Friday, 30 December 2016: Austin, Texas

Friday morning, we were awake, up and out of the shower and on the road just after 6am.  Finally!  With all of our household goods and dusty treasures from NTS finally delivered, Justin and Gemma and I headed south.  Justin found the symmetry between leaving Germany on 30 June, leaving Green Bay on 30 November and leaving Austin today, 30 December. 

Just south of San Marcus, Justin suggested breakfast on the River Walk.  I was all in!  The river was not yet awake when we arrived in San Antonio about 7:30am so we headed to The Westin.  When Veronica, our server, brought our mimosas, we told her we were celebrating my having been retired for 6 months as well as our 3 year anniversary.  Just as we thought we were winding down she brought us a fabulous mascarpone strawberry shortcake on a personalized, chocolate decorated slate.  What a treat!   It was indeed a way to celebrate our special day.

By the time we finished our meal, the river was bustling.  A handful of joggers joined tourists and locals enjoying  a very pleasant winter day.  The weather was certainly different than the last time I was here in mid- July.  We walked around the River Walk for several hours.  We took time to read many of the plaques that told of the history and development of the area; Justin was very interested in the flora and fauna and getting ideas and noticing the differences in the way plants grow.  He also had a few ideas for improvements in the Perfect Property.  We took pictures so we wouldn't forget our inspiration.

We watched the temperature climb a bit and the terrain flatten as we headed into the Rio Grande Valley and the King Ranch.  Crossing the bridge onto south Padre Island held the promise of sunglasses, shorts and sand.  We checked into our hotel in South Padre Island just before 5:00pm.  After we dropped off luggage we headed to the beach. Although we missed the official sunset, we took advantage of an evening stroll along the beach.  Gemma was very happy with her long walk off-lead while Justin and I took it all in -- the sights, the smells, and the feel of sand between our toes and the waves lapping at our ankles.  Our dinner fare later at Louie's Backyard was a great end to the day.  Perfectly prepared seared tuna followed by pecan encrusted white fish in fish tacos topped with avocado sauce and cabbage along with fresh tortilla chips and garlic salsa -- Yumm-o!   We are finally here!