Friday:
We headed out of Big D right after work and, after a quick dinner at Schlotzky's, were Southbound 35. We spent the trip jammin' out to classic 90's favorites and recounting many a college memory. After meeting up with the other half of our group and checking into our hotel, we spent the next hour or so catching up and preparing our goodies for the float the next day. Such goodies included these amazing Vodka Lifesaver Gummies:
Thank you, Ghinelli (via Pinterest) for the idea!
After a bit of freshening up we were ready to get our boot scootin' on at Gruene Hall...only to find out when we looked up the address for the GPS that it closes at midnight. Bummer. Being that it was 11:30 at the time, we were soon on the search for somewhere else to go. We decided 'The Square' in San Marcos would be our victim and 30 minutes later found ourselves in a cool little piano bar, Taxi's. I had been there once before several years ago and knew it was a safe bet. And who doesn't love a good piano bar?!
Just call us Frick and Frack.
The other F & F.
Saturday:
We woke up early(ish) to make it in time for the continental breakfast. I heard Texas-shaped waffles and I was there in a heartbeat. After a bit of coaxing, everyone started the process of getting ready, packing up, and loading the car. Only 30 minutes later than our targeted time (which is awesome for our group!) we were en route to the Guadalupe. We were originally floating the Comal, but once we heard you didn't have to walk the Guad, we switched to the better river. Fine by me, the Guadelupe is my favorite. We floated a different part than I had ever floated before and I absolutely loved it. It was SO pretty and SO sunny and besides the fact that the estimated time was just under 3 hours and it took us 5 1/2 because the water wasn't moving, it was fantastic.
River bums.
Fun Fact: This is the same "apartment" we stayed in for my 18th birthday trip so I have a picture in this same exact spot with my best friends from high school. Six years later and I have one with my best friends from college :) How presh, I know...
After the river and a quick stop at the hot dog/brisket taco/corn on the cob trailer set up in the parking lot, we were headed back to the hotel for some showers and naps. It (of course!) took a bit longer than we anticipated so it wasn't until 8:30 that we were out the door and traveling to Gruene, Texas for the famous Gristmill! This hill country favorite has some of the best food and is hosted in this quaint, rustic looking building.
Please meet Alan's mustache-donning counter part, Gustavo.
Gustavo had a friend, Poncho down there on the end.
The cleanly shaven bunch.
Our Summer 2011 River Trip (Round Two) group.
We were absolutely exhausted after dinner so decided to just have a lazy night back at the hotel. We weren't there more than 30 minutes before I had to call it a night. We've discovered it's best not to plan anything for the post-river night as the sun/beer/water/etc completely wears us out!
Sunday:
I, again, woke up for the continental breakfast; you just can't beat free food. After a filling breakfast, we spent the rest of the morning snuggled in bed watching tv. Or at least that's what Lauren and I did. We had a two bedroom (and two living room) apartment at the hotel so I honestly am not quite sure what everyone else spent their morning doing...but Lauren and I caught up on some current news, surfed through the cartoons and movies, and very slowly packed up and got ready.
After we checked out of the hotel, we headed back to Gruene to wander the town and visit the shops we were too late for the previous night. I found no luck in any of the antique stores I visited but was quite content on drowning my disappointment in a good meal at The Gruene River Grill. This restaurant was nestled almost out of sight amongst several Bed and Breakfasts and cottages. On recommendation from one of the store owners in town, we took a chance. And boy was it a good find! It was such a hard decision as everything on the menu made my mouth water. I finally went with the Country Fried Steak.
I know, it was heavenly.
After lunch we headed back to the main part of town for a wine tasting. There were so many great ones it was so hard to choose - but after my three free samples, I settled on purchasing a bottle of "Rosie the Riveter", a blush that was recommended by the hostess. Being that our tastes seemed to align on everything else, I figured it safe to take her word for it. I guess I'll soon find out if I made a good choice!
Abbey and me in the wine shop!
Post wine tasting we walked across the street to a cute little knick knack shop that sold everything from jewelry to furniture to this chic sign I purchased to hang above my couch. I've been going back and forth on what to do decor-wise in my living room so was super excited when I found the clutch piece. It was a steal of a price and I thought it would be the perfect reminder/momento of such a wonderful trip! (Look for this favorite in furture apartment postings).
It was soon time to head out as everyone has either school or work tomorrow. Le sigh...after saying our goodbyes we loaded up and started the drive back to Dallas! After about two hours on the road, something awful happened. Our air conditioner went capoot. It literally just stopped working. I never realized, until today, how fast a car driving in 109 degree weather heats up sans air conditioning. We tried windows up, windows down, blower on, blower off, and nothing was helping. We were literally drenched in sweat: our shorts were completely wet, our shirts were soaked through, and we were quickly acquiring sweat-staches. Gross. We stopped at a gas station and loaded up on ice chips and cold drinks. We found that it helped to hold them close:
They did not pose for this picture. This is legit what we were doing.
Derek then began distributing his ice chips and the rest of us held them on our wrists and neck and I rubbed mine up and down my legs in hopes of cooling off. (At this point I had both feet propped up on the seat in front of me and every time we turned and Taylor and I collided, there was some serious slip and slide action with our arms). About ten minutes outside of Dallas we had had enough - we rolled down the windows which ended up being a genius idea. Being that we were all so sweaty, the immense amount of blowing air felt fantastic.
Please note Derek's ice chips in the front seat.
Sweaty and wind blown. Mmm...
We made it back safely to Dallas, albeit sweaty. In recollecting on the weekend, I think it was absolutely perfect. A little party, a little chill, some best friends, and some great food; some laughs along the way (CORN!) and some interesting experiences. It was exactly what I needed to refresh after a long past few weeks.
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