Right in Jack and Sharon’s neighborhood is the Wizard Academy. As it says, it is totally not a cult. It began when a marketing consultant, so good he was called “the wizard”, decided to stop traveling to companies around the country and instead have students come to him.
It’s a very eclectic place and the grounds are scattered with sculptures.
Thursday afternoon we went there with Jack and Sharon. The others tried the whiskey and beer at the artisan distillery on site, I tried a Blueberry Soda from Maine, of all places. Here we are waiting for our food order from the Mexican food truck also on site. It was all very good. Matey is in his stroller because he was not very energetic.
After we ate, Jack, Matey and I strolled around the grounds. We saw more sculptures.
There are some beautiful views of the surrounding hill country.
That is the Wizard Academy Tower and even though the sign says “Students Only” we walked up to it.
It’s a fascinating building.
There are more sculptures. Jack said this one was supposed to be a figurehead for the bow of the ship, the ship being the tower.
And this is the channel the “ship” is sailing. There are two lions guarding the channel.
This sculpture now marks the back boundary of the property.
It’s a very odd and beautiful place and there are never many people around. It’s a fun place to visit.
On Saturday Jack and Sharon came out to the park. Bud was working on a wonderful dinner of smoked salmon and stuffed squash. Sharon and Matey stayed with him while Jack and I took a hike. We had to park more than a half mile away from the trail we wanted to take because there were so many people out enjoying the nice sunny day before a bout of frigid weather. We walked the Rock Shelter Trail to reach the Homestead Trail where we wanted to walk and Jack took this photo of me in that pretty place.
Ultimately we reached our goal of the Williamson Creek Overlook Trail. This is Jack at the overlook.
On the way back we passed the McKinney homestead ruins. I was not expecting a structure this imposing.
I also finally identified which tree was Old Baldy, the 500 year old Bald Cypress. I had Jack take my picture posing with this beauty. I’m glad the trail is a fenced boardwalk here, protecting the roots of this great old tree.
We went 6 miles, a great hike. And came back to a great meal. We don’t get to see Jack and Sharon enough, but we always have fun when we do.
On the Roam Again 