In celebration of my inlaws’ 50th wedding anniversary, we put together a weekend getaway with them to Czech country. I had read about a “kolache trail” that had been mapped out some years ago and thought it would be a delight to experience with them. There are 10 recognized on this particular trail spanning all to the west of Houston and as far south as the Freeport area and north as Waco. We selected 4 for geographical and time convenience to achieve on a Saturday.

We left my inlaws’ house in Houston about 8 am and arrived at bakery #1 in Chappell Hill an hour later. The lovely log cabin feel and coffee smell of Chappell Hill Bakery were quickly trumped when we saw the display case. Kolaches and “meat kolaches” for days! Nathan insists that the meat variety be called klobasneks, but I have a heck of a time saying that for some reason, so meat kolache is easy. Archer selected a bacon, egg and cheese “kolache”, and Ashlyn a ham and cheese. They surprised me with their disinterest in the sweeter side of things. Weston went for a monster cinnamon roll and the adults selected cream cheese, poppy seed and peach kolaches. Ashlyn and Archer were very pleased with their savory choices, but the rest of us found something lacking in our fillings. Perhaps not enough? But we were excited to have kicked off the taste test!

Stop #2 was about another hour away in La Grange. We were initially thinking we would have lunch at Weikel’s Bakery as well, but it was only 10:30 and we just weren’t ready yet. Weikel’s was not as grand of a display, but they had quite a variety! Including kolaches the size of a dinner plate! Ashlyn and I selected a cream cheese and chocolate pudding kolache while the others kept to their previous flavors for accurate comparison. The boys bowed out this go around. Shocking! Also shocking was how much better these were than Chappell Hill’s! We had a new leader, haha.

For stop #3, we switched back a little bit to Ellinger for Hruska’s Bakery. This was the busiest one yet. We were lost in a sea of burnt orange…game day I suppose for a certain university ;). We put in for an order of burgers and grilled cheeses and the adults powered through on our quest and selected another round of kolaches. I deviated with a pumpkin pie and cream cheese one while the others kept their consistency. There were no complaints on the baked goods, but they still didn’t have whatever Weikel’s has. The burgers were excellent, though!

At this point, it was only 12:30 and we were 30 minutes from our final destination with one last bakery and our hotel in Schulenburg. I had anticipated the bakeries being more time consuming. Nathan and I quickly pieced together an along-the-way itinerary viewing some of the area’s well known “painted churches.” Yay for being spontaneous planners!

We started the tour with the Hostyn Grotto at Queen of the Holy Rosary Church outside of La Grange. There were numerous shrines and grottos surrounding the church, including a pair of Civil War cannons in memorial of a father and son that fought on opposite sides and were both buried in the church’s cemetery. The main grotto depicting Jesus’ tomb was built in 1925 and was made of rocks quarried from the Colorado River to resemble a shrine in Lourdes, France. We were all very impressed with the craftsmanship of all the structures on the property.

Ammansville with St. John the Baptist Church was our next stop. The Church we saw was the third for the site being built in 1919. The first two were destroyed by a storm and then a fire. And it was pink. A lot of pink! We encountered a tour group at this one and by the sound of it, if you had time in your day and extra interest, I would recommend scheduling and paying the $10/person to Schulenburg’s chamber of commerce for the guided tour.

For our next stop, Sts. Cyril and Methodius Church in Dubina, we lucked out with another tour being present and were granted access to enter the building instead of viewing through a gate. It was built in 1912 by the area’s Bohemian residents and they put their bright light and color pallet into it. Incredibly beautiful.

We had to skip one Church after reading online that it was closed for the day for a wedding, but we still had St. Mary’s Catholic Church in High Hill. Except when we pulled the up the parking lot was SWAMPED. Apparently the tour website didn’t get the memo that this Church also had a wedding going on. Oh well. It is supposed to be quite impressive on the inside with statues imported from Italy, stained glass from Germany and a reproduction of Michelangelo’s “Pietà.” Some other time, perhaps.

By now it was 2:30 and we were ready for our final Bakery in Schulenburg. Except Kountry Bakery closed at 2pm. Oops. On to the hotel then. Once situated and freshened up, we headed out to the historic Sengelmann’s Hall for dinner at “Mama’s Restaurant.”

