Edmond, Oklahoma

This northern suburb of Oklahoma City is where my husband went to high school, where his parents lived for 45 years, and where we used to visit them with our sons several times every year. The area has a lot of fun things to do, but this visit was all about visiting old friends.

We arrived at Arcadia Lake Central State Park and set up our camper. My husband headed out to play golf with one of his old high school friends. After my nap, one of my high school friends picked me up for dinner. It’s a crazy coincidence, having grown up in western New York State, but my best friend in high school and I both married men from Oklahoma! I used to get to see her every time we visited, but we hadn’t had time together since 2014. We went to Bricktown Brewery for dinner. The food was great, we talked for hours, and it was wonderful to reconnect!

The next day we met another group of friends for brunch. They had “adopted” my in-laws (and vice-versa) many years ago and were there for them when we couldn’t be, living so far away. They are friends who are like family ❤️, and it was wonderful to see them again and catch up.

After brunch, we all went to the cemetery to visit the graves of my husband’s sister, parents, and grandparents. It was good to all be together.

That night we met up with my husband’s friend (the one he golfed with) and his wife for dinner at Texlahoma BBQ. It was good BBQ and good conversation!

We had a nice campsite at Arcadia Lake, with redbuds (Oklahoma state tree) in bloom all over and a lilac bush blooming on our site. Now we’re on our way to Arkansas and stopped at another Bricktown Brewery for a delicious lunch!

Lake Murray, Oklahoma

After a long day of driving through heavy traffic in Austin and Fort Worth, we arrived at Lake Murray State Park in Ardmore, Oklahoma. Our part of the campground was out on a peninsula, with water views all around. Our campsite was right on the water. It was a very beautiful, peaceful spot, and I got a great night’s sleep with a light breeze blowing and the sound of the water lapping the shore.

We got an early (for us) start the next day, and drove to Edmond, a northern suburb of Oklahoma City, where my husband grew up, for a couple of days of meeting up with friends.

Austin, Texas - Day 2

The rain continued, but we still had a great day in Austin. Our great-niece recommended Blanton Art Museum at University of Texas. It’s a sprawling, beautiful campus, and we enjoyed the museum. A long-time virtual chronic illness friend met us there. We’ve been corresponding and interacting in online support groups since 2011, so it was great to finally meet in person!

She gave us some great recommendations for lunch, but I was pretty wiped out and it was raining harder by then. We decided to just eat across the street at Bullock Texas State History Museum. Lunch was just a mediocre cafeteria, but the museum looked really nice, from what we saw. We also got a good view of the capitol building.

After a nap back at the campground, we headed to South Congress Avenue, a really cool area! Lots of shops, restaurants, bars, ice cream places, taco stands, and more. We met our great-niece at Joann’s Fine Foods, a funky restaurant with creative Tex-Mex dishes. It was wonderful to see her and catch up on her new life in Austin, and the food was delicious!

To see video footage of Austin and the rest of our trip, visit my YouTube channel.

Austin, Texas - Day 1

We enjoyed several days exploring the Austin area. We camped at McKinney Falls State Park, a beautiful park within Austin city limits. We had a large, wooded campsite. On our first evening, we just relaxed at camp - the first time we’d gotten our chairs out of the truck the whole trip!

We took a very short hike before dinner to the Lower Falls in the park. It’s an area of limestone formations from an ancient sea. Everything had been really dry (no longer a problem!), so the falls were small but still very picturesque.

The next morning, we headed into downtown Austin and walked around Sixth Street and Congress Avenue. Sixth Street is mostly dozens and dozens of dive bars that feature live music at night (not of much interest to someone who can’t drink alcohol or stay out past 8 pm 😆), but we also enjoyed the history, including the historic Driskill Hotel, and art in the area.

We found a nice spot for lunch on a side street and enjoyed some delicious Tex-Mex.

We went back downtown after my nap and had a wonderful dinner at Moonshine Grill, which was recommended by my college roommate. Great food, nice bourbon selection for my husband, and a patio all to ourselves!

After dinner, we walked to the Congress Avenue bridge, along with many other people, to see the famous bats fly out at sunset. Unfortunately, the rain and wind picked up at just the wrong time. Of the 1.5 million bats that live under the bridge, we saw about a dozen! But we enjoyed nice views of the Colorado River and the city at night.

San Antonio (Schertz) & Texas Hill Country

I got behind on blog posts, though I uploaded my week 2 vlog yesterday. Our visit to San Antonio was all about seeing family this time. On previous trips, we’ve enjoyed the Alamo, the Riverwalk, San Antonio Zoo, and (a very long time ago!) the children’s museum.

We needed a few things for the camper, so I experienced a “ranch & home” store for the first time, Murdoch’s. They had everything from tools to cowboy boots and hats to live baby ducks and chicks! Though we weren’t sure what “chicken accessories” are!

We had time for a short hike at Cibolo Creek Primitive Area, a nice natural area in the midst of suburban sprawl. I enjoyed seeing how different the terrain and flora are in Texas compared to the northeast and mid-Atlantic.

We spent that evening with our nephews and their families. One nephew and his wife had just built a new house on a nice piece of land, so we enjoyed a relaxing evening out on their patio.

The next day, we met up with our niece and her family at a fun outdoor restaurant, Backyard on Broadway, with a play area for kids (which our great-great niece and nephew enjoyed!). The time with family filled our hearts! ❤️❤️❤️

Next we drove west into Texas Hill Country, a very different terrain! We spent the night at Lost Maples State Recreation Area in Vanderpool, a beautiful park - so great to enjoy such a dark, quiet camping night after the urban RV parks! There were so many stars visible that night.

We were in Vanderpool to visit an old friend of my husband’s who was best man at our wedding. He and his wife built a beautiful retirement home out there, filled with natural wood and stone. It was so peaceful out there, and we enjoyed reconnecting with old friends.