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Published: December 1st 2009
James has one week off school for Thanksgiving holidays and Louise has taken the week off work so we are all off on a road trip to San Antonio.
Monday morning after we strategically packed our bags in to the volvo, without an inch to spare, the six of us set off on our road trip to San Antonio. We stopped for a lovely lunch at the East Side Cafe in Austin, the food cooked with the freshest of ingredients, much of which was grown in the gardens behind the restaurant.
Late afternoon saw us arrive at our motel in San Antonio where we spent nearly an hour trying to sort out our rooms, Louise had booked and and paid for two, two bedroom suites and the motel tried to give us two one bedroom suites. Late afternoon we had a walk along the "river walk", the path winds past lovely buildings, restaurants and cafes all below street level. We had dinner at a restaurant in the area, serving very tasty food and the best margaritas.
Tuesday saw us visit the Alamo in the morning and the La Villita historic arts village followed be a river cruise in
the afternoon. For dinner Louise and Colin took us to a very special restaurant called Fogo de Chão, an authentic Brazilian steakhouse. Chefs grill 15 different cuts of meat which are bought to the table as they are ready, if you wish to taste some of the meat you have a coaster you turn up to show the green side and the waiter will slice the meat for you. The boys loved the food and thought being able to choose which meats they wanted to try great fun. When we moved on to desert Lachlan said he didn't want desert but another one of the homemade sausages, the waiters were happy to oblige.
Wednesday we all went to Sea World, around half an hour drive out of San Antonio. The first show we watched had seals and a large walrus, but the highlight of the day was definitely the killer whales. The boys were able to feed the dolphins and I was thrilled to be able to give a fish to one of the beautiful creatures. Back in San Antonio we all enjoyed a meal in a Japanese restaurant, the boys showing me up with their use of chopsticks.
Thursday saw us drive to Austin were we stayed in the Radisson. The rooms had the softest beds, each bed had a control which enabled you to choose the softness or hardness of the mattress. The hotel staff were very friendly and the porters were more than happy to play soccer (with a soft fabric ball) in the foyer with Lachlan. As it was Thanks Giving we went out to another lovely restaurant mum ordered the traditional Roast Turkey but as the restaurant speciailised in seafood I enjoyed salmon and a crayfish tail, yum. Austin is a lovely city with interesting buildings and parkland around the river.
James decided he would stay in my room with me as I had two double beds, both with controls, and he would have had to sleep on a sofa bed in the room he was sharing with Colin, Louise and Lachlan. It was lovely to have a special sleepover in the hotel with my six year old nephew, we settled back in to our individual double beds and watched an animal documentary.
Friday saw us travel to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Gardens, about a 20 minute drive from Austin.
The gardens were interesting not only for the beautiful wildflowers but also because of the sculptures, the boys especially liked a large spider sculpture. After lunch in the cafe at the gardens we headed off for the drive back to Dallas. We found another gem on the drive back the Collins Street Bakery, lots of delicious cake and cookies.
Saturday we all headed off to Dallas Fort Worth stockyards, we arrived in time to see the cattle being herded down the main street. Later we all attended the Wild West show were we saw trick riding, lassoing, trick shooting and whip cracking, yeehaa. James and Lachlan both enjoyed pony rides and we finished our outing with Pizza for dinner on the way home.
Louise and Colin had certainly organised a wonderful family Thanksgiving week that Mum and I shall always remember.
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Lisa Schneider
non-member comment
Gday
Hey Alex, glad you are having a great time in the US. We are missing you here and look forward to catching up with you when you return. Cheers Lisa