Scenes from the 4th

Scenes from the 4th

The boys made various patriotic themed art at school over the past couple of weeks. These fireworks were one of my favorites. The boys saw and heard some fireworks when we were coming home on Saturday. We told them they were firecrackers. Ryan proceeded to call them "FireTractors" keeping with his typical car theme. We tried to sort out the tractor/cracker thing and only managed to get him to tack on "but not the kind you eat" every time he continued to say "Fire Tractors."

"Ready to go!"

"All Decked out"

and yes... Kevin put Ryan's swimsuit on backwards. At least his shoes are on the right feet.

Enjoying some snacks after the swim.

Lost Pines: The Last Day

We were sad to see our stay at Lost Pines coming to and end, but we were really looking forward to our last day. We had signed up for a kayaking trip for the morning of our last day.

We signed our lives away, and caught a shuttle with 3 guides and 7 other kayakers. We drove a short ways to a long and steep boat ramp. At the bottom there were a dozen kayaks waiting for us along with lifejackets and paddles. After covering some basic information and some safety warnings regarding the perils of getting too close to the shore we picked out our boats and were off to tackle the aforementioned "Class 0 rapids." :)

We stayed together as a group with a guide in the front, one in the rear and one roving in the middle. The current was surprisingly swift to the point where the only paddling we actually had to do was what was required to steer and to keep us going straight.

Along the way we saw patches of star flower beds sticking up above the top of the water. It's foliage with tiny little yellow flowers were visible from quite a distance off and looked like shallow sand bars at first. As we got close to one our guide said they were a popular place for the resident fish to hang out like carp and gars.

The guide also told us that most of the land along the river was undeveloped land belonging to ranchers so while we did see signs of civilization here and there it was mostly forested with lots of trees having low hanging branches hanging out over or into the water.

The area is also a natural habitat for various birds. As we were talking about the herons who spend time in the more shallow and sedate waters we saw a bald eagle fly from one tree to another then give a repeat performance going further down river and crossing the river in front of us.

It is actually a whole different experience kayaking in a crowd. Especially a crowd with such a different range of capabilities. And a relatively narrow area in which to paddle. Though everyone seemed to be handling it with aplomb.

I floated to the back of the group to get out of the crowd from time to time and after a while would paddle back up to the front in just a few sort strokes as the pack stayed relatively close together. On a long, straight, and wide-open stretch of the river I had asked the guide up front if we could pick up the pace a little for a short while. We paddled leisurely, but continuously for most of the rest of the trip.

We were sad to see parts of the disc golf course come into view as it meant that we were back to the resort and that our landing dock would be coming into view far too soon. I knew we would get out at the resort, but I hadn't thought much about how that would really work. My only glimpses of the dock had been from a distance, but I didn't recall a ramp of any sort. I asked the guide and she said there wasn't a ramp that we would get out at the deck. Uh, huh. Sure we will... And how many of us will be taking a dip in the river during this process??

As it turned out there was a ladder, with rungs actually BELOW the level of the boat making it easy with the guide securing the end of the boat to step out onto the later and then climb on up the rest of the way. It wasn't nearly as bad as other dock entries or exits I had tried in the past.

With our kayaking trip behind us with a few hours still left before our late check-out we decided to make one more trip to the pool.

One more spin around the lazy river.

And a few more jaunts down the water slide.

It was a beautiful day and we had managed to find lounge chairs with a table and umbrella right next to the slide. We ordered sandwiches and fries from the pool side restaurant and enjoyed our lunch pool side watching people come and go on the lazy river and all the kids and kids at heart zoom down the slide. We swam once more before heading back to the room to gather up our stuff and checkout.

Though our trip had come to and end we were excited to head back home and see the boys. Though I don't doubt we had missed them more than they had missed us.

Lost Pines: Day 2

Saturday morning just before we departed for the Grand Hike we enjoyed a ride on the horse drawn carriage. I was secretly hoping that the carriage ride just might take us to the same place the wagon ride had the night before, you know, right next to the park entry so we wouldn’t have to hike there. For the record it was not being lazy, just having the foresight to try to conserve as much energy as possible for the actual hike. Little did I know at the time just how much I would need it...

