2016 Texas Vacation
Thursday May 12, 2016
Deb didn’t make it
Deb was scheduled to arrive this evening but was delayed in
Washington. She ended up staying over
night there.
Friday May 13, 2016
Deb finally arrives
Deb was supposed to arrive at 11 so I went into work. The airport is minutes from work so it was
much easier just to go there and leave when she got there. Her flight was again delayed so only arrived
around 3 pm. I picked her up and went
shopping. I needed some things at the
sports store that has gone bankrupt.
Went to a couple of other stores and then went down to the Riverwalk for
Supper on the way home. We went to the
out of the way part of the Riverwalk to save the other part for later. We ate at La Gloria Mexican Restaurant which
is street Mexican food for something different.
We ate outside overlooking the Riverwalk and then went for a walk from
there down to where the bats come out.
We were too early in the evening for the bats so didn’t see any. Went back to the restaurant and sat watching
the people and water for awhile and then back home.
Saturday May 14, 2016
Deb and I to the Beach
Deb and I went down to the beach for the day. Deb had her first Whataburger food which we
took to the beach to eat. We went for a
walk trying to figure out a good place to camp later in the week. We also played bean bag toss and ring toss on
the beach and went swimming. We then
headed home to get back in time to pick up Ruth and Judy at the airport. Went to the house and dumped all the gear and
Deb and I carried on to the airport.
Ruth and Judy Arrive
Their flight was early and the traffic was backed up trying
to get into the airport to get them so they had to wait over a half hour until
I got there. I picked them up in the truck so we threw the luggage in the back
end. It started to rain so had to pull
off to the side on the freeway to put them inside. Finally got back to the
house to get organized for Sunday.
Sunday May 15, 2016
Because it was Sunday we decided to go north of the city
thinking it would be harder to do that on a week day with all the traffic. I live on the South Side so to go north you
have to go end to end of the city.
Natural Bridge Caverns
First stop was at the Natural Bridge Caverns up in the Hill
Country North of San Antonio. Our timing
was awesome. We got there for the first tour of the morning and just walked
right in. These were the biggest caves I
have ever been in. They had a nice
walkway built through them with railings etc.
There were other tours that you could take to crawl through the very
narrow passages but this one was wide open but still very beautiful. The guide was good telling us all about how
the caverns came to pass and the history etc.
Gruene
After that we headed to Gruene which is a very old German town. We checked out a few of the novelty shops
where we bought some items and then off to the ‘bar’. We went in Gruene Hall, built in 1878, which
makes it Texas’ oldest continually operating and most famous dance hall. There was no band there when we were there
but the girls pretended and bellied up to the bar any way. They
still hold dances and concerts there on the weekends. It was raining so we didn’t get to hear all
the musicians that are usually there in Gruene playing outside at most of the
restaurants. We then walked over to the
Bed and Breakfast where it looks like the guests get to stay in the barn
literally. We assume the rooms are
really nice inside but outside they just look like a barn. We checked out the General Store which was
like going back in time to the old days where they sell penny candy etc. Next door to the General Store we found the
Wine store which had free wine tasting which the girls enjoyed. By this time it was pouring rain so we ran
into a couple of other stores then back to the car. In one of them which was an outdoor store,
Judy and I tried out the hammock/tents which was different. You can’t toss and turn in them so we aren’t
too sure how good that would be.
Salt Lick BBQ
We were supposed to go tubing in New Braunfels next but due
to the rain we decided to go for the “MEAL”
not just a meal….. we had been deciding where to take the girls for
Texan BBQ food – the place where you get your food delivered on paper or the
winery, outdoor music, bring your own booze place which we ended up calling the
MEAL since it was the total experience.
It is a lot farther away but with the rain who cares and then they got
the whole experience… long story short
we went to the Salt Lick in Driftwood for a late lunch. The girls bought their wine in the winery and
had it with their MEAL… Everyone loved
the atmosphere and the food so it was worth the drive.
It seemed to be clearing up a little after we ate so we
decided to try to get to the tubing after all on the way back down. According to the internet it should have
still been open but it was closed. We
found out later that because of the rain it was too fast flowing so too
dangerous so they closed early. So we
heading home….
