Every time someone visits - we love to hit up our favorite spots! After we got back from Houston last weekend we took my parents and Tante Freidl out to lunch at the famous Salt Lick BBQ. My parents went up near the kitchen to take a picture of the BBQ pit, and the workers there invited them into the kitchen area to get a close up view - meat lovers enjoy the above picture!
Yum! We definitely did not leave hungry!
We also took my parents and Tante Freidl on the famous Bat Sightseeing Boat Tour at Lady Bird Lake in downtown Austin. Stephen actually hadn't been on this yet, just the kids and I. It's a fun way to see the lake, learn about the downtown area...and of course see the bats take flight!
Dad and Mom. :)
Tante Freidl (my Dad's sister) and Madeline on the boat with the downtown skyline in the background.
Jimmy-James sitting with Oma and checking out the lake.
The "Bat Signal" on our boat. :)
As we were waiting for the bats to take flight the boat driver asked how many "future Longhorn students" were on board. Madeline and James raised their hands along with a few other kids. So he invited the kids up to take turns driving the boat and for a picture opt with him to show their Texas Longhorn pride (Hook'em gesture). He has to show the other kids how to do it, but not Madeline...she threw up her horns right away! :)
My Dad took this beautiful shot of the downtown skyline at dusk, right when the bats were taking flight.
Here we are under the Congress bridge were 1.4 million bats colonize every summer. And every night at dusk onlookers come to watch from the bridge (and below the bridge on boats) to watch the bats. Our boat has a special red sonar light so we could see the bats. They don't show up in this pic though - the bats are small their bodies are only about 2.5" tall. But it's pretty cool to see!
We took my parents and Tante Freidl down to San Antonio to see the sites and meet up with my Oom Folly and Tante Patty who were there from Houston visiting and taking Tante Hanna from Holland to see the sites. Of course we stopped at the Alamo.
Tante Hanna, Mom and Madeline on the famous Riverwalk.
While we ate some dinner on the Riverwalk, Oom Folly, Tante Patty and Tante Hanna took a riverboat tour and they happened to pass by our table! See them waving?
We also hit up the Texas Roadhouse, one of our favorite steakhouses. Cheers!
Cheers again! I think James was laying down in the booth next to me.
And today we had a lasagna dinner at our home.
After dinner we took everyone downtown to visit the state capitol building. Tante Hanna was looking forward to riding in our "big" car. You see in Holland most everyone drives compact cars due to the smaller streets and high gas prices. Not here in Texas, everyone drives "big" cars.
And here we are in the shade in front of the capitol on our first 100 degree temperature day of the summer! It's been a great visit with the ohana!
