The way it looked when I first moved there and wanted to be anywhere else. And the way it looked after spending 10 years in Blanco, which is where I had my two children, where I started a lavender business that would change the agricultural nature of the region and where I found a new way of looking at the world.

The first version runs in my mind in black and white; the second is in rich, eye-popping color, full of life and meaning.

I write about the journey between these two versions in my recent book, The Unlikely Lavender Queen: A Memoir of Unexpected Blossoming. It’s about going from a journalist in Manhattan to a lavender farmer in rural Texas. But it’s also about how I came to love the Hill Country and the slow transition I made from outsider to all-out enthusiast.

My transformation was helped along as I got to know some of the remarkable institutions in the region and found out how much excitement, sophistication and character were among the gently undulating hills and the pockets of live oaks.

Here are some of the spots that made me realize that the Texas Hill Country was one of the finest places in the world to call home. Most of these are mentioned, most fondly, in my book.

Blanco Bowling Club Café, Blanco (830-833-4416) -  It doesn’t get any more real than The Blanco Bowling Club Café, a true Hill Country institution, where old ranchers gather at 5 a.m. to discuss the relative merits of Fords, Chevy and Dodge pickups; where Lyle Lovett is known to stop in on his motorcycle; where five nights a week leagues play German bowling with nine-pins, which are still set by hand; where the restaurant serves a basic greasy-spoon menu, in the most wonderful and nostalgic sense of the term and where the meringue on the famous pies are almost as tall as the waitressses’ hair (or at least the waitresses that worked there a few years back).

The Deutsch Apple, Blanco (830-833-2882; www.thedeutschapple.com) - I’m not sure what the Deutsch Apple puts into its apple goodies but I quickly became addicted to the apple bread and have to be watched any time I drive near the place to prevent full-on binging. More times than I’d like to count, I ate a whole loaf myself between the store and home and then tried to fib about it to my husband. Just as tantalizing are the apple pies and apple muffins. Oh, and they make a good cup of coffee too.

The Rose Hill Manor, Stonewall (877-ROSEHIL; www.rose-hill.com) - I remember the first time I took a side road between Blanco and Stonewall and stumbled upon this stunning colonial-style building perched on a hillside. A gorgeous inn with fine-dining only 11 minutes from my house? I felt my world had shifted; a bit of true elegance had landed almost in my backyard. My husband and I have spent many memorable evenings at the restaurant, and the food, the service, the whole experience have only gotten better with time. What has happily never changed—because it couldn’t get any better—is the expansive view across the Perdernales Valley at sunset.

The Welfare Café (830-537-3700; www.welfaretexas.com) - You only get so many perfect moments in life, and I’m happy to report that one of mine occurred in the patio of this glorious restaurant, housed in the former post office for the town of Welfare (population 10). It was an early May evening; the air was crisp and cool; a rainbow of wisteria hung over my head; I had a tantalizing appetizer of shrimp and goat cheese in front of me and a glass of robust chardonnay in my hand. And my darling husband and kids with me. Unforgettable.

Krause Springs, Spicewood (830-693-4181; www.krausesprings.net) -  In my opinion, Krause Springs is as close to Hawaii as you can get in Texas. Water burbles out of a spring behind some reeds and flows into a man-made pool and then over a three-story cliff to a deep, clear pool below. Behind the waterfall is a shallow cave swimmers can duck into after passing through the curtain of cold water. The whole area is shaded by enormous cypress trees—one of which is hollowed out and is about size of an average bedroom in a Manhattan apartment. Another holds a rope swing that takes those who dare far out over the swimming hole. There’s really no better spot in the Hill Country to escape the heat and the crowds.

Fischer Hall, Fischer (830-935-4800) - Texas has many exquisite dance halls, but my all-time favorite sits in Fischer, between Blanco and San Marcos. It is a near shanty, with walls that seem as substantial as melba toast and gaping slits between wood planks. The rafters are skeletal, but their thinness is disguised by coils of white Christmas lights—a permanent fixture of the hall that adds magic to any event, year round.  I celebrated my 40th birthday in the hall and as I two-stepped around in vintage black-and-red pony boots, I felt I had truly severed my East-Coast roots and had been reborn as a Texan. 

Jeannie Ralston will be conducting a one-day tour of Hill Country places mentioned in her book on Friday, June 12th, to coincide with the Blanco Lavender Festival. Visit her website www.jeannieralston.com for more information. 

Explore More: 

• Blanco Lavender Festival (official website)

• Blast from the Past: The Deutsch Apple Bakery (blog post)