  On May 27th we finished up the Texas Road Trip Tour of 2015, lol. If you wish to read more about this adventure please click here, here or here. I promise to keep updating - so much happened as we "road tripped" around. I think I need to do a "odd shit we saw in Texas" post too. But it wasn't all craziness and tacos- we had a lot of fun and visited so many cool places.   We also managed to visit Ikea in Roundrock before we left. :D  Vegan meatballs- #Yummy! Just in case you were unsure where Austin was in the US. We had a lovely adventure shopping, sightseeing and catching up with everyone while in there. The Time pasted so fast and suddenly it was time to leave again. #WTF? Angelica drove us back to Austin (from our last stop in south Texas) the day before our flight. I figured with all the horrendous weather it was best to not chance driving in the day of the trip. Most people I spoke with at the hotel had similar ideas.  More flooding was predicted.  And then the clouds rolled in and the rains continued. But we were warm and cozy in the hotel.  The lobby of the Wyndam Garden in Austin.  It's decorated with a Austin Music Theme.   Janis Joplin  Stevie Ray Vaughn  Gary P. Nunn  Willie Nelson There are pictures, bios, awards and other music related things on display. It was nice just walking around reading about the artist and their lives.   One of Omar's awards.  I requested a late check out and we headed to the local airport.  The airport was pretty busy for it to be a week day.   Handmade quilt (of Willie Nelson) at the Austin Airport.  Waiting for the plane~ I think the waiting is the hardest part for me. After the check in and getting passed the lines I'm so ready to leave already. So we ate (again) and waited a bit. The plane was delayed 30 minutes I think. It was arriving from London & I believe they got a late start due to the weather. We boarded smoothly and set off. We arrived on time to Heathrow (London, UK) which means the flight was actually early. It was an over night flight, but I could not sleep, so I stayed up and read. (I should have worked on the blog, but honestly I could not be bothered to do any type of work.) :( The flight was overall smooth & took approx. 9 hours direct from Austin, Texas to Heathrow.  I also did a bit of shopping before we left. Texas wine is always a welcome gift!  And Pecan Honey Butter :D  Checking out of the Heathrow area hotel. And climate shock at the colder temps. More about the #London adventure on next post.
See you at the next airport?  I admit that I like to go to the Faust Street Bridge (In New Braunfels, Texas, USA). So in between wild rain storms and driving around Texas the last 7 weeks we managed to visit not once, but twice! On our second visit I remembered I had a camera and snapped these few shots of the over flowing river & the green to gray skies.  We stopped at 12:30 and had the bridge to ourselves!  2 men were fly fishing in the river below us.  It was a lovely gray, over cast day.   A few heron were fishing too.  The bridge is a nice place to eat lunch and watch the birds or just chill.  You can read more about New Braunfels HERE and Here. I took Fall pictures of the bridge and the changing leaves here. It looked very different. I actually miss spending time just lazing around New Braunfels. There is always something to do there, be it tubing down the river, shopping or searching for the best tacos. If you are planning a trip to Austin or San Antonio you should include a day in New Braunfels just to check it out.
And speaking of trips... I'm now on the count down to another trip abroad, so back to packing- See you at the airport!  *Warning* Picture Heavy Post We continued our "Texas Road Trip 2015 Tour" by spending a week in Big Bend State Park. If you want to read about were we stayed and some of the other adventures click here and here. The trip was over 6 weeks long and I'm still sorting pictures! "There is a place in Far West Texas where night skies are dark as coal and rivers carve temple-like canyons in ancient limestone. Here, at the end of the road, hundreds of bird species take refuge in a solitary mountain range surrounded by weather-beaten desert. Tenacious cactus bloom in sublime southwestern sun, and diversity of species is the best in the country. This magical place is Big Bend."- http://www.nps.gov/bibe/index.htm  Yep, you can't argue with the Gov. Web site. It is a magical place. The park stretches along the Rio Grande in far west Texas, on the U.S.-Mexico border.  We jumped out at the entrance and started exploring. The land is so rugged and different from my part of Texas. If you want proper info on the park - check out the state web site here.   Visitors can hike, mountain-bike, backpack, paddle, ride horses or explore by vehicle (the park has two- and four-wheel-drive roads). This is Texas’ biggest state park, so there’s a lot to explore!   Lots of the plants were still blooming.   Yuccas-   The park has 238 miles of multiuse trails (for hiking, biking and horseback riding). Visitors can explore 70 miles of unmaintained dirt roads in high-clearance four-wheel-drive vehicles.     
    
 Our rental car.    Big Bend Ranch State Park is Texas’ largest state park, at over 300,000 acres.      More than 500 prehistoric campsites and shelters, cooking areas and rock art sites dot the park. Many of these are near drainages, springs or tinajas, but some sites are on upland areas away from obvious water sources.     We stopped for Lunch one day in Terlingua. These are pictures taken over several days spent in the park. The sky was always changing and the vistas were so awesome. We will definitely return.   You need to prepare before you go to the park as water is very limited. There are quite a few camp sits and lodges, but they book up fast. Also there were signs to watch out for bears (we didn't see any) and bobcats.     There are so many different shapes and sized mountains in the park. Its a very rugged, but pretty place.     It was warming up and we were glad for the clouds and a slight breeze.    This area had once been thick forests, but was logged in the 1930-40's. The trees are slowly coming back.   We drove for hours without seeing anyone. If you want to explore an area without a lot of tourists, then Big Bend is the place.   At one of the visitors centers,   A few cars and people were about.    Back on the road.     Auto to show scale & because I am too lazy to edit. None of these picts were edited. The park really is that awesome!  We stopped (Still in the park) to see some fossils.        Part of this hiking trail is wheel chair accessible.    The view of from on top of the small hill.    I'm actually not sure where I took this...      Another days adventure..    Can you spot the baby Jack Rabbit?         :O  More Jack Rabbits!     We parked and began to explore. But we were always on the look out for snakes. :x        People from Mexico leaving things for sale on the Texas side.    We parked and followed the hiking trail.     We walked further down.  Rio Grande River, looking towards Mexico.     It was odd to be at the river after spending all day in the high desert.   You are not supposed to take any rocks or anything else out of the park.    The river was calm and serene.     The rock outcropping looks somewhat like a ship.    The area was well worth exploring.   The sun was beginning to set so we walked back up to the car. Everything looked different in the changing light.    Inside the building- It had been a store and trading post.  Back on the road to catch the sunset-      A over look area to catch the sunset. :D  Computer/site is on over load from all the pictures- Sunset pictures to begin next blog post.
