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| Drew & Jamie's Camper |
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| Home, Sweet Home for Jim and Sharon |
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| Mom and Dad's Camper (set up by Chris & me!) |
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| The Pool |
We had tacos for dinner and hit the sack pretty early. Friday morning after pancakes for breakfast, we took a nature walk/hike and just about passed out from the heat and humidity, but managed to make our way back to our campsites. One bit of nature that became slightly annoying: an overenthusiastic cardinal protecting his territory from the identical cardinal he saw in every reflective surface. Here' s a short video:
My mom and dad showed up with Roxy in tow, and we all quickly loaded up and headed to the San Marcos River for tubing!
It was the first time tubing for many of us, and none of us had done the San Marcos before. Noah was in his little boat and the rest of us rented tubes from the Lion's Club. The river was COLD and uncrowded; perfect for a hot June day! We brought a cooler and had a blast just floating along and reapplying sunscreen (some more often than others). Right at the end of the float were a series of rapids that were so much fun! Sharon and I held on to each other and shot through them, screaming and laughing as we managed to stay on our tubes. It was so much fun that we decided to go back and do it again, but not before we rode the school bus shuttle--Noah's favorite part of the whole weekend, I think. The second time was great, too, so we really got our money's worth! We went back to camp and cooked some burgers and grilled veggies and ate lots of Steph's homemade cookies. A game or two of dominoes broke out later, and it was quickly bedtime. Noah had developed a bit of a cold that day, and Friday night was the worst of it as he woke everyone in our camper (Mom, Dad, Chris and me... and Roxy...) with his coughing throughout the night. There was nothing we could do to relieve him! Finally, morning came and the guys (Chris, Jimmy, Drew and Jim... sorry, Dad!) went to golf awhile while Steph, Jamie and Sharon headed in to explore Lockhart and Mom, Dad, Noah and I decided to ride our bikes. Dad was stuck pulling the chunk in his new bike trailer... up a hill to a high point of the state park. I think it was worth the ride! We saw some old buildings built by the CCC 80 or so years ago, plus some glimpses of what could be a good view (lots of brush needed to be cleared).
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| Dad sets a great example for Noah |
The downhill ride was the best part! Jamie, Sharon, and Steph soon returned from Lockhart, dejected because all the shops were closed for the Chisholm Trail parade! Who knew Lockhart was the beginning of the Chisolm Trail, and we happened to pick "Chisholm Trail Weekend" to camp there?? Poor Sharon... think of all those antiques she missed out on. Anyway, Steph and I suddenly found ourselves with tag-alongs for our planned San Marcos outlet shopping trip that afternoon, so we headed back to San Marcos with Jamie, Sharon and Chris.
That will be the last time we invite Jamie and Sharon! We barely scratched the surface before they were ready to leave. It was an injustice. We met up with the rest of the group in Lockhart for some famous BBQ at Black's, which left much to be desired.
Dad declared that Spring Creek BBQ, a popular chain, had better BBQ than this "famous" joint. I concur. Still, it was nice to eat and not heat water and wash dishes by hand afterwards. We loaded up on meds for Noah before heading back to camp, where Steph and I taught Jamie and Sharon how to play spades. Meanwhile, Drew and the guys did manly things like change the tire on the truck that had picked up a bolt.
Off to bed, and the next morning Drew and Jim took off on the bikes before Chris and I were even up. We all packed up and said our goodbyes, then headed north to home, sweet home.
Oh, if only the story ended there.
Chris and I hired a friend from church to house-sit for us, and right as we were packing up to leave Wednesday night, Chris noticed that the house was much warmer than where the thermostat was set. Uh-oh! After much fiddling, testing, and consultation with Drew (I'll spare you all the details), he thought he figured out the problem and had a temporary fix. We instructed Paige (our house-sitter) and gave her a back-up plan, and sure enough, she woke up drenched in sweat Friday morning. Ack! So we knew we were driving home to a hot house and, possibly, an expensive week ahead on the home-repair front.
Then, remember that bit about Noah's little cold? Well, on the way home, as he fell asleep in his car seat (yes!), he began to cough a little from the drainage. Then he coughed more. And harder. And suddenly, he was throwing up (no!). Makes for a fun drive home...
That's about the time my friend Kelly calls me, wondering if there's any way she and her family can
"relieve" Paige and come stay at our house, since their air conditioner was not working! I told her, sure, no problem, "hope you don't mind it being about 88 degrees..." How ironic is it that all of our air conditioners are going out? Talk about a bad omen for the rest of the summer...
The good news is that Noah already seems to be doing much better (the trick: Vicks on the bottom of his feet and chest and a homeopathic cough syrup), and we found out that our air conditioner is still under warranty! Woo hoo! We have someone coming tomorrow. In the meantime, Chris has somehow miraculously managed to get the A/C on and keep it on for over 7 hours at this point.
And, can't finish without mentioning the DALLAS MAVERICKS are the CHAMPIONS!!! Go Mavs!
Camping trip album:
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| Lockhart State Park |
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