I have been taking Molly out for some practice drives around the neighborhood in the MINI.
Well, actually, she’s been taking me. But I still get to pick the music.
She’s doing well with driving. We drive in the same area we used to practice riding bikes. It’s a nice, flat, low-traffic area.
Today’s session was followed-up by a drive through the Whatabrger for a milkshake because…had to.
With Claire being off at college most of the year and working a summer job at home, plus Molly being busy with cheer stuff, it’s been hard find a time we can all take a trip together. But after scouring the calendar, we finally found a few days that work.
And we make a road trip to good ol’ Galveston, my personal favorite nostalgic childhood beach town, and where we last went two years ago.
We’ve stayed in a few types of places in Galveston over the years:
With all that experience behind us, I finally decided to get it right this time and get a spacious condo close to town with a giant pool and a lazy river and direct beach access with no Seawall Boulevard in the way. π
Did I mention it was for perfect for swimming in the morning and shaded by later afternoon? The nights out there were gorgeous too.
Once we had our perfect castle, it was time to play. The lazy river was amazing. Moly saids she would be out there three hours every morning if she lived there. I actively considered buying our condo. π
The beach was soft and sandy, and the water was the perfect temperature. I didn’t get many beach pics because I generally left my phone in the condo. π
During the steamy, sunny, tropical afternoons, we retreated inside and played Hey, Thatβs My Fish!, played guitar, napped, or watched LA Confidential. We also gorged on key lime pie.
And we explored the classic spots in town in the evening. Plus we discovered a new one for is: Maceos’ Import & Spice Co for po boys. (I still need to get these girls a proper muffaletta sandwich.)
We walked from the strand to The Original Mexican Restaurant (circa 1911), which was one of my dad’s favorite restaurants.
The only real problem was we had to get back to normal life and didn’t stay long enough. We still wanted to do mini golf and have pho. At least we have this song to remember you by.
Fresh off of Claire’s spring college break to Atlanta (TODO link), I had two days in Austin, and then it was off to NYC with Molly on her high school spring break.
We spent two full days camped in a tiny but pleasant hotel room SoHo, which we kept accidentally calling Austin’s own SoCo. The hotel had a rather large balcony, with a view of the World Trade enter Center, some lawn furniture, and an outdoor shower!
On day 1, we walked nine miles of Manhattan. We got the world’s best bagels from Popup Bagels and enjoyed them in a brisk Washington Square Park. We checked out music spots Electric Lady Studios and 23 Cornelia Street, plus the nearby Friends apartment building. We trekked up to Little Island park, explored the High Line, and dining at Chelsea Market. The server was definitely an actor on the side. Also, finding the Apple Store for an ο£ΏΒ Pencil tip, thank you very much. We headed back towards our “home” in SoHo and skipped over to Chinatown to get a Bahn Mi, which somehow Molly had never had?!? Whose daughter is this? She loved it.
Finally, inspired by the Friends apartment building, we got last-minute tickets to an off-broadway Friends musical parody, Molly confessed that she loved musicals, which I did not know. We had been walking and taking the subway everywhere but settled for an Uber from Hell’s Kitchen back home to SoHo late that night.
Day 2 got us another nine miles on foot, the time like Washington’s Army, crossing briefly into Brooklyn! We hit the Museum of Illusions (not the Museum of Allusions, which would have been really boring). Then our favorite sport just about anywhere, Central Park. We came across Strawberry Fields and someone singing Let It Be. Followed by ice cream on the Upper West Side, obviously. We were determined to walk the Brooklyn Bridge and see a Broadway show before we left, so we hurried back to SoHo, refreshed a bit, and headed out to Brooklyn on the subway, which took forever because basically all the trains were express and most distinctly not the other side of Brooklyn Bridge.
Somewhere along the line, I bought tickets to The Book of Mormon for that night.
We hurried back on foot and had a quick pizza at our favorite spot next door to the hotel, LTD Pizza. Exhausted, we changed clothes and headed uptown for our real freakin’ Broadway play, The Book of Mormon. I had bought on my phone somewhere along the line between Central Park and the Brooklyn Bridge.
