing.

SPEAKER_06 33:37

Awesome.

SPEAKER_03 33:37

So I have a big band. So if I have a restaurant, I want it to be a venue also. Yes, like both, not one or the other. Yeah, that's what it is. Integrated, yeah.

SPEAKER_12 33:48

So we have things we're currently doing, but they're because we're just one person, you know, I'm just one person. Sometimes Roy and I do things together like this podcast, but like a lot of things I'm just doing like on my own. Yeah. And I want to do all of them. I don't want to have to pick and do one well first, you know, because I'm probably ADD, everybody says I am, I've never been diagnosed. All the best. So, yeah. So, my so my question is what is a good way to manage that? Should I focus on one thing? How can you wear all the hats? How do you choose which hat goes on which day? Yep.

SPEAKER_10 34:22

Um, well, navigate. I guess, and also on top of that, we my husband and I are both. My husband's the president of the education foundation, which supports the local school. And I'm the president of Mom City Utopia, which is a local mother's group and nonprofit that supports community activities. Yeah, and he coaches Little League, and I coach soccer for Utopia. And so we're literally the all the hats and the spinning plates, you know, at this time. Yes, we uh we take it day by day. A lot of days require us to wear most of the hats. And, you know, my husband, he takes a lot of that burden of the business and the numbers and that, and can kind of leave me to the domestic, the creative, you know, things that I can do while I have the kids at home. And we come together and we work on a lot of it together. But I think what makes us so successful in our ability to balance it all is our willingness and to trust the other person that they're doing what they need to do at the same time. And so when David and I do events, he's doing his thing and I'm doing my thing. And it's rare that we're checking each other because we just both know what we need to get done. And we're able to just put our head down and focus and get it done because we know that the other person is also doing their best. And I think that comes from just, you know, as you know, several years together and partnership and friendship and building that trust. And um I would say that taking it just bit by bit and not trying to get overwhelmed by the big picture, because that can be really scary. You know, like we've with all the projects that we have with the garden and the beer garden and we have the building in the back, that's gonna be a dance hall eventually. Um, and behind that, there is another space for a stage. And so if we think about, you know, all of these, you know, things that we're trying to achieve, it's daunting, overwhelming. But if we just go at a pace that's comfortable and sustainable for us, we know that we're not gonna, you know, get burned out, we're not gonna, you know, hopefully not gonna want to play in the middle of it because we're just doing what we can as we can do it. Yeah, we're we're limited by things we can't control, you know, school schedules, propane schedules, family and these things that we can control. And so we've had to find a way to balance all of that, and it's only by doing it literally minute by minute, what needs to be done right now, what's in weight, what needs attention. And that's the other nice thing about being so in control of our restaurant is that on weeks where we do feel overwhelmed or a staff is sick or something is broken, we can change the menu to accommodate what we're able to do. And on weeks where we know we're feeling froggy, you know, we drive to the coast and buy a bunch of fresh fish, bring it back, we're making fresh fish for everybody, and we try to just give ourselves as much grace as we can while still focusing on being good parents and being good people and good spouses because that's the core of it, right? The rest is all insignificant if you can't be everything falls apart, exactly. And you know, people told us, they forewarned us, you know, like don't start a bar together. There's like some statistic, like couples who start bars together, you know, if they divorce and whatever, and we're like, well, thanks for that encouragement. It's not a bar, yes, correct, right? So it's a restaurant, it's a music venue and a restaurant with a bar. There you go. There we go. Yeah, and you know, when we do the dance hall, we might make it a little more honky tonky, but yeah, but at the same time, there's a really high demand for beautiful venues out here. There's a handful of funny venues, but they're all pretty big, like it's a lot of greenches and stuff. And so we might try to tap into that more intimate elopement, yeah, you know, sector soon. But see.

SPEAKER_12 38:26

And how do you choose focusing on the dance hall right now as your next big project or focusing on the green space or something? Is the beer garden? It's probably gonna be our so why why choose the beer garden over the dance hall right now?

SPEAKER_10 38:42

What because the dance hall is gonna cost about three times more. Okay, it needs a power upgrade, which involves new power poles and a moving utilities, which involves pandarians.

