Chelsey came to visit during her spring break at the end of February. She came in late around midnight. Being the night owl I am, I volunteered to pick her up. That was also my first drive to the airport, venturing out of my comfort zone of three major roads. Technically, the airport is on one of my roads. On my trip, I learned that short term parking is called ‘close in’ parking. I also thought I saw a lemur in the parking lot. Turns out it was a cat.
On Chelsey’s first day, we brought her to the Zilker Botanical Gardens so she could shed the feeling of Chicago winter and enjoy some sun, green, and flowers…and a dinosaur. We had dinner at Rudy’s BBQ, which is marketed as the ‘worst BBQ in Texas’ – which is almost believable since they’re attached to gas stations. The 45 minute wait in line begs to differ. Loran and Chelsey tackled the line while the girls and I staked claim to a table. Unfortunately, Ella slid off the back of her seat and hit her head on a rock wall behind us. She got a little goose egg, but rallied on to eat half a loaf of bread and even enjoyed her BBQ. Turns out, Rudy’s BBQ is the best I’ve never had. Granted, as a Northern Girl, that doesn’t mean much. But, it’s amazing, and I’ve had other Southern BBQ.
We took Chelsey to the top of Mount Bonnell so she could enjoy the view. Our sassy little hiker wanted to be held the entire time. Too bad because had we hiked further up, we would have also seen the city skyline. This trip took me way off my three road comfort zone.
Ella was surprised after school with a trip to Hey Cupcake!, a food trailer featuring, you guessed it, cupcakes! Or, as Lily says, “tuptakes”. We ordered three ‘Loves’, one ‘Double Chocolate’ and a ‘Michael Jackson’ to-go for Loran. The cupcakes were massive, and filling. We probably all could have shared our desserts. Except Ella. Ella devoured her entire cupcake and asked if we could order another. I’m hoping she’s about to have a growth spurt given the amount of food she’s been eating, if she doesn’t she’ll be topping the charts.
After our tuptake adventure, we stopped at the Oasis to show off our dried up “lake” – Lily was in a cupcake induced coma, but Ella had plenty of energy to dance!
Chelsey and I took quite a few hikes while the girls were at school. Turns out, the trails around here are pretty serious. Definitely not little-girl friendly. A couple of times we got turned around and had to consult the maps on my phone, which Chelsey was sure to make fun of me about. One trail asked that you sign in and out so they know who is on the trail in case of weather, fire, or other calamity. We didn’t sign in, thinking it was a little overboard. Halfway through the hike, we were wishing we had signed in so they could find our bodies. But, we rallied on and enjoyed a nice bench at the top of a pretty serious hill built for an Eagle Scout project. God bless the Boy Scouts.
Chelsey stayed on our comfy guest couch. It’s also our regular couch. Almost every morning she was joined by at least one girl, and sometimes a giant stuffed bear.
There were quite a few trips to Sweetwater to creep on the house, enjoy sunsets, and visit all of the other model homes. Chelsey and I had fun critiquing the other houses. A few were nice, one was completely over the top ostentatious, and some were just terrible layouts. It was pretty entertaining.
South Congress was on our to-do list. The entire family enjoyed strolling up and down SoCo, with a couple of stops. Allans Boots was mandatory and Chelsey is now the proud owner of some official boots. One step closer to becoming a Texan. After boot shopping, we had some Mexican food at Guero’s. Another night, we stopped at the girls’ favorite, Amy’s Ice Creams for some delectable treats – including Ella’s favorite – Bear Cave! Ice cream with a hallowed-out cave stuffed with gummy bears and covered in sprinkles!
Chelsey’s last night was rather low-key. It was our Amy’s night and then we walked over to the fire pit. You know, the one outside of Whole Foods, because that isn’t completely weird at all. However, we enjoy our upscale strip mall that features fountains and fire pits. While we sat around the fire pit, we enjoyed a musician playing on a nearby restaurant’s patio. A fun night. Not a bad way to spend March 1. After the girls were in bed, Chelsey started packing and we both shared a good cry over her departure. Loran kept a wide berth. We’d had such a fun week. Chelsey’s visit forced me to explore outside of my three road comfort zone, see sights, show off my new town, and I loved having my sister around to laugh with, not to mention the fun that the girls had with Aunt Chelsey. In fact, there is a pretty good chance that we’ve sold Chelsey on Austin. Perhaps come next December, Austin will have another new resident! One who specials in OT and awesomeness.
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