In 1969, looking for a weekend retreat, Peter Way told his young wife, "Let me take you to a place that I loved as a kid." Driving from Houston, arriving in Wimberley, viewing the long neglected property bordering Cypress Creek and seeing its potential, MaryFaye fell in love too.
Today, tucked behind a long stone wall, sporting a myriad of gloriously sculpted iron gates, sits the weekend retreat of Peter and MaryFaye Way. More than a retreat, this is an oasis-a Shangri-La shaped by the eons, treasured memories, imagination and love.
The story began before WWII when Peter's grandfather, a businessman from Houston-also looking for an occasional escape from city life-purchased a piece of property on a finger of land that lies at the confluence of Cypress Creek and the Blanco River. After years of delay, due to a world at war, materials and plans for a house were ordered from a catalogue and construction begun. This original two bedroom, one bath cottage-enlarged, remodeled, reshaped-lies at the core of a five building compound, that is a welcome gathering place for both family and friends.
A preservationist and a man who at heart dearly loves this land, Peter Way has taken what he purchased from his family and created a wonder. This private world begs to be explored. A fractured earth gave up her secrets and allows water to flow...fall...spill...cascade. Trees shade, flowers grow, vegetables flourish, pergolas meander, stone steps lead forever down; a bronze mountain goat stands watch over all. Walk far enough, explore long enough and you will discover a zipline built for lucky grandkids as a quick, laughter filled access to the water below. Beneath the canopy of a welcoming portico, the main entrance to the original cottage has been enhanced with a Zen like quality brought about by delicate streams of water falling through separate twin stone slits into rectangular pools; the small pools guarded by two ancient hitching posts that Peter and MaryFaye found during a trip to China.
The interior of the cottage speaks to a sense of comfort and welcoming casualness. Sit. Stay. Relax. Read a book. Take a nap. Hang your hat with mine. Laugh. MaryFaye has inserted her own style and sense of whimsy by ornamenting her retreat with inviting furniture and works from local artisans. A collection of woman's period hats hang on the walls of one of the bedrooms, but they are not just for show. "On Easter everyone chooses which hat they want to wear to Sunday lunch," she says. Lunch is served at the enormous dining room table that has been part of the home for as long as Peter can remember.
And then there is the hideaway within the escape within the retreat. Time passed, kids grew up, married, had kids of their own. Their populated world grew exponentially. MaryFaye and Peter needed one last escape. This came in the form of a private bedroom sanctuary-separate from the original cottage-built into and over the rocky ledge that borders the creek, with a portion of the ledge forming the back wall of the structure.
Among other things, along this rocky-ledge-bedroom-wall you will see a bronze mountain lion tucked in the natural stone outcropping overlooking the sitting room fireplace; and if you look hard enough you will also see the ghost of a small boy shimmying down a tree trunk not far away. Peter points to the place, now inside his personal sanctuary, where the tree once grew on Mother Nature's rocky shelf and says, "I'd climb down that tree and hide out below the ledges when I was a just a kid." Now Peter hides out here with his wife MaryFaye. In their master bath you will see not only a waterfall, but a tuffet-and all that goes along with that image.
MaryFaye fell in love with what Peter loved that day so long ago, and today they are still in love...with the land, their family, friends, their history...and the special world they have created.
Come share their world for one extraordinary evening, Thursday November 7th, during the Wimberley Civic Club's Annual Candlelight Cocktail Party which kicks off the Civic Club's November Holiday Tour of Homes. This fund-raising effort benefits many non-profit organizations within Wimberley, as well as numerous graduating high school seniors who receive scholarships.
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