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Austin
Bear Creek Resort
A Ranch-style Bed and Breakfast with a Texas-sized Bed big enough
for Four
By Madelyn Miller
I am a city girl. I like my creature comforts such as thick towels,
chocolates, and fluffy pillows. So when I agreed to stay at an
Austin retreat in the middle of nowhere (anywhere more than ten
minutes from downtown is nowhere to me) I expected to be roughing
it.
Instead, it was the some of the most luxurious nights of my whole
life.
Not only did I enjoy a huge house, beautifully decorated with
a Texas theme, but there were all kinds of extra amenities usually
only found in five star hotels.
I felt like some rich
relative I had never met had died and left me his own personal
getaway place for four glorious days.
You don’t need a rich relative to stay at Bear Creek Retreat.
In fact, it is large enough that if you shared it with friends,
it would cost no more than an ordinary hotel room. But you would
have an extraordinary experience.
I drove down from Dallas, and asked my screenwriter friend Greg
to join me. We walked in and he was blown away but the luxury.
"How in the world did you arrange this," he asked. The
truth is, I heard about owner Caroline Foley’s new place
from an old friend, Kathy Truesdell. Kathy was definitely elevated
on the smart friends list for finding this place.
 Here
is what she told me about it that convinced me to try it. "I
think you would like a new retreat/B&B called Bear Creek Retreat.
It's three-bedroom house on 170 acres with wonderful facilities
and the biggest bed I have ever seen. Caroline Foley, the owner,
had it custom made. It's the size of two queenbeds but it's one
long mattress with big pillows and custom sheets and comforter.
Truly a family bed (or whatever...). Caroline's number is 512-940-9444 , www.bearCreekRetreat.com.
It's wonderfully relaxing. Caroline is a great cook, there is
a pool, she has a massage room that she can book with local massage
therapists and there is a Large Flat Screen plasma Television
in the common room for things like Sports (guys) or Event Parties."
Greg and I enjoyed the hot tub the first night, admiring the stars
and congratulating ourselves for being lucky enough to stay at
such a cool place. We wrapped ourselves in the thick terry robes
thoughtfully provided and monogrammed with Bear Creek Resort.
Then we went inside and he nibbled on multi-colored French licorice
(in the crystal bowls scattered around graciously) while I enjoyed
chocolates as we watched UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN on the plasma TV.
We hated to go to bed. But since I had dibs on the big bed, I
made an earlier exit to snuggle in.
Greg woke up early and was sitting outside listening to the birds
when Caroline brought over warm baked carrot muffins right out
of the oven. Greg decided not to wake me up, so they had cooled
before I got to them, but were still wonderful when washed down
with the tangerine citrus juice I found in the fridge.
RAIDING THE REFRIGERATOR
 Some
people analyze medicine chests. But I think you can tell a lot
about a place by what is in the refrigerator. And Bear Creek Resort
passed this test with top marks. It didn’t just have juice
and water and Coke. It had imported beer, good wines, bottles
of IBC root beer and calorie-free fruit flavored sodas. For carbohydrate
counters, there was Doc’s Hard Lemon, a citrusy alcoholic
drink I became addicted to while staying there.
The freezer held individual size (well, 16 oz. is a Texas-size
individual serving) tubs of Haagen Dasz coffee and vanilla. And
thick homemade fudge with heating instructions was standing nearby
for a perfect topping.
There weren’t just chocolate kisses around in bowls. There
was Ghiradelli Chocolates in four different flavors in a red silk
box. And refills stocked in the kitchen cabinet.
This was junque food with flair and style.
TEXAS STYLE
 There
are fresh flowers everywhere, probably a reflection on the fact
that Caroline’s other career is as a landscape architect.
She knows how to do things with style, including monogrammed hand
towels, cozy shawls draped over couches, Texas-star tiebacks for
the curtains.
You could call Caroline as Texas-style Martha Steward. But then
I have no reason to think Caroline has ever done anything illegal.
I only wish Caroline could come to my loft and raise her magic
wand or green thumb and make my place as cozy and comfortable
at Bear Creek Retreat.
BEDTIME STORY
The interesting thing about this fabulous place is it is equally
good for families or an orgy, depending on what four people you
want to share the bed with.
Kids will also love
the playroom under the stairs, and they are encouraged to write
on the walls and leave their hand or foot print. Who doesn’t
love a secret hiding place. The kids can hide in the playroom.
And a celebrity or rock star could easily make Bear Creek Retreat
their personal hiding place, using the two upstairs bedrooms for
their entourage. I can think of a zillion other good reasons to
stay there—perhaps for a honeymoon or anniversary celebration
or family reunion. I am counting the reasons why I want to go
back as a I write this.
I did not yet tell you about the pond, because I never got that
far. But the friends I invited down, raved about it. And plans
call for individual TeePee tents to be built soon. Imagine a birthday
party, or a Cub Scout retreat, or an Indian Princess meeting.
Or even a corporate getaway. The possibilities are endless as
is the view of the surrounding property.
WHERE IS THIS PLACE?
 When
I emailed Caroline for directions and asked where to get the key,
she replied, "The doors to the home are unlocked. We do not
lock doors around here. In fact, we're not even sure we could
locate a key. The home does have dead bolts on all the doors if
you choose to use them while you are inside."
Because one of the wonderful things about this place is how remotely
rustic it seems while only being 10 minutes from I-35, I will
let Caroline give you directions when you book.
You probably won’t
ever want to leave the property. But if you do, here are some
things I like to do in Austin
FOR MORE INFORMATION
GREAT GUIDEBOOKS
Wildly Austin: Austin's Landmark Art
By Vikki Loving
www.wildlyaustin.com
Here are a few of the stories you'll find in Wildly Austin: Austin's
Landmark Art:
*King-Kong attacks Dreyfus Antiques' Eiffel Tower
*Restaurant County Line on the Hill's two-headed longhorn runs
amuck
*The oldest bug in Austin: the Terminix Bug
* The Longhorn on 15th Street
FAVORITE AUSTIN
RESTAURANTS
- Ranch 616
- Roaring Fork
- Moonshine on River
- Monica’s 701,
701 Main Street, Georgetown. Only 20 minutes North of Austin
and worth the drive. Be sure to get the Monica Salad and the
white chocolate bread pudding
Dallas-based Madelyn
Miller is the editor of Travellady.com,
an online magazine devoted to travel worldwide.
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