Lovely weekend

Well we headed off on another weekend exploring, expedition. Hadn't booked anywhere to stay etc but thought we would check out Austin, as we had heard it was quite a nice place to go. We got a little side tracked but got there in the end. And enjoyed the side track so much we are going to go back.

We left and headed to a small country town that the 'lonely planet' guide recommended as the best BBQ meat around. So we found it and ate, actually it was really yummy. I don't think they have changed much about the place since it opened in the 1930's and it seems to work just fine. No plates.

"Meat Eaters"

We were lucky enough to stop into town in their annual 'Watermelon Thump festival'!! We stayed to watch the local watermelon spitting contest. Sharni didn't want to enter and in hindsight we should have let Nait have a go like he wanted. But erring on the side of caution we decided to just watch this year..... Not really sure what to expect. But extremely self explanatory. Just see who can spit the pip the furthest. A shed in the main street of town with white painted floor, all for the occasion.

Had to smile to myself as there were camouflage painted buggy's all through town. A cross between a golf cart and a 4WD motorbike type thing. Dad you would have had so much to share in this town. Their cooking secrets and their mode of transport!

We were walking around the local market for the occasion and a lady was selling Emu Oil as a treatment for eczema etc. I have being trying so many different things for Nait for the last couple of years. Have taken him to a dermatologist over here and they just want to give stronger steroid creams.... Anyway I thought 'what the hell'. I bought a little bottle and it seems to be working well. Still hasn't gone away but definitely improved and I use it as soon as he starts to itch. It seems ironic that I came all the way to America go to a little (like Kojonup/Katanning little) Texas town in the middle of nowhere and there is a lady selling Emu Oil (informed me it is an 'Australian' bird) and it seems to work. Mum I might have to get you to go out to the Sandalwood factory and stock up for me before you come over.

It was late by now, Dene had stocked up on a couple of Texas iron decorations for his outside bar when we return. The kids finally got a cowboy hat each. We had to drag Nait away from the rocking horse. Which we seriously would have bought if it didn't have an exposed, and not quite strong enough spring, that we could just picture all of them including the new baby getting their fingers caught in.

"I wanna be a cowboy"

We went to San Marcos for the night. I wanted to visit the Outlet Shopping there. Apparently the 3rd best place to shop in the world. Obviously whoever said that wasn't shopping in the middle of summer, 37 degrees, 7 months pregnant, with a husband and 2 kids in tow. Who was I kidding?? needless to say we had a QUICK browse and left. It would have been good had it been inside with air con not outside, individual shops, like Harbour Town in Perth.

Before we got there (as I had hoped the kids might fall asleep in the pram if I wore them out before shopping!) we went to the local swimming hole. It was beautiful. Bloody cold water. But the kids and Dene had a dip. It reminded me a bit of Pemberton. Everyone was setting up with their BBQ's for the day. Texans take their BBQing a lot more seriously than Aussies. They have trailers set up as mobile smoking BBQ's. I kid you not. Didn't get a photo of that though.

Then we headed off to Austin, found the Barton Springs, natural feed really cold swimming pool. It was nice to cool off. We then headed into town to pick up something for dinner. Went to whole Foods original store. I totally pissed off some stranger..... He was so shitty I picked the piece of pizza he was waiting for. He carried on that much I was about to tell him to have it, because really all the pizzas looked yummy and I was happy to swap it for another piece of a different kind. But he stormed off, and well he missed out! Serves himself right. I would have busted my kids for carrying on like that and he was a grown man. Everyone just looked at me as if to say 'don't worry what a tosser' (not that they actually said that). I just had to laugh and by the way that was the one piece of pizza that we weren't that fussed on. Like I said it didn't bother me to have it or not.

Then we headed down to the river to watch 1.5 million (yep million) bats fly out of the bridge into dusk on the hunt for food. A bit like picturing a crowd of people at the narrows to watch the nightly event. Anyway the significance was obviously lost on the kids and I admit after 5 minutes I was almost like well if I have seen 10000 bats by now I might as well have seen all 1 1/2 million. Actually they were really small, they looked like little black birds. I expected them to be bigger, perhaps I was thinking of fruit bats from home?

Anyway that was enough for the weekend and we headed home the next day after a swim in the pool. We had planned on stopping at another small town on the way home but the kids both slept the whole way so we kept driving. I think I prefer visiting small country type places rather than big cities. Perhaps it is because we don't really visit cities at home? I don't know but I certainly prefer the country towns and we will definitely be heading back to the gorgeous rivers and hills district between San Antonio and Austin.

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I have just looked at Nait and although I knew he needed a haircut I started laughing at him as he reminded me of the new Sacha Cohen character 'Bruno'. Thought I would do a side by side photo to share the humour. Just realised the humour is totally lost on this picture. But he had his hair to the side, top off, holding a doll.... hhhhhmmmmmm Dene can't see it. Ok it may just be one of those moments you had to be there!

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