SPEAKER_12 38:55

So finances kind of are like, okay, we can right now manage this part, we can manage the beer garden right now. So that's what we'll do first. And we'll in the meantime be saving up for the dance hall, continuing to research, prep all that. It's not gone away.

SPEAKER_10 39:12

Yeah, it's an it's an original building, so it means a lot of work, but it's got great bones, and so we really want to do it with respect to the area that it's in. Um that's been our design plan throughout this full process. Is it we want you to feel like you're being wrapped up in Texas when you walk in here? So that's why we chose the yellow pine and the limestone and the blue and uh you know, in the scents that we burn for our candles and the furniture and everything. We want it to be a reflection and a respect of where we present. Yeah, I think that makes it a little bit more unique. You is for unique, yes, uh and it's so our mascot is the buffalo, and so buffalo roam, you know, is you know, yeah, that's right. There we go. That's our black mud things up here. They're wild out here, and they just we saw some in cages today, too, on the drive. A lot of exotic ranges out here. Yes, driving by just see a zebra. Yeah, love it.

SPEAKER_03 40:15

Some of those must have escaped at some point to be out of the wild.

SPEAKER_10 40:18

Yeah, but they're beautiful. Wow. Amazing.

SPEAKER_11 40:21

Yes, definitely.

SPEAKER_12 40:22

Well, I know we've kept you from your kitchen. Thank you so much. Thank you. We really appreciate your time. Yes, thank you. Thank you guys. Good luck on the rest of your trip and safe. Thank you.

SPEAKER_05 40:34

Yeah, you

Pie Stops And Seasonal Dining Reality

SPEAKER_05 40:35

too.

SPEAKER_12 40:35

It was so fun talking to Laura and her taking time away to chat with us and inspire us how we can bring our roam home. And while we were in You for Utopia at the Blue Flame, we went over in Utopia to the Lost Maples Cafe for some dessert because we were told that you have to eat the chocolate pie at the Lost Maples Cafe. So we did, and we just went and said, Okay, we're supposed to come eat chocolate pie. So hook us up with some chocolate pie. And so we just said, you know, two slices, and she said, Well, we have the chocolate with meringue.

SPEAKER_03 41:20

Chocolate meringue and then chocolate pecan.

SPEAKER_12 41:23

Mm-hmm. And we're like, So we said give us a slice of each one of each.

SPEAKER_03 41:27

Tea and coffee.

SPEAKER_12 41:28

Mm-hmm. So that's what we did. And then so we tried both, and they were both really yummy. And one thing that I liked about the meringue pie, the chocolate and the meringue pie. It felt like it wasn't just like a bunch of sugar chocolate. I felt like I could really taste like the chocolate and then like the sweetness. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_03 41:53

You could taste the chocolate pie was chocolate. That's good. That's good for a chocolate pie. That's something you really want in a chocolate pie, is for it to taste like chocolate.

SPEAKER_12 42:02

Right.

SPEAKER_03 42:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_12 42:03

Now, if they said go taste like the apple pie or something like I don't I don't do apple pie.

SPEAKER_03 42:07

Oh, I could have done the apple pie.

SPEAKER_12 42:08

I don't do fruit pies. I just want the real fruit. I don't need all the stuff. But I would eat like a chocolate pie or a lime refinery.

SPEAKER_03 42:15

You did eat the chocolate pie.

SPEAKER_12 42:16

And I did eat the lime pie.

SPEAKER_03 42:17

Two of them.

SPEAKER_12 42:18

Not a bunch of things.

SPEAKER_03 42:19

I mean two different kinds. Right. Right. Coffee was good too. I enjoyed the coffee.

SPEAKER_12 42:24

They're specials there from what we hear. Like if you're gonna go there for a meal meal is the chicken fried steak and their lamb something they're looking for.

SPEAKER_03 42:32

Yeah, they get their lamb locally. So they're lamb sliders, maybe she said.

SPEAKER_12 42:36

So those are the things if you go when you go that you are the local things.

SPEAKER_03 42:42

So then apparently chicken fried steak's big in this whole area, so which I could fully embrace and pre and appreciate.

