As you can see, it's been about 11 months since we took this trip. Little did I know at the time, it would be our last trip in a loooong time. I still don't know when we'll go anywhere again, thanks to the pandemic. Weird times, these. At least we can look back at all the fun we had on our past adventures!
11-24-19
This time of year is the perfect time to head down to south Texas and enjoy some amazing scenery and unusual sights, and Thanksgiving weekend is the perfect opportunity to check it all out. We got on the road by 9 am and made it to Pecan Grill in Las Cruces in time for lunch. We have often stopped here on our way through town, enjoying their unique menu with southern New Mexico flair and all their beers and spirits. The restaurant was hauntingly empty today, though, and it just felt big and lonely in there. Very strange. Still, we enjoyed our meal and were happy to have stopped.
I was in desperate need of new sneakers, so we stopped at the Nike outlet store in El Paso, battling immense holiday crowds. We grabbed what we needed, found a snack for the kids at the food court, and got the heck outa there.
The limited daylight of mid-autumn was not in our favor, and by the time we reached the Prada store in Valentine, TX, it was almost completely dark outside. Officially known as Prada Marfa, since Marfa is the closest town of any size, this “store” is actually a non-functional art installation built in 2005, as a “pop architectural land art” project. You can’t enter the building, but you can view a display of authentic Prada shoes and handbags through the large windows in front. It’s an unusual piece of art, standing all alone in the empty desert, and definitely worth a visit if you find yourself on this lonely stretch of highway. As we discovered, you can even experience it at night, as the lights are always on. While there, we tried unsuccessfully to find a geocache and also noticed the nearby fence was adorned with padlocks galore. It made for an interesting picture with the last glows of dusk.
Continuing on, we attempted for the 3rd time to see the infamous Marfa lights. For those who don’t know, the Marfa lights are mysterious and ghostly balls of light that seem to hover or move eerily about above the vegetation. The first recorded sighting was way back in 1883, so the oft-quoted explanation of car headlights isn’t necessarily always the answer. We stayed at the viewing center for over a half hour, talking to some people who swore the blinking red light near the railroad tracks was them, as well as the lights around them, which I highly suspect really were from the road. I thought I did see one intensify, but honestly, it was probably just a regular light in the distance. One of these days, I swear, we’ll finally get to see something, if it means I have to camp out there all night.
With limited options, we grabbed Pizza Hut for dinner, since we were staying at the America’s Best Value Inn in Alpine, right next door. After all of this, we had a good night’s sleep.
11-25-19
I got up around 9, after a lovely rest, and gathered the crew. We headed down to Big Bend National Park where we topped off the tank and plunged into the park. The weather was lovely – this was really a perfect time of year to go, as summers can be uncompromisingly hot.
Our first stop was the Ward Spring Trail. We almost made it to the end with the kids, but we wound up having to take turns going further, while one waited with them. I also tried in vain to take pictures for our holiday card, but they fought me tooth and nail. Ah well. It was a pretty hike, anyway.
Next, we stopped briefly at the Castolon Visitor Center. It was under repair and closed, so we just wandered the grounds a bit, reading a few signs, admiring the old equipment, and dodging people.
From here, we headed to the end of the road: Santa Elena Canyon overlook. This is a beautiful spot with dramatic cliffs, right along the Rio Grande. We walked along the banks of the river and tried our hand at throwing rocks from our shore to Mexico. I kept missing by mere inches, but Nate had no problem. So much fun! On the walk to the river, Hyla kept making hearts in the sand, and the couple walking behind us commented that we were on the love trail. Cute. This was definitely one of the prime stops at Big Bend, and a must visit. Just lovely.
Next, we headed back to the Dorgan House trail and saw some ruins. Then we headed back to the Chisos Basin Visitor Center in search of the javelinas we’d seen last time, but no such luck. Instead, we did a short loop trail and saw the scenic Window from a distance. It was starting to get late, though, so we vowed we’d return again sometime and spend even more time enjoying this amazing national park.
We drove back on the dark, desolate roads, avoiding abundant deer and admiring the stars. Poor Hyla was desperate to find a place to go to the restroom, but of course we got stopped by border patrol which made her have to wait even longer. Figures. From there, we drove back to Marfa again, in search of those elusive lights. Again, we were met with nada, but I’m glad we attempted it. At this point, the kids had it, so we headed back to our hotel and got a slightly less restful night’s sleep.
11-26-19
Woke up with all sorts of new aches and pains. Ugh. We hit the road to Ft. Lancaster where we toured the grounds. I noticed copious amounts of raccoon droppings. I mean, they were everywhere! You constantly had to watch your step. While there, we admired the old fort and all its structures and even managed to grab a geocache.
Next, we tried to visit the Caverns of Sonora, but the wait was longer than we were willing to spend, so instead Hyla picked out a nice piece of agate in the gift shop, and we went outside and admired the guinea fowl.
