roughing it in the RV

All packed & ready to go.

So the week before last we took a road trip to Port Aransas.  We checked out the beach, missed Tropical Storm Don, which never materialized, and later went on to Victoria to attend a wedding.  Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures on the beach because the winds were so high that there was a lot of salt & sand spray in the air and I worried about the camera.  (Also, because I forgot.)  But we played on the beach Thursday night, Friday morning and afternoon, and Saturday morning.  Also, we drove in our rented golfcart a couple miles down the beach Friday evening.  Mustang Island was packed, despite the high winds.  Then we drove around town, stopped at a souvenir place, and cruised back.

Saturday we left the campground and headed to Victoria for a wedding.  It was nice because we could leave Sophie with her Mimi in the RV while Stephanie and I went to the service.  But we did take Sophie with us to the reception.  She had a great time seeing her Gramma, Grampa, and all my cousins.  And she danced a lot, had cake, and got to participate in her first Grand March.  Saturday night we drove on to Gonzales, and Sunday headed the rest of the way home.

Here's a few pictures that are all over the place because blogger really stinks for arranging them.  Grrr.

Nueces Co Campground.  Just behind the dunes.

Beach overlook.

The golf cart we rented.  You can drive these all over town.

Stopping for shaved ice.

Aargh!!

Ferry ride out of town.

Morgan's Wonderland

Sophie enjoying the carousel at Morgan's Wonderland in San Antonio. This is a fabulous park for young children. She used to be terrified of carousels, but she loves them now.

Stephanie posted the picture above a while back, but I thought I would go ahead and add some more here.  Morgan's Wonderland is a new park in San Antonio that is designed to be welcoming to all kids, even those with disabilities.  So it's equipped with things like swings that hold a wheelchair; lifts to get people on the jeep ride, train, and carousel; etc.  But it's great for any kid.  They have a HUGE playground with all kinds of play equipment I'd never seen before (and I have played on a lot of playgrounds in no less than 3 different states).   Stephanie, Sophie, my dad, and I went there Memorial Day weekend.  Of course, Sophie had a great time.

Watch where you're going there, Missy!

 This little supermarket was one of the best parts of the whole place.  Not only was there a huge selection (although not that fresh), but the register worked and even the scanner as you passed items over the counter.

Stephanie and Sophie on the crate-sculpture in one of the covered play areas.

Yay for free train rides!  We rode it twice, at least.  The place wasn't very crowded yet, as you can see.

Arkansas Trip

So back in mid-May, the 3 of us took a trip to Arkansas for a week at Petit Jean State Park to celebrate Stephanie's busy season being over.   We are usually tent campers, but for staying this long, we decided to get a cabin.  It is just much easier with Sophie because otherwise one of us has to watch her the entire time.  Indoors, however, she could play with her toys and books while we read books, relaxed, cooked, etc.  Plus, the cabin had a full kitchen.  It was nice to have a bathroom and hot water, also, and we didn't mind having a roof over our heads one night when a thunder/hail storm blew through.  (Actually, the girls slept right through it!)  We had an enclosed porch and a deck outside, with a fantastic view of the valley over the cliffs right behind us.


We did a lot of hiking.  Pretty much every day we did a long'ish hike.  1-2 miles or a couple of hours.  One day we did a longer one that was 4 miles.  The shorter ones were down into the valley to the bottom of the waterfall or creek, so that was more climbing up and down.  It is just much different there than state parks in Texas.  We read that they were actually considering making Petit Jean a National Park, but the acreage wasn't large enough.  That was fine with us because it wasn't crowded at all 2 weeks before Labor Day.  And the weather was great: highs in the upper 70s, which was a little to cold to use the pool, though we tried.  But there were other things to do, like playgrounds.  There were 2 at the park itself, and 2 in nearby towns that we explored.

Sophie did really great on the trip and seemed to mostly enjoy herself.  She loves riding in the backpack carrier we got her this spring. Although later in the afternoon, she was more likely to take a nap in there, which means she wouldn't go to bed til after 11pm.  So we'd watch some basketball on the tv in the cabin (a treat for all of us, since we don't have cable at home).  And since we didn't have to take a bunch of camping gear, we brought a bunch of toys, books, crafts, etc for her.  (I do wish I had brought my sleeping back and bedroll, though, as the beds were rock hard--my one complaint).

We had such a good time, we are thinking about making it a regular destination.  (they have adjoining duplex cabins, too, so if anyone wants to join us, chime in!)  The car ride was a little much for Sophie, about 6 hours from DFW, but it was okay since we were able to stay longer.   Here's a few more pictures  from our hikes.