SPEAKER_12 42:52

And so then for dinner, we went to Hippie Chicks and they are closed for the season. And so we're gonna see if we can get Christy to tell us about the different seasons here because we're hearing here and there, like, oh, it's closed for the season, closed for the season. And the main restaurant for hippie chicks was currently closed, but they are making their right now, because it's you know the end of the season or whatever.

SPEAKER_03 43:20

And the Big Nil'100. So everyone's in town partying for that. So they gotta be open for that.

SPEAKER_12 43:26

So they have the pizza at their bar. So they had live music. So this is another place that had live music. Yep.

SPEAKER_03 43:36

It's all an outdoor courtyard. Big outdoor courtyard courtyard. Really cool vibey. Yeah. The whole using found items to make things out of 'em. What was that at in Finland that year we did the Trash Art. Trash Art. Yeah. I mean, a lot of them. You'd think, Oh, this is trash art. Like there was an old rusted out bed frame with the springs in it and stuff, and they'd be chandelier. It was overhead. Yeah. So I mean That kind of thing. Very unique. All of the stuff is very unique. Everything around here we've seen is really unique to the area. It's got its own vibe and everything. Really cool. Makes you want to settle into it and just enjoy your time and really take the time to be here and sort of become a part of what's going on because there's a definite culture. The locals are all super friendly. It's not like you're walking on their turf. I mean, they have all been really friendly and embracing and welcoming. So that's that's really cool. You don't get that everywhere.

SPEAKER_12 44:37

And what I really appreciated about Hippie Chick's Pizza is that they had an all the veggies option for their pizza. And so it was all their veggies. But you know what one of their veggies was was spinach and basil. And so you could put actual green things onto your pizza.

SPEAKER_03 44:59

But see, vegetarians.

SPEAKER_12 45:00

And so they got extra points from, in my opinion, for having like good ingredients like that for your pizza topping. And that made me really happy.

SPEAKER_03 45:10

But they failed to tell you that there was fruit on your pizza.

SPEAKER_12 45:13

Just a tomato. I know.

SPEAKER_03 45:15

Still, like it's all veggie and fruit.

SPEAKER_12 45:18

Most, most all pizzas have fruit because most of the time. I'm just saying, I'm just saying use tomato sauce.

SPEAKER_03 45:25

Yeah, but what I appreciated was their meat lovers' pizza.

SPEAKER_12 45:28

Of course.

SPEAKER_03 45:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_12 45:29

And and I will say, I think, you know, in this town, just in general, Cajuns win. Oh, this region is all like we're gonna just cater to the Cajuns.

SPEAKER_05 45:41

Meat.

SPEAKER_12 45:42

So the vegans, like you're gonna have kind of a hard life here a little bit. And uh I would people appreciate it.

SPEAKER_03 45:51

They're you know, they don't mind you being that way. It's not like they're gonna ridicule you.

SPEAKER_12 45:54

They're just not catering to that crowd. They're not catering to the vegetarian vegan crowd. Nope. You can find things, you're not gonna starve, you're not gonna starve, but this is definitely like, you know, the Cajuns win this blue town, yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_05 46:10

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_12 46:10

I will say too that the best salad that we had that was at the Blue Flame.

SPEAKER_03 46:17

Blue Flame, yeah.

SPEAKER_12 46:18

Because she said, you know, when she spouted off the menu, I and you know, everything was like meat. I was like, okay, so I guess I'm having french fries for lunch. She said, Well, you're gonna have french fries and a side salad. That's okay.

SPEAKER_03 46:29

Their side salad's really beautiful because they have an organic business themselves, gardening business. Yeah. And the salad looked beautiful.

SPEAKER_12 46:36

Yeah, it was. It was good. So it it had a lot of fun things on it that were not, it wasn't just like a like here's our head lettuce with like some tomatoes and croutons. Like that is to me, like so unappealing. And so this was a pretty salad with lots of different fun things in it. It was unique. That was a very unique feature. So they win, they win.

SPEAKER_03 47:00

I didn't have to eat any of it, but you know, it was it was pretty pretty to look at. Just kidding. I do like a good salad.

