#61 Night in a Caboose

Antler's Hotel,
   Kingsland, TX

I've seen hotel options that allow for an overnight in a retired railroad sleeper car, but the Antler's Hotel offered 3 little Caboose options!

We picked the red one!

For Sale?

This wonderful old Inn, is not far from our Lake LBJ cabin where we've spent many a night in the past 5 years.  The inn has a grand history and lovely grounds and renovated rooms, but we've never had a good enough reason to stay. 

Once while driving by, we noticed a For Sale sign and realized some day, this quaint inn and the 3 cabooses could be gone!

One Night in the Caboose

Silly as it seemed, we spent $160 to stay one night in our caboose hotel, when our own cabin was just a short drive down the road.

Let the Adventure Begin

We packed our retro suitcases. (As seen at the top of this blog page)  We climbed the stairs to our entrance, carrying every goofy kind of entertainment we could need, books about trains, cards, snacks and cocktail fixings. We even had a few movies like Hitchcock's, "Strangers on a Train", that we never even had time for.

Interior

There was more space than I expected in our little playhouse of a hotel!  We had a queen bed and "kitchen" with microwave, fridge, toaster oven and coffee maker.  The bathroom was tiny, but what would you expect. There was even a shower.

Our Red Cupola

Between the sitting and sleep areas was the most fun feature, the red-painted observation cupola!   Back in 1969, when this caboose was in use, the crewman could climb up to get a good view for problems or to signal the engineer.  By the 1980's modern train technology made the caboose obsolete.  I'm glad this one didn't end up in a junk yard.

Sleeping and Relaxing Space

I'm not sure how the interior looked originally, but the caboose is clearly set up for happy little tourists who want to "Play Train" like Don and me.  The bunk beds make it a good option for families. I would have gone nuts if my family had stayed in a caboose when I was a kid.   Then again, I pretty much went nuts when my family stayed at the Howard Johnson's or Holiday Inn. 

Lounging

Actually we look sort of drab and serious in this little pose.  But we had a ball looking through some old books of train history, with photos of luxury travel back in the day, when ladies wore little white gloves to carry their cosmetic cases!

The Best Fun

This was my favorite part, hanging out in the cupola.  We had to modify the space to accommodate our martinis, though.  The soft benches were fine, but we had to hoist up a stool to be our table.

What a hoot to enjoy the view out all the little windows!  

Other Entertainment

We spent a little time wandering the grounds.  There were a couple fishing docks and even a rowboat we could have borrowed.  

The Inn

 We were welcome to enjoy the inn as well.  I especially liked Baby Doll, the cat who followed us everywhere.  I got a tour of some of the guest rooms and the wonderful old kitchen! 

It was fun to picture the resort guests and train travelers who arrived the year the inn opened in 1901.  But I was more curious about Borrow family who bought the resort and used it as a   family retreat for 70 years!  

Screens and Swings!

This is just a portion of the rear of the inn.  I tried to picture this place swarming with cousins and grandparents... screened doors slamming and porch swings swaying.  What a wonderful family hang-out... for a really big family!

Dining Options

We did have our own mini kitchen, but it's important to note there is a café on the property. The Grand Central Café is a mighty good option.  Not only do they serve decent food in a fun little house,  but there's some intriguing history!

This very house, which was moved from a different location, was the ramshackle house used in the filming of the cult movie, "Texas Chainsaw Massacre".  Doesn't get much more appetizing than that!

 Picnic Option

We've dined at the Café a few times, so we decided to just make use of our own little kitchen and our outside patio area.  Here we are In the morning, having coffee and breakfast.  We didn't actually make use, but we could have scrambled up some eggs on the nearby grill.

What's Notable?

We got to play train!  What more can I say!   There were no other caboose guests, so we felt even more like kids who had just discovered an abandoned train and decided to stay and play.  You don't have to be a kid to enjoy the whimsical fun of a 54,000 pound, red caboose!
 
So far no word on the Antler's being sold. So glad we enjoyed while we could!