We continued on to San Antonio where we made our way to one of our favorite stops: the Magic Time Machine restaurant. This place is nearly indescribable, with themed nooks in which to sit, a salad car (yes, the bar is a car), and all sorts of crazy memorabilia and décor gracing the walls. All the employees are dressed as whatever fantasy characters they want from any genre. Today, we were seated by Napoleon Dynamite and our waitress was Harley Quinn. We started out ordering the signature magic potion drink – they use dry ice and bring you a fantastic, bubbling drink, of any color you want. Hyla ordered yellow, but they mistakenly brought her a blue one. We didn’t mention it, but Harley did realize her mistake and brought her a yellow one, too! I ordered a green one, myself. My salmon was really good, as were Hyla’s pizza and Nate’s catfish and shrimp. Griffin seemed pretty pleased to share any and all of that. Mid-way through our meal, Harley brought over some dry ice which engulfed our entire table in clouds - quite the spectacle! And at the end, she dunked some dry ice into soapy water and we were treated to bubbles to wash/play with. It was definitely a nice way to wrap up the evening.
From here, we headed to the Home2 Inn and Suites to settle in for the night. We took Hyla swimming, even though the outdoor pool was ice cold. She was the only one who braved it and seemed pretty happy, nonetheless. I did manage to get in up to my ankles. The lady at the front desk asked if we were from Minnesota or something because of our cold tolerance. Too funny! We grabbed some hot chocolate from the lobby and spent the rest of the night watching the Disney channel and trying to get the kids to sleep at last.
11-27-19
Another fun day was dawning. We slept in again, which felt wonderful. The blinds on the windows were so efficient that it still felt like nighttime in our room. I kind of wanted to just stay in bed all day. We did eventually get out of there and headed to the DoSeum, the local kids’ museum. They had a pretty neat outdoor slide structure. In fact, all their outdoor activities were pretty good. Inside, they had a mini grocery store, airport, vet clinic, and spy academy. Hyla liked pretending she was in Odd Squad at the spy academy. They also had a bunch of light and sound exhibits, as well as other fun things. Definitely worth the stop.
Once we’d had our fill of the DoSeum, we headed up to Seguin to check out ZDT’s amusement park. I’d been wanting to come here for ages, ever since I heard that they were constructing an in-house wooden shuttle coaster, a definite one of a kind. Hyla and I both got the unlimited ride wristbands which were cheaper than usual because we got there 3 hours before close. Our first stop was the Switchback, the aforementioned roller coaster. You start out the ride climbing a typical lift hill, and then you barrel along the track up until you reach another large hill. After climbing that, you go through the entire track backwards. It was fun, but rather rough, and especially so when you can’t see where you’re going to brace yourself. Hyla was ok with it and actually asked me to do it with her again later. I wound up riding twice without her and started to get a pretty bad headache from it all, but I’m so glad I got to experience it, nonetheless.
We also did the parachute drop ride, which was surprisingly tame and rather pleasant, the Dizzy Toucan (a spinning swing ride), and the go karts. Hyla absolutely loved the Dizzy Toucan, as I’m sure I would have in my youth, but after about 7 times, I started to feel a bit nauseated. She, however, rode many more times than that and would have kept going all night had she been able. The go kart track was pretty good, but my car wasn’t very fast, and I kept getting rear ended by a bunch of impatient people, despite the no bumping rule. Ah well.
There was also a great arcade that housed Hyla’s first experience with a bungee trampoline. It was rather anticlimactic, as she’d always wanted to do one, but didn’t know what to do once she was actually on it. The ride op was too preoccupied with some teenaged girl, so he wasn’t helpful at all.
Also housed in the arcade building was a wonderful indoor climbing structure. It was huge and had all sorts of things. The twisty slide down seemed to go on forever! We really enjoyed our 2.5 hours at ZDT’s, and I can say it wore us all out. I’d definitely go back.
After this, it was time for dinner. We headed over to Seguin Brewing Company where we enjoyed pizza, a large pretzel, and some beers for us older ones. It wasn’t bad, but not really anything special. We headed back to our hotel, stopping briefly to get some groceries. Griffin fell asleep on the way, so once we got back to our room, he was fighting his actual bedtime. Hyla made sure to keep him awake with sparkling conversation. I think they finally were out around midnight.
11-28-19
We enjoyed a leisurely morning and still managed to get downstairs in time for a decent breakfast. We relaxed in our room until about 11, since checkout was noon and the San Antonio Zoo wouldn’t be open until then anyway. We wound up getting to the zoo slightly before opening and then had a lovely time seeing everything. Midway through our tour, we had to retreat to the car for various necessities and decided now would be a good time to take the train, which was just outside the zoo grounds, around Brackenridge Park. The train was decked out in holiday style, and they even handed out jingle bells for us to ring during various parts of our journey. They also played music we could sing along to. Of course, at one point, Griffin threw his bells out of the train, but luckily it was 30 seconds from where we’d disembark, so I was able to walk back and grab them. Hyla was beside herself worrying that I wouldn’t be able to find them, but it all worked out.