This place is so cool! This 1890’s saloon and dance hall shut down in the 1940s but brought back to life in 2009 to include a restaurant. They do quite the business with weddings now and we counted ourselves lucky they were open for usual business this Saturday. In fact, we had the place to ourselves! Yay for early dinners. Our meal was fantastic and the beer was cold. 😁 After dinner, the kids and I explored and we found our way up to dark dance hall upstairs and out onto the balcony behind the Sengalmann sign. My old timey dancehall loving self was in heaven.

After a good, hard night’s sleep we checked out of the hotel and introduced everyone to the awesomeness that is the Oakridge Smokehouse Breakfast Buffett. In fact, we DID bring Ma N Pa! It was the cherry on top of a weekend full of eating and having not been there in 8 or so years, I was so happy to see not a single thing had changed. I find that refreshing from time to time.

-Lindsay

Our local school district implemented a week long Fall Break this year and while that normally wouldn’t affect us…this particular time, Ashlyn’s dance team took the week off as well and gave us 2 extra weekdays! We had noticed the parks were reaching capacity for weekends in October and gladly booked ourselves a Monday through Thursday stay at Cleburne State Park. I picked this park for it’s less than 3 hour drive from the house and abundance of trails. Other than that knowledge, we hoped for the best on our Fall camping opportunity!

We arrived at the park by 11am, 3 hours before designated check in time for overnight stays, but this hasn’t been an issue in the past. If the spot is already unoccupied, headquarters will just let you get an early start. And thanks to the new online reservation system, I was able to meticulously pick a spot that would be unoccupied as of Monday am and would be without neighbors for the entirety of our stay. Unfortunately, the headquarters staff were not as caught up from the weekend’s surge and only allowed us entrance to the park to await the site’s availability. 🙄 After driving by the campsite and taking a picture to prove it’s lack of occupancy, I decided having some lunch to ward off any potential hangry attitude would be beneficial and give the kid at headquarters a chance to get over himself. The day use area was relatively small but very user friendly with a spread of shaded picnic tables, beach swim area, impressive playground and newly constructed bathhouse with an attached banquet room and pavilion.

A little after noon we had received our permit and got started on setting up camp. TWO HOURS LATER, we had the camper set and level. Turns out the pads were pretty unlevel and my initial positioning of the camper just wasn’t going to work no matter how much I played with the jacks. So after hooking back up, repositioning and fiddling with jacks; we were level enough. Lesson here is, walk the site before backing into it.

Eager to soak up the mild 80 degree weather before a cold front arrived, we visited a bank fishing area before dinner time. The kids didn’t have any luck but got some casting practice!

Dinner time brought another headache when my Coleman stove started leaking fuel. This was not the first time I’d experienced complications with the fuel burning stove and had long pondered investing in a simpler propane burning stove. Having had it with hiccups on our first day and a Walmart 20 minutes away in the nearby Cleburne, I decided no better time than now to commit! Lol We returned an hour later with a nifty grill and stove top combo and whipped up some hot dogs 😆.

Archer ended up having hard night complaining of a headache and running an elevated temp. He opted to stay in bed the following morning while I cooked up bacon and eggs. Breakfast was finished just in time for it to start raining and while we ate indoors, we decided a revisit to nearby Dinosaur Valley State Park would be a good way to maneuver around the forecast.

On the way, we picked up some Tylenol for Archer’s ailments and he soon perked up. Our prediction worked out and we enjoyed the empty park on the back side of the storms. It was especially sweet being back 1.5 years later with the kids and Sally having a lot of then and now repeats.

We returned to camp for lunch and Archer and I snuck in an hour nap while Ashlyn and Weston played Uno. They woke us up when the rain stopped and we felt ready to tackle a trail! Ashlyn requested a 2 mile round trip trail that would take us past the CCC constructed spillway and a lake overlook. Not far into the trail we crossed the below dam section of Camp Creek and spotted some dung beetles doing some up hill work.

We didn’t know what to expect from the spillway except that we had read on the trail description that it was hand dug and carved from a limestone cliff side. The trail soon opened up and gave us a glimpse of a rock ledge and while the view was partially blocked, we were impressed enough to carry on to the next PoI. HOWEVER, as we came around another clump of trees, the view opened up to the entire spillway and we were awestruck!

