Hill Country Bed and Breakfast

May 1, 2010 is the date for this year’s annual Railroad Reunion. That is the first Saturday in May and the location this year is the Smithville Recreation Center.  Smithville, Texas is just 43 miles east of Austin.

Prior to the reunion there will be a dedication of the Texas Star located at the Railroad Park.  The Star dedication is at 10:30 AM, and the doors of the Rec Center open at 11:00 AM.  Lunch will be served at noon.  All rail fans are invited to attend, especially those that love the M-K-T RR and the U P.   The Katy House Bed and Breakfast was named after the Katy Railroad (M-K-T).  The house is full of antiques and railroad memorabilia.   The Railroad Park is at the end of our historic Main Street, just next to the Chamber of Commerce office.  Please visit the Railroad Museum while in town.

This is from a cute couple that just stayed with us. This is Dave’s blog:

An Occasion To Remember

Many men fall victim to their own memory when it comes to anniversaries. Fortunately, my anniversary falls in the same ten-day period as Valentine’s Day and my wife’s birthday. While making this easy to remember, it does have its issues, but nothing I can’t handle.

On our wedding day, we drove to Smithville Texas, the site of the movie “Hope Floats” featuring Sandra Bullock (yes, it is a chick-flick, but it is a good one) and stayed at a bed and breakfast called The Katy House. Now, for those who read this blog (yes, I am talking to you) you may remember that Michelle and I love to tour small towns off the beaten path. Well, Smithville—with a whopping population of 3,900—certainly qualifies as small and it does sit just off of state highway 71, which is a beaten path.

This town has a quaint old style main street with buildings built around the turn of the century (not the recent one, mind you) and a train depot (which is not really a functioning depot anymore, but it serves as the chamber of commerce and a railway museum). Most of the buildings that are occupied house antique stores or craft boutiques, while many sit empty. The other streets are filled with old houses dating back to the late 1800’s when this town was built by the MKT railroad. The Katy House is one such home.

Built in 1909, it was originally named the Chancellor Residence after its first occupant. Many others have lived in it since, but it is now a very comfortable B&B run by Sallie and Bruce Blalock. They made our wedding night stay quite pleasant, setting us up with a bottle of bubbly and getting us reservations at the town’s pre-eminent restaurant, The Back Door Café (make the trip if for no other reason than to eat here, it is that good). Because the stay was so memorable, we come back every year to celebrate our anniversary with them….

Geocachers, Take Notice of Smithville!

    For about two years now, the Katy House Bed and Breakfast has been one site of the many geocaches that can be found in or near Smithville, Texas. Whether you’re an old-timer at geocaching or a brand-new fan, you should come look in Smithville. There are now 40 geocaches hidden within 4 miles of the Smithville Post Office, making this area an absolute gold mine of geocaches!  If you want to see what we’re talking about, go to http://www.geocaching.com/  and put in Zip Code 78957 to search for geocaches in this area. 
    Since being placed, the Katy House has had about 70 visitors coming to find the geocache.  Further, some friends once hid a Travel Bug in the geocache called “A Ticket to Ride” (not far from the Katy House), and it has now traveled to Japan, Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, Switzerland and Germany! They just wished they could’ve gone with the Travel Bug.
    So – do you want to know where the geocache is hidden at the Katy House?  We’re sworn to secrecy, but we will tell you the coordinates are: N 30° 00.500 W 097° 09.663.  You can find our geocache listed as “Katy Bar the Door” on the geocaching web site listed above.

The Bush Library and Museum, in College Station, borrowed over 20 railroad items from the Katy House for a 6 month exhibit on Railroading last year.   Our Ragsdale clock was displayed in a large exhibit explaining timekeeping with running the railroads years ago.  Ragsdale Jeweler, on Main Street, in Smithville, was the official watch inspector for the M.K.&T.R.R.

Bruce and Sallie in front of display on Railroading timekeeping