Day 49 - Port Aransas, TX

Goodbyes are difficult.  Today was certainly no exception.

The Stevensons were such gracious, energetic and generous hosts.  We had a great time catching up on our life adventures, reliving memories and coaching OSU to a victory.  We really enjoyed our time together and will miss them.

These classmates stick together

Wish you were coming with us.

The Route:
We drove 242 miles today and arrived at Mustang Island State Park by 5pm.  We started by heading south on I-35 out of Austin.  We "got scenic" at Redwood by taking TX-123 to Karnes City, then US-181 to Sinton and US-77 to I-37 at Corpus Christi.  I-37, TX-358 and TX-361 got us through Corpus Christi, across the Intracoastal Waterway, to North Padre Island and finally to Mustang Island.

We left the hills of the Hill Country pretty quickly.  The terrain changed to gently rolling hills, then became pretty flat as we approached Corpus Christi.

The last part of the drive was familiar.  We camped here during our 2008 Texas Trip.  Carol was sick at the time.  Our memories aren't great.

The Campground:
The office was closed when we arrived.  The late check-in notes confirmed there were plenty of sites available.  We picked #33 and got set-up.

The Gulf of Mexico is just over
the dune behind us

The good news is that we have electric and water here.  The bad news is that it's very hot and humid.  They had 2 ½ inches of rain yesterday.  Mosquitoes are swarming out of the grass around us. We're using the air conditioner for the first time on this trip.  

The weather report calls for a heat index of over 100 degrees for the next few days.

This campground can be quite pleasant under different conditions.  We're going to do a little sightseeing in the morning and head north toward Galveston.

Sunset on Mustang Island

If we could just open our door and windows!

Day 48 - Austin, TX (Day 4)

*Posted on Monday, September 30*

Bruce & Barbara went to church this morning.  We stayed home to catch-up on travel issues.

The Stevensons brought home a delightful carryout lunch from Rudy's Country Store and Bar-B-Q.  The BBQ, potato salad and cole slaw were light years ahead of the meal we had at Salt Lick BBQ.

Steiner Ranch Tour:
The Stevensons live in an area called "Steiner Ranch".  It had previously been a huge ranch. The owner raised livestock for rodeos.  We got a tour of the area.

We saw Texas Longhorns

And many gated homes and communities

The Colorado River (aka Lake Austin) 
flows through the area

Michael Dell's (Dell Computer founder) home
and dock are on Lake Austin

Regular folks get to enjoy Lake Austin, too

This resort is a spa for the rich and famous

Clients fly in to Austin and arrive in limos

Mansfield Dam and Travis Lake:
Travis Lake has been one of the area's most desirable locations for outdoor recreation. Unfortunately, a multi-year drought has drained the lake and destroyed recreational boating. We only saw a single sailboat on the lake.

Mansfield Dam
The dark line in the middle of the dam marks
what used to be the "normal" water level

The Oasis on Lake Travis stands
alone on center of the hillside

This is called "Sometime Island"
for obvious reasons

This is what Lake Travis and "Sometime Island"
looked like in 2008

The Oasis:
The restaurant has multiple dining levels that flow down the hillside.  It's famous for memorable dining and exceptional sunset views of Lake Travis.  We went there for an evening drink.

The Oasis on Lake Travis

Bruce and Barbara Stevenson

There's lots of fun stuff on the grounds

We enjoyed Perfect Meltdown Margaritas
and wonderful memories

And got a view of "Sometime Island"
looking west
(compare to 2008 picture above)

This is the only boat we saw on the lake

Dinner:
We don't know how, but this day just got better as we traveled through it ... and dinner capped it off.  Bruce and Barbara crafted a delightful dinner of Alaskan salmon, roasted potatoes, asparagus, Waldorf salad and dinner rolls.  Dessert was brownies a-la-mode with hot fudge sauce.  Wow!

Here's the proof

Day 47 - Austin, TX (Day 3)

*Posted on Sunday, September 29*

It's Saturday, the sun is out and our thoughts are clearly on FOOTBALL.

