The Place with the Sign! - Anniversary Adventure Day 7

After a lackluster evening in Dallas (Lancaster, actually), we packed up and continued to head south. We picked up our trusty McDonald's Sausage Biscuits and made our way to the capital of Texas - Austin. Originally, when we were planning this trip, I didn't even want to stop in Austin. It came across as too... liberal... for my tastes. But we had to drive through it anyway, so I chose one fun thing to do on our way to our next destination.

We pulled up to Peter Pan Mini Golf, which was absolutely buried among all the other big buildings in Austin. Definitely one of those "if you don't know it's there, you'd miss it" kind of places! Unfortunately, the East Course (more "fun" side) was closed for repairs (we could see guys working on the fake grass), so we played the West Course, with it's famous T-Rex. The cashier, who seemed young enough to be my son, told us to go ahead and play first, then pay at the end, because he thought we might get rained out, and he didn't want to deal with refunding our money. Okay, that was nice!

Mom & Dad Selfie

The course was old, and a little smelly (I think there's neighborhood cats, if you know what I mean), but it was good, a true "Goofy Golf" type experience, which is exactly what we wanted. 

Rawr

Hubby was especially ready for lunch. Last night in bed, he asked if we'd be driving through Austin and I said yes, and he showed me a photo of where he wanted to go for lunch. I Googled directions and discovered that this place was maybe 10 minutes away from the golf course, so hell yeah, we had to go!

And what place are you talking about??? Oh, yeah! How many of you have seen these pictures on the internet and never once realized that it said "Austin" inside the Texas? I never have noticed that! 

You know, the place with the sign

As soon as we sat down, someone came by with chips and salsa, and glasses of water. 

Yeah, I like this place already!

Now, if you know about either of us, you know that we are not adventurous eaters. And to us, yes, Mexican or Tex-Mex food would be adventurous. I was surprised he was open to this! After debating a few items, I went with a safe Chicken Quesadilla, while he went with something called Sour Cream Enchiladas! Wow, babe, good for you!

Beans, Sour Cream Enchiladas w/Jalapeños, Rice

Chicken Quesadilla, Sour Cream, Salsa, Guac

The quesadilla was delicious, and HUGE. I think I was only able to finish 3/4 of it. Hubby was absolutely in love with his dish (minus the refried beans). He ate a little of the rice (he's not much of a rice guy; I tried it, and it was just meh), but devoured the enchiladas until he was too stuffed to jump. He said later that I needed to learn how to make these, so we could eat them at home... Uh, okay.! 

Honestly, it'd probably sit on my desk for a few days before I remembered it was there...

Outside, we stopped for a photo at the infamous sign, then headed out of town, with bellies full of magical Tex-Mex food. We were running a little behind, and didn't get to Texas Tubes in New Braunfels until about 2pm. The parking lot was empty, and we worried that they were closed, but then we saw another two cars come in. We paid for our two tubes, then went to change into our swimsuits. On the way back, the group parked next to us were boozing up for their trip down the river (seriously, pouring entire bottles of vodka into Igloo thermoses...) We let them get their shit and get on their way before we picked up our tubes and headed toward the river. 

Okay, so how do we get in without getting soaked? Aha! My research has paid off... Prior to our trip, I watched a few YouTube videos about tubing down the Comal River, and I had the idea to pick up a few things that would come in handy; I picked up a Dry Bag at Wal-Mart (so we'd have dry towels when we got to the end of the trip, and to hold our stuff), a waterproof case for my cell phone, a few throw-away water bottles and a dog leash from Dollar Tree. 

I wrapped the leash around the ladder, which allowed me the ability to use both my hands to settle my fat ass into the tube, without having to worry that the tube would float away, right out from under me. Once seated, the leash was there to hold me in place while Hubby got himself situated, which was a little more difficult. He doesn't know how to swim, so he's apprehensive of water that may be deep. And while the water was crystal clear, we couldn't tell how deep the water was, and I think he was worried about toppling out of his tube. Eventually he got himself situated, I untied myself, and let the current take us.

.........slowly, apparently!

The first part of the trip, from launch to the Tube Chute, had hardly any current. For a while, we wondered if there was any at all, but it picked up a little bit, the longer we sat there. After about 30 minutes, we could hear the World Famous Comal River Tube Chute, so we started looking at each other, trying to gauge if the other wanted to do it. Now, if you don't know, the Comal River is fed by springs (similar to the Ichetucknee River in Fort White, Florida), which means the water is a chilly 72º all year round. Refreshing, right? Yeah, until you go down a water slide and get sloshed with cold water! 

So, we chickened out, dragged our tubes out of the river and made the Walk of Shame across the river. We stopped halfway to watch a few others go through the tube, which was entertaining... I had a little FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), and wish now that we'd done it. 

Look at the power of water exiting the Tube Chute!

After this first chute, we put our tubes back in the water and continued on our trip. The current was faster, and it started getting prettier and quieter. There were lots of dragonflies and ducks in the area, and as we passed deeply-shaded, tree-filled areas, we began to see deer just relaxing on the banks, in peoples' yards! 

