Canyon Lake

Part 2 of our Memorial Day weekend vacation was our trip to Canyon Lake. Just north of New Braunfels - one of my favorite places in Texas. So we rented a little condo on the lake. We've been wanting to check out that area for years now. It's been a while since we've been and Mike and I often talk about wanting to get a place on Canyon Lake sometime. The location could not be more perfect. 10-15 minutes from New Braunfels, and in between San Antonio and Austin. Our main issue is that the houses on Canyon Lake aren't ON the lake. Anyway, here was our trip:

 First, the condo. It was tiny but very nice. It came with everything you need, including lots of games, a fold-down couch (big enough at least for the two little girls), and...

tiny bunk beds in the hall!

The big girls of course got the bunk beds. I kept trying to get Kaitlyn to smile for the picture and then I realized after I took the picture why she wasn't smiling. See the terror in Ashley's face up on the bed? Kaitlyn had just hit her. At least she was feeling badly about it. The smile is forced.

Our balcony view during the day...

and sunset...

The view was of the tail end of the lake, which was probably way down from last year's drought. 

And now, the boat...

I drove a boat for the first time, since Mike had to ride the tube with the kids. 

The kids on the boat...

If you look closely you can see they handed Kaitlyn a Snoopy life jacket that I'm pretty sure was manufactured in the 1970s. It looks exactly like something I might have worn. Kind of sweet in a way.

Some chillaxin...

The action...

After stopping and starting and stopping and starting the boat to keep changing riders on the tube, it was making me so sick because it rocked so much every time we stopped. I gladly jumped in the lake just to get off the boat. Except it was a little scary because there was such a strong current (not sure why?) that I immediately felt myself being pulled away from the boat. As the kids started jumping in I seriously started to panic a bit. Then I told myself to snap out of it and gather up my little chicks. We held on together and just enjoyed the cool water. Mike turned the boat around and getting back in the boat was no problem.

Later that day we went on a fishing excursion. The kids wanted to fish but there didn't seem to be a good place to fish. So we finally found a fishing pier on a map, but first we drove around. We came across the Guadalupe River, one of the highlights of New Braunfels. The river is filled with tubers, mostly college aged, hanging out for a lazy day. Here is a photo I snapped as we drove over the bridge. Brings back TONS of memories. Then just a block down the street we passed Jellystone Park. We have been wanting to check it out for quite some time so we got to drive through and see for ourselves. Worked out perfectly - I see a Jellystone weekend coming up in our future (except maybe when it's a little less hot)!

Back to the fishing. So we finally got to the pier. It didn't look good so the next thing I know Mike is making his own trail and the kids are following him right into the river! I was not happy. There is no destination! The kids can't just go into the river! We don't have river shoes! The little girls can barely swim! No, no, no!

That didn't last long. (For all the reasons I mentioned before.) Mackenzie fell in the river too. So back through the brush we went. Finally back to the fishing pier. Yep, it sucked. It was right next to the water coming out from the dam that was at the lake. What fish are going to be swimming around there with rushing water coming out? No bites.

But at least there was this cool-looking tree to take a picture of.

Back to the condo. This deer was hanging around the balcony. The kids got to see so many deer up rather close on this trip. It was cool.

Before we headed back to Houston we went to Gruene, TX, just a hop, skip, and a jump from New Braunfels, to eat in historic Gruene. Took some nice photos there too so I'll happily display them.

First we ate lunch at the Gristmill, an old riverhouse that overlooks the river. It's huge and very popular! To me you just can't take a trip to that area and not visit Gruene.

Walking out you pass Gruene Hall, one of the oldest dance halls in Texas - home to many "Texas music" artists. Many greats have played there. This is the sideview. I just thought this made a pretty picture.

Here is Gruene Hall from the front.

Ice cream at the Gruene General Store. It was a miracle that 4 counter seats opened up at just the right time.

Revisiting Canyon Lake, New Braunfels, and the hill country remind me of some of my favorite things about the great state of Texas. We think we might retire there someday (though I'm not sure if this big city chick can handle it, then again, I spent 4 blissful years in College Station). Luckily I don't need to think about that right now.