Ryan had a work meeting out of town and we decided that we would tag along last minute. I don’t see how couples can be apart weeks or months at a time. My husband just planned to be gone one night. We threw some things in the car, loaded the girls up and drove four hours west of Houston to a little town north of San Antonio to a town called Bulverde. It was a beautiful drive. We left around four and chased the sunset to our hotel. The day before we left, we picked up our minivan and was able to test it out on this trip. I’m not sure why I ever had reservations about getting one, this thing is perfect for families, especially road trips. Don’t even get me started on all the storage and the sliding doors. Hashtag swagginwagon.

Jumping on the hotel beds are the girls favorite part about staying in a hotel. I remember doing the same as a kid. I was so surprised that my parents allowed us that simple joy. Norah is turning out to be a great little traveler. I’m so glad we opted for a travel bassinet. Most people are surprised to find out that Norah has slept through the night ten hours plus since she was six weeks old. Our first night at the hotel she woke up at 2am. I realized it was because she had eaten late and had a soaked diaper. She fell straight back to sleep as soon as she was changed. Since we are planning on a two week road trip to the Grand canyon I was glad to get this little practice run with her.

We dropped daddy off at his meeting and ventured twenty minutes away to the Guadalupe State Park. The weather was mild for July and the river was faster than normal from recent storms. We brought a picnic, the girls found rocks and floated down shallow spots in the water.

Across the parking lot there is a little Discovery center where you can pick up a backpack full of gear to help discover park wildlife. The girls explored the cool animal pelts, skeletons and fossils that are native to the area.

We left the park and stopped at HEB for some groceries. Norah had a huge blowout that we kept contained with grocery bags. By the time we got to the car the mess had spread all up her back. We were saved by stuffing plastic sacks under her bottom. When we got to the room we were hungry and officially pooped. We ate lunch and rested. The hotel worked with us to stay a half day since Ryan would be working until 5. It turned out that he needed to stay an extra day to work, so we decided to take dinner back to the Guadalupe.

Golden hour on the river was magical. We collected more rocks and I skipped them on the water for the first time. The best part was finding fireflies just as we climbed the stairs to leave. Ryan caught two of them for the girls to study them. We let them go before we left town. As we drove back to the hotel we rolled down the windows. The park came alive with sounds of crickets welcoming the night.

I am currently reading a book called “Essentialism” by Greg McKeown. It is a guide that helps the over worked and time poor reader to discover the activities that bring joy, happiness and productivity by eliminating things that do not not. The disciplined pursuit of less allows us to reclaim our own choices about where we spend our precious time and energy. It is about doing less but better in every part of our lives. Without that dicernment, little getaways like this would be impossible.

Love and Blessings,

Venice