SPEAKER_12 47:06

Yes, yeah. So anyway, so they'll win the salad. But we saw the salad that they were serving at the Lost Maples Cafe, too, and it looked like they were having mixed greens also. So I think even if you went there and asked for a salad, you would not have to eat just some head lettuce with a little tomato on it. So that's good. You're gonna find a vegetable, you know. It's just gonna have some other things with it.

SPEAKER_03 47:31

They eat vegetables.

SPEAKER_12 47:32

They eat vegetables, they're just cooked with meat or next to it or with it.

SPEAKER_03 47:36

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_12 47:37

There you go.

SPEAKER_13 47:38

Hopefully.

SPEAKER_12 47:39

Team Cajun. Now, a place we ended up getting to eat at across three different mealtimes was Neil's, from nachos to chicken fried steak, their veggies, potatoes, and fried chicken. And y'all, the weekend we visited was during the Neil's 100 celebration. Having a family business that stands the test of time and can stand strong and grow for a hundred years, that's unique. So the weekend was full of unique food, stories, hay rides.

Neal’s 100 Years And Family Legacy

SPEAKER_01 49:06

It's a celebration that we all share in. We said it earlier, but shout out to Uvaldi County, the Frio Canyon, all of our families that support us so much in that region constantly to come up here. We're sharing the celebration with all of you, the traditional families that are the ones that have made this happen, generations making this your family tradition. You're the ones that built this, and then, of course, the ones that built it before us between the nails, the grays, and the cannons. I'll just say one more time, I'll explain the support again. We ride on the shoulders of giants. Everything we see is because of those people who built these grounds that we're on right now. So God bless those families. One thing we all share in together are the values that built this place. We represent those values inside of Joe Jimmy's as well as every piece of ground here in Con Can that the Neels family built. Values of family, values of God, values of country. And we all share that together, and that's what keeps this place going and keeps y'all coming back. So thank y'all for that. Every single night here at Joe Jimmy's, we open it the same way. We're not changing tonight. I'd like to recognize any first responders, any military who might have in the crowd. Thank you for holding the line for us the way that you do out there. Thank you, and may God continue to watch over Neil's lodges and each and every one of your families for the next hundred years. Let's get this party started.

SPEAKER_12 50:27

So we enjoyed an evening of live music from touring artist Kyle Park over at Joe Jimmy's. Everybody was up and dancing, and we found something totally new and unique to us, pickle pops. What? Wow. That's unique. This is just pickle juice.

SPEAKER_00 50:50

And our friend here from Neil's at Joe Jimmy's says that you'll see them at like Lily concession stands. Yeah. You'll sell them.

SPEAKER_12 51:07

Is it to help with cramps? Is that why they're they do it again?

SPEAKER_00 51:11

If they like pickles, they little pickles. It's just if they like pickles.

SPEAKER_12 51:19

Wait, we sell the pickles. That's unique.

SPEAKER_00 51:22

We sell the pickles to the same prize. There's a pickle pop. Okay.

SPEAKER_12 51:29

All right. Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 51:33

Pickle pop. Tells like pickles. Tastes like pickles. When he gave it to me, he said it's been curing in their basement for six weeks. He was joking. Don't drop it. It'll fall off. Don't let it fall off. Oh my. It's pickles. It's pickle juice.

SPEAKER_12 52:04

That's unique. We also attended the Sunday morning service that was out on the green area that provides a great open green space just outside of Neil's dining. Our new friend Emily, a fourth generation Neil, will tell us how the area came to be. This area? Yes.

SPEAKER_04 52:20

Oh yes. Oh, hi. Hi. So Neil's backyard are some of the, I guess, what are we, fourth generation Neil's cousins that decided to open up this little area out here. They I guess I'm thinking like four years ago, maybe or five years ago. And it's so cute. They do wine-based margaritas that are very delicious. You can put the tahine on the rim, too, which I'd never had that before until until here. And it's I definitely recommend that. And then um beer and wine as well. And it's always good vibes. Everybody's hanging out, waiting for their reservation at meals to go eat, or just hanging out after dinner. It's a perfect spot.