BUCCEE’S
Went to BUCCEE’S on the way….yes I took them to a gas
station as a tourist attraction. It is
amazing though, the number of gas pumps that are there and the size of the
store inside. It is like a mini Walmart
inside with a full meat market and Deli and tourism nick nacky things. It sure lives up to the saying that
everything is bigger in Texas.
Went to the HEB – grocery store to pick up some things and
of course some wine and coolers so then we were set.
Monday May 16, 2016
Missions
Off to downtown stuff but wanted to do it by way of the
missions to fit them in too. First
Mission was Mission Espada, 10 minutes from our house, where the church wasn’t
open – too early in the morning but saw the building beside it where Nuns
live. We were waiting for the Mission
Parkway to open so Ruth went over and asked the workman when he was going to
open it since that was the best way that I knew to get to the other missions
and then down town. The Parkway was
closed because of flooding from the rain so he escorted us up the road to the
next Mission and told me how to get to the third one. There are 5 missions plus The Alamo but we
only went to three of them. The second,
Mission San Juan one’s church was also closed but we got to see the building
beside it where a padre still lives.
Finally got to the third one, Mission San Jose, that was totally open – after 10 a.m.
now. They told us they now open at 10
but didn’t change the internet nor the signs at them. Walked right in and saw the movie explaining
the history of the missions and southern Texas.
We then were able to walk around this one. We could go into a few of the living quarters
to see how they used to live back then.
We also were able to go through the church too which is just beautiful. We were all missioned out at this point so
skipped Mission Concepcion and Mission Valero.
Maybe next time. The guides say
that the Concepcion one is the most restored so would like to see it
sometime… Maybe next bike ride as when
we go on the trail we ride by all 5 of them.
The Alamo
Finally got to the downtown core and off to the Alamo. After seeing the other Missions, the Alamo is
pretty much a disappointment. You get to
walk through and see a lot of guns etc from the era as well as deeds that
people were given to remain living there.
We then went through the barracks where there is a lot of information on
the walls etc explaining the battles. We
then watched the movie which also explains it a lot better.
Rudy’s
We were supposed to go and eat at the Riverwalk and then the
Mexican market but the weather turned nice so off to New Braunfels to go
tubing. We were hungry so on the way up
we stopped at Rudy’s to eat which is another Texas BBQ place where you eat on
paper but you get utensils. Yes it is a gas station too…. People at work
say it is the best BBQ place around but who knows, they are all good as far as
I am concerned. Rudy’s is also noted for
its creamed corn as well.
Texas Tubes on the Comal River in
New Braunfels
It was hot and the
water was flowing at a nice speed so it was a relaxing afternoon tubing down
the Comal River.. We went down the big
powerful chute twice. There is a smaller
chute later on which has a whirl pool at the bottom of it. Deb and Ruth got through without any
problems. I circled around twice before
I could get out of it to continue down stream.
Poor Judy had a really tough time.
I think that she went around at least 4 times before she could get to
continue down stream. We laughed and
laughed… It was a lot busier than when I
went down with Jim and James. There were
a lot of kid’s James’ age having a great party so we were entertained. We showered off back at the starting point
and changed back into clothes to head back down to the River Walk for Supper.
The Riverwalk
We parked almost in the same spot as we did for the Alamo so
that was different and then walked down the stairs to the Walk.
Republic of Texas Restaurant
It was nice being down there in the evening so the girls got
to see all of the lights on the bridges etc.
We walked around and found a restaurant where we could eat right on the
edge. I let the girls pick the
restaurant…. Very cool… the same one I took Jim too and the same one we took
James to… I really like it so it was all
good – Republic of Texas Restaurant. The
food was great as usual. There were baby
ducklings again this time but at least a big bird didn’t come and eat them this
time.
Mexican Baja Jacket
We missed the Mexican Market for the tubing so rushed to the
mall downtown to get a Mexican Baja jacket for Ruth. She saw one at the missions but I thought she
could swing a better deal at the market but then we ended up not going. She found one for a couple bucks more in a
tourist shop so we didn’t have to go back to the missions.