We did however enjoy the ride that took us on a short circuit around the resort itself. Throughout the trip our guide on the back of the wagon told us interesting facts about the horses - how they came to spend part of their time at Hyatt, and about their roommates Ribeye and T-bone (the longhorns). Their particular breed, though I have long since forgotten the name, is a larger than an average horse and they passed around the weighty, oversized horse shoes to prove it while we played a guessing game about their weight. A young boy guessed 700lbs. A woman guessed 2000. Remembering the car sized bulls at the rodeo I threw out a guess of 3200lbs. To which Kevin laughed and mocked that that’s as much as a car! Turns out they weighed in around 2200lbs. I was only off by ½ a ton or so.

We also heard how the horses came to be at Hyatt, one leading a charmed life of a show horse trained in dancing and other talent acts. The other having been a former work horse – part of a pair that pulled a plow. The horse drawn carriage rides had once been a special holiday treat, but had morphed into a full time job. Their handlers had traded in jobs in HR and engineering at Hyatt to settle in the country 30 miles away for half of the week, and bring the animals in on Thursday night for the weekend’s activities.

We also learned about the longhorns. Despite their size they were only 3 years old, and were actually siblings. They shared the same father, but had different mothers and were reported to each take after their respective mothers. Their life expectancy was a surprisingly long time – about 20 years. Their father was reported to have had over 26 wives and at least 186 children if I recall correctly. A fact which elicited some laughs and witty remarks from some of the passengers. The trainer also mentioned how surprised she was with their intelligence. For example she said after just one trip through the resort on the very next trip they knew exactly which way to go.

We saw the longhorn pair again later in the day on our way to the pool. They were taking a walk through the property much like dogs on a leash out for a little walk to stretch their legs.

We spent several hours of the afternoon at the pool mostly cruising the lazy river in between quick jaunts down the big slide.

The slide was a blast. After watching Kevin go down at a nice sedate pace on his back just splash out gently into the pool below I took my first turn down the slide. I chose to sit instead of lie down and I was propelled down by the rushing water at a far faster clip that I imagined and practically drowned as I came off the end with all the grace of a cannon ball taking flight and sending waves and spray everywhere including up my nose. And yet it was so much fun we immediately raced back to do it all over again just like the kids. As we stood at the end of the short line the staffer at the top of the ride called several children by name, introducing them to one another, and asking new comers their names and a little about themselves. He chatted with them easily obviously enjoying his job. Like of most of the resort staff I was surprised at just how friendly, helpful, and pleasant they were making the stay all that much more enjoyable.

Finally shriveled up like prunes we dragged ourselves out of the water and after a quick stop by the room for a change of clothes went off in search of discs for disc golf. We started out at the tee box for the first hole in search of the basket. The tee was at resort level and between us and the basket we finally located down at the river level was a whole lot of dense forest growth. Not willing to lose our hard to acquire discs (what do you mean they are closed?) we decided to create our own starting point. We played several holes. Badly… Unless of course they were meant to be Par 4s. I did make one spectacular shot that I couldn’t repeat again if my life depended on it - splitting two trees no more than a couple of feet apart and landing practically within spitting distance of the basket. I might or might not have done a little celebration dance… Though with the on again off again sprinkles there weren’t many folks around to have seen anything one way or another.

The rain was actually refreshing. It helped cool things off a bit. It was also an interesting shower that shows just how cool nature can be. It was raining in the tree’d area for a while, but not out in the open area where we happened to be standing. We could see the wall of water were the rain just stopped. It eventually advanced covering us as well, but not before we had plenty of time to marvel at the fact that it could be raining 10 feet away, but not on us.

After our 2nd buffet in as many days – this time with a Seafood theme (did I mention how absolutely delicious the penne with crawfish and mushrooms with spicy marinara was??) we once again made smores before deciding to hit the pool a second time. It was our first trip to the pool after dark and I can’t begin to describe how perfect it was. The water actually felt warm against the cooler air left after the rain. And the landscape lighting all around the lazy river provided beautiful lighting to the whole area. The glimpses of the full moon we could see at various points in the river only added to the beauty. We were incredibly sad when we were kicked out of the pool when it closed at 10pm or were more accurately chased out of the pool by overzealous staff. As we headed back towards our room we stopped at the now abandoned campfire area that was still blazing merrily. We sat for a while enjoying our last night with the flickering flames, moonlight, and blessed lack of bugs.

