Austin Trip Day 2

On Wednesday (the first full day of our trip) we woke up, and leisurely got dressed and ready for the day. The kids were having fun and we had to pack a lunch, as well as stuff for our first "swimming hole" experience. I had told Rhayn there were a lot of swimming holes in Texas, and when we flew over the state she saw round holes (not sure what they were) filled with water and declared that there WERE a lot of swimming holes in Texas.

We finally got everything together and we able to leave the house. We stopped in town to get ice and I saw this sign. I have no idea what the building was (Chamber of Commerce? Town Hall?) I just really liked that the town name with a carved armadillo.

Before we made our way to the swimming hole, JD wanted us to stop at the Old Oaks Ranch. In the middle of no where there is a beautiful farm of alpacas and angora rabbits. The kids were able to try out spinning with a drop spindle. The place was also covered in sculptures. Beautiful ones. I mean did you ever think you would see a hippo in the middle of Texas? We spent a while there wandering and looking at the art.

Hippo sculpture.

But the kids (and parents) were hot and so we got back in the vehicle and away we went to The Blue Hole swimming hole.

This place was beautiful. Really gorgeous. The water was quite chilly though. The kids had an awesome time swimming around, and there were things to hold onto to jump into the water. I could have laid in the dappled grass and watched the clouds roll by all day. It was just that nice.

Instead I was given an exhilarating view of these strapping young Texans (they'd totally give my brother JVA a run for his muscley money, but he could do this, too). They would swing the ring out over the water. Then one would jump out, catch it, swing over the water then swing back until he jumped off landing back safely (and dry) on the shore. They did it over and over and over. It was fascinating to watch them.

Strapping Young Texans.

We stayed at the swimming hole for hours.

Rhayn after she jumped into the water. Yes, she jumped with the dragon tube around her waist.

The kids were exhausted when we left and the youngest three fell asleep quickly. The big girls (and moms) had a delicious snow cone from the Tropical Sno stand in Wimberly. The stuff they can do with shaved ice... drool. Why aren't there more (or any?) of these in Phoenix? Seriously? I did a search and there are none in my area. I tried out the Coconut Cream Pie (with cream topping) and got it in large because I was trying to save some for Gwennie when she woke up. Yeah. That didn't happen. I scarfed the entire thing down. It was THAT good.

For dinner, JD and I worked together. I grilled chicken for our Tuscan-style dinner while she made pesto and some other tasty treats. We had stopped at Rolling in Thyme and Dough on the way out to get a baguette for dinner. It was a very nice ending to another lovely day.

And we were exhausted.