Padre Island National Seashore

Heading south from San Antonio on the map is a long green barrier island......Padre Island.

As you drive south into the park, dunes everywhere.

Then over the dunes is the beach!

The beach sand is hard enough to drive on!

Onions follows everyone's lead and points the back towards the ocean!

And therefore he can face the ocean and sit in the shade!

The Gulf of Mexico!

The first time I've had the chance to swim in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Ominous skies....and yes, it started to rain.  Onions got to drive in the downpour on the way home.

The joys of an outdoor shower to wash off the sand and salt.

Goodbye Padre Island.

I actually liked both the photos, so you get two photos of me here at the end.

A Week in Central/South Texas

 

So we arrived in San Antonio after driving 18 hours over two days with a night in Lubbock.  Searching for BBQ in San Antonio, this was the obvious choice!

It looked closed from the outside, but there is indoor dining (looks like 50% seating) here in San Antonio.  With the 100+ temps, outdoor dining wasn't attractive.

Sadly, no ribs during the week. But brisket and sausage for me.  Brisket for Onions!

SPURS!  Hometown pride.  Duncan, Ginobili and Parker!

That cute onsie.....$21....so we passed.  But so cute!

After a couple days of just sitting around doing nothing, I decided that it was time to get out do something.  I found a detailed drive through Hill Country.  In Blanco, I did a classic Texas summer activity, I took a dip in the Blanco River.

The Hill Country is where LBJ got his start in politics.  Here in Johnson City is his childhood home.

Sadly, due to COVID, the visitor center and house was closed.  

I found this funny....3 DOZEN SOLD...and do you see the quality of the cupboard up there?  

Onions quote as we drove through hill country (no pics as we were just driving), "If this is the highlight of Texas, there really isn't anything here!"  This is the Enchanted Rock, the park wasn't selling any day passes.  As with most pretty places, the view is better from afar.

On our drive back from Waco, we stopped in Austin.  Again, to pay homage to LBJ and hanging out around the closed library and museum.

This is my new favorite picture of myself!

Throughout central Texas are many places and roads named for Lady Bird.  Onions wondered why she was so popular.  Turns out, she really loved and was a proponent of beautification of America's roads and highways through flowers.

Hook 'em horns!  UT's football stadium is the LBJ Museum and Library neighbor.

Perfect timing, both in daylight and calendar, we arrived at the Congress Avenue Bridge to watch the famous bats of Austin.

Here, under the southern end of the bridge is the home of the millions of Mexican Bats live from March through September.

All of a sudden, the bats start flying out the eastern side of the bridge and it lasts over a half hour.

Moonrise over Austin

Continuing our culinary tour of Texas, we got takeout from Rolando's Super Tacos.  I have to admit, I have a hard time picking up the subtleties of Mexican cuisine, so I basically just pointed.

They tacos (and apparently what we ate was a tostada) was so big, we split it and it was enough for lunch.  Onions is checking out the second taco we purchased, and decided to save for a second meal.

YUM!

A Pilgrimage to Waco

 

Those of you who watch HGTV should know the profile of the ALICO building and know where we are and why we are here!!!

Yup, we made the drive from San Antonio (2.5 hours each way at the speed both Onions and I drive...we need to watch this).  Yes, those are "The Silos" on the grounds of the Magnolia Comples in downtown Waco, TX that is a small portion of the Chip and Joanna Fixer Upper Empire

Please, step inside to a world of shabby chic!

Visiting on a Monday afternoon, the store and the complex were quite empty.  In fact, at times, it felt as though there were more employees than shopper/visitors.

The shopping area is divided into two main parts, the entrance room, which is nicely air-conditioned.

It's MUCH smaller than I expected.  Here is a view down the longer axis of the first room.

No cheap plastic shopping bags here at the Magnolia Store.  Alas, I'm sure we could purchase them, but they are returned upon exit.

So, we'll play a guessing game.  Guess the price.  Small candle on right, large candle on left.  Answers at the end of the blog post.

One and a half foot tall light box.

Insulated YETI brand mugs with Magnolia insignia (small and large)

Metal Bucket

Throw Pillow

Upon finishing up in the first room, one steps down into the second room, which focuses more on clothing.  I guess the entire store is the in the Grain Barn.  It's also where they store merchandise.

The Grain Barn from the rear

Magnolia Hats and Shirts

If you watched the show, there was one episode devoted to the renovation of this small building on the corner of the complex.  

It's where you can buy the famous cupcakes!!!

Due to a slight miscommunication (and me just being slow), Onions ended up being the one who actually got to go in and buy a dozen cupcakes (again, guess price).  He bought an assortment.

Less well known (at least to me) was the Home store where they sell home furnishings.  This store is just behind the Grain Building.

Guess the price of this chair.

And this grey sofa.

I like this bookcase, you can buy it with or without the ladder.  Books not included.

Hmmm, still not sure I'm in the market at these prices.  I love the brand, I'm just too cheap.

The complex is near the downtown area and I'm assuming it's spurring gentrification all around.  Here's the view as you exit the Home store.

Magnolia Press is NOT the book printer, but a coffee shop.  The white building's top you can see on the left side is the Home store to which the coffee shop is attached.

Proof of purchase!

Iced Coffee and a Cupcake (of course Onions said the frosting looked like the famous emoji!)

We both agreed that the cupcake itself was kind of tasteless, but did appreciate the chocolate frosting wasn't overly sweet.  We only ate one at this sitting.  Still five to eat!

It looks like Magnolia Press is a place where Baylor University (just a mile away) students come to hang out and study.

Continuing the Chip and Joanna Empire tour, we drove to the first store they opened.  It's where they sell discontinued items at a discount. 

This place is more our price point.  The store is pretty small but the feel is exactly the same.  We actually purchased four t-shirts for the price of one regular priced t-shirt at the store over at The Silos.

The "scratch and dent" section.  Nothing caught Onions fancy.

So for those of you who watch the show, this view should be familiar, it's actually the home of the family.  It's right on the highway heading west out of town.  

We pulled off the highway (I bet locals get so annoyed at this) and this was as "creeper" as we got.  A quick snapshot on the iPhone and back on the road.

Ok, prices!

Small Candle: $28

Large Candle: $58

Light Box: $44

Small Mug: $40

Large Mug: $48

Bucket: $26

Pillow: $70

Hat: $26

T-Shirt: $26-$32

Half-Dozen Cupcakes: $19

Chair: $790

Sofa:$2630

Bookcase Without/With Ladder: $2200/$2600