A Day in Round Top, Texas

Last Saturday was a beautiful fall day, and one packed with good times.

In the morning, Dan attended his first Sons of the American Revolution (S.A.R.) meeting, and was inducted into it. His Revolutionary patriot was John Judd, born June 27, 1761, in Waterbury, Connecticut. He served as a private for Connecticut and, later, for Pennsylvania.

At 11:30, Andy, Kay and I drove to the library, where we retrieved Dan from his meeting and set out on our two-hour trip to Round Top, Texas.

Round Top is a tiny little village, a haven for antiques, art galleries and eclectic gift shops.

Despite its size - population 90 - Round Top is home to a world class center for performing arts, known as Round Top Festival Hill. The Festival Institute was established in Round Top in 1971, by concert pianist James Dick. The campus, today, has grown to over 200 acres and includes a chapel, a number of historic homes and other buildings, and spectacular landscaping. The centerpiece of the campus is the Festival Concert Hall. The interior is breathtaking, with all of its custom-made woodwork. (If you are interested in details of the woodworking, take a look here.)

The Festival Concert Hall.

Entrance gate to Edythe Bates Old Chapel 

Edythe Bates Old Chapel

Interior of the Concert Hall

At Festival Hill we met up with some of Andy's family, and enjoyed a concert by the Baylor Brass Quintet, composed of five Baylor University professors. They performed a great variety of pieces - some classical, some more contemporary - in the Festival Concert Hall.

After the concert, Andy, Kay, Dan and I drove to Jack Allen's Kitchen, a fabulous restaurant in Round Rock (different from Round Top), where we had a late dinner before returning home.