Lost Pines: The Grand Hike

We decided to take a short hike Saturday morning. The LCRA (also known Lower Colorado River Authority) park McKinney Roughs backs up to the Lost Pines property. We had seen the trail head sign posts during our wagon ride the previous night and had picked up a trail map from the recreation desk. The trail head we were told was 3/4 a mile either down the same dirt path the wagon had taken us, or a smaller jogging path that wended along side the river. After looking the trail map we had decided to do the Pecan Bottom to Deep Sandy or Coyote Road loop in order to see the largest Pecan Tree in the park - estimated to be over 200 years old and more than 12 feet in circumference.

We put on our hiking books (aka tennis shoes), dabbed on the sunscreen, grabbed Kevin's GPS, a couple of bottles of water and headed out. We arrived at the trail head and followed the great signage down the wide and well maintained paths. It was actually quite a good thing that the paths were so well marked as the GPS Kevin brought wouldn't even turn on when we gave it a try at the trail head.

As it turns out all the paths along our journey (both planned and not...) were also equestrian trails and indeed we actually passed two separate sets of riders going in the opposite direction along our way. For the vast majority of the trip the large trees, undergrowth, and vines kept the path thankfully well shaded as the temperatures were rising and the direct sunlight was blisteringly hot even before noon.

The biggest surprise along the way (other than the 2nd set of riders whose lead horse almost flattened me as they came around a blind fork in the road) was the sheer number of butterflies.

The first of which we didn't actually see directly at first, but instead saw the large shadow it cast as it fluttered gracefully overhead before finally landing in some nearby brush.

We ended up seeing at least 6 or 8 different varieties of butterflies on our trek. Surprisingly, almost every time we came along a new butterfly it was a new and different variety than the ones we had seen previously.

It was amazing that there so many of so many different varieties all in one place. Though it quickly became apparent that some were more inclined to sit and pose for a picture than others who constantly flitted around barely if ever pausing in one spot making it a maddeningly difficult to actually get a picture of them. And I thought the boys were hard to capture... :)

In no time at all we came across the giant pecan tree. It was indeed a large tree, though it didn't hold a candle to the giant trees in places like the redwood forest.

Buoyed by the shorter than expected journey and the up to that point flat terrain we decided to add on another stop along our journey - the scenic outlook off the branch in the Road Runner path and depending on how tough that was either come back the way we had gone or all the way on around the loop to Coyote Road.

We carefully looked at the elevation changes the view from the topographical map afforded us and decided that it didn't look too bad. Those will be famous last words someday. They will probably be etched on my tombstone. :)

The Buckeye path was actually probably some of the prettiest trails along the way with its up and down hills and beautiful tree cover. Some areas however were fairly sleep climbs for two out of shape city folks accustomed to flat and air conditioned terrain. It was also about this time as my water was nearing the halfway mark that I realized when I had told Kevin to grab 2 bottles of water (for me) he had grabbed two total - one for him and one for me. And did I mentioned that was HOT outside??

There were plenty of distractions along the way including a variety of flowers in bloom, and along with the bee who happened into my picture a whole drove of horseflies intent on keeping us moving lest we stop and be viciously attacked. I have a whole new level of empathy for horses who spend all day swatting at the beasts. It really hurts when they bite!

As we crested the Buckeye Trail and turned on the Road Runner trail huffing and puffing (okay so I was huffing and puffing from the final steep assent and the ridiculous heat of the hottest day of the weekend - just my luck...) the trail turned into almost a prairie like path with mostly scrubby brush and few scattered trees with the sun out in full force mocking us for having decided that was a remotely good idea.

By the time we reached the cut-off I was about ready to give up and turn around and had already decided that I was going into the pool the second we got back clothes and all regardless of how many people were there and what they would think. :) Luckily as I stopped in one of the few shaded areas along the path a brisk breeze was blowing which helped cool things off tremendously. And just when I had cooled off enough and worked myself up to finishing the rest of the path come what may we were there.

I am fairly certain I uttered something like "This is IT???" just before collapsing on the shaded picnic table at the top. I was eventually revived by the shade and breeze long enough to sit up and look around and appreciate the scenic views of the Colorado River off in the distance below.

As I chugged part of my water and my face cooled from boiling lobster red to a more normal shade I recovered enough to eventually even stand back up and snap a few pictures from the top.

