Denise and I took my mom for a drive in the Hill Country Sunday.

We took her Buick Lucerne. It's a bigger highway cruiser than ether Denise or I drive, and it needed a road trip. It doesn't get more than a short trip now and then to the grocery store. We needed to blow some dust out of it.

Denise and I drove over from here, taking a big bouquet of flowers and a few cards. Mom was happy to see us, and the treats. She's been looking forward to this drive for a few weeks. I floated the idea a while back.

Soon after getting there we were piling into Mom's car and heading out.



Both of my womens are in the witness protection program...



They're averse to having their pictures taken. But that doesn't stop me at all. Mom says I'm like a stalker. She has NO idea.

We started out in Temple, drove down I-35 to Georgetown, and then headed west on 29 towards Burnett. Just before turning West we stopped at a McDonald's and got a snack, to hold us over. Three medium sized chocolate shakes would do the trick. They were wonderful, with whipped cream and a cherry on top. Delish!



Along the way, we saw that the summer flowers, mostly red, yellow and purple, are growing taller and supplanting the fields of Bluebonnets that had grown up and spread out along the roads earlier in the year. The Bluebonnets are still there, but Mom had a hard time seeing them. I think she had a good time anyway.

The summer flowers are just as pretty, particularly when they spread out into fields and along the roads. As we got closer to Llano, the flowers got prettier, and we even started to see some Prickly Pears now and then, with beautiful yellow blooms.

After about an hour and a half drive along 35 and 29, through lots of beautiful countryside, we finally reached our destination. We decided to stop for dinner in Llano at a local restaurant.



Cooper's is a famous old BBQ place in the Hill Country. Folks come into Llano from all over the state to get a bite of some of the best food anywhere. On any weekend, the place is usually packed.



I've been to Cooper's many times, so the routine was familiar. Patrons line up by the pit, an employee of Cooper's lifts the lid on the smoker and the patron picks their meal. As you can see above, I chose two pork ribs, a slice of BBQ Brisket (which was the sliced into cubes by the cooks), and a few links of BBQ Jalapeno sausage. The attendant finally asks you if you want your meat dipped in their special BBQ sauce. Duh?

Then you take the red plastic trey into the restaurant and hand the platter to the next attendant, who wraps your meal in waxed paper and puts a price tag on it. As you got through the line, you have the opportunity to pick out your choice of various other side dishes. I chose Cole Slaw and BBQ Beans.



The beans are complementary, in a cooker over by the wall there. Those two ladies are helping themselves. You spoon out your own helping, and can go back as many times as you want. They even have lids, so you can take some home if you wish.



Mom chose the same Jalapeno Sausage, Beans and Cole Slaw, and added Peach Cobbler. Denise went for the BBQ Pork Chops (above) and Potato Salad. Everyone was happy, and Mom particularly enjoyed eating good BBQ at a new spot.

After we finished our meal, the three of us got back into the Buick and drove on north towards San Saba.



My buddy John told me a while back that the flowers on 16, down by Llano were particularly beautiful this year. He turned out to be right.



Once again, but the time we had a chance to make the drive, the Bluebonnets were being drowned out by the taller grass and summer flowers. You can see the seed pods there, showing the transition the flowers are going through as our spring turns to summer.

The Bluebonnets had obviously peaked early, but it was a great day anyway. Mom loved the drive, and the food, and the flowers. So did Denise and I. Mission accomplished.

I hope you guys had a great Mothers Day too. If you wish, you can check out a few more pictures over at FlickR. Enjoy. Cheers!