I cannot believe it is already July! There is a lot to catch up on in the Files Household. So, get ready for either a very long post, or several consecutive posts or both :)
For starters, we had our family vacation and it went well and without a hitch for the most part. It was really nice to get away from the house (especially our stinky rental which always has problems lately!) and all the cares of everyday life. Here is our vacation itinerary:
Noah has this floaty boat thing he stays in and he calls it his "babing suit". He was very concerned about where his bathing suit was at all times; he could not lose track of it. At one point, Jace left it on a table so we could all go on a ride and I thought Noah was going lose it. He was so upset that we would dare to abandon his beloved bathing suit. Also, I realized Noah is very much like my late grandmother Weeta: he has developed her trait of having to know exactly where everybody is at all times. He has not quit this since we got home. So, I am constantly hearing, "Where Daddy go, where sissy go or where Papi go?"
Ashlyn had a great time at Schlitterbahn. They have no height requirements there, unlike Hurricane Harbor, so she was able to go on all the big rides with Jace. She loved it. I was so boring to her, all she wanted to do was go on slides with Daddy. I was really surprised. Since Ashy can be a real drama queen at times I just figured she would be scared but she did not bat an eye and went on everything. She would not give poor Jace a break!
Natural Bridge Caverns was awesome! Although a little pricey we really enjoyed the tour, it was a lot longer and more informative than we anticipated, so it was well worth the money. Following the tour, which was beautiful and extremely interesting, they had a place where the kids could "pan" for gold on a big sluice. Although we did not buy the "gold" the kids really enjoyed pretending to pan for gold. Also, the drive to the caverns was very nice. I think Texas "hill" country is very beautiful despite some comments I have heard to the contrary :)
Old Town Gruene (pronounced "green") was a lot of fun too. We found (well I say found but it was advertised everywhere!) the neatest, yummiest restaurant there called the Gristmill. It was open, no walls, and overlooked the Guadalupe River. They had the yummiest home-cooked type food. Every single thing we ate there was so good. Even the kids' chicken and fries were the best I have ever had. For those of you who are not aware, my family is very food oriented and I unfortunately have inherited this trait it seems :) So, this was obviously a big highlight for me.
They also had a neat little general store with an old fashioned soda bar, red stools and all. The coke floats were to die for, food again! Also, they had the yummiest fudge I have ever had in my life (yes more food!). It was a very neat store with lots of cool sundries and old posters and historical signs. They had lots of cool antique shops too, which was very interesting with 2 small children, but fun nonetheless and we enjoyed a little craft fair. The lush landscaping all around was very beautiful and relaxing also.
Finally we went to SeaWorld, which unfortunately turned out to be a real disappointment for us (not the kids thankfully). I loved SeaWorld the last time we went (when Ashlyn was 4 months) so I was very disappointed this go around. It was fun just not worth the unbelievably expensive cost of admission (about $150 for 3, Noah was free). It was toward the end of our trip so maybe we were just worn out. Anyway, it rained the morning we went so it was very hot humid and sticky, but too cold to enjoy the water park portion of it (it sprinkled several more times throughout the day too). Besides, after Schlitterbahn we were sort of water parked out anyway :)
Now, I am not sure if everyone else decided to forgo the water park too but it was very crowded and we bumped into people everywhere we went which is baffling since the parking lot was not even 1/3 full that day. I really do not remember it being that way the last time we were there. Additionally, the rides kept closing due to rain, we could not find the kiddie rides and being pregnant I would not have been able to ride the big rides. I knew there was a reason that pregnant women are nonexistent at SeaWorld or anywhere we went for that matter :) The shows, however, were great and Ashlyn really liked them a lot. And, we spent quite a while at discovery cove checking out the dolphins. I love to watch the dolphins, they are very beautiful and fascinating. God has created some very amazing creatures! Aquariums and the like always remind me of this. All in all I could have done without SeaWorld and saved the money but we did manage to have some fun there. Noah, also, was unable to enjoy SeaWorld as much as we thought he would because he ended up sick (with his two year molars I think). I guess you live and learn ...
We got everything done that we had originally planned. However, we would have liked to go toobing on the Guadalupe River but Noah was not old enough. Toobing places will only rent out stuff to children 3 and older. This was a disappointment because it looked like so much fun watching people go down the river. But, it ended up raining and by the end of the week the river was a torrent so I guess it was just as well that we did not go.
We had so much fun I highly recommend New Braunfels to anyone planning on a light, fun and fairly inexpensive family vacation close to home. We were very happy to come home though. Noah kept running around the house laughing as if he could not believe it :)
More to come this week ...
