On Sunday we met Chris and Randy at Momaks. It is a place where you can buy White Castle-ish hamburgers by the bucketful. They weren't that great, but the playground out in the back was. There is a soccer field for kids to kick around a ball, and the playground is huge. Grayson had a blast on it. He climbed up both slides (and they were tall). He climbed up the "rock wall" all by himself. I didn't know if he could do it, but he did. Chris and I were so impressed. Jonathan and Jeremy had fun kicking around the soccer ball. It was kind of muddy from the rain we've been getting here in Texas, but the boys didn't care.
On Monday morning we went to the zoo. It was fun. Grayson specifically wanted to see the monkeys. He also liked the flamingos. Jonathan and Jeremy wanted to see Bugmania. It was just okay. I think I was a little disappointed with Bugmania. We saw the elephants and hippos and rhinos, lions, tigers, and bears, etc. We didn't get to see the giraffes. They are still finishing the construction on their big African safari setup. It should be really cool when they are finished. They were working on it when we came last year.
After the zoo, we headed over to Mi Tierra for lunch. Thankfully, we had been snacking on protein bars and chips at the zoo, because there was a 25 minute wait for a table. They do the business. I had the Chilaquiles Famosos, and it was delicious. We split the Botana Platter between the boys. Greg had the Deluxe Mexican Dinner, and it was amazing. We pigged out. As if that wasn't enough, we got some "pan dulces" at their bakery. Jeremy wanted a churro, and Jonathan and Grayson both wanted sprinkle cookies. I got semita con nueces. I love that. I used to get that for breakfast from a panaderia in Houston. Yumm-o.
We decided to walk out into Market Square and take a look around. There was a live country band. We got a good spot on the side stage. We stayed for a bit and then walked around the shops. On our way back to the parking lot we passed a gordita stand. They looked and smelled so good. I was so full from lunch there was no way I could eat one, but I thought to myself that I probably would have been happy with one of those for lunch instead of my chilaquiles. Then again, the chilaquiles were delicious. After that we went grocery shopping for stuff we could keep in the refrigerator in the hotel. Then we just relaxed in our room. The boys watched cartoons in the living area, and Greg and I watched the tv in the bedroom.
On Tuesday morning we went to Seaworld. We got there just as everything was opening. Jonathan and Jeremy looked so cute looking at their maps when we walked in. The first thing we did was go to the kiddie roller coaster. Jonathan and I were the only ones who got on. It was fun. Then we went on the tea cups. Grayson liked that. Then we made a beeline for the Shamu show. It was good. The boys were well behaved, and they seemed to enjoy it. After that show, we headed over to the beluga whale- dolphin show. It was okay. We got wet, and about half way through Greg was ready to go. The boys weren't into it much, so we all headed out. Then we spent a lot of time at the pirate ship playground area. Grayson was all over it. He climbed up the rope net to the top, and ran over the bridges, and crawled through the tunnels. At some point I was in the tunnels with him, then at another point it was Greg who was up there with him.
We managed to get through the Seaworld experience without buying food or drink. We had bars, chips, and bottled water. At about 2 we were ready to go. We went back to the hotel to relax a little. We went swimming in the indoor pool. We had the pool and hot tub to ourselves. Then we went to the deck on the second floor to get some sun. After we showered/bathed, we headed over to Korean BBQ House for dinner. I stupidly forgot to take pictures even though I had my camera. I guess I was so excited about getting to eat good Korean food. We were waiting for our food, and the owner of the Korean store in our town walked in with his wife and kids. It was such a cool coincidence. They were on their way back home from Corpus Christi. It just confirmed to me that this was a good Korean restaurant that they would choose this one over the other. I had the PiBimBop in a hot stone pot (awesome!), Greg had the bulgogi, and we ordered the Korean pancake (they make it thick like a frittata. The boys called it a pizza) and yaki mandu for the boys. Of course, they serve all the great Korean side dishes like KIMCHEE. I ate all the kimchee. It was so good.
On Wednesday we were supposed to go to Fiesta Texas, but Greg and I decided that we weren't up to it, and there really weren't that many rides the boys could go on. What we did instead was we headed back over to the zoo so we could take the 20 minute train ride. We were planning to go to the Witte Museum after the train ride. What we didn't know was that the Witte was along the train route. The train stops there so you can get off, and then you can catch the train when you're done.
The Witte was having a dinosaur exhibition, and the boys loved it. We spent most of our time in there. We also looked at the rest of the museum, and then we went to the Children's museum in the back and to the tree house. When we were all done, we caught the train back. After that we went to Alamo Cafe on 281 for a late lunch. Again, I forgot to take pictures, but it was good.