Ashlyn and Weston immediately clambered down the limestone brick wall and into the gully. Once it was obvious there weren’t others around, I let Sally navigate herself down off leash and archer and I followed. For a small lake, this spillway was massive and elaborate! 3 tiers were HAND DUG by a crew of men out of the hillside and made into retaining wall. The Civilian Conservation Corp. continues to amaze me. I don’t think they make humans like that anymore.

Once we had our fill of exploring the spillway, we continued on to the lake overlook sight. On our way, Archer started to feel cruddy again and didn’t want to go further knowing he still had to double back. Ashlyn still wanted to complete the mission, so I gave her the option to finish the .2 miles on her own and she accepted the challenge! 15 minutes later, she returned quite proud of herself for seeing what she came to see.

After dinner, the kids wanted some playground time which we did until dark. Then it was showers and packing in the campsite for the potential weather that would be hitting us overnight.

We lucked out with this cold front! We managed to be in a break in the line of storms and didn’t even really experience much wind! It was COLD in the morning, though! Archer was feeling much better but, unfortunately, Ashlyn woke up feeling the effects of the apparent virus we were dealing with. Some Tylenol and breakfast later, she was soon up for another trail.

We picked a windy 2 mile round trip trail hopeful for some more cliff side views. What we ended up with was a lot of switchbacks on the side of tree covered hill haha. The scenery was mostly boring for the kids, but I was happy to get moving and get the blood pumping with the new chill in the air.

After lunch we took our leftover hotdogs to the fishing pier and tried some bobber fishing. It didn’t last long as the kids’ attention is crap when they aren’t continuously casting.

We finished off our final night with a campfire and s’mores.

Our morning was easy and relaxed as we packed up camp. The kids showed me the “hollowed out tree” by the campsite they had played in during the week and we stopped by one last CCC structure on our way out.

This park really exceeded our expectations! It’s hidden gems like the spillway and lengthy trails coupled with updated facilities made it an entertaining and comfortable stay. I’m glad we gave 3 whole nights to this seemingly simple park.

-Lindsay

Wanda (the pop up camper) is back on the road!!! After being marooned in Rocksprings for 7 months and a summer spent getting a few modifications by Handy Hubby, she’s better than ever! And what better way to re-inaugurate her than a quick weekend to a park 2 hours away with 5 people and 2 dogs?!

The state park is actually spread out over two units on Jim Chapman Lake. The lake was created in 1991 by damming the South Sulphur river and the entire lake front is either State Park or wildlife management area. We elected to set up camp at the smaller unit to the north, Doctors Creek, and visit the South Sulphur Unit during our stay. Opened in 1996, it is one of the newer parks we’ve visited and we were optimistic for some nice amenities and enjoyable water play in this lingering heat.

Travel and set up at the park went smoothly and I was pleased with the site selection I previously made online. I was hopeful for more direct water access from our site for swimming and fishing, but the overgrowth along that part of the shoreline made it not ideal. After our lunch, we decided a swimming attempt would be the best way to spend the afternoon.

I am learning that the older I get, my level of “water prissy-ness” is only increasing. I NEED to see my feet if I’m going to touch the bottom. I will get in water where I don’t see the bottom, but I NEED to see what’s around my body. 🤦🏻‍♀️ This swimming area was not satisfactory to my NEEDS…. however! I did manage to swipe one the kids floats and keep myself topside while cooling off. Lol! The kids and Nathan didn’t care. Bunch of savages 😉.

The kids received awesome camping hammocks for Christmas last year and we finally had the perfect time and setting to use them! Hammocks for the win! They were laid back in those things any time we were at camp and they weren’t being summoned for something. Archer did flip out– twice– but didn’t injure himself too badly and hopefully has it figured out.

After dinner, we attempted some fishing from the shore near the boat ramp, but fatigue was setting in and attention spans were short. So an hour later, we were back at camp to find 7 additional cars at our neighbors camper and quite the hoorah going down. So much for a quiet evening in the woods. We retired indoors around 8 pm and played a few rounds of uno. By 9 pm we were all ready for bed and didn’t hear anything else from our neighbors after 10pm. Thank goodness.

That morning, we hit a half mile nature trail and Nathan found a geocache! I haven’t really made them a thing when traveling with the kids, but he has always had an interest so I’m glad he was able to share it with them. When we finished the easy stroll through post oaks and pocket prairies, Ashlyn was itching for some more hiking (atta girl!), so she and I took an additional half mile trail to the day use area where the boys met us with the car at a playground.

