It’s pronounced like the color.

That’s the first thing you learn when you move to Texas. The Gruene Dance Hall has been operating since the 1870s, and some of the greatest names in Texas music have played there over the years. I saw George Strait there before he was famous, and I saw Pat Green play one of the best shows I have ever seen. You can go any day, but we like to go on Sunday because the shows are usually free.

Gruene is now basically part of the town of New Braunfels, about forty-five miles south of Austin. Peggy likes to go down, look in the shops, eat at the Gristmill and just hang out. Since our Friday night date got interrupted with more important news of our son’s pending nuptials, I decided to take Peggy down to Gruene after church to celebrate in style.

The weather was a little overcast but not too cool for shorts (it is spring in Texas, for goodness’ sakes), and the shops are always too cool. We walked around and listened to the music from the Hall, then we went to eat at the Gristmill. It is right along the river and used to be a working mill, but it is much more popular as a restaurant. You can sit inside or outside if the weather is pretty. Today they weren’t seating people outside. The only problem with sitting inside is you can’t hear the music, but the view of the river and the food are a good consolation prize.

When we were younger Gruene was where we would come to ride inner tubes down the river. When we got a little older we would come to New Braunfels to visit Schlitterbahn with Mike. In this area you can ride the Comal or the Guadalupe River, and the section of the Guadalupe right behind the restaurant is where we used to get out of the river. It was fun sitting here today and reliving some of those memories. It is sometimes hard to believe we have been together for more than thirty-three years to have all of these memories together. I’m counting on at least thirty-three more.

But I am not getting back in that river anytime soon. That water is cold!