Texas adventures

It has been a really long time since I have written--we are just having too much fun! And, probably, too little sleep. When we decided to come back here, we thought that we would stay for about a week, but that turned into 10 days, then 2 weeks, and so on. We are in love with the people here. It is so amazing to be surrounded by families who are doing the same kinds of things we are. And I am thrilled to have girlfriends who I can actually hang out with--in person. But more on them, and how much I love them, later. The other great thing about being here is that we are really close to a lot of cool places. So we get to hang out with people we love, and hang out in places we love. See why we haven't left yet?

Our first stop was an old jail in historic Gonzales, Texas. The craziest thing about this place is that it was still used to house prisoners until the 1970s! It was creepy and cold and even had a gallows right in the center so that all the other prisoners had to watch. But it was full of history and really interesting.

We are only about an hour and a half away from Austin, so of course we had to go there. We went on a Saturday morning so that I could hit up the local market. It was cold that morning, but I still scored some broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and beets. In January. And some yummy local milk.  

There was a little park right along side the market, so the kids ran around there while we waited for my precious Gourdoughs to open. Once we had stalled long enough, we headed over, only to find out that they had run out of dough! They said to try back in a couple of hours.

So we got some veggie dogs for lunch and then went back...still closed.

So we ran some errands at Target (where they were out of the jeggings I live in but now have a hole in the knee so wanted to replace) and then went back...and they were opened! 

We ordered "The Puddin" "Black Out" and "Mama's Cake" with Oreos.

We all experienced some serious donut bliss. 

We are also a little over an hour away from San Antonio, so, on a beautiful, sunny day, we went to explore it. We started out down town. We parked and walked to the Alamo. 

Then we took a stroll down the Riverwalk. I had no idea it would be so beautiful! 

We decided we totally love San Antonio. 

When we got back from San Antonio, we decided to walk to a nearby boat landing. It was so still and peaceful 

Except for the flocks of vultures that keep flying around and perching in the tree right behind Mark's head. It is still really trippy for me to see them at all, much less swarming around like that. I felt like they were just waiting for Judah to fall into the river.

A few days later, the whole gang took a field trip to the Shiner Brewery. We got a guided tour of the factory and a bunch of free samples of the beer. It was pretty great.

 

On another beautiful day, we headed back to San Antonio to check out some of the parks. The first stop was a Japanese Tea Garden. When we drove up, it looked like it was under construction and closed down, but then we walked past the construction fence into this...

It was spectacular! The sun, the rocks, the plants, the koi, the waterfall...it was amazing. 

As we left, I saw some daffodils blooming. In January.

After the tea garden, we headed to a playground downtown in a park that once hosted the World's Fair. There was a lot of stuff to climb on and the kids had a blast.

Even Mark got in on the fun. 

Then we chilled out along the Riverwalk before we headed home. 

We are having such a nice time. Although we haven't moved the RV in a really long time, we have seen so many amazing things. And we have been in short sleeves for most of them .