3-day weekends are the best!
Who doesn't love knowing you only have to work a 4-day week which will be followed by 3 full days of not working?? I swear if I had Fridays off...whew! I'm not sure what I'd do with myself.
But....since I have not yet received that blessing, I make the MOST of the few 3-day weekends, whenever they come around. At the beginning of each year, I make a mental note of each one. Then I decide if that one will be used for a quick getaway or incorporated into an international excursion (sidenote: your international trips should include a 3-day weekend...it's one less day you have to take off work!).
Anyway, I had been wanting to rent a house near Lake Travis for some time now but I needed a group to go b/c I was talking about renting a ballerific house and I didn't want to spend all that money on my own....but I also wanted a drama free weekend so selecting the right group of people was key.
So I polled a group and surprisingly everyone was interested (but honestly, why wouldn't they be?) I did the research and found a couple options. We decided on this house listed on HomeAway.com
Be SURE you click the link and look at this gorgeous house, scroll through the pictures. If you ever considering doing something like what we did, RENT THIS HOUSE. You won't be sorry. The price is reasonable too. Here are some of the pics I took.
How amazing is this place?!
Alright so rewind to Friday morning, we set out on the 3 hour drive to Volente, TX which is about 22 miles outside Austin. Once we turned off the main highway, you drive down what seems like the windiest, never ending road...but with some great views...until we reached the most majestic little drive. I'm love driving down a road that's completely shaded by trees reaching out to each other from either side. It makes me feel like I'm entering into some special hiding place just for me.
Interject: On the way to Volente, the Google Maps lady decided to take us on a detour onto Highway 237 through Round Top, Texas instead of going straight out 290. Round Top has a population of 90 (according to the signs)! I've never knowingly been to a town that was so small! It was the cutest, quaintest little place ever and although the other car group didn't seem as enthusiastic as I was about the detour, I enjoyed getting to see another part of Texas. It was 4th of July weekend so you could tell they were gearing up for the festivities. It was like something out of a movie. We rolled through Round Top in like 6 mins and then along the way there were a few parts that looked a little more hoodish but it was all so interesting. Seriously though, if it were up to me, a 3 hour road trip would take all day. I would want to stop at every store that sold pecans and rattlesnake and follow every sign down some random road to the telephone museum.
Anyway, this detour, and the sights along the road that followed, were the perfect juxtaposition between two of my secret personalities, the country gal that loves trail rides and cowboys and the ratchet chick that loves trap music and a low cut Cesar with a deep wave (plus I think Fetty Wap was playing on the radio) - the two converged on Highway 237 in Somewhere, Texas and it was perfect - like it totally got me and I was like:
Alright so rewind to Friday morning, we set out on the 3 hour drive to Volente, TX which is about 22 miles outside Austin. Once we turned off the main highway, you drive down what seems like the windiest, never ending road...but with some great views...until we reached the most majestic little drive. I'm love driving down a road that's completely shaded by trees reaching out to each other from either side. It makes me feel like I'm entering into some special hiding place just for me.
Interject: On the way to Volente, the Google Maps lady decided to take us on a detour onto Highway 237 through Round Top, Texas instead of going straight out 290. Round Top has a population of 90 (according to the signs)! I've never knowingly been to a town that was so small! It was the cutest, quaintest little place ever and although the other car group didn't seem as enthusiastic as I was about the detour, I enjoyed getting to see another part of Texas. It was 4th of July weekend so you could tell they were gearing up for the festivities. It was like something out of a movie. We rolled through Round Top in like 6 mins and then along the way there were a few parts that looked a little more hoodish but it was all so interesting. Seriously though, if it were up to me, a 3 hour road trip would take all day. I would want to stop at every store that sold pecans and rattlesnake and follow every sign down some random road to the telephone museum.
Anyway, this detour, and the sights along the road that followed, were the perfect juxtaposition between two of my secret personalities, the country gal that loves trail rides and cowboys and the ratchet chick that loves trap music and a low cut Cesar with a deep wave (plus I think Fetty Wap was playing on the radio) - the two converged on Highway 237 in Somewhere, Texas and it was perfect - like it totally got me and I was like:
Anyway, back to this enchanting street into Volente, I had to take pics from the front seat of the car because I was the designated DJ and hype man, but this video really captures the beauty of it. I can find the beauty in anything really...but it wasn't hard, this was actually beautiful, I promise.
We arrived, took the tour, settled in and went back out for groceries to stock the house with all the things we would need for the weekend. We each prepared a dish and then had a certified buffet of cuisines that ranged from Belizean to Creole, Cajun and American and stuffed we ourselves - which in turn ruined all chances we ever had of going out that night. We napped, woke up and ate and drank again....hung out on the patio, listened to some music and then, as it turned to night, were serenaded by the sounds of nature surrounding us, fought a battle with mosquitoes and lost, then continued a very similar pattern for the next few days.
We had all these delusions of grandeur like we were going to leave the house and explore the area (go zipling, go to the Oasis for dinner, etc)....but guess what? We. Did. Nothing. We did not leave the house all weekend except for a coffee run to Starbucks, and as much as I love to get out and do stuff...this reclusive weekend was just fine for me.
I mean, why not? The house was amazing, we had food and drinks, music and movies, no drama.....and that was everything we needed. The entire weekend.
It's good to take some time to unwind. You know I'm always on the go...as we speak I'm making plans to go paddle boarding this weekend (but it's like 12k degrees outside so I'm re-thinking that decision). But this 3 day weekend was reserved for rest and relaxation....I guess that's what normal people do on vacation anyway.
Here are some pics....I hope you enjoy.
I love the Austin area. Some of my friends and I did this a few years ago and it was a whole lot of fun! We need a baecation in one of these lake houses one day!
ReplyDeleteWe had a great time. Yes to baecations in the lake house.
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