We came up to the second Tube Chute, and quickly realized that we couldn't bypass this one, so we hunkered down (I made sure the leash was securely around the dry bag), and went through. It wasn't as rough as the first one and it was fun! I got soaked, of course, and it was cold, of course, but what would you expect? Hubby came through after me and we continued our journey. We drifted behind the behemoth that is Schlitterbahn (oh, we wanted so badly to go!), enjoying the quietness (we'd long since lost the Booze Crew). At many points, it felt like we were the only ones on the river. 

The third chute was calmer than the second, and as we came through it, we saw that there were a few people on the other side - calf-deep in the water - picking up items from the bottom of the river. I don't know if they're part of this group or not, but there is a group that picks up stuff from the river and posts it on "Comal River Lost & Found" on Facebook! Maybe they're out there for personal reasons (I've heard many people do that, too). I barely avoided ramming into them when I exited the final chute. After this part, the rest of the trip was a postcard-perfect afternoon of drifting on a river. 

Sadly, we reached the end and had to get out, and then even more sadly, we had to walk ourselves, and our tubes, up the bank to the road, where we were supposed to wait to be picked up. Luckily, the bank was concreted over, with steps and hand-rails! At the top, there was a shelter that we could stand under and pull out towels and such. I put my FauxPro away just a few minutes before the bus showed up. Literally, a school bus towing a cage trailer! The bus was musty and smelled like wet, so hubby and I rode in the back with the windows open on the way back to our car. We traded in our tubes for my driver's license (left as collateral), then went to change. It took about 3 hours, from start to finish, and was one of the favorite parts of the whole trip (2022 Lazy coming back to add, it was DEFINITELY top 3 favorites of the entire trip!) Oh, and on the way back to the car, I got more rocks. Don't be jealous. 

More rocks!

Because why just pose with one when you can do both?

If anyone is surprised by this next stop, you haven't been reading this blog nearly long enough... We made a stop at the World's Largest Convenience Store - Buc-ee's in New Braunfels, Texas. This specific Buc-ee's is 66,335 square feet! (2022 Lazy back again to share that the Buc-ee's in Luling, Texas is going to remodel their store, adding enough square footage to be the new World's Largest, when it tops out at 75,000sf!)

...for now... >maniacal laughter<

I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it seemed... smaller... than I thought it would be? For reference, the Buc-ee's in Saint Augustine is 52,600sf, more than 14,000sf smaller than the New Braunfels one. However, the NB one had an additional wing, full of camping and hunting gear, as well as more fashion clothing for women, so that's probably what made up the extra space. After exploring, we got snacks and drinks, as well as some New Braunfels-branded items (Merch or It Didn't Happen, right?) such as magnets and tee-shirts. 

Our stop for the night was San Antonio, so as we got closer, I tasked Hubby with finding somewhere for dinner. Since we were in Texas, it seemed only appropriate to find a good, moderately-priced steakhouse! We settled on a place called Texas Land and Cattle for dinner, but when we pulled up, there was no TLC to be found... (Yelp later confirmed that they were permanently closed). So, we used the Garmin to find something else somewhat close, and we ended up at a Jason's Deli. Neither of us have ever been there, so it was a totally new experience! And a little overwhelming, with so many choices. 

I settled on a Half-Ham Sandwich and bowl of Potato Soup, and he had a pair of Kid's Ham Sliders. Both of us got chips, which was surprising for my meal, since I also got soup. 

Kid's Sliders (Ham & American) with Chips

Ham & Swiss on Ciabatta (I think) with Chips; Soup not Pictured

After filling up our drinks, I noticed that they had a salad bar, and so I asked one of the staff if I could have a few croutons to put on top of my soup. They said it was fine, and even brought me a plate and some gloves to wear (remember, cheap plastic gloves will ward off the WuFlu!). 

Plate & Gloves for croutons

The sandwiches were delicious, full of fresh deli meat piled high. The soup was okay; it was thick and hearty, but something about it was slightly off. Maybe it was the end of the night that gave it a twang? I only ate about 1/3 of the bowl. I treated myself to a tiny bit of their free ice cream before we left to finally head to the hotel. 

I was optimistic about what time we'd get to San Antonio when I first made the reservation, which is why I booked a nicer hotel right in the Riverwalk/Alamo district. I envisioned walking around, grabbing something for dinner along the river and making an evening of it. That didn't happen. We didn't get there til 8 or 9, so we just got our luggage and left our car with the valet (yeah, we fancy tonight!), and checked in to our room. I had a potty emergency, thanks to either the ice cream or the soup, and then Hubby realized he forgot his Tech bag in the car! We had to have the valet bring our car back so I could get it and then take the car away again. I felt terrible, even though I knew that this was their job... And to make it worse, I forgot to tip them! I've never dealt with a valet before, I didn't even have it in my head to give them any money... They probably thought I was trash. 

Once settled in, we made good use of all the room amenities before finally getting some shut eye. 

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Moira Rose Fruit Wine