See you at the airport- “I made up my mind not to care so much about the destination, and simply enjoy the journey.”
― David Archuleta  Oh Hello, I'm back again with another PICTURE HEAVY nonsense post. Our Texas Roadtrip 2015 tour continues. Lol After we left Alpine (click here for the 1st part.) It was raining cats and critters and we decide to stop off in Fredricksburg. I was last here with Vanessa when we took a road trip to Enchanted Rock in October 2013. I blogged a bit about Fredricksburg here too. If you want to read more.  Our hotel (found on Hotwire).    Cute, right?  The area was so green and lush- Esp. after being in the High Desert area of Big Bend.   "Fredericksburg was founded in 1846 and named after Prince Frederick of Prussia. Old-time German residents often referred to Fredericksburg as Fritztown, a nickname that is still used in some businesses. The town is also notable as the home of Texas German, a dialect spoken by the first generations of German settlers who initially refused to learn English. Fredericksburg shares many cultural characteristics with New Braunfels, which had been established by Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels the previous year." - from Wiki   It is a notable tourist area for many Texans.   Herb farms, grape culture, lavender production and wildflower seeds have become burgeoning businesses in Fredericksburg. Combinations of agribusiness with day spas, wedding facilities, or bed and breakfast accommodations is not unusual. There is even a Texas Hill Country Lavender Trail. (wiki)     And lots of shopping...We saw some incredible art, ate some wonderful food and really enjoyed our brief stay.     And this is where my camera, his camera and both our phones died. OMG! I guess we should have charged them up before we set off! Regardless, we had a lovely day/night exploring the area. We then headed to our next stop on our road trip adventure. So more Texas travel post soon.
See you at the airport-  We just returned from a week in Alpine, Texas. Warning: This is another picture heavy post. I have been wanting to return to Big Bend and the Alpine area for a few years, but there has never been enough time. This area of Texas is very different from my home in central Texas. There are mountains, deserts, different wild life and also the temps vary greatly. May is not a tourist month as the temps are already getting in to the high 90's F. But it was the only time we could fit a trip in. We took our time and drove out, this allowed more time to explore the area. Yeah, #Roadtrip!  It looks very different from the San Antonio - Austin area.  I just love the big, blue open sky.  The town itself is approx 6,000 people.  "The town has an elevation of 4,475 feet, and the surrounding mountain peaks are over a mile high. It sits on a high plateau, in the Chihuahua Desert, with the Davis Mountains to the north and the Chisos Mountains to the south. Outcrops of ancient volcanic rocks spread to the northwest. Other layers of rocks have been exposed over time as the mountains were forced up and then eroded. The high altitude cools the desert air in the evenings. Alpine is located on U.S. Route 90 about 26 miles (42 km) east of Marfa and 31 miles west of Marathon".- from WIKI We explored Marfa, Fort Davis, Big Bend, Marathon and attended a star party at the observatory. I took a few pictures, so this will be a few posts, lol.   Most of the Yucca were blooming as we arrived.  And a different type of yucca.       We stayed at a lovely holiday house complete with a hot tub for late night star gazing!   Yeah! :D  Inside was cute, too.        "Cowgirls Don't call 911" lol  But back to the hot tub, lol.  And Patio-  Fire pit, too.  View from the back window, lol   (Found at the Snack Shack)  Also found while out shopping.   Next post on the Star Party and exploring Marfa.
See you at the airport!  This past week we took a week long holiday in New Braunfels, Texas (USA). The weather has been amazingly cool (under 85') and with scattered showers the flowers are blooming and the grass is still very green. I took almost -0- pictures this trip, so here are few I salvaged from the trusty iPhone.  Yes, Its 4:04 a.m. and once again I'm just getting to bed. #NotAVampire  See Daylight pictures ~  I cannot got to New Braunfels without visiting Gruene. See my past 100 entires of Gruene if you don't know..lol  Important shit (found in my iPhone) like where the HEB is located.  It was earlier in the morning -so no one was floating the river yet.    With all the rain it is up and flowing.  I found a decent Groupon deal and we stayed 5 days in these cute cabins. :D  It was a lovely break.  Our cabin had a orange tree!  It was overcast and rained most of the time, but we still had a great holiday.  I would def. go back for another stay-cation type holiday. It was a very relaxing, easy stay. We left there Friday and checked into a hotel (seen in the "I love New Braunfels" picture) for the weekend as I had to work Sunday in San Marcos.
Next we are off for a road trip to Big Bend State Park tomm (err, today I guess? Because its now after 2:00 a.m.) I know I will be taking millions of photos - if I can remb I have a camera. LOL See you at the airport- |
Author Welcome to my (I'm excited to travel again) blog, my healthy Vegan lifestyle blog and my life! It's a lot, but it's my passions and I just love to write about it. Visit the "About Me Page" to learn more. 
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