that's right, you're not from Texas
My flight from Houston to Del Rio last Thursday the 15th was uneventful, unlike North Carolina-bound Flight1549 that landed in the Hudson River the same day. Scary! I arrived late afternoon where Jenni was there waiting for me in the tiny one-gate airport (the baggage claim is a little roped-off area of the building). We stopped at Wal-Mart to grab a few needed supplies (coffee, coffee mate and Special K w/ berries - a must!) and picked up some Thai take-out at a place called Jitar. My first impression of southwestern Texas was that it's very flat, a great place to ride a bike I tell Jenni but she unfortunately doesn't like to ride. Got to meet my new two month old niece, Vivian, who is super cute and no, I'm not biased at all.
With a population around 48,000, there's not a whole lot to do in Del Rio which is how I got three books read and approx. 14 inches added to my scarf over the course of six days. Jenni warned me in advance that they sit around watching lots of tv. "Have you met Greg?" I asked. Still, we found a few things to do. On Friday, Jenni took me to a local art gallery that was featuring work by local students followed by lunch at The Brown Bag next door where I had an awesome croissant club sandwich. There was also a nearby quaint Old Market type shop called Buffalo Girls with a 50% off sale. Standing on opposite sides of a clothing rack, Jenni says she sees something I would like. I say that I do, too, as we come around the corner carrying the exact same jacket. It was serendipity, I had to get it. It's really more like a long denim frock coat with pink roses embroidered down the front and a big butterfly on the back. "Gram Parsons would be proud," says Greg the first time he saw it. I really must get some pictures of me wearing it here. That night we were able to get in 45 minutes of gym time and Jenni made mandarin chicken for dinner.
On Saturday, Antonio was able to babysit Vivian while Jen and I went to Val Verde Winery, the oldest continuously running Winery in Texas. For $3.00 each, we were able to sample ten different wines, bought a few bottles afterwards and enjoyed an additional leisurely glass. It's too bad I couldn't bring some Texas Rosé back with me just for the name alone. Bought a iron key holder with the likeness of Frida at a little place called Border Décor. Did I mention we were only 3 miles away from Mexico? Didn't make it to the gym that night though we took a half hour walk with the baby in the stroller. Jenni made turkey broccoli stir fry for dinner.
Sunday was fairly uneventful. The four of us went to some cute little colorful place for breakfast tacos. I got the potato and chorizo. In the afternoon, Jen and I were able to go to the gym on base again for 60 minutes and later took Vivian on a 40 minute walk in her stroller. Got Pizza Hut for dinner (not a lot of options, you know?) and watched Hancock. Monday was even less eventful unless you consider reading and knitting to be exciting. However, I did spend a lot of quality time holding my niece. Tried to go to bed early but didn't sleep well knowing I had to get up around 3:45 to make a 6:00am flight.
Will continue at some point in a separate post.
With a population around 48,000, there's not a whole lot to do in Del Rio which is how I got three books read and approx. 14 inches added to my scarf over the course of six days. Jenni warned me in advance that they sit around watching lots of tv. "Have you met Greg?" I asked. Still, we found a few things to do. On Friday, Jenni took me to a local art gallery that was featuring work by local students followed by lunch at The Brown Bag next door where I had an awesome croissant club sandwich. There was also a nearby quaint Old Market type shop called Buffalo Girls with a 50% off sale. Standing on opposite sides of a clothing rack, Jenni says she sees something I would like. I say that I do, too, as we come around the corner carrying the exact same jacket. It was serendipity, I had to get it. It's really more like a long denim frock coat with pink roses embroidered down the front and a big butterfly on the back. "Gram Parsons would be proud," says Greg the first time he saw it. I really must get some pictures of me wearing it here. That night we were able to get in 45 minutes of gym time and Jenni made mandarin chicken for dinner.
On Saturday, Antonio was able to babysit Vivian while Jen and I went to Val Verde Winery, the oldest continuously running Winery in Texas. For $3.00 each, we were able to sample ten different wines, bought a few bottles afterwards and enjoyed an additional leisurely glass. It's too bad I couldn't bring some Texas Rosé back with me just for the name alone. Bought a iron key holder with the likeness of Frida at a little place called Border Décor. Did I mention we were only 3 miles away from Mexico? Didn't make it to the gym that night though we took a half hour walk with the baby in the stroller. Jenni made turkey broccoli stir fry for dinner.
Sunday was fairly uneventful. The four of us went to some cute little colorful place for breakfast tacos. I got the potato and chorizo. In the afternoon, Jen and I were able to go to the gym on base again for 60 minutes and later took Vivian on a 40 minute walk in her stroller. Got Pizza Hut for dinner (not a lot of options, you know?) and watched Hancock. Monday was even less eventful unless you consider reading and knitting to be exciting. However, I did spend a lot of quality time holding my niece. Tried to go to bed early but didn't sleep well knowing I had to get up around 3:45 to make a 6:00am flight.
Will continue at some point in a separate post.