Cycling – Ride to Walden Planation for Lunch

On October 26th, John Chalmers and I decided to ride from Lake Buchanan over to Walden Plantation, a really nice Bed & Breakfast that also has a grill and does gourmet burgers at lunch.  It is a good thing that it is a 55 mile round trip.  The 4,500 calories that Garmin thinks I burned on this ride might, maybe, offset the calories supplied by the burger, fries, sweet tea and Pecan Pie Muffins (oh!  those were good!) that Angie Walden was dishin’ out that day. 

We approached our destination from the south on Llano County Road 102 and the view, even with the river down a bunch, was impressive, long before the aromas coming from the Cabana/Grill were detectable.

The Walden Plantation facility ( red roof) across the river

Crossing the river, just below the Walden property, we saw that there is still a nice, if below normal flow on the Llano River.

Crossing the Llano River on CR 102

My wife and mother met us at Walden and were already well into their glass of wine when we arrived. 

From Right: Ann Bynum, John Chalmers, Achmed The Dead Terrorist???

 A quick review of the menu led to two of us ordering a burger (lean beef, all the normal veggies plus sliced avocados, mushrooms and jalapeno) while the other two ordered a Bruscetta Chicken Sandwich.  I will personally attest to the gourmet status of the hamburger.  Well, OK, it was a Texas Gourmet Hamburger since it was both really good AND way bigger than the cookie-sized finger food, claiming to be a hamburger, one might be served in Newport Beach. 

Angie asks John if Achmed is really dead.

The best I could tell, the cow that supplied the lean beef had never even seen any tofu, much less been served any.   Nor was there any hint of a tofu sin being committed while preparing a hamburger.  Nope, this was the real deal and it was really good. 

For those bewildered by the Achmed reference please see:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uwOL4rB-go 

Try not to hurt yourself laughing. 

Anyway, we had a great lunch.  I can recommend a ride out to Walden Plantation for lunch.  Call ahead to be sure that they do not have an event scheduled; the grill may not be open to the public on those occasions.  See the route map below.

Lake Buchanan is on the right and Walden Plantation on the left.

 Stop by the Lake Buchanan Chamber of Commerce or the Llano Chamber of Commerce for a free Llano County map.  The Staff in either place can show you where you are heading.   The Buchanan Chamber is located on the north side of TX29 just up the hill to the west of the Inks Lake Bridge.  The Llano Chamber is located in the city of Llano on the east side of TX16, just north of the Llano River Bridge and about 3 blocks south of TX29.  You can reach Walden Plantation by phone at: 325-247-2046.

Happy pedalling and Bon Appetit, y’all!