We returned to the camper for an early lunch and leisurely pack up and were on our way to the South Sulphur Unit before noon. This side of the park was significantly larger! It has 4 day use areas, 2 multiple lane boat ramps, and 4 camping areas including an equestrian site and cabins. The swim area was larger and had a sandy beach entrance. Much of the shoreline made for easy water access even in the camping areas. We picked the day use picnic area for a quick dip in the water. Because it wasn’t an official swimming area, we were able to let the girls play. And they had a ball! Sally was leaping and splashing everywhere while Skye enjoyed a wade.

We would definitely come back to this park for another quick weekend retreat. I’m sure it’s seasonal and the heat as of lately is deterring people, but we mostly had the place to ourselves everywhere we went! Although I found myself missing the charm of a CCC era park, the amenities are on the new side and clean. The next visit, we would love to stay on the South Sulphur side and try out site 68 to be exact. It’s on the end of the camping loop and looks to have fantastic lake frontage all it’s own. We are so happy to have the camper out and about again. This Fall (and part of Winter perhaps) Betty and Wanda are going to go places!

-Lindsay

We were SO excited for this park! Geology Hubby was able to come, this was the kids’ first cave experience having only seen rock shelters to this point AND bonus! the McCrackens joined us as well. The park was just a few miles from the house we had just spent the weekend at and we were able to get in to the first tour at 10am. The tour was almost 2 hours long and chock full of information and history! I’m going to do my best to recap it all.

This Solution Cave formed as a result of the prehistoric “lift up” that occurred when volcanic activity caused the land in Texas that was ocean floor to rise above sea level. Rivers then formed and this area’s river flow dissolved the limestone and dolamite rock bed creating the unique tunnels and spaces below ground. Prior to becoming a state park attraction in 1932; the Comanche, the Confederate Army and party-goers of the 20’s used various parts of the cavern via the numerous above ground entrance points. The state of Texas purchased the property from Rancher D.G. Sherrard and the CCC spent 4 years cleaning debris, washed in dirt and even skeletons of longhorns that had tumbled in. Thus the inspiration for the name!

We began the tour at the CCC created entrance and we had barely gotten over the fact we were under ground and in 68* with 102* up above when we walked into the first calcite deposit in the cave. Holy crystals, batman! 😂

On our way to the main chamber, we encountered our first of many aerial bats! The guide told us this was a real treat as Tricolor Bats are normally very sedentary when in the cavern emerging only every 3 days to eat tons of mosquitoes and then return. But, Fall is mating season! So they were darting everywhere! I did manage to catch one sitting still for a picture! We arrived in the main chamber where the original entrance was once located prior to 1934 and thoroughly enjoyed stories of Comanche rituals, Confederate soldiers mining bat guano for gun powder and elaborate dinner and dancing parties. While the entrance was concreted over after the cavern was established as a state park, there were a number of other remnants of the “days of yore.” Such as the bandstand, the access and pulley system that was used for food service, the spot known as the “Queen’s Throne” complete with broken off stalactite carved names 😳, and a few remaining barrels from the Cold War Era when the cavern was stocked to support 2,000 people in the event of nuclear holocaust.

After a brief hunched over walk, we came upon the stunning “Hall of Marble.” Not actual marble, but dolamite stone. In this area, we got a great look at a 17,000 year old stalactite formation! Fun fact, it takes 100 years for 1 inch of calcification to form and if touched, the oils on our skin will kill the process. Yikes!

We got as far down as 125ft below the surface and the guide turned out the lights! I mean, you expect it to be dark…but dang! Pitch black darkness is intimidating! From there, we back tracked and that was the end of the tour. 11 miles of the cavern has been explored to date. We saw 1.5. Amazing.

For as much work as the CCC did below ground, they doubled it above in this park. They built roads, levees and numerous buildings out of the materials they pulled out of the cave. After lunch, we explored some fine examples of “National Park Service (NPS) Rustic” as we came to learn the style of CCC structures are called. We particularly enjoyed climbing the watch tower and inspecting the original visitor center that was used until 1967. That building was one of the more elaborate I’ve been in for a state park.