SPEAKER_12 52:55

So this green space has seating areas where you can sit and enjoy the live music. Kids can run around and play. And then chairs were lined up in rows under a tent for this special Sunday morning service. So for this service under the tent, there was a sermon, but also stories and memories of Tom and Mimi Neal were shared to help give us a sense of why this family was so foundational to the area and why they were and are so well loved. Here are a few little clips and stories from our new friend Helen, who is third generation. She shared at the service and also took some time with us in the little museum that they set up with memorabilia and old photos and slideshows to help tell stories around this amazing family.

SPEAKER_08 53:36

A father. So he was a circuit riding teacher and he went from town to town. And his mother wrote her memoirs. And what she said was, and we moved to so and to whatever town it was, and we had a cow and a horse and a block and you know things. And she said, and he put it, my husband put up his stilts. And so she went on to recount the rest of her life story. And so the children said, We need to tell you why she put that in there, is because he had to walk all the time, you know, from from city to city or community to community. And uh so he wore stilts because he could get there faster. You know, expensive and it makes sense, doesn't it? But anyway, so that's just funny. All right, we're ready for this. Which was like 29 pages of it. So she she actually wrote the memoirs. Well, she wrote a sentenced. 1897. And now y'all know the rest of my story. No, we don't, you know, we do not know the rest of the story, but I'm doing that with my book because I'm going through the 60s and the 70s, because that's what I remember. And then the 70s, 80s, 90s, and 100s. I'm gonna put y'all know the rest of the story.

SPEAKER_12 55:12

Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly, right?

SPEAKER_03 55:17

They'll have to do what you're doing, yeah.

SPEAKER_08 55:20

Uh those are they all? No, so they were they were all in good shape, yeah. And then uh mama made us clothes. So that's Susan, that's John Thomas, that's me, that's Kayleigh.

unknown 55:32

Wow.

SPEAKER_12 55:34

Helen, where do you fall in the lineage of the Neils?

SPEAKER_08 55:39

Okay, I'm a the third generation. Okay, and there were nine of us grandchildren. Wow, from Tom and Mimi. Right. Okay, because Tom and Mimi had two daughters, Mary Tom and Billy. Billy was married Jack Grays from New Valley, and Mama, Mary Tom, married John Buchanan from Dallas. Okay. And he came up here and loved it. Well, he loved mama more. You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah. And he was in World War II, he was in Korea, you know. So he I have his story too that I'm gonna pass on one of these days. But yeah, Billy and Jack had five children. Okay. Mama and daddy had four. Okay. Mariana, Helen, I'm the second one, okay, and Susan and John Hoffman. So yeah, we grew up here, and it really was a nobody got mad at anybody's play. So playing, we went to the river, and we lived in a valley, and we ran through the streets. You know, it was in the 50s when life was just like Zommer Rock. Well, we're jumping rock. Simple and free. We still own the dining the dining room. Rose is owned the dining room. In fact, it's true. I own the Kevin Cabins. Okay, and Gail and the Graves, Graves on three of us drive fifteen. Okay. Yeah. Y'all been over there? Yes. Yes, loved it. So and then my sister owns, she's one of the sound. Yeah, it's still we're still part of the family. It's the same legacy. We have the same same thing. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 57:14

Alan, why did Tom and Biden Neal end up on the Fredo River county long ago? Tom Neil's father was the Methodist preacher, and for many years, the Reverend Neil, Father Neil, started the Methodist ministry as a conference, circus writing preacher. After a time and divorce failing, and he needed a change in career. He decided to attain Vanderbilt University or earned his medical degree. Within joining the race, the Reverend Neil opened a medical practice in Mount Home, Texas, the form of the body. In about 1900, he purchased the Neal Range near the Freel River in Connecticut. Neil was the youngest Neil's son after he contained his studies at Southwestern University. Their love is beautiful. They're loved the people and love the fans that created this kind of paper.

SPEAKER_08 58:33

And we have some more people. Have y'all been to the dining rig yet?

SPEAKER_07 58:36

All you kids served at the restaurant at waitresses. Which I'm even a little bitty. Yeah.