Narrated River Walk Tour on River Barge
After that we still had time for our boat cruise on the
River walk where they tour you around and explain all of the landmarks that you
are passing. I have wanted to go on one
of those boats since I came down here for a user group conference with
Multiview and I finally made it. One
more thing off the bucket list.
We were all done in after that so the girls wanted to go
back up to street level to go back to the car but I convinced them that at that
time of night it was safer down below where all the people are. There are too many homeless people down town
so I like to steer clear of them. It was
a nice stroll back to the car from there any way passing all the restaurants
again. Found the car and then found home
again.
Tuesday May 17, 2016
To the Beach
We packed up and headed to the beach on North Padre Island
where our RV was going to be delivered for us.
Of course we picked up our Whataburger food along the way so Ruth and
Judy finally had Whataburger Food. We
parked the truck and only pulled out the chairs for us to sit on and sat and
ate lunch and waited for the RV.
Texas Beach Camping RV Rental
The RV arrived precisely on time but they said that part of
the beach was too narrow for the RV so they took us just a little further down
the beach for our lovely spot where we lived for the next few days. We unloaded the truck into the RV, fridge and
got our beds organized and then enjoyed the rest of the afternoon on the water.
La Playa Restaurant in Port Aransas
We drove off Padre Island onto Mustang Island and went over
to Port Aransas for supper. I had been
to other La Playa restaurants and this one was just as good. It is a Mexican restaurant – more tex -
mex… Driving back to the RV I found out
that you have to turn the lights on in the truck. Jim says once they are on they stay on but I
guess they turned off some how. Guys
were beeping their horns at us so we finally clued in.
Lightening Storm
The Storm that night was an amazing light show. The lightening was awesome. We sat outside for awhile watching until it
started to rain and then watched from inside.
We had been warned that a severe storm was coming and if the water was
too high then get off the beach with the truck.
One guy told us that the water was probably going over the dunes. I kept opening the door every half hour or so
until High tide was over and then went to a sounder sleep. It didn’t even come up past the tires. A lot of the lightening we could see was
north of us. Jim Texted in the morning
asking if we were under water. It was
the most water that he had ever seen come down at one time in San Antonio so
good thing we were on the beach instead.
Obviously no campfire that night.
Wednesday May 18, 2016
Broke the cord on the Generator
Woke up to a beautiful morning on the water. Sat in the lawn chairs watching the sun come
up drinking morning coffee. Filled the
Generator with Gas since we had it on all night long for the night light
outside and the air conditioning. Tried
to start it after it was full so we could use the microwave for coffee and the
cord broke. We texted the owners and
they had the generator fixed by 5 pm for night time. They came in the morning to pick it up and had
it back by 5. Awesome service. We
could use the stove to boil water since it was on propane. Had nice omelettes for brunch and then sat on
the beach all day.
Tubing in the Gulf of Mexico
We blew up the tubes and ventured out into the water to
enjoy the tubes and the waves. A lot
different tubing than on the Comal River but lots of fun flipping around and
floating here and there. We took walks,
read books and swam and tubed and ate junk food – great restful day.
Hu Dat Noodle House Restaurant
Went to the Hu Dat for Supper. This is a Vietnamese Restaurant that people
at work recommended for us. They are
also famous for their pork chops which I love.
I forgot that Texans love their meat with burned edges so it wasn’t the
way I like it – moist and fatty. The
girls said that they enjoyed the food that they ordered so it was all
good. I can at least say I tried it.
Gas and Groceries
Filled up the Generator Gerry Can and then went grocery
shopping then back to the beach.
Windy so no Camp Fire
One more night without a camp fire. Too much wind so we just sat and drank and
listened to the waves. Very soothing end
to a great day on the Beach. We had dug
the pit for the bonfire which was very deep but still too windy.