There were a few short hiking trails in the park as well, but we were spent and still had a 4 hour drive home. This park is a chart topper, for obvious reasons! The kids said the cave “trail” was the best trail ever. Lol! Weston wants to return to do the wild cave tour where they take you through 4 extra tunnels some of which you’re army crawling through. Stay tuned 😉

-Lindsay

This past weekend we managed to pull off a long overdue vacation with my bestie and her family. <yay!> Our original plan sought more of a lake front style property on either Inks Lake or Lake LBJ, but availability and budget set us in between the 2 on the Colorado River. We selected a waterfront airbnb with a neat layout and plenty of water gear included. It didn’t take us long Friday evening to take a canoe out and explore on the granite rocks scattered throughout the river followed by fishing until sunset.

Saturday morning we explored the water frontage of the neighborhood park located right beside the house. The kids found a shallow pool in the rock bed from the receded river and Nathan managed to hook a 3lb bass out of it! The bleeding heart in the family (Ashlyn) convinced him to release it back in the main river because, “he had already been through enough in that tiny pool.” 😆

Before it got too hot, we took the canoe and one of the larger kayaks out and managed the 1 mile trip up river to check out the Inks Lake Dam.

Back at the house, while I made lunch, the boys managed to catch 2 crawfish from the same shallow pool and convinced me to cook them. Archer chickened out last minute on eating his, but Weston followed through!

By this point in the day we really wanted to swim, but the shallow water in front the house made for a funky sludge bottom that grossed the grown ups out too much. Lucky for us the house had access to the nearby marina with a swimming pier and deeper water. The moms managed to enjoy a float with their babies.

Even better! While our hamburger dinner was being prepared, the moms managed a winery trip in as well! Perissos, a swanky winery 6 minutes from the house for the win! After dinner, everyone wrapped up the fun filled, but gone too fast day in their own ways.

Sunday morning everyone enjoyed sleeping in, but we got on with checking out. We were on our way to Longhorn Cavern State Park! 😁

-Lindsay

We left Lubbock Saturday morning and after a relaxing time with family and a let down park visit on the way, we decided to extend our road trip home with a dog leg over to Wichita Falls. This park is similar in size to previously visited Lake Colorado City and looked to be a good candidate for a daytrip. We had high hopes to recoup an enjoyable park before returning home.

We arrived just in time for a late lunch and quickly got settled at a lake side picnic table. We looked over the maps planning our activities for the visit and thought starting with swimming might be fun as we were already seated at the swim area. That was quickly vetoed, however, as we ate our lunch and I watched a ski boat and jet ski continuously enter and exit the swim area regardless of the “no boats in the swim area” signage. Humans. 🙄 Ashlyn instead settled for getting her feet wet. Weston, Archer and myself passed on another muddy lake. She said we didn’t miss much lol!

From there, we drove around to the “Prairie Dog Town” and tried in vain to spot prairie dogs. While the mounds/holes are scattered all over the park, your best bet for an encounter was supposed to be in their designated town. We did find all of their holes stuffed with bread slices…regardless of the signage stating not to feed them. Humans. 🙄

We then drove over to the western corner of the park where an under road culvert allowed access beyond as the boundary narrowed along the lakeshore. The kids were thrilled to walk through the tunnel, but had little interest exploring further on the shadeless trail.

Our last stop before calling it good was the operational oil pump jack smack dab in the middle of the camping area. Slightly unexpected!

We enjoyed ourselves more at this park than the previous one. I still don’t care to camp here. It’s a small park and virtually no shade in the mesquite mixed prairie environment. The water would provide a cool down, but I guess I’ve prissed myself beyond mud bottom lakes, Haha. We learned that we may have been missing the prairie dogs because of the heat, so its hopeful that humans haven’t messed that up. I tend to be quite the Girl Scout in state parks and when I see so many instances of disregard for the rules, it really diminishes our overall experience. Onward to #34!

-Lindsay

Along the way on our first visit to Lubbock this year, we decided to throw another state park in. Lake Colorado City was an easy choice being located off of I-20 west of Abilene. I booked one of their lakeside cabins looking forward to an easy over night stay and built in AC haha. We arrived right before the 3:00 check in time and were happy to see we were driving though a deserted park! The cabin area was nice and clean, but I was surprised to see 12 units clustered around 1 bath house. I think that would’ve been rough if many cabins were booked. From the outside our cabin was neat with it’s stone exterior, large parking area and picnic table on a covered patio. The kids were excited about the bunk beds on the interior, but I was ultimately disappointed by a lack of what I felt would’ve been “getting our money’s worth.”