The show was amazing; Molly really wants to see more musicals! The crowds in Times Square insane, so we walked to Hell’s Kitchen for a thinner (but still thick) crowd and an Uber back to SoHo.
We braved the hour-long subway ride to JFK airport the next morning and got home exhausted but happy.
“Claire was born in Atlanta, but she’s never been there.” At least that’s what I tell people.
Okay, Claire (and this blog) was born in Atlanta, and she’s hasn’t been back since she’s was two years old. Notice that the Atlanta-tagged post before this was from 2007!
So I decided to take her there for a couple days on her college string break to see her “birth” house and the town that created her.
We had a fun time seeing the old neighborhood, which Claire has no memory of but enjoyed. It wasn’t quite what she expected Atlanta to be like, which is what we thought when we moved there.
We also got to take in some movie sights, most especially the real site of the fiction and creepy AF Hawkins National Laboratory from Stranger Things.
After seeing the sights in Atlanta, I wanted to take her somewhere new for both of us. My dad had always said that Helen, Georgia was one of the prettiest places he had ever seen. So we ventured an hour north of the city and explored the Bavarian-style Disneyland-esque town as a little day trip.
It was a fun couple days with Claire in her lovely home state, although I think she still considers herself a Texan. π
Molly and I made a day trip to San Antonio to visit Claire at college. We picked up Claire and hit two classic San Antonio destinations: the San Antonio Zoo and Mi Tierra Cafe (y Panadaeria).
I personally felt like a kid again at the zoo as we admired at the giant hippos, zebras, and Komodo dragons. And we enjoyed a late, hearty lunch at Mi Tierra, where the food and the vibe were pure Tex Mex bliss.
It was a fun day and great to have both kids together for a while. π
Last Christmas, I took the kids on a ride around the Formula 1 track at the Circuit of the Americas just on a whim. It was fun like any holiday outing such Trail of Lights, Mozarts Festival of Lights, or whatever.
In the year since, Claire has become a big Formula 1 fan, along with her friends. Heck, she even got me interested in reading a book (!) to learning more about the sport.
So this year, I decided to put Claire behind the wheel in her Prius π. We invited her F1 friends along, and Molly, a casual F1 fan, squeezed in too.
This turned out to be the most fun experience we’ve all had together in a long time. I’ll say no more and let the video speak for itself. π (Also on Instagram.)
Days after taking Molly to Sabrina Carpenter, Claire returned from her studies in college to see Panchiko with me! It was an amazing shoegze / post-rock show and in some ways the opposite of Sabrina Carpenter. π We really like the opener, Wisp, too.
It was the first time I got to take Claire to Stubb’s, who enjoyed the show and the outdoor setting under the moonlight. π
Molly’s been cheering on the football team all fall. She even ended up in leading the charge in this picture from The Austin Chronicle. Check the right side. Way to go, Molly!π
Molly and I got to enjoy the pretty wild, funny, and amazing Sabrina Carpenter Short n’ Sweet tour together. π
Since Sabrina was playing the Moody Center, basically on the UT campus, Molly and I incorporated our favorite UT routine into the night. We parked in West Campus (I mean, who wants to park near the venue? So boring!), got some pizza at Roppolo’s, and walked across the campus to the concert. It was a beautiful night, and the walk was a great way to get warmed up for the concert.
The Sabrina concert was a “little” over the top, including a “SABRINA AFTER DARK” segment with the tongue-in-cheek warning “PARENTAL DISCRETION IS ADVISED”. Oh well, too late. π€·π»ββοΈAnd everything was behind translucent curtains, so we’re π.
The show as surprisingly entertaining, and I’m personally glad that Molly got me into Sabrina’s music. I’ve had Short n’ Sweet on pretty heavy rotation, with fav songs being Please Please Please, Coincidence, Lie to Girls, Don’t Smile, and of course Espresso. You’ve got to love her lyrics…
Too bad your ex don’t do it for ya
Walked in and dream-came-trued it for ya
Soft skin and I perfumed it for ya
I know I Mountain Dew it for ya
McG Kids 