Home Sweet Home!

We had a great time on our trip to San Marcos! We came home last night and it felt really good to wake up in our own bed this morning. I LOVE going but I LOVE coming home just as much!

Amber and Mike celebrated their 5th wedding anniversary Friday night!

They make such a wonderful couple.

I describe Amber as being the bright beautiful kite flying up in the sky and Mike being the rock steady hand  holding tight to the string that keeps her grounded.

I have enjoyed watching them together over the years and they do make a perfect couple. They are good for each other and while each one of them is a complete person separately.......they are better together than they are apart.

Kind of like Louis Dean and me!

Anyway we had dinner at The Tap Room.....one of the fave places in San Marcos for the college crowd. You have to be 21 after 6:00 pm.....and we were meeting a 20 year old friend who is currently in school there now. DILEMMA!

They made an exception and we all had a good meal and a good visit.

(It helps to chat up people and being nice and friendly usually pays off!)

After dinner we walked to the Green Parrot.....one of the few places that has not changed names in the years since Amber lived here.

We had drinks and played darts!

I watched the game for awhile and then thought, "I bet I could do that!"

I didn't win but it was not an easy victory for the other guy!

Mike and Louis Dean out front.

Louis Dean is a great fan of people watching!

We left the young ones to party on and we went back to the hotel.

Lucy was happy to see us.

We sat out in our lawn chairs on a grassy side area of the hotel.

Well, it WOULD have been grassy if Texas had not been so dry all summer.

Lucy enjoyed herself and we sipped our wine as the night turned into morning.

We did NOT sit out by the light of the silvery moon.....

.......but rather the light of the silvery BILL BOARD!

True hillbilly style!!

Works for US!

Saltgrass Steak House for lunch the next day.....we all slept SO late since we all went to bed SO early that morning!

This used to be Joe's Crab Shack and was the place we would come each time we visited Amber when she was in school. It is RIGHT ON the San Marcos River and so scenic!

We ate on the terrace overlooking the river.

Can you tell we were having a good time?

After lunch we toured the campus with 'Old Main' being Amber's favorite place!

Amber always attracts the papparazzi!!

Her teachers are still there and she was showing me the one who was the toughest!

Walking down the hall she used to walk so many times.....

.......to HER class room!

This is what her degree is in.......and she IS a writer extraordinaire!

She loved being back in her old school!

And I loved seeing it again with her!

That night was college FOOTBALL! My first time ever to attend a college game!

The Bobcats played some good foot ball and WON!!

Being around all these energetic college young people was an exciting experience.

You could feel the vibe and energy in the air!

I do not want to be young again......

but I DO enjoy being around those who ARE!

After lunch Sunday we decided to take a glass bottom boat tour of Aquarena Springs.

We last visited here when Amber was 7 and Benjamin was 4 years old.

She could not remember it but it was a BIG tourist attraction at the time.

This is what remains of an attraction at that time. It was like a submarine. You would board and then the vessel would slowly descend and you were looking straight into the water through the big glass windows.

'Mermaids' - called Aquamaids -  would perform as well as Ralphie, the swimming pig!

The area is now being converted into a wetlands project.

This was a hotel back in the day.

Aquarena Springs is the primary source of the San Marcos River.

There are over 200 springs bubbling up from three large fissures.

Louis Dean took dozens of pictures.....

....can you SEE him?

He loves his camera!

As the afternoon ended we loaded back up in our big Dodge truck and headed North up I 35.

Amber and Mike drove East.

It had been a great weekend together......our SECOND in a row!

AND they will be here again THIS weekend for a wedding!

This sure beats the year they lived in Aberdeen, Scotland!

Texas has some super nice rest areas!

This one was also a storm shelter.

The grounds were covered in native Texas flowers that thrive in the hot dry summer climate.

There was even an area for walking your dog. Lucy and I took advantage of that!

I love it when we travel in the truck! LD does the driving and I do needlework and reading.

It is always a welcome sight when we see the Dallas skyline!

Now Lucy is asleep in her kennel right behind me as I write and Louis Dean just took himself off to bed after getting the coffee ready for in the morning. I best shut the house up and turn off the 'thousand points of light' we have! It was in the 80's today so we have been breathing real air! However, I have NO screen on our bedroom door so the A/C is on in there. Hopefully he will get that put in tomorrow.

It's been a good Monday around here. Hope it was just as nice in YOUR neck of the woods!