The Where I Live series aims to showcase our diverse city and region by spotlighting its many vibrant neighborhoods. Each week a local resident invites us over and lets us in on what makes their neighborhood special. Have we been to your neighborhood yet? Get in touch to share your story. If your story is selected and published, you will receive a $250 stipend.
One afternoon on my way home from work, as I cruised through the downtown roundabout with the ease of a true local, I chuckled to myself as I passed a group of 20-something women who, despite already being soaking wet from the river, shrieked and ran for cover when the rain started. As though a different source of water were a problem.
I know I’m not the only resident of New Braunfels with a love/hate relationship with the droves of tourists who flock to our rivers and waterpark in the summer, and Wurstfest in the fall. We need them, but sometimes I just wish I could get a table at Cantina del Rio between May and September without having to sacrifice my firstborn. The fish tacos are second to none.
I grew up in the Dallas suburbs, but I moved to the town I call home when I was 21. It was the best thing I ever did. All the best moments of my life have happened here. My daughter was born at Christus Santa Rosa Hospital on a chilly Tuesday in January of 2013. I celebrated my college graduation on the patio at Herbert’s. I went on my first date with my fiance at my favorite restaurant, Sylver Spoon Dinner Theater, with my girl Sylver keeping an eye on me from the bar, making sure he was a good guy.
That’s New Braunfels. This town has always had my back.
When I was new in town, I once got invited to a barbecue by the lady in front of me in line at H-E-B. We started off chatting about flavors of ice cream and ended up friends.
Once, as I sat in the Landmark Salon, crying about an unexpected tuition charge that my student loans wouldn’t cover, I was handed an envelope with $200 in it. A stranger overheard me and just wanted to help.
Last year, toward the end of the first night of the Comal County Fair, my kids were starting to melt down so I told my fiance to go ahead and take them home and I would wait for his funnel cake and meet him there. It wasn’t until he was out of sight and earshot that I realized he had my keys in his pocket and my phone was dead. But my town never lets me down. Just outside the gate, I spotted two women about my age who were headed to their car. I explained my situation and they gave me a lift home.
When I sat down to write about where I live, I could have gone on for pages and pages about crystal clear water lapping at my toes on the banks of my beloved Comal River, or the way every proper pub crawl has to end on a bar swing at Pour Haus, or how the Friends of the Library book sale is a sacred day on my calendar (so much so that I called to verify the date of this year’s sale before scheduling my wedding), but those things alone aren’t New Braunfels. New Braunfels is the people. No matter how big our town gets, you’ll still find people who keep the small-town vibe alive.
So, if you ever end up in my town, for good or just for the weekend, willkommen!