 

Once we got the cabin settled the best we could, we walked down a short path to the edge of the lake to see what swimming there would be like. While the area didn’t look ideal for swimming, fishing might have been pretty good!

 

We wanted to get some swimming in before dinner, so we drove to the beach swim area and were happy to find it empty except for another couple. I quickly passed on getting beyond ankle deep in the muddy water, but the kids were happy to swim out and throw mud globs at one another.

 

After showers and dinner, we were done with heat but wanted to stay up in an attempt to catch some stars. We played Uno for a while, and then drove around as the sun set checking out amenities.

 

As luck would have it, the skies clouded up and a full moon prevented our star show, but we did see a cool lightening show in the distance at a 10 pm bathroom run. Sleep that night was rough on the provided vinyl mattresses in a cabin that didn’t really cool off till 2 am.

The next morning, we marveled at the still full moon setting and started packing up. The park only has one 1 mile trail that tours the edge of the lake and we didn’t feel a need to hike it haha.

It’s no coincidence this post is short and not full of photos. This park was a disappointment for us. Maybe the fishing is great? We saw 2 people fishing. The nearby town of Colorado City was 75% closed down and vacant and probably saw it’s hay day when I-20 didn’t by pass it. Maybe the park went down with the city. But we were on our way to play with cousins and are grateful for the streak of amazing parks we’ve seen before this one.

-Lindsay

During a recent trip to Galveston chasing mystical blue water, we decided to kick off our fall season of state park touring with a park on the southwest side of Houston. Numerous factors made it personally undesirable for camping. Namely, the presence of over 300 free roaming alligators! Not to mention, the swamp environment and close proximity to Houston attracting crowds. We were also grateful to not have Sally on this particular trip, let’s not add to the crazy with alligators about! So while Mommy had her apprehensions, the kids were ECSTATIC. They wanted to see all the gators, snakes, and frogs…oh my.

 

We arrived a little before 11 on a 103 degree day and decided our objective would be to see as much as we could, as quickly as we could and in as much shade as we could find. Armed with our camelbaks, we started out with a 1ish mile trail that circled the optimal alligator viewing area. The adventure worked out in our favor! We saw ONE alligator and he stayed in the water. If you zoom in on the middle of the photo where the kids are looking at the water, you can see his head out of water not 10ft from the bank! That’s a close enough encounter!

 

A viewing tower along the trail provided a break in a shade, a chance to catch a breeze and a look out over the wetlands.

 

While on a bathroom break, we noticed a posted schedule of events for the day at the nature center and had enough time to make a Ranger Chat about snakes. Fun! We so rarely visit parks on the weekends and since that is when most of the events are scheduled, we hadn’t participated in many yet. This experience did not disappoint! We learned so much in addition to up close encounters with live non venomous snakes. Fun fact, there are 70 different species of snakes in Texas. 11 of them are venomous. 8 of those venomous snakes are rattle snakes with their telltale (punny) rattle for identification. That leaves a mere THREE snakes in the entire state to learn for proper good snake/ bad snake identification. Copper head (with Hershey kiss shapes along its back), cotton mouth/water moccasin (with a zoro mask across its eyes), and the coral snake (the tri color of black, yellow and red). The rest are constrictors and while they can bite, are non venomous and some even eat other snakes! What?!

 

The end of the chat consisted of getting to touch and see up close 6 different snakes and then the kids got to pose with a 6’4″ rat snake!

 

The rest of the nature center was fun on its own with numerous items retrieved from the park and put on the display. Including baby alligators that were hatched onsite and cared for before releasing back into the wild. Ashlyn was brave enough to pet one!

 

After our break in the AC we crossed the road and checked out the George Observatory that is managed by the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Unfortunately, it was under renovation and we did not get to go inside, but it definitely sparked an interest in finding one to go inside sometime.

 

The Brazos River runs along the eastern border of the park and we found a half mile roundtrip trail that gave us a view and just like that we wrapped up our experience at Brazos Bend State Park.

 

This park is huge. There were numerous trails we never even saw and 2 other ponds/lakes amidst the swamps lands we didn’t check for alligators either. We really lucked out on the lack of crowds while there as well. All of the parking areas were large and obviously equipped for the masses. While we stand by the don’t-need-to-camp-there thought process, we were bummed to not get a better look at the observatory. Perhaps, if we find ourselves passing through again, we’ll duck back in.