SPEAKER_12 58:44

But tell us about this swimming hole. Mentioned it in the video over there.

SPEAKER_08 58:49

You go back to the highway, cross the river. And it's it says the swimming hole, but there's a gate that's it's where y'all swim or we have access to this side of the river. Okay. Because we own that side. So that's where you know all of our memories are going down there. Yeah. And and and we used to have hay rides and we had hay ride a hay ride last night, but we used to have hay rides, start at the start, and it would go down that side of the highway, down the hill, and it would turn around and go in with shallow water and cross water. Nice. So everybody really liked that. Yeah. Can't do that anymore.

SPEAKER_12 59:29

Now is the swimming hole just private to your family, or is it like people can come to the swimming hole?

SPEAKER_08 59:34

Private. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. And then my sister inherited it, so she's leased it to her daughter. Okay. And they are only open during the summertime.

SPEAKER_12 59:48

Okay. And so when when when people hear talk about like the season and like certain restaurants are closed at this season or whatever, what tell us about like back in the, you know, when Mimi was here, nobody was coming, so they closed in the wintertime.

SPEAKER_08 1:00:06

And it was just for uh Memorial Day to Labor Day that it was open.

SPEAKER_12 1:00:10

Memorial Day to Labor Day is like the season. Right. Okay.

SPEAKER_08 1:00:13

So it's tough because it it's a different week because like right now, there's no place to eat on the weekdays here. Yeah. Uh which is crazy. You know, there aren't enough people around. I can remember working in the dining room. If we had one family that got a genius, we fed them. Yeah. You know, I mean it was important. I can remember cooking, waiting tables, cooking, and serving, you know, and then taking their money because we just, well, everybody, it money was important. You did what you could to to make money, not and I have uh a letter that somebody wrote in, I think it was in 38, and they wanted to rent a cabin here with my poor grandparents. And you want that cabin that we're good for $12, $6 a night, $12 for the week. $12 for the week. $12 for the week. It's a pretty good deal. Yeah. Amazing. No, no, just just the cabin. Right. And and not only that, they we had so many people, but they needed an extra car for 25 cents.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:25

That's awesome.

SPEAKER_08 1:01:27

So nobody had funny back there.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 1:01:29

Yeah, we we had fun water. So we we washed our car in the river. That's not us, but we washed our cars in the river. And we also took our bass in the river. Okay. Why not?

SPEAKER_12 1:01:42

It's there, right? Yes.

SPEAKER_13 1:01:43

Spring fit.

SPEAKER_08 1:01:46

Thank y'all for coming.

SPEAKER_12 1:01:48

Both Christy and Helen mentioned Frio's Dry50. We met Emily there and got a little more insight.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:54

So uh hi, welcome to Frio's Dry50. Hi again. Um, so I'm just everywhere. You are. But uh so our family used to design shirts. My mom and my aunt used to design and sell shirts for the Neil's Lodges for years. And back in the 80s, they decided to kind of open up a separate little shop here where my aunt would hand-do designs with paint pens and gel pens, and they would do some screen printing and adding and embellishing to it. 1985 is when they first opened this front room right here. And over the years, we've kind of added on. Like every 10 years or so, we'll add a little it is not a small store. From the outside, it's very deceiving. It definitely looks a lot smaller from the outside. People think we're a bar or that we're like a little, just a tiny little shack. And then they get in here and they're like, it just keeps going. It keeps going for sure. And uh, and so yeah, we're on our 42nd summer. We just finished. Uh, and so now there's my mom, my sisters, and I, and my other aunt, we all design and order the shirts, and we always get uh suggestions from everybody who's come, we'll listen to the customers would they want to, and and uh and yeah, so we're just thankful that people still come and visit and want to buy shirts and and uh get their souvenir while they're on vacation up here. So I love it.

SPEAKER_12 1:03:06

One way to bring your roam home.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:08

Yeah, if if a fellow wanted a t-shirt or a woman wanted a t-shirt or a cap or some really awesome, cool thing to take home, or sunglasses, or something.

SPEAKER_12 1:03:20

There's more, yeah, it's more than just t-shirts here.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:22

No, oh my gosh, you have to come in and see it. There's pretty much everything you can imagine, including really cool things to hang in your shop on the wall.

