Texas -> San Antonio and beyond

This past week I realized how much we needed a vacation. We were stressed out, tired of crying and in need of some time away. Lucky for us The Spencers in San Antonio opened their home to us on short notice. What are brothers for? : ) We arrived Memorial Day weekend and stayed for a week. We packed in a lot of sightseeing and day trips to nearby cities. Sam, Aubrey, Alex (4) and Dillon (2) were amazing hosts/tour guides and took the time to ensure we had a perfect vacation.

When we got off the plane at 10pm we were in shock from the heat and humidity. Sam had warned us that it would be hot but it still rocked us coming from our NorCal weather. Our first stop was at Rudy's BBQ/truck stop.

After we checked Texas BBQ off our to-do list we were just starting our lone star state experience.

Monday (Memorial Day) Aubrey competed in the Austin triathlon. After completing the olympic distance 1500 meter swim, 40km bike ride and 10k run she was greeted by her #1 fans.

Austin is the state capitol and is a must see on your trip to Texas. Its well known for the music scene, outdoor activities, resident bridge bats, Univ Texas-A, and celebrities Lance Armstrong and shirtless wonder MatthewMcConaughey. We got to see the inside of the pink granite capitol and I got a pic with George Bush.

Tuesday we went to Schlitterbahn Waterpark in New Braunfels. Years ago we saw this park highlighted on the Travel channel as the top waterpark in the nation. Immediately we knew it was our kind of place. There are 3 different parks that you shuttle between and with your wristband you have access all day to any park. We stayed until it closed at 8pm no surprise there. Sam told us about a restaurant that we should check out after for dinner. We enjoyed our meal at Gristmill River Restaurant. I found the experience truely unique. It was open air seating that backed up to a river. It was a hot night with crickets chirping and a local country band playing up a storm in the town hall next door.

Less magical was Cohen waking up that night with food poisoning and vomitting for 5 hours straight. We had to take that day off and stayed at the house. A powerful thunder and lighting storm rolled in that night and we watched it from the back porch. The next morning the news reported that it was the worst storm in 15 years.

Thursday Sam took the day off work and we went swimming at a river in the town of Bandera. The river was warm and we enjoyed floating downstream after hiking. It was a blast going off the rope swings.

Hanging with the locals

Friday I got sick with a fever but I tried to be a trooper and not let it slow us down. We went to the Cave without a Name in Boerne and to a German town named Fredricksburg.

Best of all (and a dream true for me) we went to see the Alamo. After touring inside I called my parents and reported I couldn't find the basement. I wish we could have spent more time at the downtown river walk - but I was over the heat and walking by that time.

Saturday we made one more stop to eat at the famous La Hacienda restaurant. We have seen it featured several times on the Food Network. We came to eat the puffy tacos but were more impressed by the beauty and family friendliness of the joint.

The end of our vacation came and we still had so much we wanted to see and explore with the Spencers. That will have to wait until next time.