Weekend Excursions near Lake Travis

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 

http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p3654834?utm_campaign=HAUS_TRV_INQ_HASC_replyBlank_PPS&utm_content=propid_text_o_lprop&utm_term=20150629&utm_source=SYS&utm_medium=email

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:

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.

New Additions to the Family in Atlanta

Last weekend I hoped a flight to Atlanta meet my new baby cousin, Alexander. 

It was a family reunion of sorts. My great aunt whom i hadn't seen in nearly 20 years and my cousin, were visiting my other cousin, Alex's father, whom I hadn't seen in more than 5 years. (That sentence is confusing but the bottom line is...I hadn't seen my family in forever). 

I wanna take the time to say that I hate and love United airlines. Because my dear, sweet father has been working for them for as long as I can remember, I am able to fly with them for next to nothing but there's always a catch. The flight was late departing, we sat on the tarmac forever. When we arrived, they wouldn't let us off the plane for like 30 mins. On the way back, I missed one flight. Nowadays, there's rarely a time when I'm not sitting in the airport for hours waiting for a seat on someone's plane. This time was no different but it wasn't as bad as it could have been. 

I am sooooooooooo grateful for having this rare opportunity to see my family all in one place. It was nice hanging with them for the weekend even if it was in an un-air conditioned house. But of course, since I am not a proponent for sleeping in a tropical environment, my thoughtful cousin purchased and blew up the air mattress for me and I slept in the only cool room in the house with him. Bless his kind little heart.

Saturday morning I met Alex for the first time....he's absolutely adorable. I am completely and hopelessly in love with his sweet little face. He came to me like he knew I was his big cousin....the cutest and calmest baby ever. 

After some bonding time with the baby (I fed and burped him all by myself! go me!), and brunch prepared by aunt and cousin (I love my Cali family...the way they cook is so delightful), I decided to get dressed and my cousin and I got out of the house b/c we couldn't stand the heat. We drove over to visit my friend, chatted with her and her daughter a little while, and then set out in search of drinks in a well air conditioned establishment. 

Atlanta has changed alot since the last time I was there. Unfortunately, I wasn't blogging and taking as many pictures back then so I can't remember when that was exactly but it was definitely over new years and my friend and I partied like a couple of rockstars and then slept on the floor in our friend's apartment like two bums. Oh yeah...I also met a narcoleptic gentleman who fell asleep on the toilet while we were having a late night snack at Gladys Knight's restaurant. That's all I can remember. Prior to that trip, another friend and I visited Atlanta like 5 times in one year (2007)....we were the queens of Atlanta that year as far as we were concerned (as far as we're still concerned).

Since the Housewives and the Love & Hip Hop culture has infiltrated the city, there isn't much of a draw for me anymore. It's funny, I could sense the difference as soon as I arrived, actually, I could sense it on the plane ride over.

Anyway, the baby was scheduled to be picked up around 4:30pm so my cousin and I chilled, people-watched and had drinks until then. Our evening plan was to drive to Alpharetta to try this restaurant that my cousin had heard about in San Francisco called Blaxican. In the spirit of adventure, and since we had nothing else better to do, we all piled in my rental and drove the 53 mins, stopping at Dunkin Donuts on the way for a caffeine pick me up. 

So, Blaxican is a take out restaurant that started out as a food truck. in Atlanta As you can deduce from the name, the cuisine is an infusion of Soul Food with Mexican. Anyway, the place was supposed to close at 9pm that night so we thought we were good until we got there at 7:45 to find a sign on the door stating that they were closing at 8pm b/c of Father's Day. O_o

But it was 7:45 and we had driven all that way....so we politely urged the guy to go ahead and serve us and he begrudgingly obliged, dishing up whatever he had leftover to appease us. Then, since he felt as though the food was not up to par with his normal standards, but he had to serve us under the circumstances, he discounted the meal. We were grateful. We tried to leave a tip but he didn't have that option available so instead left the restaurant so he could finish closing up. I think that might have been the best tip he had gotten all day.

We sat in the car and ate....I had sausage tacos which was basically BBQ sausage links inside a flour tortilla with BBQ sauce on it. My cousin had pulled pork tacos with a pineapple topping, my other cousin had chicken tacos and my aunt had fish. We all had a side of jalapeno mac and cheese. 

I would love for this adventure to have a happy ending and tell you that the food was so awesome and so worth the hour drive. I'm sorry....but I can't do that. The food was just alright and it was kinda cold...but it was adventure and I'm always here for those. 

Later I found out that my family had driven an hour to try this place the previous weekend and got there after it was closed. So, in an effort to salvage the journey, they went into the Turkish hookah bar in the same strip center.  

So, after we ate, we decided that drinks would be good. So we went back to the bar for a few adult beverages with a side of belly dancing. But first, and since my aunt was running from my camera all weekend, I decided to steal a few car selfies. 

Must be hereditary b/c my cousin was running from the camera too.....no worries tho him and his muscles couldn't run far. 

These people are certainly related to me...lol. (Edges on fleek! haahahaha)

Inside the Turkish bar, where my fam had already made friends with the waitresses, we ordered drinks and hookah and pretty much just enjoyed each other and it was grand.....grand, I tell you. Apparently its been nearly 20 years since I've seen my aunt. yikes.

On the wall, on the way to the bathroom, there was a quote that read, "In the house of lovers the music never stops - the walls are made of songs and floor dances." ~ Rumi. dope quote huh? I liked it...that's all that matters.

We drove back home and packed ourselves in my cousin's bedroom, the only cool room in the house.  

The next morning, baby Alex came back over to visit. My cousin blew up the baby pool and filled it with water, rubber duckies and chucky cheese balls and we had baby's first dip in the pool....cutest. thing. ever. 

All this cuteness cannot be contained in this single photo. 

My weekend went by way too fast. Not enough time with the family, not enough time away from work...just not enough time in general. But I'm appreciative of whatever time I did have..... Plus, my family is small so I like to spend time with them when I can. You should all do the same.