If Glamping is wrong, I don’t want to be right. Glamping Hub recently launched its new Texas hub, and it took me all of 5 minutes to decide on The Crow’s Nest in College Station, Texas, mainly because it’s adorable but also because it’s just down the street, y’all! And I’ve never been to C-Stat, much to many of my friends’ disappointment. Sorry, guys, I suck.
I made up for my sins with the perfect, whirlwind weekend (err, day) in small town, Texas. Well, small college town, Texas. Check it out!
The Digs
Pretty sure The Crow’s Nest is a barn converted into a duplex. The top floor is where you stay, and it has a lovely deck overlooking (sorta) wilderness? How great is Texas. Less than 10 minutes away is a major, HUGE university, and here I am basking in nature in a barn-converted apartment.
The unit is small — just a bed, a couple couches, sizeable kitchen and… a bathroom that doesn’t have a ceiling. Like I said, converted. Make sure to flush, because your travel companion will be able to hear if you don’t. They’ll hear everything.
The real perk tho is that deck. Make me leave. I dare you.
On Glamping Hub, if you’ve ever used Airbnb, Glamping Hub will be easy to figure out. What’s super cool is you can search by location, but also by type of glamping experience. Like, if you want to stay in a treehouse (goals), just select that, and it will give you all the treehouse listings they have! Glamping Hub is relatively new to Texas, so you probably haven’t heard of it, but, if your experience is like mine, you’ll be pleasantly surprised about your Glamping experience. I kind of thought my barn/cabin unit was going to be disappointing. I mean, College Station isn’t exactly the middle of nowhere. Sure, it’s a small town, but small town ≠ rural, camplike. How was it going to be glamping? But I was pleasantly surprised in how rustic and rural it felt!
The Day
As someone who actually only did 24 hours in C-Stat, here’s how to do it.
Brunch at Hullabaloo Diner
Full disclosure: We didn’t make it to brunch. Time crunched (and hungover from Northgate, see below), we got more Fuego tacos (again, see below).
Hullabaloo looks old fashioned and rustic, but it’s actually a big deal (as seen on TV… Food Network). It’s your classic comfort food, and likely one of the few places to brunch. Don’t be lame (like me) and check it out!
Give it the ole college tour
I honestly didn’t know where to begin with the A&M University campus. I saw Kyle Field, and YIKES is it huge. I saw Northgate (in both the sunlight and moonlight), but as for what is where, I needed a tour guide. Thankfully, I had an Aggie Guide/Professional Best Friend with me to do the teaching. Here’s what I learned and saw:
- I finally get why A&M is called the Home of the 12th Man! Basically, A&M has not a lot of football players in 1922 — lots of injuries, post-war probs, etc. This one dude, E. King Gill was a super fan and coach told him to suit up incase one of the only 11 remaining players needed to rest/got injured. He stood, suited up for the entire game. That’s why all A&M students stand for every game.
- I found a bunch of Pennies on Sully. Lawrence Sullivan Ross was the 19th Governor of Texas (TBT), and then became the Texas A&M University president in the late 1800s, after the school got a bad rep or something. He would tutor students, and they’d ask him what they owed him. He’d say “A penny for your thoughts.” Now, students put pennies on his statue on campus for good luck on an exam.
- I DIDN’T walk under the Century Tree. The live oak tree, known best on your Facebook feed for engagements/wedding photos/general nausea, is also rich with tradition (what TF isnt at A&M). The more than 100-year-old tree hangs over a pathway, and supposedly, if one walks under that tree on that path with someone, they will spend eternity with them (AWWWWWW). BUT, if someone walks under it alone, they will be forever alone. Let’s not risk that. There is a smaller branch under a smaller path for friendship. We walked under that one. BFFs.
In summary, these Aggies are not just superstitious. They are SuperDuperstitious.
Game watch at The Corner
Unfortunately, I did not go to College Station during a game day weekend. But no worries if you plan to! We’ve got you covered.
We were there during the tumultuous Ohio State v. Michigan State, double overtime game. We watched that and ate yummy burgers and drank beer on the patio of The Corner in Northgate, which is right on campus. 10/10 would recommend.
