texas

This river rat does not back down 🤿

| patmcg

Molly always knows how to make a fun day happen. She’s been on me for a while to go to San Marcos and actually swim in the river we have driven by many times on the way to the best Kerby Lane Cafe. “We should swim in that river.,” we always say. 😉

And with a warm and sunny weekend finally upon us, we made it happen today. 🙌

We put in downstream from Sewell Park and slowly inched our way into the frigid spring-fed water while discussing our common dislike of frigid cold water.

But we persisted until the clear green water (yes, it’s clean and green) became downright refreshing. And the wild rice grass in the water all around us became not that weird any more. “I wonder how many people have been lost to the grass,” I joked.

After a few minutes of wading and adjusting, we got out of this cool flow and made our way up to the actual Sewell Park proper and put in again. This time it felt even better, swimming upstream against the current a bit so we could float back downstream in a relaxed way. 🛟

And then we got out and scouted the park a bit more. I suggested that next time we put in up the river and float all the way through the park. It would be like a lazy river at a resort. But we’re done for the day (right?), because Molly seemed tired.

But Molly said, “No. Let’s do it now.”

And so we wound our way down the cool, narrow river and back down to where we started. It was beautiful and refreshing. 🙌

We wrapped up the day with ice cream a short walk away in downtown San Marcos. Nothing says summer like ice cream in a wet swimsuit (and a cowboy hat in my case).

It was pretty damn close to a perfect way to kick off the summer. Btw Claire passed up the trip and understandably chose to rest back at home after her graduation and festivities yesterday. She can suit herself – she’s an adult now. Save all the fun for us kids. 😉

Best fajitas in town

| patmcg

Molly is an unabashed Tex-Mex connoisseur. And funnily enough, and quite understandably, she does not like melted cheese. Some people who are not familiar with Tex-Mex may find that to be a contradiction, but Molly knows better.

Her favorite food of any kind currently is chicken fajitas – pass on the cheese.

We’ve been low-level looking for the best chicken fajitas in town, and at the moment the leader of the pack is El Mercdo on South First. So good to get that steamy plate on a cold, cozy day.

Basic Austin Kid

| patmcg

We were heading out for an errand, when Molly notes that she looks like a “basic Austin kid.”

She’s right! And so self-aware. 🤔

The Whataburger drink gives it away. This is her favorite restaurant and has previously done a cartwheel 🤸🏻‍♀️ when told we were getting Whataburger.

Dads’ Spring Break

| patmcg

My friend Joel had his girls for spring break this year, and so did it.  We decided to take our girls on a road trip and, thanks to AirBnB, ended a 14-bed ranch near Fredericksburg.  We invited Claire’s best friend Susie along for good measure.  So it was two dads and five girls, although I often referred to us as seven girls. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Highlights:

  • Late nights (like 10 pm!) in the hot tub
  • Fire pit and s’mores
  • Hearty meals for seven, with ingredients bought from WalMart – spaghetti and meatballs, pancakes, cinnamon rolls
  • A ride on the “mule” to see the neighbor’s baby goats
  • Enchanted Rock.  Molly and Maddie were the first up to the top!  They won on pure enthusiasm, which the other girls lacked.
  • The Pacific War Museum.  I tried to squeeze in some short lectures on how crazy that war was and how cool Nimitz was, with only limited to moderate success.
  • A fudge store that Maddie was constantly dying to go to.  I got a chocolate-covered pickle, because what the hell?
  • The girls’ definite favorite, Earthbound Trading Co, a New Age / hippie store.  We came back at least three times.  Claire ended up with a Himalayan salt lamp, a Ganesh, some ying/yang balls, and some polished stones totaling about $72. I admit I got three stones myself; those things were so dang smooth!
  • Luckenbach, TX.  This may have been a little too “country” for Claire, who wanted to get out of there for fear of being shot.  From looking around, I think we were in greater danger of getting run over by a bicyclist.  Or maybe cat allergies.

Pics…

 

A Fun Day in SA

| patmcg

Kit was schedule to run an audit at a hospital in downtown San Antonio on Monday, and she had a nice hotel room right across the street on the Riverwalk, so she invited the rest of the family along to enjoy a quick trip to S.A.  We had lots of fun for a one-day trip, mostly exploring the Riverwalk, swimming, and eating.  The girls did not want to leave on Monday morning after a final swim at the hotel, but I had to get back to work in the afternoon to catch up with the team on the happenings at Apple’s 2015 developer conference (WWDC).

dsad

All Orange

| patmcg

Molly is all about the orange.

Tonight for dinner, she had macaroni & cheese, mashed carrots, and orange slices.  I didn’t realize until the end that everything she was eating was the same glorious orange color.  Well, okay, fortunately the milk was white.

To top it off, I then realized that she was wearing an orange shirt, as was I.

Molly’s teachers tell me that that she only eats orange-colored vegetables.  Sure enough, she still gobbles up baby food carrots and sweet potatoes, but normally won’t touch any other kind of baby food.
Where does this orange obsession come from?
Maybe this fondness of orange, combined with her disposition on yelling “AGGIE!” when upset, show Molly, the family’s only Austin native, to be a huge fan of the Longhorns, her hometown team.  She’ll be yelling “Go horns!” soon enough.