Saturday, January 15, 2011

Hittin’ The Texas Roads (Part II)

Spring semester started as of this past Monday. I am taking 18 credits, so my life is a bit jam-packed as of now. Bare with me and the sporadic posting if you will! :-)

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Glad everyone enjoyed the recap of the first half of my trip. So here’s the part two recap I promised….

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Like I said, this trip was a lot of things food-related, but another reason for going was to visit my aunt and uncle (my gram’s mom’s sister). And I have to add in that they are 90 years old, but would you have guessed if I didn’t tell you?!

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They took my grandma and I to a Texas chain restaurant called The Black-Eyed Pea.

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They pride themselves on all home-cooked style meals. Everything we ordered was delish, which was evident by the clean plates all scattered on our table! ;-)

I ordered their grilled Atlantic salmon with Cajun seasoning & a baked potato on the side. I guess I was on a salmon kick this trip!

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My aunt ordered their homemade chicken pot pie. We couldn’t get over how “cute” it was when it came!

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And my uncle ordered their home-style meatloaf which he couldn’t stop raving about.

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My aunt actually doesn’t like to cook one bit, so they also took us out to Red Lobster one night and I got the steak and shrimp—my fav!

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Then for what I like to call our “adventurous” day, we went to both the Natural Bridge Caverns and the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch. They are located between Austin and San Antonio.

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I had never been into any caverns before, so I had no clue what to expect. The only thing I can say to sum up caverns is “absolutely breathtaking”! It’s amazing how fascinating untouched nature can be!

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And on a side note, this 3/4 hike was quite the workout, so I was kind of glad that at the Wildlife Ranch you get to sit in your car ha ha! :-/

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The whole concept of the Wildlife Ranch is that you drive through a 4 mile fenced in area that is supposed to be like a realistic African safari. You are given a bag of food, and you basically feed all the animals right out of your car window. It seemed scary at first, but it’s by far the best “zoo” experience I’ve had, and believe me, I’ve been to a lot of zoos in my day.

The food.

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Giraffes=my second favorite animal.

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Obviously everyone today was a bit hungry!

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This was proven true my the lick of Mr.Goat’s lips…

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Gram’s favorite animal=the buffalo!

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Buffalo photo shoot…

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And of course a goat photo op couldn’t be passed up..

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And finally I spotted my all-time favorite animal—the zebra.

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Lucky for us, we got a zebra who had quite a personality.

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I was laughing so hard I was in tears!!

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I would highly recommend both of these attractions. They were $15 each which is a great price for all you get to experience!

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To say are adventurous afternoon worked up an appetite would be somewhat of an understatement. I was hungrier than our new zebra friend was. Luckily, we came across one of my favorite restaurants—The Golden Corral!

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Various plates included steak, shrimp, salad, baked potato, grilled veggies, and steamed cabbage.

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I really wanted to see the San Antonio Riverwalk, and being that we were only ten minutes away, we decided to venture downtown to see it.

It’s basically a bunch of shops and restaurants all along the river—it’s very similar to what I imagine Italy to look like!

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And did you really think I’d go a day without some fro-yo? Nope!

Hello Fruity Frogurt!

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By far the cutest decor I’ve seen in a fro-yo shop so far!

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I got the strawberry cheesecake flavor with strawberries and graham cracker crumbs—priceless :-) 

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Well all, hope you enjoyed my trip to Texas—I know I sure did! Have a fabulous weekend! :-)

What is your favorite animal?

 

15 comments:

Lisa said...

That is one amazing trip. It looks like you got to have some memorable experiences, especially seeing those animals so up close, and those caves, fantastic. I had no idea that all of that even existed in Texas.

Mary Bergfeld said...

It looks like the old folks really tried to show you a good time. Your pictures are wonderful. I love cats, so I guess I'd have to say they are my favorites. Have a great day. Blessings...Mary

Kylie @ A Hungry Spoon said...

So glad you enjoyed your trip! That adorable chicken pot pie reminds me of how much I LOVE vegetarian pot pie--I haven't made it in a few years, but your picture gave me a crave!

My favorite animal is definitely dogs...my own little Dora Dog to be exact :) They just have so much love to give!

Erica said...

Those ladies look GOOD for their ages :) The chicken pot pie is adorable- I love individual versions of normally much larger dishes! The safari type adventure looks AMAZING! I can't believe how close you get to the animals!! Favorite animal? oh gosh...thats hard to pick... I love how walrus' look - I just think they're so darn cute

erica said...

Looks like you have been having a lot of fun. All the food looks amazing and how neat is it that you are able to get that close to the animals!

xo

Evan Thomas said...

I've never been somewhere that lets you get that close to animals. Amazing!

Katecooks said...

That zebra shot is wild. I would have been a little nervous to be so up front and personal with that big set of teeth!! Glad you had such a great trip:)

Krista said...

The caverns look beautiful and I LOVE feeding animals! But I like to watch the lion's and tigers. They're so graceful and powerful. Looks like the animals didn't mind the damp looking day. If its too hot they hide, right?

Anonymous said...

Greetings from Southern California :-)

I added myself to follow your blog. You are invited to visit mine and become a follower if you want to.

God Bless You, ~Ron

Anonymous said...

That is a cute looking pot pie! : )

And your animal pics are so fun! I love love love all animals and your zebra pics are fab!

Bec said...

sounds like a fantastic trip and visit with your family! I love salmon with cajan spice, so delicious :) My favorite animal is definitely zebras, I love their stripes

laurie said...

What a fun trip! I have been to the River walk..so many great restaurants there!

Tropical Eats said...

the golden corral is quite possibly the best restaurant ever.. and I <3 you for that!

your adventure looks like SO much fun :)

Jessica@tastyandtrim said...

It looks like you had an amazing trip - and that fro-yo sounds delicious!! My favorite animal has to be a polar bear :)

Nicole, RD said...

OMG!!!!!!!!!!! THE ZEBRA! That just made my week! Those teeth!!!!!!! LOL! :) Too cute! I love penguins...they've always been my favorite :)

Glad your trip to TX was fun!!