After we got back, Jeremy and I went swimming. It was fun teaching him how to kick his legs. He had fun. I told him about how when I was in second grade I couldn't swim at all, but that I became a really good swimmer. I really enjoyed that one on one time with him. Then we went to get some sun and let our swimsuits dry out a little. When we got to the hotel room, I changed into workout clothes, and I took Jonathan to the "fitness center". I put that in quotes because it was a treadmill, an elliptical, a bicycle, and a little weight machine. Jonathan walked on the treadmill while I did the elliptical. Then I worked with the weight machine. I tried to get Jonathan set up on the bicycle, but he wasn't quite tall enough for it. I got him going on the elliptical, and he did pretty good! He is always so eager to try something new. He has the best attitude. I wanted to get in some good cardio, so I started running on the treadmill. I was about on 20minutes when Greg and Grayson showed up. It was a nice surprise. I sprinted it out, and then Greg and I held Grayson's hand and let him walk on the treadmill. Then I went upstairs and showered, and we had snacky foods for dinner.
On Thursday we headed over to Austin. When we got into town, we headed over to Ruby's Barbecue for lunch. My brisket sandwich was excellent. I tasted the chopped beef sandwich, which was also very good. Greg got the brisket plate. The boys ate his corn, but atleast he got to heat his BBQ beans. I ordered homefries for the boys which were pan fried potatoes with butter, rosemary, and cheese. I loved them. After we ate, we drove across the street to Toy Joy. It was fun to look around at all the toys. The boys had as much fun as the last time we came.
After Toy Joy we went to a great ice-cream place called Phil's Ice House for ice-cream, so actually we went to Amy's Ice-cream which is really a part of Phil's. I got the coffee ice-cream with Reese's cups on top. I got a Mexican Vanilla with gummie bears for Grayson. Jeremy wanted Dark Chocolate with chocolate sprinkles. Jonathan wanted the Belgium Chocolate with gummie bears. Greg got the coffee ice-cream with almonds. The playground was a hit with the boys.
On Friday we met Randy and Chris at The Original Pancake House. Oh, how I like this place. I plan to go back again and again. I may plan trips around this restaurant. It is a chain with locations all over the country, but it is so very good. The orange juice is fresh squeezed with lots of pulp (just the way I like it!). I had the Eggs Michael which isn't listed on their webpage menu for some reason. It is like Eggs Benedict, but instead of ham, there is a sausage patty, and instead of Hollandaise sauce, there is a yummy Mushroom Sherry sauce. I started eating it when I remembered I should take a picture. It was so good. I've come to dislike "saucy", gravy kinds of dishes, but this is worth the calories. The bacon was thick and crispy. We got the chocolate chip pancakes to split between the boys, and there were so many pancakes on this one order that there was one and a half pancakes left when we were all done. We all left very satisfied. I tasted those chocolate chip pancakes, and they were delicious. Greg got the bacon pancakes. I didn't taste them, but Greg said, "they were tasty" and I quote. My former favorite meal was two eggs over easy, two slices of crispy bacon, and toast. My current favorite meal is Egg's Michael.
After that we went to a neat Asian grocery store called MT Supermarket. It is huge. They have everything including live fish, blue crabs, and crawfish (along with a huge dead grouper with jellyish, not bright eyes). The prices were very reasonable. The aloe drink that we pay $19/liter for here in our town, was like $5. There was a huge selection of tea and healthy hot cereals. I could go on and on about everything that they had. The next time we go to Austin, we will come prepared to bring back frozen foods. We had our ice-chest with us, but no ice. If we are going to travel back home with frozen food, I want a small block of dry ice in there to make sure ice-cream doesn't start to melt. We need to find out where we can get a small quantity of dry ice in Austin. We'll have to make a point to go here every time we go to Austin.
Lastly, on our way out of town we met Randy and Chris at Casey's New Orleans Sno-Balls. Again, we have to go back. I didn't try the traditional New Orleans Sno-Ball, and I want to do that next time. I had the wedding cake, which would have been even better with sweetened condensed milk. Chris had tried to explain that this is what you do, but for some reason it didn't register in my brain correctly, and I didn't get it. When I read about New Orleans style Sno-Balls, then I went, "oh. That's what she meant!" Jonathan was very decisive about wanting two flavors. He got something with Hawaiin flavor, and it came out blue. Jeremy wanted Wild Cherry, and then when he heard Jonathan get 1/2 something and 1/2 Hawaiian, he wanted Wild Cherry with Hawaiian. I got Leche Dulce for Grayson which wound up being a pink color. Greg got pina colada. I can't remember what Randy and Chris got. I couldn't remember what Greg got, but he is right here for me to ask. I loved this place. There was a neat mix of people. I love the entire Austin vibe. If I had to live in a city, it would definitely be Austin. If only we lived closer. I wish I had enough money to own a vacation home just outside Austin on a straight path to our town. That would be so cool.
Chris gave the boys all kinds of great gifts. We have already used those cute bowls this morning. They are the perfect size for the hot cereal I bought at MT. When we were about an hour from getting home, Grayson smeared chocolate all over himself with the chocolate protein bar I gave him. One of the first things we did when we got home was give him a bath. Here he is with the shark Chris gave him. He also loves his Boynton rhino. He can even say "her" name. I think it's a guy rhino, but Grayson keeps referring to "him" as "her", so I guess our Boynton is a girl Boynton.
All in all this was a great time. Vacations are great, but coming home is always nice. I couldn't wait until this morning so we could pick up Sasha from the doggie hotel. The pack is safely in the den, and I think this post is done.
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