We resumed our trip right after the new year on the Western Coast of Florida in Clearwater, making our way to the Emerald Coast in the Panhandle. The area is full of beautiful white beaches, pristine water, and sunshine. We stopped periodically to take in the views and relax in the sand.
From there, we made our way across the southern US until arriving in Texas. Texas was full of family time with my parents who snowbird on Lake Livingston as well as my sister and her family who live in Cypress outside of Houston. Family time is always the best, because normally we get to spend very little one on one time with family. It was nice to have so much dedicated time with family and spend one on one time with my nieces and nephew who I see so very little.
We spent some time outside San Antonio with Todd and Mary Yoho. I worked for Todd many years ago at Owens Corning in Waxahachie Texas. He and Mary were kind enough to not only put us up, but make us an amazing vegan gluten free feast. So thoughtful, and nice to see them both again.
We hit some cities along the way….New Orleans, Austin, and San Antonio. Lots of walking, sunshine, and taking in the sites.
Also took some time to get in some steps at Hamilton Pool Preserve and Enchanted Rock.
A quick stop to quirky Luckenbach in Fredericksburg, Texas for some daily live music; where “everybody is somebody”, established in 1849 with a population of 3. Nice and funky!
The pinnacle of our outdoor adventuring was a trip back to Big Bend National Park. Finally, mountains! We had some epic hikes (Lost Mine, Window View and Santa Elena Canyon), and were able to canoe the Rio Grande with time on the Mexico side, and took in some amazing sunset and moon shots. Big Bend is tough to get to, but an amazing place to be. And believe it or not, we had some snow to wake up to this morning!
Our trip will continue moving across the Southern US with stops in Arizona and California, visiting some our favorite places from last year.
Adventure on!