SPEAKER_05 1:03:32

Oh, yes.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:33

Really cool stuff, yeah. For like a guy, you get it.

SPEAKER_12 1:03:37

Like a wood shop?

SPEAKER_03 1:03:38

Any shop.

SPEAKER_12 1:03:39

Oh, a man cave.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:40

A man cave. Absolutely. You could like decorate your entire man cave in here, and it would be like the coolest in Texas. I'm just saying.

SPEAKER_04 1:03:49

Another thing, too, our name is the Frio's Dry 50, and everybody wants to know what that means. They always think it's because it was a dry county until recently. Well, so back in the day when this was pasture land, you know, when you would send cattle to a back 40, that's what they called it. Well, this was always the dry 50 because it was 50 acres without a weld on it. So they just knew to kind of push them on through this little area. So whenever they built the first little building, they were like, Well, what should we call it? And they're like, Well, it's the dry 50, so let's just call it Frio Dry 50.

SPEAKER_12 1:04:19

So yeah, that's

Trip Tips And Roam To Home Takeaways

SPEAKER_12 1:04:20

how it's y'all catch some live music with amazing talent and sound and good food at the Blue Flame in Utopia. Experience the stores, restaurants, and cabins out of the Neil family legacy, dance at Joe Jimmy's, tube the frio with tubes from Frio Fergie's and bass out of the Frio County Resort. And y'all, we took such a great hike during our visit as well. We got to hike Lost Maples, which was gorgeous. And we got to see Monkey Rock. And we're not gonna spoil it for you. We want you to go see Monkey Rock for yourselves. You're gonna love it. We'll show that to you on socials and tell you a few stories there. But tubing, hiking, shopping, and of course, y'all, my favorite visit camp river view. Stay and camp there andor rent some paddleboards from them and paddle the free oh. Oh my goodness. So much fun to paddle and float, especially in such clean, clear water. You can just hop on a paddleboard and see where the water takes you. Plan your visit now to Uvaldi County and thank you to Uvaldi County Visitor Center for sponsoring this episode and for all your efforts to keep the rivers clean. I hope that it catches on to other areas and cities. We took home, you know, this is our Rome to home segment. We took home a unique hymn medley to propose a similar arrangement for an upcoming app project we've recently been a part of called Hymnify. So you'll hear more about that in an upcoming newsletter as its release unfolds. So sign up for our newsletter either through our website, theromies.com, or email us and just ask us to add you. You can email us at infotheromies.com. Uh we send at max four emails a year, if that. So we do definitely do not bombard you. We don't have time. Anyway, we were inspired by their very unique hymn arrangement medley that they performed. And we're taking that home with us. I also came home refreshed and ready to dive into being at home for a while. I have been booked in a local theater production. So this was a great mini vacay getaway vibe for me before being home for about three to four solid months, which I don't know that we have done that in years. And so that is also unique. Um, we brought home Laura's advice for our business endeavors and how to manage and choose what to start when next. We have so many dreams and ambitions, and we're so glad you're here to walk with us as we embark on them step by step. And we can manage them in a way that is not overwhelming, but keeps life fun. So we really appreciated Laura's advice on that, and we'll continue to kind of absorb that and apply that in our decision making. And Helen kept saying that they had so much fun growing up there in ConCan, and we want to keep life fun. Unique Uvaldi County and its wonderful people helped remind and teach us how to do just that. So go to visitUvaldiCounty.com now. Start planning your next getaway to unique Uvaldi County. Thanks again, visit Uvaldi County. We can't wait to come back soon, and we will see you all on the next one. Bye. We hope we've inspired you this episode.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:36

So join us next time.

SPEAKER_12 1:07:37

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SPEAKER_03 1:07:40

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SPEAKER_12 1:07:42

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SPEAKER_03 1:07:45

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SPEAKER_12 1:07:56

At www.theromies.com.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:59

That's right, that's T H E.

SPEAKER_12 1:08:01

R O A M. I E S dot com. We'll be there until next time. Yeah, thanks for listening. Bye.