My brother Mark and my sister-in-law Laura are the ultimate hosts and I had an amazing time. The first morning, Laura and I went running outside (because we COULD) and I literally gasped with pleasure at the 75 degree weather and continued wallowing in it for the rest of the trip.
I like to explore when I travel--so Mark, Laura and Nate (my nephew) and I trekked all over the place. I was initiated into Texas BBQ and Texas history and the Wii (I moved up from a Wannabe to a Rising Star in Song Star but didn't do as well in the bowling!)
We also went down to San Antonio and saw the Alamo. Davy Crockett was my family's very first video and I watched it dozens of times as a kid, so I enjoyed seeing that. But the best part of San Antonio was floating down and strolling along the River Walk. I'd never even heard of the River Walk, and suddenly I was standing in Venice with picturesque street fronts on either side of a river.
My family always sang in the car on road trips, so on the way back to Austin we taught Nate "Fried Ham" and the America round. I also taught them "I've Never" which Nate liked because he'd done the least and so he usually won.
Other highlights were going to a resturant right on a lake, playing lazer tag and doing some fun shopping at amazing outlets (I got some super-on-sale boots.) Also watching Nate's b-ball game and running four miles with him on the elementary school track--at his insistence! But mostly I loved just having the chance to hang out and talk.
I was also able to meet up with my 4-year Arizona friend and roommate Karin (her husband was stationed in Texas for a few months). We went to the Innerspace Caverns and dinner and I got to catch up on the last several years with them!
Anyway--I had a ball and came back feeling re-humanized!
