Fredericksburg, TX

We can finally get back to normal business, right?

What is normal for you? Does anyone know these days? It has not been normal for several years now. The economy has dipped and rebounded and dipped again on numerous occassions. Just when we think it's all coming back, another stall. My December was frantic with all the customers and clients I was working with.

There was not enough time in any day in December to get everything done. I was writing contracts, negotiating constantly. It looked like a whirlwind and it was!

Come January when all the closings are to take place, and what has happened. The hurry, hurry. The explosion of paper, the printing, the signing, the escrowing, the inspections, the deadlines...

All has settled like dust from a wind storm. Half of those contracts lay dead on the floor. The other half are slowly being processed. It's quiet now. The dust settles. Reality takes its place. Some sellers are happy and some are left wondering.

When will the next round explode? Maybe next week. We will be ready.

Ricki Eichler Real Estate, your Texas Hill Country connection www.reretx.com

953 Main

Kerrville, TX 78028

(830)257-2520

The Town of Fredericksburg celebrates it's German Heritage through Oktoberfest.  Starting today through October 2nd, bring the entire family for a full weekend of activities.   Enjoy live music, great food, drinks and lots of fun stuff for the kids to do.

Location:  Marktplatz (Market Square) 100 block of West Main Street located downtown

Admission:  $6.00 per adult, Children 6-12 $1.00 and children under 6 are free.  For the adults you can buy a two day pass for $10 or a three day for $15.

Fredericksburg is about 70 miles Northwest of San Antonio and 70 miles Southwest of Austin.  

Make sure you make plans this weekend to attend.  Remember Oktoberfest only happens once a YEAR and you don't want to miss it!

I love Oktoberfest! It reminds me of living in Ramstein, Germany back in the 1970's! The cold weather and volks-marches were so wonderful.

San Antonio is rich in heritage and has a double dose of German given it was settled by Germans in the 1800s. Fredericksburg is just about an hour's drive from here but well worth it!

Shops, restaurants, food, fun, Chicken dancing abound. I hope to see you there!

(After Debb Janes' comment I inserted this fun video)

September 30, October 1 & 2, 2011

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

During the festival, you will find a variety of entertainment, food and fun on the Marktplatz (Market Square - 100 block of West Main Street) in Downtown. The following information is provided to help answer the many questions our visitors have.

Click here for a map of Downtown Fredericksburg, showing the Marktplatz (this map is not to scale, only to be used as a general reference source).

DIRECTIONS: Fredericksburg is approximately 70 - 75 miles northwest of San Antonio and southwest of Austin.

HOURS: Gates open at 6 pm on Friday; Saturday at 10 am and Sunday at 11 am. Oktoberfest closes at 12 Midnight on Friday and Saturday and at 6 pm on Sunday.

ADMISSION: Festival admission is $6.00 per adult. Children ages 6 to 12 are $1 per child and under age 6 are admitted free. Two-day passes are $10 per person and three-day passes are $15 per person. For group rate information, call 830-997-4810 or 1-866-839-3378 or email us. Admission is for the entire day. If you wish to leave the grounds and return later that same day, please be sure to have your hand stamped at the gate.

ADVANCE TICKET SALES: A gate will be open at Marktplatz beginning at noon on Friday for advance ticket sales only.

FOOD and DRINK: Food and drinks are sold on the grounds. Visitors are prohibited from bringing ice chests, beer or wine onto the festival grounds or from leaving with beer or wine.

RAIN: Oktoberfest continues rain or shine, and no rain dates are scheduled.

PARKING: Parking is available all around Marktplatz.

PETS AND SERVICE ANIMALS: Pets are not allowed on the grounds at any time. Patrons with disabilities who require assistance from a service animal are welcome.

ATM $$$: An automatic teller machine is located on the grounds, as well as at several nearby businesses and banks.

Additional information can be obtained from Oktoberfest, Post Office Box 222, Fredericksburg, Texas 78624.
Call 830-997-4810, or toll free 1-866-839-3378 from anywhere in the United States.

"Daycation" to Fredericksburg, Texas

I learned a new word (okay maybe it's not a word) from Lea's Corner when she used the phrase "Daycation".  I love mini adventures that can best be summed in the word "Daycation".

Saturday night my husband, Geno and I usually enjoy date night. We go out to dinner or plan something special for just the two of us. On Saturday afternoon, Geno surprised me with a little mini trip to Fredericksburg, Texas. It's an hour and 40 minute drive to a wonderful little German community in south central Texas.  It's been a while since we've been there so the drive was quite an eye opener.

Texas has been under siege with a drought and it was most pronounced passing the acres of barren land.  No hay crops...only dry brown brittle ground cover. Most of the cattle have been sold and many have few heads of cattle left as there is no water or food to keep them.  Many "For Sale" signs are plastered on smaller farms and ranches.  Small towns are withering up and we realized all the young people have nothing to go back to as jobs are now located in Austin, Houston, Dallas and San Antonio.

The surprise was dinner at the "Cabernet Grill", the Texas Wine Country Restaurant!  Geno had read in Trip Advisor about it being a 5 Star restaurant..it's casual..it's elegant..it's positioned in a setting with lush greenery, trickling waterfalls and a koi pond (of course Geno had to feed the fish) just off Hwy 16 across from the fair grounds.  We had a wonderful dinner, the staff was personable and the food fantastic!  The Texas wines were enjoyable but unfortunately we didn't leave room for any of their fabulous desserts!  Oh, well another time.

Daycations...what a great word to describe the explorations we can make in a days time.  Many times these little experiences are what mean the most.

Scan the QR Code for info on my CB United website

Where Does Time Go?

It seems like it was just yesterday and you turn around and it's today. Turn around again and it's tomorrow and then it's next year. Do you feel like time is racing by these days? I do. I was remarking about this to a fellow agent one day recently and he told me his parents would get up early and go outside and sit on the porch in the mornings. He said he would get up, go outside and ask them "what are you doing?"

They would answer him with, "We're slowing down time." As a child, he did not understand that but today he does. So in the next few weeks, I am slowing down time.

Think about it. How fast is your world racing by. Are your days and hours so full you never have time to enjoy them?

Sometimes, we need to just stop and look at what we are doing and reassess our schedules. We have so much to do we can never get it all done. Are there things we can delegate to others that will free up some time? Are there projects that are just simply not worth the time necessary to do? Can you shift things so that inbetween wait times disappear? Surely, there are little changes that can be made that will relieve you of a constant demand. A person can only go so far, so long and then it's crash time.

Before you crash, take a vacation.

Refresh, renew, re-invigorate

yourself and "Slow Down Time".

Remember to smell the roses along the way!

Ricki Eichler Real Estate, your Texas Hill Country connection www.reretx.com

953 Main

Kerrville, TX 78028

(830)257-2520