Our last morning in Brenham started with egg scrambles, roasted red potatoes, sausage and followed up with the BEST lemon bread pudding. Of course we had our fresh fruit and orange juice to go with it. Too soon it was time to bid Susan and Jim goodbye, load the car (including those yummy leftover cookies) and head out to pack up as much in our morning as we could.
Today it was finally Brenham itself and not a nearby community. We had stopped by the visitors center on the way back from Chappell Hill so my navigator had her lap full of brochures again. There is a nursery in Brenham, Ellisons, that supplies thousands of poinsettias throughout the nation, we were fortunate enough to see them as they were busily growing up and getting ready for the Christmas season. Nobody was around to ask if I could take a picture so I didn't ... but it was a neat thing to see. They also have a greenhouse filled with tomato plants, and a pick your own deal. We should have known our luck had run out when we saw the woman leaving as we were coming in...with not one but two large plastic bags filled with nice ripe juicy maters... will have to go back another time I guess.
I did find a cute train - wish it lived in my yard.
Quite by accident we found the Giddings-Stone Mansion. I got all excited because I thought the sign Pat pointed out said Estate Sale at the Giddings-Stone Mansion. Boy, I was going to be all over that. Darn, it was by the mansion in a humble little home. But we did get to see the mansion and it was beautiful.
Giddings - Stone House
This house was completed in 1870 for prominent Brenham banker, lawyer, and landowner Jabez Giddings (1814-1878) (for whom Giddings, Texas is named) and his wife Ann (1822-1902). It was later owned by their daughter, Mary Louise, and her husband, Heber Stone, the son of Galveston Mayor Dewitt Stone. It is a late example of the Greek Revival style and features a center passage plan and a five-bay, two-story porch with Doric columns. Late 19th-century modifications include metal balusters on the second floor, a side porch with smaller columns, and servants wing at the rear.
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark 1991
Pat's pile of brochures lured us to Fireman's Park for the Flying Horses Antique Carousel. There is a wonderful history of the carousel on the Brenham's Parks and Recreation Page. It is housed in a 16 sided building built by the WPA in 1935 to house horses.
The sign tells us that as adults we can't ride on the horses, only in the little seats. So we just watched and I waited for a chance to grab a picture without a child on the horse. It wasn't easy, the place was busy.
The grounds around the carousel were beautiful and I wandered around snapping flowers right and left. Lots of contrasts in their gardens that I loved. Nope, not going to apologize for this one being even more photo heavy than most....just sit back and enjoy the beauty in the order they were taken as I wandered around.
Elsewhere in the park there is a veterans memorial and a maypole.
There were bricks honoring the veterans both on the walk way and embedded in the walls surrounding the memorial. Very well done and sobering.
We expected to go look at an antique carousel and leave, instead we had a delightful time in a beautiful park.
BUT!
There were antique stores to poke through and downtown Brenham to explore...so off we went!
Brenham itself is a town filled with history, as is all of Washington County. In fact the brochure we picked up lists 147 separate historical markers in Washington County. (Walt, I see a road trip!!!) Brenham is also the home to the best ice cream every sold commercially and I would say made at home too. Blue Bell Creamery is headquartered here. It has been Walt's dream to have a direct pipeline from the creamery to the house. No objections from me. We didn't take the time for a tour unfortunately.
Courthouse
Fire station with antique fire apparatus in the glass building.
One of the many murals that adorn the buildings in Brenham.
Pat, as always, it was a fantastic time! Promise you get to drive next time and tease me as I get us lost while I try to figure out which Number 7 on the map is the one we want. So where are we going next????
Listen for those whispers, you never know what you might find.
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