We thought we'd been all over Central Texas but we hadn't been to Clifton! That's where we stayed for a couple of days on New Year's Eve weekend 2020/2021. Getting away after all the Christmas activities was pure joy and so much fun - we want to do it yearly now.
We stayed in the Dahl House, a Norwegian built home - in fact, this area is where Norwegian settlers congregated and that's why it's the Norwegian "capital" of the state! We spent a lot of time just admiring all the unique features of the house, from door handles and curtains, to a heart shaped stone in the fireplace and more. Jon was particularly enthralled with the metal cabinets in the kitchen.
The day we arrived it was rainy, and it was New Year's Eve, so we had planned our food and fun to be indoors. The house has a nice living area that was perfect for a fun evening. We dressed up (at least the top half!) and played games, did a puzzle, put together a toy, watched a show, and ate fun food. Above are a couple of things we packed to eat - great for traveling - sheet pan nachos and a tray of snacks! Look for these recipes in the magazine!
The next day the rain was gone, but it was COLD. We enjoyed a parfait for breakfast and then headed out to see the town of Clifton. We learned that the owner of the house also owned a car museum, and we really enjoyed that (lots of other memorabilia in the museum, and art). We heard The Bosque Museum was worth seeing, but it was closed on this New Year's Day, as were lots of places. We ate lunch at a Mexican food restaurant (in the car of course) called Los Verdes - it was just okay. It was our only option!
We then drove a loop through a few small towns including Norse, Cranfills Gap and Meridian. It was a nice and pretty drive, and we spotted a German food drive through! Heard it was good, as well - but again, closed!
Back to the house for dinner and a movie, and more games. We had bought several games/ puzzles on that large table Marshalls has out at Christmas full of fun things!
For dinner it was a chicken croissant sandwich - another easy travel food!
Our last day we packed up and left, and decided to vintage shop in Clifton - there were several stores. Our favorite ended up being the Market at the Mill. On to a few other small towns, including Valley Mills, Crawford and McGregor. Had lunch at a stop in McGregor (Coffee House Cafe, I think! - great fried pickles!). Bought a cool basket at Junk for Joy...hmmm...can't recall which town that was. The shops were great! Jon even found a cool new coffee house in Crawford where he stopped and observed the roasters and bought a couple of bags of beans! And Tonkawa Falls In Crawford was worth a stop, for sure - a great place to return to in the spring!
This getaway was super fun, and would even be more fun when everything is open. However, we knew it was a holiday weekend and were thankful the house was so cool and a place to hang and play and eat. The TVs there were a bit small, but we didn't mind it. There was ample room for dancing and dining and creating ambience for a New Year's Eve to remember!
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