-Lindsay

Earlier this year, Nathan and I decided it was time we took a vacation! Just the two of us and for more than 2 nights! Something that hadn’t happened since our honeymoon 9 years ago! We knew we wanted to go somewhere neither of us had been before and after playing some dot to dot connections of internet links, we landed on Blue Ridge, Georgia. A four day weekend was squeezed out between work, dance and baseball obligations, arrangements were made for the kids to stay with their wonderful Grandma and Grandpa and then began the fun of planning!

We started out with a 5:20am flight out of Houston, for which we arrived entirely too early (we were a little zealous) and the gate location changed to the opposite side of the terminal while we were waiting resulting in us arriving just at the end of our group boarding…but we made it and managed seats together. The flight was quick and I managed to doze for part of it. We landed and managed to navigate the “nation’s worst airport” rather seamlessly with the exception of the 40 minute wait to get our previously reserved rental car. An apologetic upgrade hooked us up with a SUV instead of the compact car and as it would turn out, would REALLY come in handy.

Once on the road, priority number one became finding coffee and breakfast! Up until this point I was very happy with our wake-up-at-2am-and-get-on-plane idea, but after the hold up at the rental car desk, I was starving and caffeine deprived. Next time, I think I would opt to stand in the long lines at the airport and get my fix out of the way. 😉 After a little bit of meandering through Atlanta and spotting old relics of the 1996 Olympics, Dunkin Donuts came to the rescue. Now it was time for BEEERRRR! I’m pretty sure we could’ve spent the entire four days brew touring, there are so many breweries! But the mountains were calling, so we selected 2 breweries on the way north and thoroughly enjoyed lunch and flights at Porter Pizza & Brewing and Reformation Brewing.

We arrived in Blue Ridge a couple hours before checkin for our cabin. Enough time to tour Expedition: Bigfoot! The Sasquatch Museum. 😁Nathan enjoyed examining the artifacts on display (including a Bigfoot butt impression lol), listening to Bigfoot sounds and life like statues. But, I may or may not have fallen asleep during a documentary showing. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Finally! It was time to checkin to our cabin in the woods! And we did good on this airbnb find. It was up a windy road and while we drove past other homes, once on our porch, it was total seclusion in the woods. The interior was comfortable and themed just like mountain cabin in a magazine haha. We opted for a swanky dinner in town that evening and hit the hay early in preparation for a full day of hiking.

Our first destination Saturday morning was Springer Mountain to the Southern Terminus of the Appalachian Trail. The 6 mile drive up the mountain took 45 minutes due to the gravel, single lane, blind curve, switch back condition of the road and it was then we were so grateful we had an SUV with ground clearance! The hike was 1 mile in and back and when we returned to the car, we had officially hiked the first mile of the Appalachian Trail!

Along the way we checked out a camp site with anti bear equipment and a spring labeled adequate for drinking. We also passed the head of the Benton MacKaye Trail. The view from the summit wasn’t a wide open one because apparently the entire state is trees stacked on trees! Except where there’s water.

Another hour and a half in the car on crazy mountain roads and we arrived at Amicalola Falls State Park. An absolutely stunning experience hiking/climbing stairs alongside and across the falls from bottom to top. While the total distance was only a mile round trip, we did ascend and descend a total of 1208 steps! After, we enjoyed a late lunch at the lodge overlooking the state park.

Next up, we took the long way back to the cabin and stopped at Fall Branch Falls. We were pretty tired at this point and found the unstructured environment and lack of human presence super relaxing. I even felt at liberty to put my feet in the FREEZING water at the base of the falls. We could have easily spent longer than an hour here but showers and more craft beer back in Blue Ridge were calling our names 😀

Fannin Brewing Company and Grumpy Old Men Brewing did not disappoint. Beers-to-go came back to the cabin with us and we enjoyed the pitch black, quiet night on our screened in porch.

Sunday morning we started out after breakfast for the 2 hour drive to Tallulah Gorge State Park near the South Carolina state line. The gorge and the falls scattered throughout were a spectacular sight. We spent hours there hiking the entire rim trail and climbing another total of 2400 steps in, across and up the gorge. COMPLETELY exhausting but oh so worth it.

