My parents came out for a week to visit! It was so nice to have them here and fun to show them some other parts of Texas. Here are our adventures....
Mom & I
We spent Thanksgiving two doors down with
Mike, Lisa and their family. It was great to have
a big Thanksgiving - I miss those!
Dad helping Mike get the turkey in the deep frier.
My parents absolutely loved that deep fried turkey!
Lisa cooking their infamous stuffed artichokes. Yum!
The next day we took my parents to Brazos Bend State Park.
We promised them alligators and we delivered! This guy is
scary looking - wouldn't want to be chased by him!
"Reflections"
(above and below)
Swooping crane
Snack break
Dad & I
I love the fall colors of these trees
That night Christine and Tony came over for dinner and
surprised me with a birthday gift. Thanks guys!
Saturday was mom's birthday so I got up early and made
Eggs Benedict for breakfast.
After breakfast we drove 3 hours to San Antonio for a little
fun on the Riverwalk and some Texas history.
All that remains of the Alamo
Random fact: Did you know that since Phil Collins has
mostly retired from the music scene he has become the
world's largest collector of Alamo memorabilia? He claims
that he grew up reading Davy Crockett too, which sparked
his interest. Who would have thought?
The Riverwalk was absolutely magical at night, all decked
out in holiday lights dangling from the trees. Boats with
carolers floated by and everyone seemed to be in such good
spirits. We took a boat ride ourselves, which allowed us to
see the whole length of the Riverwalk.
Dinner at the Iron Cactus
Dad and Neal hanging out on our hotel balcony
There were these beautiful trees lit up all along the
water up against our hotel. Here is mom capturing them.
Before leaving San Antonio the next day, we couldn't pass
up a quick trip to the Natural Bridge Caverns. These caverns
were discovered by a group of college students hiking the area
in 1960, and they are amazing.
Descending into the depths....
I call this one "The Jellyfish"
Mom nicknamed this set of stalagmites "Vatican City"
It takes 100 years for a stalagmite or stalactite to grow
an inch, so when you see the size of some of these, you can't
help but be amazed at their age.
We had planned to have an early Christmas gift exchange
the following day, but dad was too excited to wait and
suggested that we open gifts upon our return home that
evening. Who can argue with that logic? :-)
Me examining some salts and minerals my parents
brought us from their trip to Israel.
On their last day we made a trip to Best Buy and caught
my mom playing the new Rock Band Beatles display.
Naturally, we had to get her back on the drums when
we got home. :-) The four of us played a few songs
and had a blast.
Dad sung his heart out and scored pretty high. Go Dad!
We had such a fun time with you both - thanks, again, for coming out. Can't wait to see you again soon!
