Kidz at Barton Springs

Our last stop in Austin with the kids was at Barton Springs- an amazing natural fed pool that has been an Austin favorite for decades. We tried to go on Saturday afternoon, but were discouraged by the crowds.



We showed up early on Sunday & it was pretty empty around lunch time, but quickly filled up in the afternoon. I'd been as a child & somehow missed hanging out here when I was in college.



Just below the dam is a cool dog park area where owners & furry friends hang out in the water too.



The water is a very chilly & it was quite a show to see who would take the plunge first. Hunter does it with style!



The diving board was quite popular & the kids had fun doing some stunts.



It was pretty entertaining to watch everybody, young & old, have fun getting some air.



Hunter can do front flips.



Haley does a wicked canon ball.



The rocks on the bottom make it irregular & very slippery.



The kids had a race where they both stumbled and slipped.



Haley goes down first...



They had to much fun together, just hanging out & being silly.



It's so great to catch real smiles out of these two.



They were laughing hysterically & we were quite entertained. We stayed until we got hungry & the park was getting crowded, then drove back to Houston.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Kidz made it home safely from their mission trip in Mexico & I'll be stealing Facebook photos over the next few weeks.

Kidz & College

Our next major stop was the campus at the University of Texas. Hunter has some interest in going there & it's just a beautiful campus. I don't think either of them have really walked around a college campus before & it was a cool experience.



This is one of my favorite scenes around campus.



It's hard to believe Hunter will be a junior this year & starting to visit colleges. He's interested in engineering, thinks he wants to go to a college in Texas & outside of Houston. We'll see how those plans evolve over the next 2 years.



We missed the evening showing of the Congress Ave. bats, but there were still a few fluttering around when we walked into town.



No real trip to the University of Texas is complete without a stop at their satellite campus- aka 6th street. We caught a late movie & ended up having a late dinner. It was around 11:30 when we finally made the walk through the wild side. They were funny- I think my brother was a bit overwhelmed with all the partying & my sister was just ready to go.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: My easy-going August just got a lot busier as I picked up some work trips & so did H.

Mt Bonnell & the Capitol

The next stop on our Austin trip was Mt Bonnell Park, overlooking the Austin skyline and Town Lake.



Just a few steps off the main trail & you can get some great views of the lake & surrounding hillside.



::le sigh::
I miss Austin & would love to live in this urban wilderness.



Next stop was a quick walk around the Texas Capitol. I guess kids these days don't take field trips to see it anymore :(



I love that my sister is a little shutterbug & getting quite into taking photos, which I can later steal on Facebook.



She caught Hunter & I walking down the steps at Mt. Bonnell. When did my hair get that short?!?!!? And when did my brother get so tall??

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: August snuck up on me...I can't believe we are 7/12ths of the way through the year!

The Oasis Austin

Last weekend we grabbed my brother & sister and headed to Austin to explore. Our first stop was at The Oasis on Lake Travis.



They are famous for their layers of decking that provides awesome views of the sunset and all the partiers out on the lake.



I loved my years living in Austin during college & couldn't believe the kids hadn't been up there to do any sightseeing.



The lake was pretty quiet for a sunny Saturday, but there was still a crowd at Windy Point Park.



I tried explaining to them how the Colorado River, through 3 dams, formed the 3 Austin area lakes.



I was just blown away by how much The Oasis is growing. Way back when, it was a little local restaurant that was pretty simple & basic.



They are expanding and getting into the events (weddings!) and hotel area of things.



We jealously checked out all the amazing houses on the lake & schemed about how we might get our own one day.



It's so big and fancy now- I hardly recognize it :(



Like all of Austin- rampant construction and expansion. I'm kinda sad to see the little dive restaurant gone, but such is progress.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Looks like we are going to Belize for our anniversary! Sooooo excited about that ;)

Ship Creek Walk

Our last real stop on our journey up the west coast to Fox Glacier was at Ship Creek Tauparikaka Walks along the beach & on a boardwalk through some heavy vegetation.



The boardwalk was a great little path through the sand dunes.



I like that the official NZ description is swamp forest- it's a pretty fitting name. There was a small covered area with some educational diagram & an observation tower for great views.



We hiked along the boardwalk & were soon into the think (and very tall!) brush.



The trail led us out to the beach area, which was desolate and some pretty big waves breaking on the shore.



There was a second little lookout deck, barely visible in the photos, that you could hike up to in just a few minutes for a different elevated view.



It's interesting to see two different ecosystems- the beach & the swamp forest, so close together.



This is also the one and only place where we were attacked by the sand flies. I don't think I've ever been attacked by so many bugs at one time!



From the first observation tower, you could see a beautiful mist forming at the base of the mountain where waves were crashing down.



This quiet little tide pool had some birds and fishing just hanging out.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Done with all the photos in the Wanaka folder- just Fox Glacier & our return trip to Christchurch to blog.

Gates of Haast

Our next point of interest on our journey up New Zealand's west coast was the Gates of Haast, which takes you through the Haast Pass in the Southern Alps.

Although a typical one-way bridge and on the main road, there was still so little traffic that you could walk out along the bridge and check out the raging Haast River below.

These boulders were huge & the water was creating quite the torrent around them.



The walls of the surrounding mountains are incredibly steep & some are practically vertical.

It's a neat little place for a driving break & to appreciate the power and enormity of mother nature.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY:5 whole weeks ahead of me with no work travel scheduled (well, at least yet!).