Thursday May 19, 2016
Beautiful Sun Rise and morning on the Beach
Judy and I enjoyed the sun coming up while drinking our
coffee. We get the sun rises over the
Gulf but the sunsets are behind the dunes so the mornings are the best. It was supposed to be a stormy day but the
morning was great. Deb and Judy sat
around and swam near the RV. Ruth and I
walked south on the beach to a point where we could climb the dunes and have a
great view. We started walking back to
the trailer and I went out for a swim. I
got body slammed by a big wave. I kept
my bathing suit and sun glasses but lost my hat…. We each had the same
hat. I bought them for us to wear to
keep cool. They are baseball hats that
you wet and they keep you cool. We
walked back to the RV and it became overcast. We had lunch and got ready to go to town.
Texas State Aquarium – Corpus Christie
Since the weather was bad we went to the Aquarium for
something to do. Some of the thinks to see there are outside and some are
inside. Even when we were seeing the
outside exhibits there were places to be under cover. It is very well designed. It is a typical aquarium, just neat since it
is right on the bay so they have easy access to bring in fresh sea water for
the animals. The Aquarium is right
beside the Lexington which is a huge Aircraft carrier ship. We looked at it from the outside but did not
tour it.
Portland, Aransas Pass, Ferry, Port Aransas, Mac Daddy’s, back to RV
To go out for dinner and back to the RV we did the loop
going along the shore line across many bridges through small towns to get to
Port A for supper. We first got to
Portland and then drove through Aransas Pass which took us to the Ferry to go
over to Port Aransas. From Corpus Christie
to Padre Island there is a bridge but if you want to cross over to Mustang
Island from the other side you have to go on the Ferry. I have been on it once coming from the other
way around so wanted to go over going this way since the last time I saw
dolphins. The country side is very
different on this route so the girls saw a little bit more of the differences
in Texas. Finally got to the Ferry
ride. We didn’t get out of the truck but
could still see a couple of dolphins barely going over the surface of the
water. We then went shopping at a bunch
of the touristy stores in Port Aransas.
Port A is a very Touristy town so lots of places to spend money. We asked one of the people in the store for a
recommendation for supper that wasn’t 100% seafood and we were told to go to
Mac Daddy’s Family Kitchen which ended up being an awesome place to eat just down
from La Playa where we went on Tuesday night.
We had a mixture of sea food and BBQ food and everyone liked what they
got. After Dinner we went back to the
Ferry Dock to see if we could see the dolphins in the wild. We were all looking out at the Ferries and
couldn’t see any but then Debbie looked right down next to us at the shore and
found them swimming right near us. It
was really dark so taking pictures of them was difficult but it was still great
to see them in the wild like that, not in an aquarium. We then went back to the RV for the rest of
the evening.
Camp Fire Finally
I had gathered a lot of very old wood from the end of our
street, lots of little pieces of two by fours from the construction sites
around the house and saved lots of cardboard and papers for the camp
fires. We had two of my big plastic
buckets full and random logs which only took around 2 and a half hours to
burn. Normally that would be depressing
if we had had a camp fire all three nights but since we wanted to burn it all
in one night it was awesome. Boy did we
have hot coals at the end. Can’t beat a
Campfire on the Beach.
Friday May 20, 2016
Packing and Tubing
We had to pack up in the morning but still had a day on the
beach so had strategy packing going on.
We cleaned out the RV and then enjoyed the morning on the Beach. Ruth and I went tubing. We had lunch on the beach and then texted the
owners and told them where we hid their key and off we went.
Hat and Dunes View
We drove down the beach to find my hat and yes we found
it. Go figure… it should have been impossible
but I lucked in. We then went a little
further to where Ruth and I had climbed the dunes and took Judy and Deb up to
see the view.
Padre Island National Seashore.
Drove off the beach and down the road to the National
Seashore just 8 miles further down the beach.
You have to get off the beach to drive the road and then back on the
beach here since there are a few miles where no cars are allowed on the beach
at the beginning of the Park. This is a
National Park where again the landscape is very different from the rest of
Texas. Lots of dunes and swamp
land. Most of Padre Island is less than
20 feet above sea level so there is a lot of water on the surface especially
when we had had so much rain. They even
had a water boil in effect while we were there so no fountain drinks or water
so we had to drink canned drinks and of course wine and coolers.
