We left Sat night and drove to Cedar Park, got a hotel room and slept in! Indoor pool meant Coen and Daddy took a dip after breakfast.
Here we are waiting for the train to go. Turns out most of the ride is the train getting ready to go, stop and turn around. And the "scenic route" is more like open fields and back yards. It's ok, it was still fun.
Playin' while we wait...
..we waited too long. Coen conked out before we even picked up speed!
Abandoned Douglas.
Everyone only wanted to sleep on Momma. Which was fantastic because I was in the sun, with two sleepin' babies on me and right about the time this picture was taken the air is starting to fizzle out.
I enjoyed every minute of it, though, because times like these are few and far between and are gone in an instant.
We woke Coen up when we got to the depot. He was a little groggy... :)
Great picture Daddy!
Coen is becoming a champ at posing for pictures!
So the a/c never recovered. Luckily, having an infant made some people really pity us. So we were moved to a little seating area in a car with air. Totally the Lord! Plenty of room and windows for the ride back. Afterward, we weren't sure if Coen had much fun, but walking to the car he was talking in jabber and then said, "woowoo!!" in his best train impression, so I'm thinking he did. :)
After dinner we were off to Blanco, where we hoped to visit some lavender farms and find a hotel for the night. Turns out all of the farms weren't doing great due to lack of rain, so we were turned away and Blanco is a hole in the wall of a town, so we trekked on to Marble Falls for a hotel and some pie at the Bluebonnet Cafe!
Sigh, the Cafe was closed on Sunday so no pie. :( So sad.
However, we do find a park and a hotel and ended up just relaxing! I did some research on our next stop, Krause Springs, and hoped that the next day would be a bit more promising.
Krause Springs totally delivered.
Probably one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.
We hiked around first, knowing that our eventual destination was...
...here.
A spring fed piece of paradise.
Complete with waterfalls and several natural splash pools for the littles.
So we ate our lunch, tuna sandwiches with free mayo packets from target and free fruit from the continental breakfast that morning...
An apple a day!
...donned our cutest swimming gear...
...and jumped right in!
Actually, we didn't jump right in. It was a steep walk to the swimming area with lots of slippery spots. Also, the water was freezing, so it was more on an e-a-s-e right on in.
The waterfalls weren't far away. I could see people under them and lounging on the rocks near them with drinks and floaties. A woman lent me her raft and I looped it under my right arm with Coen under my left and started paddling out there. Nope. Couldn't reach. REEEAAALLLYY couldn't reach. Trying to hold onto a raft, a 30 someodd lb. toddler and paddle is very difficult. I got super scared and finally made it to a spot I could touch ground. The raft lender suggested Daniel take him and they sit on the raft. I was out of breath and terrified for my son to be back over there, but Daniel assured me it would be ok.
This is one of three pictures I took.
You can't even see them.
I started having my first panic attack. I hollered at Daniel to come back, but he couldn't hear me over the noise of the waterfall. Then they went into the cave and I started crying. Right there in public. Standing on the slippery rocks, in my swimsuit, holding my infant and a camera, panic stricken and completely helpless with no one to comfort me. I just knew Coen would freak out from water splashing in his face. Slippery when wet, Daniel wouldn't be able to hold onto him and he would fall into the water and they wouldn't be able to get back. It was the best feeling in the world when I saw them emerge from the cave.
We didn't go back into the big swimming area after that.
Well, Daniel did. To do the rope swing a few times.
Coen loved watching that!
My sunbathing baby!
Next time we go we might try the man made, spring fed pool.
The place really is beautiful. I encourage everyone to go visit. Especially if your kids are a little bit older.
They have picnic tables, grills, and amazing restrooms/showers. Plus...
...free sticks for everyone!
Next stop....Fredericksburg!!We checked in early to shower and relax before dinner.
"cheese!"
Every restaurant had some sort of mounted elk in it. Coen spent all evening making elk sounds. Fredericksburg has gotten a few new places. Not your typical "historic downtowny old lady boutiques" anymore.
This place, "Red" was particularly neat.
We slept in again, and lounged....
It was so relaxing.
Then we hit the town for the park and lunch...
Yes, I've become a parent who stands their children next to random, inanimate objects that have no business ending up in a photo album and takes their picture. Turns out, everything looks better with my cute kid standing next to it. ;)
Then we hit up the candy store for some treats for the trip home.
Coen picked this sucker. :)
Such fun!!
1 comment:
Such a neat family trip! Thanks for sharing! cute, cute family!
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