Notes From The Trip

We're on day 6 of our trip to South Texas and we've learned a few things along the way. 

1. Portable DVD players are a wonderful invention. 

2. One of the most unpleasant things in the world is waking up because a toddler is vomiting on you in a hotel room.  And we were so excited about that king size bed....

3.  The only thing worse about waking up with a toddler vomiting on you at 4 am, is when she continues to vomit throughout the morning,  We felt so bad for her, and it really sucks when you can't make it go away so she'll feel better. 

4.  While considerably less worse than the above, dealing with an explosive diaper blow out in a hot, dirty truck stop parking lot is pretty bad too.  Ganado, you are not my favorite Texas town.  Also bad is calling your friend from the night before and letting him know that you've exposed him to a nasty stomach bug.  Sorry, Bob. 

5.  Despite the unpleasantness above, the look on Grant's face when we finally arrived made it all worth it.  We all had a great time on the ranch, and Nora got to ride in the truck without a carseat, call the cows, and chase the dog, Bonnie, all over.  

6.  Rattlesnakes are really freaking big and really freaking scary.  I'm still freaking out that Nora was within yards of one.

6 a.  We really need to teach Nora some sense of proportion - rattlesnakes are really freaking big and really freaking scary and butterflies are not. 

7.  Texas history can be very interesting and it's worth driving down here to check out the historic sites even if you don't have family here.  Be sure to make a stop in Goliad for the presidio and mission. 

8.  South Texas really needs some rain.  It hasn't rained since August, and then it wasn't much.  When we were taking off it started to rain, but I'm not sure that it kept doing it. 

9.  One of the best things in the whole world is standing on the shore, letting the waves crash into you while a 3 year old giggles and giggles and giggles.  We might have been hungry and sleepy, but really, isn't this what what we came to the beach for?  It's pretty awesome.  

I'm really glad we got that in yesterday, because today is much cooler (okay it's the 70's instead of 84 degrees), overcast and rainy.  While we'll probably go back to the beach today (Nora will be really sad if we don't) I don't think we'll be getting into the water.  Also on the agenda today are the aquariums at the University of Texas Marine Science Institute.  We leave tomorrow morning to start the three day journey back home, although I'm wondering how feasible it is to do it in two days.  Wish us luck on the journey home!