Vacation

Mike took a couple of vacation days this past week and we spent the time exploring and relaxing. Some of our best vacations turn out to be the impromptu ones that don't get planned, but just happen. No reservations, no airlines, no time schedule. Just jump in the car and go. We talk about possibilities, but don't settle on anything definite until the time is at hand. I am so glad that the price of gas has gone down. We could actually afford to drive the back country roads, like we love to do on our days off. So besides doing some special activities with our Grandboys, we got to travel the country side looking for new places and things. We find this relaxing and great for photo opportunities. Mike is the photographer in the family, but he has taught us all to love the challenge of capturing the unusual or beautiful in a way that makes for good memories or just nice wall art.

Wednesday is my day to babysit just Adler, so we decided that day would be his first zoo trip. We took Adler to the Cameron Park Zoo in Waco, TX. It is a very beautiful zoo in the middle of an older neighborhood.

At 9 months, Adler really couldn't participate in the full experience, but he did get really intent at watching the big animals move about their enclosures. He would spot an animal and reach towards it and go "oooooo" when he saw it. Above is my favorite picture from this trip. Both Adler and Pops were so intent on watching the elephant and talking about what it was doing.

Thursday was a regular babysitting day for me, with both boys. In the morning Mike took a photo expedition to downtown Austin, to catch the morning sunrise over Town Lake and some quiet time. Thursday afternoon we took the Grandboys to Champion Park to play in the sand. They also got to climb on the rocks, swing on the playground, and ride in their big double stroller along the hiking path. We saw a deer in the woods. Drake was so excited. He still shows me how he waved bye bye to the deer when it ran off.

On Friday Mike and I were on our own. No Grandboys to love on and care for. We decided a good road trip was in order. We started out heading to San Antonio by way of Lakeway, Bee Caves and Johnson City. Our first destination in San Antonio was the Botanical Gardens to see the Terrific Treehouse Exhibition. Though there was nothing we considered special about the treehouses, we were very pleased with the gardens. They were beautifully groomed and there were flowers everywhere. We didn't know what to expect for November, but it was very evident that this is a place that is cared about in the city of San Antonio. We had a very enjoyable morning taking pictures and walking the trails enjoying the beauty of nature.

Can you believe that this lake scene with all it's color is in the Middle of the city of San Antonio? It was like really being in the Piney Woods of east Texas.

After a few stops at Camera Exchange and a few scrapbooking stores, we headed towards Lockhart, Texas for our favorite barbeque. Black's Barbeque has been owned by the same family since 1932. YUMMMMM! On the way to Lockhart we explored Seguin and the backroads to Luling. We stopped in Luling and walked up the main street. We could only window shop as it was 5 pm and all the stores were closing. After stretching our legs, we were back in the car headed to our ultimate destination and a great meal.

On Saturday we planned to head to Zilker Botanical Gardens for the Dinosaur Festival to see if we could get some good pictures as the sun was beginning to go down. We never imagined that there would be so many people that the parking lot would be full and we would have to park somewhere else. So instead of fighting the crowd at the end of the day, we decided to go have a nice dinner and then head for Parmer Auditorium and enjoy the park area around it.

The city skyline reflecting in the pool in front of Parmer Auditorium was a beautiful sight as the sun was going down behind us and reflecting on the buildings in front of us. After a great cup of coffee at Austin Java, we headed home to relax.

Sunday morning after church we decided to head back to Zilker and try to see the Dino exhibit again. This time we were lucky to find a parking place. We took some pictures, but not the quality we were hoping for as the sun was overhead and the shadows were quite harsh. Nonetheless we enjoyed the walk around the gardens discovering the prehistoric beings that were hidden in the trees. We were surprised at the contrast between the two botanical gardens we visited this weekend. San Antonio was full of color. Zilker was GREEN. Lots of plants, but no blooms.

Sunday afternoon was spent in my studio, designing a birthday present for April. doing some scrapbooking, and playing with some new inks, stamps and other mediums I bought on my shopping trip in San Antonio. All in all it was a wonderful week.