Morning:
We started with girls flag football.  Bruce & Barbara's granddaughter Kendall is playing and their son Bryan is the coach.

OK, here comes coach Stevenson

Kendall coaches up her teammates

And of course, she get's herself ready

We're ready Coach ... put us in

OK defense, let's go!

Kendall (pink knee socks) is set

Whoa!  This defense is ready to get on the field.

This was the Saints first game and the first time they had played together.  They played well and got lots of experience, but were up against a team that had been together for a number of years and had won a championship.  One player on the opposing team could outrun everyone on the field ... and did.

Afternoon:
We took a break from football so Carol could get her hair cut (we've been on the road a long time).  Bruce & Dick went to Fry's Electronics to get some wireless headphones.

Evening:
This was the event we'd all been waiting for ... The Ohio State Buckeyes vs. the Wisconsin Badgers.  We went to Bikinis Sports Bar and Grill to watch OSU win 31-24..

This is one of two places in Austin where
the OSU Alumni Club meets

Our server was very attentive

Enough said

Bruce looks a little like Woody, don't you think?

These lovely women just happened to
sit at our table

The win brought smiles all around

Bikinis was a fun environment ... lots of TV screens, cheering and O-H-I-Os.  Unfortunately, it was impossible to hear the play-by-play.

We didn't get back home until 11pm.  Tired as we were, everyone wanted to watch the last few minutes of the game again and hear the narrative.  Bruce switched on the DVR gave us a short do-over.

Four weary fans slept soundly tonight.

Day 46 - Austin, TX (Day 2)

It seemed unusual to not wake up in the trailer.  Our sleep was sound, the surroundings were so different.  It was a treat indeed to sleep in a home permanently attached to the ground.

Stevenson's Home:

Our site

Back yard views

Bruce & Barbara made a delightful breakfast of pancakes, sausage, and fresh strawberries and blueberries.  Yum!

Then, we headed out to find medical assistance for Carol's arm ... the swelling is down, but the bruised area looked larger and darker.  We found what we needed at Redi-Care, a highly regarded emergency care center.  Diagnosis: it's caused by a subdural hematoma.  Care: apply alternating five minutes of cold then five minutes of heat.  Bottom-line: it's healing, nothing to worry about.

Driftwood Winery:
Barbara prepared a picnic basket in the early afternoon and we headed out for a tasting at Driftwood Winery.  The GPS turned a relatively straightforward drive into a scenic drive through the Texas Hill Country.  Bruce held up well and we got to the right vineyard.

The tasting area was beautiful

It overlooked the vineyards

And explained where to find snakes in the grass

We selected an obvious Texas wine
Longhorn Red

It was a delicious treat

We enjoyed a picnic of wine, cheese, crackers
and other goodies while overlooking the valley

An unusual thing happened as we visited and enjoyed the afternoon breeze.  Dark clouds formed and we could see rain to the west.  A downpour started as we left the vineyard parking lot.  Austin is in the midst of a four year drought.  The rain was nice, but not nearly enough to solve some serious water problems.

Salt Lick BBQ:
Dinner was at a highly touted BBQ restaurant.  The parking lot and dining room were large ... obviously designed for lots of business and large groups.

The BBQ action takes place here

Seating was rustic,
the server was very accommodating

We had high expectations for this outing.  We were on a roll.  The wine tasting went as planned (or better) and we got to the restaurant early enough to avoid the dinner rush.  The pork ribs were pretty good.  Unfortunately, the brisket was very disappointing and the sausage was just OK.  We were then surprised to learn this was a cash only business.  No one expected to return any time soon.

End of the Day:
The rain had stopped by the time we left the restaurant.  We enjoyed sunshine, rainbows and toured a bit on the way home, then settled down for a night at home.

Barbara treated us to brownies a-la-mode with her famous hot fudge sauce.  Any dinner disappointment was gone by the time we finished.

Bruce & Dick got warmed up for tomorrow's OSU football game by watching a recording of the second half of last week's game.