George/Pena Family Blog - Visiting Texas
We’re having a great time in Austin! We arrived Sunday and have been visiting with family and taking in the sights. The trip here was uneventful, except for a strange shuddering coming from the front of the van. On Tuesday, Ed took the van in and he ended up buying a whole set of new tires or it. We had it checked out by a mechanic before the trip, but nothing was said about the tires. Luckily, we had a bit of a trip emergency fund set aside so it didn’t ruin the trip.
So far, we’ve been to see the Austin State Capitol building (free), the Alamo and Riverwalk (free), an amusement park sort of like Fun Station ($7.95 per person, all you can play and ride), watched the bats come from Congress Streeet Bridge (free), visited a local dam and watched them open the floodgates (free), went to Barton Springs to swim and picnic ($2 per person), and finally went the Schlitterbahn Waterpark yesterday (discounted tickets). We are having a fabulous time, and since we are staying with relatives, costs are pretty low. We are allowing the kids to pick out a few souveniers here and there, but we are limiting them to stuff that is wearable or useful (like a mug) and not just plain trash. There is also a spending limit in each place, so that the “gimmes” don’t take hold.
We are staying with Ed’s brother Wally, who has been a prince taking in a family of 6 to sleep all over his couches and floor, and using up his hot water. Wally lives next door to Ed’s mom and so it’s very easy to see her all the time. Everyone has been preparing authentic Mexican food for us almost every day, and when we get back, I’ll have to go on a diet! Today (Saturday) we are supposed to have a big cookout with all the family (which is HUGE) and that should be a lot of fun.
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