The Lone Star State

Friday, June 22^nd

We continued our drive out of Louisiana and into Texas.  We stopped at the Visitor’s Center once we crossed the border.  We enjoyed a picnic lunch and walked around a little bit of the swamp.  We also picked up a few travel pamphlets which helped us plan our next few days in Texas.  

Can you believe the size of this critter...we quickly learned everything is big in Texas.

We continued our drive with a stop at Space Center Houston.  We were able to catch two tram tours of Mission Control and the Astronaut Training Center.  We also learned about how astronauts live in space.   

Our next stop was at Niko’s Niko’s a Triple-D find.  It appears to be a local favorite as well.  The line was out the door but the food was well worth the wait.  We shared a Hercules Plate which included gyros, souvlaki and a chicken kebob with tomato, cooked onions, bell pepper, mushroom, tzatziki and yalandji dolma with a side of pita bread and roasted potatoes.  We followed it up with some baklava.  

We continued our drive down to Lake Jackson where we stayed the night with Seth’s cousin Jon, his wife Maeva and there three cute kids (Julien, Logan and Kia Ora).  We arrived after the kids were in bed which gave us time to catch up with Jon and Maeva.  They have lived in Lake Jackson for just over a year.  Jon works for Dow Chemical as a mechanical engineer. 


Saturday, June 23^rd

Jon and Maeva took us to Dow Chemical to do a little bird watching.  We were able to watch nesting Skimmers and Laughing Gulls.  They nest right in the middle of Dow’s compound.  They were fascinating birds to watch.  

After bird watching we headed to Surfside for a little time at the beach.  We were able to boogie board in the waves and played a little in the sand as well.  A day at the beach was just what we needed.  I swear I spent most of the day under the tent and still managed to get burned.

After the beach we had a delicious steak dinner with rice salad.  We played Harry Potter Clue which has moving parts on the boards so that the game changes with every roll of the die.  We were each a Harry Potter character attempting to foil the plan of the Dark Arts.  After a few more games we said our goodbyes and drove north and just past Houston to spend a couple of nights with my cousin Greg and his family.  

Sunday, June 24^th

We went to church with Greg, Ame, Kenny, Chase, Cavendar, Sabine and Tessa in the morning.  Greg and Ame’s oldest daughter Penny had caught a flight early Sunday morning to visit family on the West Coast.  After church we came home to a feast of brisket, sausage, rolls, fruit salad, chips and dip, etc.  I loved watching as each of Greg and Ame’s children helped out with dinner.  There family is like a well-oiled machine at work.  My cousin York, his wife Stacy and their children Darby, Ford and Brock also joined us for our feast.  We had a great time reminiscing about the good old days.

That evening we enjoyed “H” movie night with Greg’s family.  They have been going through the alphabet for movie night and were on “H” so we watched the latest Harry Potter movie and enjoyed hot fudge sundaes…this is one tradition we may need to start in our own home.

Monday, June 25^th

After leaving Greg and Ame’s house we drove to Brenham Texas where we toured Blue Bell Creamery…it was a farewell to our favorite ice cream since they don’t sell it here in Utah.   We got to see how the good stuff is made and packaged.  The best part of the tour was the sample at the end.   

Then we drove on to San Antonio.  Our first stop was The Alamo…much smaller than I had imagined.  We learned that the commander of the Alamo was from South Carolina…which brings a whole new perspective to the battle.

We bought a snow cone on our way down to the Riverwalk.  There were boats going up and down the river and the food all along the way smelled delicious.

We drove on to Misson San Jose.  We caught a ranger guided tour and learned all about life in the Mission.

The cathedral was beautiful.  They had just cleaned the statues on the facade and they were very white compared to the remainder of the building.

I loved the arches under the priest's quarters.

After visiting the mission we drove on to Fort Stockton where we planned to stay the night.  The drive from San Antonio to Fort Stockton was long...there was not much to look at besides sage brush and dirt.  We pulled into Fort Stockton just after nine.  Our first order of business was to find a good place to eat…we walked into a Mexican place, since we had been craving some…and found out they had closed at nine.  Sadly the only places open were chain restaurants... I felt like crying and may have looked like I was.  Once we got past San Antonio my allergies kicked in and my eyes were all red.  We ended up at the Taco Bell/KFC that was next to our hotel.  It was a sad end to an otherwise great day.