Great people, great places (week 9)

As the weather keeps getting better and better here in Texas, we keep having more and more fun. I guess that’s to be expected after our rough start in the Austin ice storm.

After my dad and stepmom left last week, the gatehouse seemed far too big and empty. So we went outside and grabbed the tennis rackets, kayaks and Tony’s fishing pole. He’s finally catching fish in Texas! Once the girls were done with school on Friday, we hit the road and headed down to beautiful San Antonio. (Normally a two-hour drive. With Austin traffic = add an extra hour. I will never get used to all the vehicles down here!) Quick tangent—it’s hilarious to me that when drivers in Texas see a sea of brake lights ahead of them, all the cars in the far-right lane just plow down into the ditch and hit the frontage road. Seriously, I saw this happen like 30 times in a matter of a few miles. It was hysterical!

Anyway, the girls were impressed with the beautiful Riverwalk and all its restaurants (tableside guacamole at Iron Cactus? Yes, please!), and I was thrilled to be reunited with Karen Yurconic, my former coworker in Allentown. It’s been about 20 years since we worked together on The Morning Call news desk and roughly 16 years since I last saw her in San Antonio. But as soon as we started chatting, it was like no time had passed at all!! The four of us Broullires had dinner with her and her husband, Keith, on Friday night, and she and I took a walk through the King William Historic District before having brunch together on Saturday morning. It was hard to say goodbye; would love to see her again soon! (Let’s make a plan for you to come back to Door County, girl!)

On our way out of town, we took a tour of the Natural Bridge Caverns north of San Antonio. Such a good stop; Tony said it was the coolest cave he’d ever seen, and we’ve seen plenty! By the time we got back to Lago Vista, my cousin Courtney and her family had arrived for their visit. So wonderful to be reunited with family! The last time I saw her was more than a year ago when we were in Austin for our Anderson ladies’ trip!

Courtney, Rich and their two kids (The “A Team”) rented a pontoon Sunday with us Broullires (The “B Team”) and we made our way around Lake Travis. It was a little chilly at first but not too cold for three of our four crazy kids to make a polar plunge into the lake. They’re bonkers; I didn’t even want to put my feet in that freezing water. Once the sun came out, we all warmed up and took in the breathtaking scenery while Tony caught a big striped bass. Even with fish in the cooler, everyone voted for us to make another trip to Rudy’s BBQ, since apparently we missed out on their phenomenal creamed corn during our first meal. Wow, that was totally worth another visit! I am not excited about the idea of putting on a swimsuit when we get back to Florida—yowza!

Yesterday, we took The A Team on a walk around the resort, ate leftover brisket and played a few games of pool. In the afternoon, the adults ventured into town to finally check out the bars on Rainey Street. My “Her Name Was Lola” cocktail from the Tipsy Alchemist was sooooooo good and worth the wait! We finished with dinner at The Grove Wine Bar & Kitchen (yum) and drinks and conversation on the patio back at our gatehouse. Sadly, the Andersons had to pack up today as they are spending the second half of the week with Rich’s sister who lives in Austin. Once again, the gatehouse is too big and too quiet. We miss you guys already!

It seems impossible that in just five days, we will be back in Tampa to pick up our van and resume our road trip. Time only seems to be accelerating as we go along. Even though Tony and I would be perfectly content to continue this vagabond lifestyle indefinitely, the girls are growing increasingly anxious to get home. Still, every time I sit down with a calendar and try to sketch out our path back to Wisconsin, I never seem to be able to connect the dots and the dates all the way back to De Pere! So our exit strategy remains unwritten. At least for now.

As a family, we’ve realized that the joy of these past two weeks directly correlates to seeing loved ones and friends. It’s been far too long since we’ve experienced the simple pleasure of sharing a meal and talking face-to-face; fingers crossed that this downward trend in new COVID cases continues and that we are able to spend time in person with all of you lovely people this summer! In the meantime, you are all in our prayers, and we thank God for the blessings, love and support that you all bring to our lives. Be well and take care, everyone!