However, our first choice for a burger chowdown is Koppe Bridge, which is always known for its great burgers. BUUTTTT it was closed for the entire Thanksgiving weekend. Thanks for nothing, Koppe.
Wine at Messina Hof
Because spending my whole day as, basically, a college student minus the classes wasn’t entirely appealing, we classed up the day with a trip to Messian Hof, which was just 20 minutes away from our Glamping Hub cabin (even less from campus). After a harrowing journal through country roads (I hate driving at night), we made it.
We went for a tour and cask and barrel tasting event, but the tasting room is cool and has great hours! Messina Hof is great with events — check out its calendar. The event we went to started at 6:30 p.m. We were ready for wine, so immediately got some bubbly (light, so as not to ruin our wine appetite? Or something like that). We listened to the vineyard’s history. The Reader’s Digest version:Paul & Merrill Bonarrigo started the vineyard in Bryan to make wine because they both had ancestors way back when in the wine biz. His from Messina, Italy, and hers from Hof, Germany. Boom. The winery was the 4th in Texas when it was established in 1977.
Fast forward almost 40 years later, now the Bryan winery is a bed and breakfast, event space and massive winemaker in Texas with three vineyards — Bryan, Lubbock and Fredericksburg. All the wine is made in Bryan — the OG.
After draining my drinK, we toured the land a little. We were distracted by a couple cute feral kittens (my heart!), but our tour guide got back our full attention when it came to drinking wine right out of the cask! We tried a couple whites that were cold and cloudy, but pretty good! It’s super cool to drink it right from the cask — I’ve never gotten to do that. I mean, I’ve gotten to drink beer straight from the cask and whiskey from the barrel, but never wine! Usually, that’s straight from the box. Kidding. Or am I?
We ended up in the tasting room, and we bought a bottle for the road. Well, not the literal road.
Dine at Fuego
Wine and complimentary Messina Hof glasses in hand, we drove through a College Station classic: Fuego. Here’s what we ate:
- South Padre: Fried shrimp, coleslaw, pico and a spicy cayenne cholula tartar sauce. It was as messy as it sounds. It was also my favorite.
- Southern Comfort: Fried chicken, chipotle cream corn, potatoes, onions, and gravy. Comes with a free heart attack. A close second favorite.
- Fuego Steak: Beef, chipotle cream corn, potatoes, pico and cheese.
- Half pint of queso: A must! Such great queso, but fair warning, the chips suck.
We ate them back at the Crow’s Nest with wine, Iliza and Jenna Marbles (Sorry, Crow’s Nest owner, but we messed with your Netflix favorites). The perfect night in… until it was time to go out.
Party on Northgate
- Beers at the Dixie Chicken. Sip while you carve your name into the tables! Also, make a pitstop at Bottle Cap Alley.
- Carrot cake shots at Dry Bean. This shot bar is small and smelled bad — get in and then get out. V yummy shot tho.
- Beer and games at Backyard. They have big beer pong! It’s the most entertaining thing to watch. There’s also an inside, two-story spot. We hung out here for a bit. 10/10 points for lots of space and cool atmosphere.
- Bombs at Mama Sake. We did the Sake bomb and the Aggie Bomb. Both were fun! Your bartender sets it all up, then you go “1-2-3 SAKE!” Not a place to hang and have deep convos in. Or use the restroom.
- Grand Slam at Dudley’s Draw. Shot game changer. This three-step breakfast shot is why
AmericaTexas is great. It starts with a mapley whiskey shot, chased with orange juice and closed out with……. BACON. Cue the Nick Jonas song. - Chill beer at Logie’s. I swear Chilli’s and Logie’s have the same interior decorator. Whatever, I didn’t hate it. It was super chill and had good music. We sat and recovered from the Grand Slam.
- For the pros: Wake Me Up shot from Cedar Land. If you plan on going all night, then this needs to be on your itinerary. It’s a shot in a Red Bull.
P sure this all cost me like $30. College Station is so cheap, guys.
The Thoughts
I’m a damn fool for not visiting College Station sooner — or on a busier weekend. Thanksgiving weekend was kind of dead. But I’m newly obsessed with Glamping Hub, and glamping in general. Maybe I’ll see you soon, Crow’s Nest.