We Made It!

Yesterday morning, Tate and I left San Antonio for Combes, TX (where we will be staying for a while). Here is a picture of our dash and windshield area. We just love cords.

We got here about 1:30 yesterday and tried to get settled in as much as we could. The church here allows us to stay on their property which is so nice. We are staying in their missions apartment with access to a kitchen and everything we need. It works out really good. Once I get our room in good shape, I will post pictures!

Last night, we played at Sunshine RV Park in McAllen, TX. There was just under 100 people there. There was even a couple there from Lebanon! Small world. Tate played dobro for the first time and did a great job! I was so excited about getting to play my keyboard, but unfortunately, I left the bag with all my cords back at our room. Tate and I sang a new song last night, which went pretty well.

 

Thankfully, we have the day off today. We needed a day to catch up and get our things organized. This afternoon, Tate and I went grocery shopping at H-E-B. I love it! Their prices are pretty good, and they have 2 rows of natural stuff and herbs. They even have containers with stuff to make your own granola. It's great!

And..it even looks cool on the outside. :)

 

The Texas weather is definitely nice. I think we are going to try to hit the beach sometime next week. I like staying here temporarily, but my home will always be in the Ozarks :)

 

Tomorrow evening, we have another gig at South Padre Island and then we will get to watch fireworks over the ocean. It sounds really neat!

 

Texas Travels - Day 2

This morning, Tate and I ate a good breakfast at our hotel and headed to the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum. It was so cool! We watched a 25 minute video inside the museum on how the Rangers were first established. I'm so glad we took time out of our day to go.

Former badge designs of the Rangers

Ranger spurs..Different type of spurs for different level of ranks.

This is believed to be the Lone Ranger's real mask!

After leaving Waco, we headed south for San Antonio. Upon arriving at our hotel, we were welcomed with warm cookies. They were SO good!

We are staying right across the road from the San Antonio Police Department. I thought this was really cool when we first got here. I didn't realize they would be responding with their sirens on throughout the night. Oh well..

Later this afternoon, we took the City transport trolley to the River Walk. It was so pretty! It was very crowded, but I really enjoyed just walking around the river. We walked up to the mall, but didn't buy anything. The Christmas lights come on around the river at night, but we didn't feel like fighting the mob.

The cathedral, about 2 blocks away from the Alamo

The Alamo! We were not able to take pictures inside, but I was really glad we were able to go.

Texas style Christmas tree, directly across from the Alamo

This is our hotel we are staying in tonight. We are on the 5th floor..I really don't like elevators!

Tomorrow, we head to Combes, Texas..where we will be staying for the next couple of months. We have about a 4 1/2 hour drive tomorrow, and we play tomorrow evening. Hopefully we can get a fairly early start tomorrow.

Texas Travels

Tate and I decided to leave Monday evening instead of waiting till Tuesday. I really didn't want to leave home early, but we knew it made the most sense.  Monday evening, we made it to Broken Arrow, Oklahoma and stayed at SpringHill Suites. It was so nice and the room was huge! I have had super good luck in getting hotels by bidding on Priceline. On average, I save about 40% on the regular Priceline price. 

We ate breakfast there...and enjoyed the waffle maker :)

We left the Tulsa area, and headed south. We stopped in Durant, Oklahoma for lunch at Subway. Right after crossing into Texas, traffic really started picking up.

The Texas stars everywhere are so cool.

We were really brave today and decided to take an adventure into downtown Dallas. We came into town about 1:30, thankfully. I can't imagine how the traffic must be at rush hour. The best part was, I got to drive! I actually wanted to..just so I could say I did. We stopped at one of the few American Girl stores. Some lucky little sister may be receiving a surprise in the mail soon :)

In the same shopping center, was the Dallas Galleria mall. It was huge and completely packed. People were going crazy with buying after Christmas sale items. Thankfully, we didn't stay there very long. It was interesting to see a real Louis Vuitton and Tiffany & Co. store, though.

After getting out of the awful traffic, we made it to Waco about 5:45 this evening. We are staying in a Clarion hotel in Waco tonight, just east of Baylor University campus.

Tomorrow morning, we head to San Antonio to spend the day and night there.

This trip has been pretty relaxing. It's much easier to travel at a slower pace. Back on the road tomorrow!

Merry Christmas Eve!

Merry Christmas Eve to everyone!

Tate and I are enjoying spending our first Christmas together being married! We have been to 4 "Christmases" and we still have 2 to go. It's been fun spending time with each others families.

This morning, we opened presents with my immediate family here at home. We both got some really great stuff. My little sister, Kori ,got a Canon Rebel camera that she has been wanting for a long time. For 10 years old, she in an awesome photographer. She took a few pictures of some of my favorite gifts from today.

 This is a photobook of pictures from the wedding. It is so cool!

 TimeBalm Natural Carrot Eye Makeup Remover

Last night, we did a gift exchange at my grandma's house. I ended up getting the gift that my mom brought..which I was very glad of! Bath & Body Works "Be Enchanted" Set.

Tuesday morning, Tate and I leave for South Texas. We will spend the winter there. Thankfully, my parents will be coming to see us at the end of January, and I hope to fly home sometime in March.

One the way down, we will stay the night in Waco, TX. Wednesday morning, we will drive to San Antonio and spend the day and night there. Staying an extra night was another gift from my parents. We are staying in a very nice hotel just a couple blocks from the River Walk.  I'm so excited! I have always heard how pretty it was there, but never got the chance to see it.

Since my last blog post (I think), we do have our CD available.  We do not have it available on iTunes yet, but it will be soon! Let us know if you are interested in purchasing one.

Mexico to Albuquerque

These last few days have been pretty busy for us. Monday, we went to Palomas, Mexico. We parked our car right outside the border and walked in. I had always heard about the smell of Mexico, but had never experienced it myself. It is not very pleasant. We went to the Pink Store, which is just a few yards into the country. It's very "touristy" with lots of souvenir type stuff inside. I felt much safer once we got into the building! We ate lunch there and were serenaded by their Mariachi band..it was pretty cool.   

They were a happy bunch :)

 Inside the Pink Store..painted ceramic sinks..interesting.

Tony had a great time in Mexico.

Thursday, Tate, Jase, and I went to Rockhound State Park and climbed a mountain. It was really great weather!

Jase with a Yucca plant (before)

 Tate! :)

Jase with a yucca plant (after)

 We could see for miles. It was so cool!

 Friday, we headed to Truth or Consequences, NM again to play another gig. On the way, we stopped in Hatch, NM (the chili capital of the world)

Today we ate at this really cool restaurant, but we can't remember the name! It was great, the best chimichanga I've ever had.

We play tomorrow at a Baptist church here in Albuquerque. We are staying in their missions apartment tonight and tomorrow night.
I have really enjoyed seeing the new scenery and enjoying the mountains, but I'm ready to get back to the Ozarks!