After sleeping in, and of course a big ol breakfast, we spent today exploring Austin. We started our day with a tour of the Texas State Capital.

The tour was free and pretty interesting. (My only complaint would be that the tour guides aren’t allowed to use microphones, and we were in a group of 50 people. If we weren’t close to the guide, you couldn’t tell what he was saying.). The rotunda was stunning! It is over 200 feet from the Star at the top to the Star on the ground.

We saw the House floor, and the members’ voting desks, as well as the underground areas added in the 1990s due to overcrowding. These allowed for more office space, but they still wanted to have a view of the Rotunda… insert skylights.

Boys wanted to go all the way to the top level so we climbed all all all the stairs to the stop.

We grabbed a drink and snack in the Capital Grill and then headed to the Texas State History Museum. Mike and I visited the Museum when we were here about 8 years ago, and it was great. However, we soon learned, that the museum is open every day… except Monday… And today is… Monday 🤦🏻‍♀️

So, we pivoted and decided to take a drive through the University of Texas Austin campus.

The campus itself was nice but the surrounding area could use a little attention. We decided to start making our way toward San Antonio with a few stops along the way thanks to http://www.roadsideamerica.com. How about the Guiness Book of World Record’s World’s Largest Shovel?

Another quick side trip was to the first picture in the Mermaid March. Apparently long ago, there was an attraction called “Aquarena Springs” in San Marcos. One of the featured acts was Ralph, the diving pig from San Marcos. Well they had us at Pig ♥️

And then we headed to the world’s largest convenience store – Buckee’s in New Braunfels, Texas. This place was GIGANTIC! They had everything: clothes, food, grill items, every slushee flavor known to man, a deli specializing in homemade jerky, and quite possibly the greatest brisket sandwich we have ever had.

Next stop, Gruene, Texas: home of the Gruene Dance Hall. Gruene was settled by German cotton farmers in 1872. The story goes that the town eventually became like a ghost town until someone floating down the river saw the old dance hall and decided to revitalize it. Now it is the oldest dance hall in Texas! It also boasts a downtown area that looks straight of out a Hallmark movie

We finally made it to San Antonio around 5. When we checked in, we asked for a rollaway bed (the man-size children have a hard time sharing a bed), San Antonio Fire Marshall doesn’t allow rollaway beds in rooms with 2 beds. We’ve had this come up before in the larger cities so we politely so okay. I guess sweet Amanda at the front desk wasn’t used to a kind response to bad news, because she said let me see what we can. She upgraded us to a 2-room suite with king size bed and pullout sofa, and now we can get a rollaway bed. People nowadays are so rude that people are shocked when they receive kindness. It was great lesson for boys to witness. We dropped our bags and checked out the balcony, and then headed out to explore the River Walk.

The Riverwalk in San Antonio is a 15-mile waterway running through San Antonio. It was created in response to deadly flooding in 1921. It has been expanded several times since, usually to accomodate a new hotel’s request for a slice of “riverfront” property. While the water isn’t the cleanest, the Riverwalk is safe and provides beautiful views for a walk along the river.

After some time strolling the Riverwalk, we stopped for dinner at Iron Cactus. Mike and I found this place when we were in Austin a few years ago with a work trip, and we were so thankful it was still open. I was a little afraid we had built this place up to the boys too much, but it was just as good as we remembered. The tableside guacamole is the best we have ever had then and now!

Bellies full to capacity we strolled a bit more

and then came back to the hotel to rest a hot minute before squeezing in a last minute swim… I don’t think these 2 ever wear out

Tomorrow we remember the Alamo and head to the coast.