Fort Davis Fadeaway

Although I started the weekend wiped out from having to wake up at 4:50am on Friday morning to catch my make-up flight out of Atlanta, Kate and I set the alarm for 6:30am Saturday morning so we could wake up and drive to Fort Davis.

As it turned out, Kate’s penchant for hitting the snooze button multiple times and my own piddling morning ways delayed us well past our planned 7am departure. We didn’t get on the road until almost 8. My windshield got dinged pretty badly on IH-10 and I made a mess of my Guayabera shirt while attempting to eat a delicious whole tomato, but the trip was otherwise unmarred.

We made surprisingly good time, too. I almost got the ol’ Civic up to 100 on U.S. 90 between Sanderson and Marathon before a Satan-sized buzzard in the middle of the road slowed me down. That turned out to be a good thing because I had to swerve into the emergency lane moments later when some shit-for-brains in a pickup truck tried to pass cars in the opposite lane without enough space.

I wanted to stop at Shirley’s Burnt Biscuit Bakery in Marathon, but they’d already closed for the day. We walked around the Gage Hotel a bit and salivated at the sight of their swimming pool. Their well-apportioned men’s room was festooned with an autographed photo of James Arness from TV’s Gunsmoke. I’ve always thought it would be kind of cool to have autographed photos of myself hanging on the walls of various commercial establishments, but maybe not so much in the pisser.

We arrived in Fort Davis about an hour later. It was 3:15, which was only 15 minutes later than we’d planned to get here. Kate made reservations at a B&B called The Veranda. It is housed in an old turn-of-the-last-century hotel. It’s a very quiet place with no TV, but they do have a middling wi-fi connection through which I’m coming to you now.

The proprietor warned Kate to advise me that the only room she had left was equipped with a tub but no shower. She said many men have a problem with that. I am not one of those silly, insecure men. In fact, we have purchased Mr. Bubble for the occasion.

We never really had lunch on the road, so we decided to grab calzones at Murphy’s Pizzaria and Café on the courthouse square. The calzones were much better than anyone has a right to expect in the middle of Far West Texas.

Then we took a late afternoon walk so I could work up an appetite for dinner at the Hotel Limpia dining room. Kate had grilled eggplant and tomatoes and I had burgundy-marinated roast beef with cream cheese mashed potatoes. We split a slice of obscenely rich buttermilk pie for dessert. Both our entrees were also really good, but if you want something unique at the Limpia, try their chicken fried tenderloin sometime. It’s so wrong it’s right.

The stars at night really are big and bright in Fort Davis. In deference to nearby McDonald Observatory, there are no streetlights. The night skies out here have a texture and depth that can almost make you dizzy if you’re not used to it. You can’t get much further away from hustle and bustle than this. Now if you’ll excuse me, it’s time for my bubble bath.

For a different point of view regarding our West Texas sojourn, click yo' self on over to Lone Star Kate.