Lifestyle

Memories from a Texas Hill Country Childhood: Better Than Video Games

By  | 
Tony Maples Photography

 

I have vague memories of my first game console. I think I was in fifth grade when I received a Playstation 1 for Christmas. My first games were Toy Story, some racing game (my favorite, though I don’t remember the name of it now), and one other that I forget the name for as well.

So, you see how memorable that was for me. It didn’t consume my childhood or every single spare moment, and I wish that wasn’t the case nowadays.

Sure, I remember enjoying the challenge of completing a hard level in a video game, but it was never the same sentiment and excitement as the memories created with friends and family around the best parts of the Texas Hill Country.

Memories from a Texas Hill Country Childhood: Better Than Video Games

Photo: brokenspokeaustintx

Two-stepping as Willie Nelson played at The Broken Spoke. We would each take turns with the guy who could spin us around the best on the dance floor.

Memories from a Texas Hill Country Childhood: Better Than Video Games

Photo: saltlickbbq

Eating amazing BBQ at the Salt Lick or County Line in Austin lives on in my memory. This BBQ has brought the family around the table for many birthday parties and family reunions throughout the years.

Memories from a Texas Hill Country Childhood: Better Than Video Games

Photo: pacificwarmuseum

In the summer, I remember dropping off my little brother at Camp La Junta in Hunt and then stopping for ice cream, a history lesson at The Nimitz Museum, and shopping in Fredericksburg on the way home. No matter how many times we had done it, we did it the next summer the same way. It was a tradition.

Memories from a Texas Hill Country Childhood: Better Than Video Games

Photo: Instagram/NuttyBrownCafe

Listening to live music at the Nutty Brown Cafe in Dripping Springs or eating there for breakfast after church on Sunday mornings played a big part in my childhood. They had a parrot who was quite the character and knew some very entertaining language!

Memories from a Texas Hill Country Childhood: Better Than Video Games

Photo: Flickr/KurtSchaller

Hot weather called for tubing or waterskiing on Lake Georgetown! Thumbs up meant faster and thumbs down always seemed to translate as “go extra faster.”

Memories from a Texas Hill Country Childhood: Better Than Video Games

Photo: Facebook/SchlitterbahnNewBraunfels

Spending a day at Schlitterbahn in the summer in New Braunfels was the equivalent of Bachelor in Paradise for middle schoolers. Such a great backdrop for awkward adolescent crushes.

Memories from a Texas Hill Country Childhood: Better Than Video Games

Photo: Flickr/StuartSeeger

Visiting my cousins in San Antonio always meant spending a day at Fiesta Texas or a week at Seaworld Camp, visiting the Alamo, and eating out along the River Walk.

Memories from a Texas Hill Country Childhood: Better Than Video Games

Photo: Tpwd/InksLake

Camping at Inks Lake in Burnet called for jumping off the cliffs in Devils Cove, renting jet skis, and enjoying a nice bonfire and s’mores in the evenings.

These are the things that I think back on with fondness. These are the places I grew up, and these are the places that are full of stories to pass on to my children and grandchildren! My Texas Hill Country memories are much more memorable than video games if you ask me.