We woke up and waited and waited for the temperature to rise above 32 degrees so the roads would start to melt. We ended up leaving Sanderson around 10am and drove through more snow and ice for another 1.5 hours. And after that, it was amazing! The snow and ice finally cleared, the sun was out, and the roads were great! About 4 more hours to get back to San Antonio and return the RV.
We were all looking a whole lot rougher after the past couple of days, haha. Except Brian, I’m not sure how he managed to look normal! But do you see the toes over his shoulder? HA!
We arrived in San Antonio around 3:30pm, unloaded the RV, loaded the car, and took off to Austin! Austin is only a little over an hour from San Antonio, so we figured we would check it out while we were so close. We checked into a huge 2-bedroom suite (purposefully booked because I knew we would all need some space from each other), ordered food to be delivered, and crashed. We were all exhausted and it felt great to have an easy night to relax. We were right next to the Capitol Building (Austin is the capital of Texas if you didn’t know).
We woke up the next morning ready to go! We went out on a mission to get some Voodoo Donuts, and even though the store hours indicated they were open, the doors were locked. So sad. But we found another breakfast spot a few steps away and all was good. The boys had Texas-shaped waffles and couldn’t have been happier. Side note, has anyone ever noticed how proud Texas is of itself? Their self-branding is a little over the top, in my opinion. But anyway… moving on. LOL.
On the walk back to the hotel after breakfast, Dax spotted a nutcracker that he COULD NOT live without. He has started collecting nutcrackers, getting a new one each Christmas, and even though he already got one this Christmas, he HAD TO have this one as well. He bought it with his own money and despite all the sideways glances, Brian proudly carried it back to the hotel for him. I couldn’t stop laughing.
Our next plan for the day was to check out Barton Springs Pool. Have you ever heard of it? I hadn’t until I heard Rich Roll (the vegan ultra-endurance athlete) talk about it multiple times on his podcast. I love Rich Roll, so whatever he says, I want to know more about! Barton Springs Pool is a natural 3-acre pool fed by underground springs. It’s outdoors (obviously) and people swim in it year round because the water temperature stays between 68-70 degrees. I wish it had been warmer out, but I am a wimp and there was no way I wanted to swim on that chilly day. Luckily none of my family members did either. But there were several people swimming laps (mostly in wetsuits) and it looked amazing! I’m sure it gets packed in the summer.
For our next adventure of the day, we had a 1:30pm reservation at a brewery just outside of town, in Dripping Springs. Our reservation was at Jester King Brewery, and more specifically, at the Goat Pen. Jester King is more than just a regular brewery; it’s more like a giant farm on 165 acres that has nature trails, multiple areas to explore, fire pits, a restaurant, and the reason I wanted to go there… goats! Drink beer with goats? Yes please, count me in!
Jester King sells food as well as beer, and if find yourself there, you must get the homemade bread. It is amazing! We didn’t love the beer we tried, but aren’t the cans beautiful? You can order draft beer of course, but since the goat pen was a pretty far walk from where you order beer and wine, we just grabbed some cans.
Most of the goats were in the pen, but several were not. We had so much fun playing with the goats! And the dog that was in the pen with the goats LOVED Dax… maybe that had something to do with all the bread Dax was feeding him!
We said goodbye to the goat and headed to the area with the fire pits so the boys could make their smores. The smores kits at Jester King are the best I’ve ever tasted (they let me have a TINY nibble) – with homemade marshmallows and homemade graham crackers.
I think we can safely say that Jester King Brewery was a huge hit with the whole family!
Before we loaded into the car, the boys spent a little while driving their R/C monster trucks near the back of the property. Because I guess we are the type of family that just happens to have R/C monster trucks with us at all times!
We realized there were a bunch of breweries and wineries in the Dripping Springs area, so we wanted to check out one more before we headed back into Austin. We ended up at Bell Springs Winery, also home of Bell Springs Brewing Company. It was so cute! The boys had fun running around and climbing trees, and Brian and I enjoyed sampling some local Texas wine and beer.
The food truck they had onsite offered a convenient and delicious dinner! What a fun afternoon in Dripping Springs, I hope I get to visit again sometime!
It was time to head back to Houston the next day and end this awesome Christmas vacation trip. But first, we needed to find some fun donuts. Side note, I’m not sure if it is a Texas thing or a Houston thing, but I have never seen as many donut shops in one area as we have near our home in Clear Lake. Honestly there is a donut shop on every corner. And I don’t mean Dunkin Donuts; most of them are independent donut shops or local chains. I guess Texans really enjoy donuts! And it turns out, people in Austin must really enjoy donuts as well because we found the craziest donut shop ever! Gourdough’s Big Fat Donuts. These donuts were unbelievable!
Trent’s was Heavenly Hash (marshmallow, fudge brownie), Dax’s was the Baby Rattler (fudge, oreos, 1.5-foot long gummy snake), mine was Black Out (brownie batter, fudge, chocolate-covered brownie, chocolate syrup), and Brian’s was Funky Monkey (grilled bananas, cream cheese, brown sugar). I wish I could say that I didn’t eat my whole donut, but I would be lying. I would also be lying if I said it didn’t make me ill for the entire drive home. But I also ended up finishing up Dax’s donut a couple days later. No shame in my donut eating game!
And that’s how we ended our Christmas vacation trip. See ya after I go run about 30 miles!
