Texas- San Antonio,Austin, and Dallas

San Antonio Texas, by Ally 

The Alamo 

Chris Madrid's

It seems like there was a magical line somewhere that we crossed once we reached Texas that distinctly marked  the crossing over from the east side to the west side of the U.S. We started to see trees that we hadn’t seen in months as well as hills that we all have missed so much. My Composition teacher used to live in San Antonio and he recommended a hamburger place there in town. So the night we arrived, we parked our RV and then headed to a place called Chris Madrid's. They are known for their massive hamburgers and we finally, after waiting in line for a very long time, ate some of their yummy hamburgers. While we were at the restaurant we got our first dose of Texan culture. Men and women wore boots and flashy belts, talking with a “twang” in their voice and occasionally saying “y’all”. 

The next day was Sunday and Dad found out that there was a Mega Church near by whose pastor is the well known Max Lucado. We went to his church that Sunday morning and got to sit right behind the pastor as well as listening to his sermon about Lazareth. 

After church we ate lunch at a place in the market called Mi Tierra and ate some yummy tacos and some sweat bread from their bakery.  

San Antonio has a high Mexican population and the market reminded me of a “cleaner” Mexico. All the vendors were selling ponchos and other trinkets on the streets.

Once we were done eating lunch we took a walk on the River walk. The River Walk is a river that flows through and under the city and there are shops and restaurants all along it as well as cute little gondolas floating down the river. I thought it was very pretty and such a good idea to make something like this!  

Suddenly maps become very important 

The River Walk 

Collin trying out his skills

We made our way to the Alamo and went inside of it and got to see where the Alamo battle took place between the Texans and the Mexicans. Mid week we needed to go grocery shopping, hallelujah for Trader Joe’s! We haven't seen one for a long while. :) Along the way mom took a couple wrong turns on the spider webbed shaped freeways. They are constructed so that there aren’t many off ramps but “turnarounds.” They were quite confusing and added on at least twenty more minutes to our drive. Friday we actually hiked! Yes ,we hiked, Yay for actual hills! This hike was called the Eisenhower park trails. It was nice to finally get out there and hike some. :)

Dad being crazy ! 

Austin Texas, By Ally

The day we got there we found out that there was a In N’ Out burger place in Austin! Finally and In N’ Out! So we went there for dinner. The next day, Sunday, we went to a Church that was held in a High School gym. While we were driving to the Church we saw the local “lake” (the locals call it a lake, but it looks like a river) it was steaming because it was so cold outside. It was warmer in the lake then it was outside. There were a lot of people at the church and the pastor was a great teacher and taught about the trinity and how to live with the holy spirit inside of you. Afterwards we went to this hippie restaurant called Taco Xpress. It was a weird funky place. The lights were dim and made out of strainers. One was covered in a pink skirt. Tricycles and other funny objects hung from the ceiling and odd trinkets sat on lopsided desks. Though it was a weird environment their food was amazing!! I had a wonderful steak burrito stuffed with rice and other goodness. 

Taco Xpress

Once we were done eating we headed to a bookstore called “Book People” and read there for a while. Mom let Shelby and I buy a book. :) Austin is known for their bat bridge, where a congregation of bats live underneath a bridge. However it wasn’t the right time of season to see them so we just passed by and looked at the bridge. Monday was Online classes for Shelby and I. I presented some poems for my Comp Class about my Rving trip. I went on webcam and showed pictures. It all turned out really well. Iwent on to Webcam to show a picture I had drawn of an inside of a  earthworm since we were learning about earthworm anatomy in Biology class. Thursday I dissected “Robert” my dead earthworm for a Biology Lab. It wasn’t as bad as I thought and I got it over with quickly. 

Friday was  the warmest day of the week ,55 degrees, so after we did Math mom took us on a walk around Lady Bird Lake also known as the Town Lake to the locals. It was a very lovely walk around the city and around the lake. Then, after our walk Mom took us to a coffee shop called Summer Moon. It is known for its moon milk which taste like warm liquid vanilla ice cream. Mom got Austin’s famous Wood - fired coffee with the Moon milk in it. Wood - fired means that the grains of coffee are toasted on an open wood fire. We got some hot chocolate made with Moon milk. It tasted so frothy and yummy! On Saturday we took the four hour drive to Dallas Texas.

Dallas- By Sandy 

Bennion & Gantzer Families 

Judy and I

Jamielynn, Ally,Shelby

We stayed in Aubrey TX, which is near Allen, Frisco, Plano, and McKinney.  After spending three weeks in different parts of Texas this was our favorite. It had a family feel to it and the pace of life was slower then the previous locations we stayed at.  We pulled into town Saturday night and we went to church with the Gantzer family that night. Judy Gantzer is one of my friends that I have know since I was around the age of five.  She and her husband Brian got married around the same time as Wes and I. She was also pregnant with her first child Jamielynn the same time I was pregnant with Ally. We have not seen them in about 10 years and over that time they have had 5 more children and we have had 4 more. Between us there are 11 children and we had a blast catching up over some good In-n- out.  Later that week the Gantzers had us over for some wonderful fellowship and delicious home cooked food. The kids all had such a fun time playing together. Collin was so excited to have a boy to play with and hit it off right away with her son Isaac. Tori and Lacey felt right at home with Arabella, and became immediate friends.  Ally and Shelby were able to relate to Jamielynn about homeschool life and talk about memories playing together as toddlers.  On Friday we went with Judy, her kids, and her mom Darleen to the Perot museum. It was super crazy busy because of spring break, but the kids had a blast together exploring the exhibits. That night we went to dinner together at a restaurant called Furrs, which is buffet style. The kids all stuffed themselves and the adults enjoyed our last night together chatting away

Judy, me,  and Darleen 

Wes working in the middle of the madness at the Perot Museum

On Sunday morning we were great full to attend church with the Seim family who are our friends who just moved to Mckinney  TX  about 9 months ago from CA. We were moving into the RV the same time they were venturing out of San Luis Obispo off to Texas. We have known them for 10+ years and were glad to be able to visit them in their new hometown.  After church Kari made lunch for us at her home and then we took a short walk to down town McKinney.  It was such a darling downtown filled with fun little shops. The highlight for the kids was the candy shop where they each picked out a treat.  It was pretty cold out side so we walked over to a fun coffee/pie shop and grabbed a coffee then walked back to their home.  The kids had a blast playing games together. Later in the week we joined them again for dinner at a Texas BBQ place called Hutchens. It was our first experience eating good’ol Texas BBQ and it was delicious!!  It was a sweet time of encouraging one another and catching up on the last 9 months.

Bennion and Seim kids

Us,and Kari & Aaron 

-All this past week Ally has had a high temperature and  a nasty cough , thankfully between temps we were able to still visit our friends. 

~The Blessings, Friendships, Connections, and Adventures Continue…

On to Oklahoma