Austin Weekend

We spent last weekend in Austin. It was out last little getaway for the summer before I go back to coaching and teaching. Mostly we went there to relax but we did do a little bit while we were there.

On Friday night we went to the Congress street bridge to see the bats fly out. It is really something to see if you have never seen this. It starts out with just a few bats coming out and then all of a sudden there is a solid black ribbon of bats flying down the river.

I can not take credit for the picture, it was way too dark by the time they came out when we were there.

On Saturday we went to the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum. I had been once before but I like it, I think it is a very well done museum and well worth the $7 entry fee. If you have time you should go to the Spirit Theater. It has a really good video on some of the historic moments in Texas History.

We also had some really great meals. We actually ate at two restaurants that were featured on Rachel Ray's Tasty Travels: Austin. I must say that she did a very good job, both restaurants we went to were really good. We also went to a McCormick & Schmick's, I had never been to one and the food was really good, it is a little pricey but that's OK every once in a while. What really makes it stand out though is that when they brought out our meals one of them was wrong. They said they would get it fixed as soon as possible, which they did, only a few minutes, so it wasn't really that big of a deal. Then the manager came by and apologized and said that the whole meal would be taken care of. We had met friends there so there were 4 of us. Later he brought out the check to show us that it was taken care of and sure enough it showed a total of $136 with a $0 balance.

It was a good weekend, I don't know if it was good enough that I'm ready to go back to work but it was good. I think we may need to make a few more trips to Austin to see some more that the city has to offer.

10 On Tuesday (Belated)

This is a post I've seen my Sister participate in for quite a while so I think I will try it out to.

10 Memorable Vacation Moments (In no particular order)

1. I think my very first vacation memory is going to the Battleship Texas and San Jacinto Monument. I could not have been more than 6 or 7 years old
2. Scuba Diving in Cozumel
3. JB lit his cigarette backwards at the FloraBama. It was really funny at the time
4. The Redwood Trees in Northern California
5. Carrying the canoes over beaver dams in Canada
6. White water rafting in Denali Park
7. Sitting by the fireplace at the B&B in Mendocino
8. The Golden Gate Bridge
9. The Prague Castle
10. The Beer festival in Munich

I think I could have also made a list of Animals I've seen in the wild -- Elk, Moose, Bear, Caribou, Fox, Beaver, Porcupine, Ground Hogs, Lobster, Eel, Octopus, Sharks, Whales..........oh my

The past week

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July. We spent the weekend in Pennsylvania at my in laws lake house. The Wife was a little emotional since she hasn't been back since her Granddad passed away but she made it just fine and started to make some new memories there. On Saturday we had a little get together for some of the Wife's family that couldn't make it down for the wedding and then we took the boat out that night to watch fire works from the lake. We played around on the boat quite a bit and went driving around to see elk. Over all a really good weekend.

We received one of the coolest wedding gifts at the party, one of the family friends from there is a blacksmith and he made a grill set for us. He used steel cable that be forged into a solid bar the made a fork and a pig tail for us complete with oak handles that he also made. It meant a lot to think that he actually made something for us.

On Monday night we went to watch the Astros play the Pirates at PNC Park. It was my first chance to see a game somewhere other than Minute Maid Park so that was fun. It really is a very nice park and was nice that it was all open. You really get a good view of the city from the stadium. The only downside was that the 'Stros could not hold on to the lead and lost 7 - 10.

One other note I am going to mention is that I have made a full week now in my effort to quit smoking. I wish I could say it was getting easier but it's not, I have actually had dreams about smoking. Regardless though, I have made a week. Woo Hoo!

Pictures From Europe

Well, I finally feel like I'm getting back to normal, I guess it was jet lag but I really felt out of sorts for the first few days after getting home from Germany. I guess I'm just lucky that I'm on summer vacation so I didn't have to get back to real work anyway.

I said I would get a few pictures up so here are a few of the high lights from the trip.

View of St. Micheal's Monestary in Bamburg, Germany.

Bamburg Cathedral

Equestrian Statue in Bamburg Cathedral, they said it dates back to between 1200 and 1300 and may be a King.

View of Prague Castle from in Prague.

St. Vitus's Cathedral in Prague Castle.



The Apostle Clock in Old Town Square, Prague. On the hour the bells ring and the Apostles walk in circles in the two small doors that open near the top.

We went to a beer festival in Munich, seriously, how can you go to Germany without going to a beer festival.

Well, that's a quick glimpse at the trip, the cathedrals were all even more amazing on the inside but I'd have to put 100 photos on here (for each one) to really give it justice so I'll stop here.