Almost restored back to my original good spirits by the shady break with the much appreciated breeze we decided to take the rest of the loop back towards the river. Before long, despite the lack of shade it was clear that there was a reason that everyone we passed was heading in the opposite direction choosing to take the gradual sloped path up and the crazy hilly path down. We did eventually make our way back to the trail head and I think were were both relieved to see the sign pointing out the Hyatt Resort exit.

As we took the river path back towards the hotel with Kevin dreaming about the buffet lunch he would devour and me fantasizing about either the pool or an ice cold shower we saw a squirrel - only the second animal we had actually seen along the journey. I had spotted a camera shy armadillo out of the corner of my eye just before we took the path back towards the hotel. Neither paid us terribly much attention seemingly accustomed to the wild pointing and and frequent visitors.

We did eventually make it back to the hotel and I got my nice ice cold shower - the perfect way to top off a 4.5 mile journey in the heat and humidity of a Texas summer. And like icing on the cake I savored my way through a giant, delicious angus burger topped with a thick slice of real cheddar cheese and a basket of perfectly crunchy and salted french fries.

Lost Pines: Day I

We were eager to explore the hotel. As soon as we had our bags all settled in the room we made our way back down to the lobby and headed out onto the back lawn. We followed the droves of people in swimsuits both coming and going to the pool. Or should I say pools.


There was a splash pad for the kids, a small pool for toddlers, and a big sandy beach with direct access to a pool equipped with volleyball nets and even a basketball goal. The first pool was connected next to a beautiful series of waterfalls to the lazy river that circled the entire area and connected each of the pools - an adults only pool with hot tub, and another smaller pool with a giant water slide.


From the pool we wandered through a pavilion and down a steep grassy embankment to the river area below. We saw a small dock and a large grassy area with a disc golf course and more basketball goals.

With map in hand we trekked back up the main lawn past the fire pits and meandered our way over to the hummingbird garden.



Though we only took a quick peek at the hummingbird garden and headed on around the building past the livestock pens where 2 longhorns and 2 horses were kept.



We later learned that the longhorns were 3 year old steers named T-bone and Ribeye. They shared the same father, but different mothers. Each taking after their respective mothers.



As we rounded the building we saw the meeting point for the tractor pulled hay rides. We arrived just in time to see a wagon-load of folks pulling away.


According to the schedule the next ride would depart in 30 minutes. So we headed back to our room and changed into our swim suits thinking we would have plenty of time to change and still make it back in time to catch the next ride. However, in an almost deja-vu like moment we rounded the corner towards the starting point to once again see the tractor lurching out of its resting spot 10 minutes before its scheduled departure time. Practically fuming I vowed that we would make that next ride or else. :) As Kevin took up watch at the meeting spot I borrowed his camera and made my way to the nearby butterfly garden.

Unfortunately the garden was mostly bloomed out and what was likely an area filled with blooms earlier this spring had only a handful of purple flowers and a few sunflowers. And, though not unexpected, not a butterfly in sight.

The brown starkness of the surroundings made the green stalks and bright yellow flowers of the sunflowers stand out all the more. As I wandered out the other end of the garden I took the opportunity to take a few more pictures of the longhorns. Like typical toddlers they weren't terribly cooperative and proved to be most unphotogenic refusing to pose together or look at the camera reminiscent of two other children I know.

I wended my way back to the meeting point and after a short wait saw the tractor return. Two other families had joined us by that point and once we were loaded up the wagon departed once again. 10 minutes early, again. The wagon ride took us down a steep path to the river area again and off onto a dirt track following alongside the Colorado river. We followed along the bumpy rutted path until it came to a turn around at a gate to the LCRA property of McKinney Roughs.

Once our ride was over we made our way to the pool and bee-lined for the nearest tubes and entry into the lazy river. Parts of the river had jets that sped you on your way while other sections moved along at a sedate pace. Trees lining the banks provided welcome overhead shade throughout the meandering path. We made several circuits around the pool before finally deciding to find some dinner before the regularly scheduled evenings activities. We decided on the Firewheel Cafe - one of a handful of restaurants located on the property.

As we entered the hostess took us by the Mexican Buffet - the speciality of the night. After a quick look at the buffet and a glance at the dessert buffet there wasn't much question of what we would be having. The salad bar was filled with fresh ingredients with a home-grown flavor, and the beef fajitas were delicious. And the dessert buffet?