Our drive back to Blue Ridge took us through Helen, Georgia which equated to the state’s version of New Braunfels in our eyes. This place was definitely the touristy destination we were glad we avoided! We also witnessed the tubing activity of the Chattahoochie River (like the Alan Jackson song!) where they used sticks to guide themselves down the river….interesting concept. That evening was spent relaxing with a microwave dinner in bed in front of the TV.

Monday morning brought our long day back to East Texas. We loaded up in our well used equinox and drove back to Atlanta making a stop at Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park to take a quick look at Civil War battle sites. And to take a picture of a chipmunk for the kids ;).

It turns out ATL’s reputation is true when you’re trying to depart that airport! But, we made it to the gate just in time (again) and managed seats together (again). Our flight was quick, baggage claim was easy, we picked up the kids and were home before we knew it.

Georgia was a fantastic time and it turns out Nathan and I vacation well together! For the next one, the only thing I want to do differently is not tie us to one accommodation for the entire trip. I think having the ability to stay along the way will allow us more activity time. We shall see and I think we will test that theory in Arizona next year. 🙂

-Lindsay

A few years ago I decided that as the kids turned 10, we would celebrate turning the double digit milestone by taking a one on one weekend trip. Obviously Ashlyn’s turn came first…and rather quickly! 😉 I left the destination up to her within the guidelines of it being within 3 hours of home. She decided on a beach and I narrowed it to Galveston… 4 hours away… but an easy beach. Especially easy, because Grandma and Grandpa live on the way and would make for a fun getaway for the boys as well!

We drove down the morning of May 15th and got the boys settled in Houston with Grandma. Ashlyn and I then arrived at our seawall beach front condo in Galveston by 2pm. The airbnb find really set the trip off to a great start! The condo was set up like a hotel suite with a full kitchen and a balcony facing the beach. The building was quiet, had a clean pool, round the clock clerks and best of all, beach access right across the street. For a steal of $70/ night, I will absolutely rent the condo again.

We spent our first afternoon and evening catching up with some of my local friends and their kids on the beach. Dad then came down and took Ashlyn and I out to Benno’s for dinner. Where we FEASTED on shrimp, crabs, and fish. So yummy.

 

 

The following morning after a bacon and eggs breakfast, Ashlyn and I enjoyed a morning walk on a near deserted beach. Another bonus to the timing of our trip; school wasn’t out yet and we were there during the week. After our walk, Ashlyn wanted some pool time and that’s where we hung out until Auntie Jen joined up with us for the remainder of Ashlyn’s agenda. First up, lunch at Chick-fil-A on the seawall. Then a stroll across the street to Murdoch’s Pier, an elaborate souvenir shop positioned over the beach. Ashlyn purchased shark tooth necklaces for the boys and a turtle snow globe for herself. She and Auntie Jen also enjoyed shopping the jewelry. 😉

 

 

Next up was the ferry with hopes of seeing some dolphins. No luck on the dolphins, but Ashlyn had a great time snapping photos from the upper deck and enjoying a boat ride without feeling sick. NOW it was time for the beach. After a quick stop at Walmart for snacks, chairs and a boogie board, we gathered up the rest of the gear and spent the afternoon enjoying the surf and Ashlyn’s joy in the waves.

 

 

Dinner that night was simple at Ashlyn’s request with macaroni and cheese and veggies in front of the tv.

Friday morning was departure time and we pit stopped along the deserted seawall to check out some historical monuments and scenery one last time before meeting Auntie Jen in Seabrook for breakfast.

 

 

As we were en route to pick up the boys and head back to ETX, already lamenting that we were sad to leave the beach, Ashlyn asks me if I grabbed her pink teddy from the room. LOL. Making a long story with a lot of last minute decisions short, we retrieved the boys from Houston and then the bear from Galveston. By 3 pm, the four of us were setting up on the beach at Galveston Island State Park. 😂 The Schultz Family joined us a few hours later and we finally had to force everyone out when the sun started going down.

 

After a good night’s sleep at the Schultz’s and easy morning visiting with our sweet hosts, we officially headed home looking forward to our next time at the beach.

Galveston thoroughly delivered one heck of a vacation surprisingly! I had very low expectations for this experience and once I let myself get caught up in the kids’ simple pleasures of it all, I can see us making an easy trip to Galveston at least once a year!

-Lindsay