Laguna Madre - World Winds Wind Surfing and Paddle Boarding
We drove to the inland side of the island to try Paddle
Boarding. This is on the Laguna Madre
not the Gulf of Mexico. The water there
does not have as high waves as on the gulf side but it was still quite windy
when we got there. We Rented on Paddle
Board for 2 hours for all of us to share.
Going with the current was easy but coming back up was a work out. We all agreed that a Kayak is a much better
investment. The water was calm by kayak
standards so if we had a cottage we figure that we could use a board when the
water was clear as glass on a lake but very difficult on open water. We had a good time trying it out though.
National Seashore Welcome Center – Malaquite Beach
After we were done boarding we went to the welcome center
for more education. The rangers were
very informative telling us about all the bean and shells that we had been
seeing on the beach. We asked him about
the little bug that had visited us at our campfire the previous night. The bug had two glowing green lights. He couldn’t believe that we were asking him
that since someone earlier had asked the same question and everyone told the
guy that he had been seeing things and it must have been a Martian. Now that we had seen a similar bug he was
stumped. Maybe we saw the Martians too
but all four of us saw it. According to
the internet they are Pyrophorus(Fire Beetles) and just as we thought they are
related to the fire flies. Their eyes
don’t flash on and off though, they were on solid green the whole time. The Welcome Center overlooks Malaquite Beach
where no cars nor dogs are allowed so we did not go down there.
South Beach
We got back in the truck and literally drove to the end of
the road and onto South Beach. All of
these beaches are one continuous beach with different names every so many
miles. The waves now were huge here so
we had lots of fun playing in the waves.
We sat and read for awhile and then changed out of our wet bathing suits.
Grassland Nature Trail
There is a nature trail to walk around at the edge of the
park. At the beginning of the trail we
were able to take a brochure that gave details about 10 different flowers and
plants that we were going to see. We
then walked around a paved trail for ¾ of a mile. Each of the 10 items had posts with their
numbers on them where we were supposed to look for them and read about
them. Very interesting. We felt safe on the trail and didn’t see any
Rattle Snakes we think. Ruth did see a
little baby snake slither up into the dunes but that was it.
Shopping and Whataburger
Went into a little tourist store where I bought the girls a
little plastic bottle filled with shells and sand so the could take some of the
beach home with them. It was probably
made in China but they can think that they have some any way. We then ate at Whataburger one last time for
them. Took pictures there for memories
since if it wasn’t for Whataburger, I wouldn’t be here living for people to
come and visit.
Home to pack, laundry and party
Deb texted Jim to get a cake so we had a little birthday
party for me when we got back to the house.
Joan’s birthday gifts were there so I opened my lovely presents and had
Birthday Cake while the sheets and clothes were dumping sand into my
washer. It was lots of fun. Jim put the truck on the street to hose it
down to try to get rid of some of the sand.
We all cleaned our glasses and could finally see again. We all enjoyed having a nice hot shower for a
change and get rid of the salt and sand off of us.
Saturday May 21, 2016
Final Packing, Picture Exchange
We spent the morning doing the final packing, exchanging
books and pictures from phones and computers.
We have lots of duplicates so it will be a challenge going through them
all to find the best ones from each event.
I zipped them and emailed them to everyone.
Off to the Airport
It was raining when we were going to pack so we decided to
take two vehicles to the airport which is close to work. There was a car accident on the way so
traffic was backed up. I told them that it
was the same as going to work in the morning, accident and all. Hopefully they are going to be home safe and
sound soon. It was nice that the weather
was bad when they left so they didn’t feel bad.
When we got back to the house the sun was shining and it was very hot
and humid. Sat out on the back deck
until I couldn’t stand the heat any more and came inside to finish this. The humidity was making it feel like it was
109 degrees…and very little breeze. I
miss the beach already. We looked at going
down tomorrow but it is supposed to storm down there tomorrow so maybe not…..
There is always next weekend..NOT … Memorial day is not the time I want to be
down there but the next weekend we will be back there for sure………