To die for. Loaded with fresh strawberries, marshmallows, along with an enticing variety of other cakes, pies, cobblers and other desserts. And did I mention the chocolate and which chocolate fountains? And the lemon bars? I think I ate at least half a dozen. Thank goodness I had been saving some room... :)

Though what I had really been saving some room for were the smores. As we were wrapping up our dinner the campfires had been lit and a smores station had materialized. As had a large projection screen on the rear lawn.

The smores area was pure madness. Dozens of young children running around with long sticks with flaming or burnt marshmallows waving them wildly here and there. It is amazing no one was set on fire, eyes poked out or any of the other things overprotective parents might worry about. Despite the chaos every was having a great time. Kids and adults alike. We picked up preloaded marshmallow roasting sticks and sat around one of the fires toasting our marshmallows to a light golden brown. Once they were just right we took them back to a prep station where brave employees were taking the marshmallows off your stick with two graham crackers - one side already loaded with hershey's chocolate bars. After which they would trade you a delicious smore for the return of their stick which they would quickly reload and add back to the line of available sticks for folks to pick up. I can't even remember the last time I had a smore, but I don't remember them tasting quite this good...

We grabbed towels and picked out a spot on the lawn to pitch them in front of the projection screen already 20 or 30 minutes into the movie. After a short while Kevin was snoring through the movie. I woke him up a few times before finally losing interest in the movie and deciding it was time to call it a night.

Vacation Day I

That's right - vacation. Without the kids. An entire weekend all to ourselves.

We loaded the car up, kissed the kids goodbye and started on our way. We stopped by Walmart to pick up a few things and headed out of town. We had our first surprise before we had even made it out of Tomball. As we drove down a small country road taking in the scenery the ac blew a wisp of something against my face. At first I thought it was a piece of my hair having escaped the clip and being blown about by the ac. I soon realized that it wasn't coming from me at all, but from Kevin's shoulder. A moment later I realized that it wasn't a piece of my hair, but a loose end of a spider web. No sooner had I proclaimed my find did I see a white albino spider come crawling up over Kevin's shoulder. After a hilarious few minutes where I am frankly quite surprised that we stayed both moving and on the road Kevin managed to squish the spider in a whole wad of napkins where it stayed in his hand tightly clenched until we got to a gas station where its remains were dropped unceremoniously in the trash.

After filling up with gas we got back out on the road for a much less eventful trip out 290 towards Brenham. We had gotten a later start than we anticipated, which fortuitously put us near Brenham around lunchtime. A few years ago on a work trip I had discovered a hidden gem in Brenham - an Italian restaurant called Volare.


The restaurant, once located in the downtown Brenham area, now occupies the first floor of a salt box house a few blocks from downtown. We sat at a cozy table beside a window in what was probably once a front parlor. We watched a lizard dart along a gravel path outside the window while enjoying some light and crispy calamari. Just as we had finished the calamari and the lizard had ventured out of sight our main dishes arrived. I had Penne con Salsiccia - a delightful dish of mushrooms and sausage with a zesty marinara over penne. My mouth is still watering thinking about just how good it was. Kevin enjoyed some stuffed manacotti that he thoroughly enjoyed as well.

Despite being stuffed from lunch the second we had decided to stop in Brenham I had planned to make a stop by the Bluebell Creameries for a little treat before we left. Surprisingly enough I couldn't find Bluebell in the GPS so we had to pop back into the restaurant and ask for directions. It turned out to be just a short drive away.

The creamery was busy with people planning to take a tour. We luckily had come at just the right time and had the ice cream counter practically to ourselves. I sampled a Blackberry cobbler ice cream before passing over my favorite Pralines and cream to settle on a scoop of the brightly colored Kookie Kookie Dough. Kevin decided on a scoop of Cookies and Cream. We savored the fresh ice cream as we wandered through the gift shop before heading back on our way.

We were eagerly looking forward to arriving at our destination - a Hyatt resort property called Lost Pines.

After driving for what seemed like forever through the rolling hills of the scenic entry past overlooks, and equestrian crossings we finally made our way into the horseshoe drive of the front lobby. It looked like a large, stone ranch house.

Our first views inside were of the two story lobby, anchored at each end by large stone fireplaces. Overhead hung a large tree with candelabra like lamps of a chandelier.

Despite the crowd and hustle and bustle of people coming and going with luggage all around we were checked into our room in record time.

Our room was on the 4th, and top floor. It was a beautiful room overlooking a quiet courtyard.