Ramble Vacation | Marfa, TX
On January 1st we headed out west for some much needed time away. We decided to head out to Marfa, Texas with a day trip to Big Bend National Park in the plans. I’m going to do my best to list each part and give you my best insights on this trip because we learned and discovered a lot! First, go prepared! Far West Texas is in the middle of nowhere, but we were instantly blown away by how majestic absolutely nothing is. Our first night we stayed in Alpine, Texas at the Antelope Lodge.
Cedar Coffee & Supply
We were only in Alpine for a day before we checked into our house in Marfa. Alpine and Marfa are around 30 minutes from each other. Alpine is more populated with restaurants, gas stations, and grocery stores. Here are the places we loved in Alpine:
Cedar Coffee & Supply : this is a very simple coffee shop. Very clean and had a great bar where the kids sat and played cards. We both ordered the pour over and drank it black- it was delicious. This coffee shop connects to a book store which was a great feature for our kids. We spent probably 2 hours here just hanging out.
Front Street Books : This is the book store connected to Cedar Coffee. This little store had a room for kids which was wonderful and allowed Ryan and I to look at the great selection of books.
Museum of the Big Bend : This was a relatively small museum the kids really enjoyed. It is on the campus of Sul Ross University. They had really great exhibits but we couldn’t stay too long because it was close to nap time for the Maggie.
We spent most of the day in Alpine before heading to Marfa to check into our Airbnb. We knew we wanted to stay in a house with rooms and amenities like a washer and dryer and kitchen since we were going to be there for 4 days. Our plan was to stay in Marfa and chillllll. We had no plan on exactly where we were going, doing or what we would eat. All we knew was that it would take one long day to drive to Big Bend National Park which is close to 2.5 hours from Marfa. Again, there is a lot of driving out west but the scenery is beautiful and it all felt very peaceful. Here are the places we went and enjoyed in Marfa:
Where we stayed: Casa de Conejito - this was a very simple 2 bedroom, 1 bath house which was perfect for us. The two big girls slept on twin beds and we made Maggie a pallet on the floor. We were able to cook meals here and also able to clean all of our clothes before we headed home. (My favorite travel trick: leave a clean house and wash your clothes before traveling home so unpacking and getting back into the groove of things is easier.) We planned to eat one bigger meal out each day and the rest at the house either cooking or snacks.
Al Campo Marfa : This is where we ate the first night and actually the second night unplanned because there was nothing else available. The food here was absolutely delicious. Ryan splurged on the Ribeye (when on vacation!) and I had the queso and carrot soup. The kids split the Carnitas Tacos with spicy mayo and veggies on the side. We made sure to sit outside with the fire pit because we had kids and I didn’t want to stress about bothering anyone. Staff was so kind and they had a great selection of wines. The food was so good we ate the same thing twice.
Do your thing coffee : This was a major highlight of the trip. The coffee shop is a really small place that serves homemade gourmet toast and delicious coffee. We never sat inside, again - kids and the weather was too nice to not be soaking it all in. We brought a good amount of notepads and colors so the kid played in the dirt, danced, met new people and colored as they pleased. Note: toast will sell out. We were lucky enough the first day to snag the last piece of toast, missed it on day 2 and day 3 we all shared a slice.
Jett’s Grill at Hotel Paisano : On day 2 we decided to walk around downtown Marfa and let the kids ride their skateboards and we could slowly walk around and look. We were told Jett’s has a great margaritas so we stopped by planning to eat on the patio and drink a marg. Turns out food on the patio was closed for the season and the bar/inside was a little too nice for our rowdy bunch. So I ordered at the bar and brought the drinks outside while the kids played near the fountain and skateboarded. I had a jalapeño marg that was spot on. Great stop and we heard the food was amazing.
El Cosmico : If you’ve heard much about Marfa you’ve probably heard of this place. You can stay In vintage RV’s, teepee’s, or camp out. We visited the gift shop, bought a few over priced items, beers, and a mexican coke and let the kids play on the grounds a bit before we left. Worth seeing for sure! I think staying there would be cool but considering the prices I would rather stay in an Airbnb like we did.
Pizza Foundation : Well this place was recommended by so people but there is a trick to it. They only make X amount of dough a day and once they are out, they close. They opened at 1pm and apparently you can call in your order before open to make sure you get a pizza. On our last day in Marfa we arrived at 1pm (because we had already missed our chance before) and when we ordered as 2nd group in the door there was already a 1 hour wait for pizza. We had a glass of wine, lemonade and a pepperoni pizza. The crust was thinish and really crispy - It was really good so I get what the hype was about! Next time I would go all out and get the supreme.
Toast from Do your Thing Coffee
Pizza Foundation | Marfa, TX
When we booked this trip we had a clear goal: R E S T. We knew we wanted to take it slow and be present with the kids. Listen, play games, sing songs, color, paint, with all focus on being together. Marfa allowed us to do just that. The pace was slow and we kept it that way.
Things we brought on this trip to ensure we would be able to hang out and keep girls interested.
Crayons
Notepads for each child.
Scissors
Watercolor
Watercolor paper
Markers
Pencils
Pens
Deck of Cards
Christmas Present - Skateboards & a Scooter
InstaCamera for outings so girls could capture the trip also.
S N A C K S
That’s a wrap! I’m going to do a Part 2 for Big Bend National Park! It was one full day and I think it needs it’s own post for reference sake! Comment and let me know if you’ve been to Marfa and what your favorite parts were!