For starters, we had our family vacation and it went well and without a hitch for the most part. It was really nice to get away from the house (especially our stinky rental which always has problems lately!) and all the cares of everyday life. Here is our vacation itinerary:
- Saturday morning we drove to New Braunfels and checked in our hotel
- Went to Natural Bridge Caverns which was really neat and a whole lot of fun
- Sunday we went shopping in Historical Gruene and had lunch there
- Sunday evening we went swimming, ordered pizza (yum!) and watched a movie together (Flushed Away - boring and predictable, I don't recommend it)
- Monday and Tuesday we went to Schlitterbahn (more on that below)
- Wednesday we recovered :) and went back to Old Town Gruene for dinner at our new favorite restaurant the Gristmill
- Thursday we checked out and went to SeaWorld and checked in at a hotel (not the greatest) near the Riverwalk
- Friday we had lunch on the Riverwalk and did the River Boat Tour
- Friday afternoon we drove home catching like 1 1/2 hours of traffic in Austin on the way which was great :)
Noah has this floaty boat thing he stays in and he calls it his "babing suit". He was very concerned about where his bathing suit was at all times; he could not lose track of it. At one point, Jace left it on a table so we could all go on a ride and I thought Noah was going lose it. He was so upset that we would dare to abandon his beloved bathing suit. Also, I realized Noah is very much like my late grandmother Weeta: he has developed her trait of having to know exactly where everybody is at all times. He has not quit this since we got home. So, I am constantly hearing, "Where Daddy go, where sissy go or where Papi go?"
Ashlyn had a great time at Schlitterbahn. They have no height requirements there, unlike Hurricane Harbor, so she was able to go on all the big rides with Jace. She loved it. I was so boring to her, all she wanted to do was go on slides with Daddy. I was really surprised. Since Ashy can be a real drama queen at times I just figured she would be scared but she did not bat an eye and went on everything. She would not give poor Jace a break!
Natural Bridge Caverns was awesome! Although a little pricey we really enjoyed the tour, it was a lot longer and more informative than we anticipated, so it was well worth the money. Following the tour, which was beautiful and extremely interesting, they had a place where the kids could "pan" for gold on a big sluice. Although we did not buy the "gold" the kids really enjoyed pretending to pan for gold. Also, the drive to the caverns was very nice. I think Texas "hill" country is very beautiful despite some comments I have heard to the contrary :)
Old Town Gruene (pronounced "green") was a lot of fun too. We found (well I say found but it was advertised everywhere!) the neatest, yummiest restaurant there called the Gristmill. It was open, no walls, and overlooked the Guadalupe River. They had the yummiest home-cooked type food. Every single thing we ate there was so good. Even the kids' chicken and fries were the best I have ever had. For those of you who are not aware, my family is very food oriented and I unfortunately have inherited this trait it seems :) So, this was obviously a big highlight for me.
They also had a neat little general store with an old fashioned soda bar, red stools and all. The coke floats were to die for, food again! Also, they had the yummiest fudge I have ever had in my life (yes more food!). It was a very neat store with lots of cool sundries and old posters and historical signs. They had lots of cool antique shops too, which was very interesting with 2 small children, but fun nonetheless and we enjoyed a little craft fair. The lush landscaping all around was very beautiful and relaxing also.
Finally we went to SeaWorld, which unfortunately turned out to be a real disappointment for us (not the kids thankfully). I loved SeaWorld the last time we went (when Ashlyn was 4 months) so I was very disappointed this go around. It was fun just not worth the unbelievably expensive cost of admission (about $150 for 3, Noah was free). It was toward the end of our trip so maybe we were just worn out. Anyway, it rained the morning we went so it was very hot humid and sticky, but too cold to enjoy the water park portion of it (it sprinkled several more times throughout the day too). Besides, after Schlitterbahn we were sort of water parked out anyway :)
Now, I am not sure if everyone else decided to forgo the water park too but it was very crowded and we bumped into people everywhere we went which is baffling since the parking lot was not even 1/3 full that day. I really do not remember it being that way the last time we were there. Additionally, the rides kept closing due to rain, we could not find the kiddie rides and being pregnant I would not have been able to ride the big rides. I knew there was a reason that pregnant women are nonexistent at SeaWorld or anywhere we went for that matter :) The shows, however, were great and Ashlyn really liked them a lot. And, we spent quite a while at discovery cove checking out the dolphins. I love to watch the dolphins, they are very beautiful and fascinating. God has created some very amazing creatures! Aquariums and the like always remind me of this. All in all I could have done without SeaWorld and saved the money but we did manage to have some fun there. Noah, also, was unable to enjoy SeaWorld as much as we thought he would because he ended up sick (with his two year molars I think). I guess you live and learn ...
We got everything done that we had originally planned. However, we would have liked to go toobing on the Guadalupe River but Noah was not old enough. Toobing places will only rent out stuff to children 3 and older. This was a disappointment because it looked like so much fun watching people go down the river. But, it ended up raining and by the end of the week the river was a torrent so I guess it was just as well that we did not go.
We had so much fun I highly recommend New Braunfels to anyone planning on a light, fun and fairly inexpensive family vacation close to home. We were very happy to come home though. Noah kept running around the house laughing as if he could not believe it :)
More to come this week ...
No comments:
Post a Comment