Off to Visit Sister in Austin, TX

On February 23, I flew from Cedar Rapids to Austin, TX to visit my sister, Edith, who had 4 days off from her traveling nurse job at a local hospital.   After a slow drive due to heavy traffic, we stopped and had dinner at a Mexican restaurant called Los Pinos, not to far from the campground where Edith has parked her camper.  Lucky for me, I was able to rent a cabin right across the street from Edith which meant I was able to “visit” with Junior, Midnight, and Mama; these are Edith’s three cats.  I have to admit Mama was not a very good hostess; she hissed and hide away every time I came to the camper.   The morning of the 24th was warm and sunny.   Got an early start because of the distance we wanted to travel that day.  We headed for the Wildseed Farm close to Fredericksberg, TX.  This is one of my favorite places to visit!  I purchased a top and necklace which goes nicely with a skirt I have in my closet.    Then we headed to Pipe Creek, TX where we planned on visiting with one of Edith’s old neighbors, Jack.  Along the way, we stopped at Luckenbach, TX which is 10 acres that has, as its oldest building, the Post Office-General Store-Bar which opened in 1849 by Minna Engel whose father was an itinerant preacher from Germany.  The community, first named Grape Creek, was later named after Minna’s husband Carl Albert Luckenbach.  While there, Edith and I were entertained by the bartender who played guitar and sang.

Singer, guitar player, bartender

Singer, guitar player, bartender

We arrived at Jack’s around 1:30 in the afternoon and had a very good visit.  Since it was warm and sunny, we walked Jack’s yard looking at his cactus gardens and swing/overlook of the valley.

Enjoying view from swing at overlook

Enjoying view from swing at overlook

Jack's cactus garden

Jack’s cactus garden

Jack and Edith

Jack and Edith

 

 

 

 

 

 

On our way back home, we stopped for dinner at a brew pub in Johnson City.  Arrived home and, after visiting with Midnight/Junior, headed back to the cabin to read and prepare for the next day’s activity of shopping at two huge outlet centers along with visiting Sam (Edith’s grandson) and his family.

Woke up on the 25th to light rain and cold temperature of 47; not the type of weather I expected for Austin.  After having coffee, we headed to the San Marcos Premium Outlets and Tanger Outlet Center; these outlets are on the same side of the road but separated by a street.  The rain did not let up and the temperature did not get higher throughout the day.  But we did have a good time shopping.  We ate lunch at a Mexican restaurant located by the outlet centers.  When we got back to the Austin area we traveled to Sam’s apartment to see him and his children, Cameron and Autumn.  Sam is my great nephew.

Grandma Edith with Sam

Grandma Edith with Sam

Cameron and Autumn

Cameron and Autumn

 

 

 

 

 

 

After our visit with Sam, we stopped at a local grocery store and picked up some soup/bread for our evening meal which we ate in my cabin.  We spent the rest of the evening talking.  Because of the heavy traffic Edith experienced on her way to pick me up from the airport on Monday, we decided to leave early the next morning for the airport where I would check in and we have breakfast together before my departure.  However, when we arrived at the airport, I did check my bag but we discovered that there was no breakfast being offered outside of security.  So we said our “good byes” and I went through security.  The travel from Austin to Cedar Rapids was uneventful.  Mary and Joe were waiting to pick me up; on our way to my home, we stopped to eat dinner at Coop’s in Shellsburg.

All in all, a good trip with great conversations with Edith, Sam/his family, and Jack but it was very short with our trying to “cram” much activity in such a short time.

 

 

 

 

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