Sunday, March 29, 2009

Deep In the Heart Of Texas

Layne and I are just getting settled after another amazing weekend. Layne and I have hit a new first- the past month has been the longest time that we have lived together alone, with no housemates, AND the longest that we have been in Dallas in months. Even though it was only a few weeks, we were going a little stir crazy in the city- so out we headed for the open road.
We ended up having an amazing weekend in Austin, San Marcos, and Wimberly, and even took the scenic route home through a few state parks to avoid the traffic on I-35. We coasted into town on Friday night, and ate at an amazing Cuban restaurant with Nick and his girlfriend Lillie. Nick and Layne met their freshman year in the dorms at A&M, and they roomed together for the following three years. We got to check out the renovations Nick is doing at his new house, and spent some time touring St. Ed's campus on Saturday. It was beautiful, and I loved seeing so many touches that reminded me of home. The college is run by the Brothers of Holy Cross, the same Brothers that run Holy Cross High School in New Orleans. The view of the skyline was awesome, and it was nice to stroll around in the amazing weather.
We drove down through San Marcos, so I could check out the "amazing" outlet malls I've heard about since I moved to Texas. It was everything a girl could hope it to be... and then some. Christine, Chad, and Brina all went to school here, so it was nice to drive around the campus and get an idea of what their experience would have been like. A river runs straight through the campus, at what is now Texas State. People were laying out in their bathing suits and playing sand volleyball. It was pretty amazing.
We continued our journey down to Wimberly, and met up with Christen and her husband Steven. Cristen is another of Layne's goof friends from college, and we LOVE visiting them. They have 10 acres in the Hill County, and I can't say enough about it. The wildlife is amazing, the views are stunning, their home is beautiful- it really is a little paradise. We grilled burgers for dinner, enjoyed the stars, played with the new litter of puppies, and enjoyed the company. Nick brought his new gun over that we took turns shooting, and we came back with some great native Texas plants that we want to work into our landscaping.
We had breakfast with the Steen's this morning in Blanco, another small historic town, that apparently has the State of Texas' 4th Best Restaurant for breakfast. It was amazing. The pancakes are too big for one person. That's right. One pancake, too much. If you eat three, breakfast is on the house.
After that we got on the road. We drove through Inks Lake State Park, where we're meeting up with friends to go camping in April. The park was beautiful, and I'm already excited about another weekend in the outdoors. I haven't been camping since the summer of 2001, and I'm long overdue. Enjoy the pictures!

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