We continued back to the zoo, getting nachos and a pretzel, observing some fighting hippos, viewing some great herps, birds, and other critters. Missed out on the elephants, as they weren’t out at the time, but we admired the strikingly-marked local rock squirrels in their enclosure, anyway. When 5 o’clock rolled around, we went and got some dinner at a cafeteria to kill time before the holiday zoo lights were in full swing. We noshed on pizza, chicken fingers, and a cheeseburger. At this point, the kids were bouncing off the walls, but I think it was due to hunger. Once fed, things were back to normal again, thank goodness.
Once satiated, we headed back out again to see the lights. One of Hyla’s favorite parts was running around a small grassy area that displayed some light-up African wildlife such as hippos and lions. We also discovered a kiddie park and got some tickets for the kids to enjoy that. They rode the UFO, the school bus (which was way fast and wilder than you’d think), and the kiddie Ferris wheel. They even had the old cars of their former roller coaster on display. So sad that wasn’t still around, but it closed back in 2009.
Heading back into the zoo, we enjoyed playing in the soap bubble “snow” maker (since San Antonio is too hot for the real thing), and listening to all the music. We tried to see Santa, but the kids wanted nothing to do with him, so oh well. It was back to admiring the lights outside, which was way better anyway. We headed out around 7 and drove to our new hotel for the night. Eventually, well after 10, and after much crying, the overtired kids got to sleep. It had been a busy day, and all in one place for once! The San Antonio Zoo and Zoo Lights were a big hit.
11-29-19
Ah, the morning we’ve always dreaded. First thing in the morning, I went into the bathroom to take my shower, when, lo and behold, there was a bed bug. In the tub. Which is, I understand, the least likely place to find a bed bug in a hotel room. Thinking back, it’s possible it fell off of me when I went to the tub, but who knows. In all our years of travel, we had never chanced to encounter one of these guys, so this was deeply upsetting. I wish I’d have had something to catch it with, but it wandered off before I could find anything to use, so who knows where it went. We all discovered we had bites now, too. I didn’t see any other bed bugs around, but I was certainly worried about our luggage at this point. Ugh. So anyway, shower was skipped, and front desk was notified. I looked up reviews of said hotel and it turns out this isn’t the first incident with these critters. Terrific.
A bit disturbed, we headed to the car and drove up to Austin to have lunch at Kura Sushi. We’d discovered this place on our last visit to Illinois. We just happened to notice it out in Schaumburg and thought it looked interesting. Nate and I enjoyed dinner there without Hyla, and she was so upset to know we’d gone without her, so we vowed to take her to the next one we encountered. Kura is a revolving sushi bar. Sushi and other lovely foods travel past your table on a conveyer belt, and you take what you want, getting charged a fixed price per plate. Once done, you put your plate in a slot, and after every 5 plates, you’re treated to a little animation. After the 3rd animation, you get a prize. We made our way through 30 plates and wound up with 2 Lego-style sushi kits to put together: the eel and the veggie roll. So much fun! Definitely worth another visit when we see one.
Next, we headed over to the Thinkery Museum, another kids’ museum. It wasn’t nearly as good as the DoSeum, and on top of that, it was super crowded. It was difficult to really do any of the hands-on stuff because of all the people. They did have a fun climbing structure outside, and I think that was the best feature. Honestly, with all the commotion, I couldn’t get out of that place soon enough.
We headed over to Mueller Lake Park, just across the street, to get in some hiking and geocaching. We were treated to a light rain as we walked, enjoying the lake and the scenery. We even found a small snake skin! And an enormous spider sculpture. Once we’d seen the park, we headed back to the playground for a little while. We topped off our time here with a healthy dinner of onion rings and chicken strips at B.D. Riley’s Irish Pub.
At this point, it was getting dark, and we had lots of ground to cover. We drove through some amazing wine country to which we vowed to return. The area around Fredericksburg had at least 50 wineries and some amazing views (from what we could see in the dark, anyway). What a neat and unexpected region! Sadly, we couldn’t stop. We had reservations at the Super 8 in Sonora and two tired kids in tow.
11-30-19
We got up, grabbed a quick bite to eat, and hauled out toward the west. We only stopped briefly for gas in Van Horn before stopping for lunch at the Ode Brew Pub in El Paso. The beers weren’t that great, and I especially disliked the weird and oddly bitter strawberry beer. The food, however, was great! Nate had the salmon nachos, and I had the fish tacos. The kids shared that and some chicken strips.
We continued for home, only stopping once more for gas and McDonalds in Socorro. Despite the long hours driving, it seemed to go quickly. Perhaps thanks to the high speed limits in Texas? It felt really good to get home. Of course, we left most of our luggage out on the back porch or in the car thanks to potential bed bugs, and we immediately threw our clothes in the wash. A bed bug heater would be our next investment, and not a bad idea as travelers, anyway. Despite the buggy adventures, we had a great trip and look forward to the next one!
