Tiffany flew to the Houston area to visit family over a long weekend.
Tiffany flew to Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport and spent a weekend in Dallas visiting friends. While there, she walked part of the Katy Trail along Turtle Creek and visited Lakeside Park and Turtle Creek Park (one of the oldest parks in Dallas). She enjoyed a tapas meal at Café Madrid and a warm pretzel croissant at the Village Baking Co. She also sampled some Bonbons at Kate Weiser Chocolates in the Trinity Groves ArtPark. Finally, she walked across the Ronald Kirk Pedestrian Bridge over the Trinity River to take in the evening views of downtown Dallas.
Over a long weekend we flew to San Antonio and drove west to Fort Davis, where we visited Fort Davis National Historic Site. At the site, we hiked through the hills and toured a few of the fort buildings, including the hospital. After spending a night in Alpine and enjoying a meal at Come and Take It BBQ, we drove south to Big Bend National Park.
In the park, we hiked into Santa Elena Canyon along the Rio Grande River, hiked the Boquillas Canyon Trail across from the small Mexican village of Boquillas del Carmen, drove several scenic drives, toured the fossil discovery building, avoided many scorpions, and spent a night at the Chisos Mountains Lodge.
The final day of the trip we drove to Amistad National Recreation Area near Del Rio before returning to San Antonio for our flight home.
We flew to Texas for a weekend to visit a friend. While there, we toured the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library in College Station. We also visited the Waco Mammoth National Monument and Magnolia Market in Waco. Finally, we enjoyed a nice dinner at Hard Eight BBQ in Dallas.
Tiffany traveled to San Antonio to attend a conference, then we drove to Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park where we toured the Texas White House. We also drove to Austin where we toured the LBJ Presidential Library and saw the Texas State Capitol. Finally, we drove to Corpus Christi where we attended mass at the Corpus Christi Cathedral, saw the Selena Memorial, and visited Padre Island National Seashore.
On two different weekends in February, we flew to both Dallas and Houston before driving east out of the state. We also visited Texarkana and Beaumont. Unfortunately, we did not have time to do any activities on these visits.
We drove to Guadalupe Mountains National Park for some hiking, then drove west to El Paso where we visited Chamizal National Memorial on the Mexico border.
Benjamin flew to Austin to attend a conference. While there, he visited the Texas State Capitol Building, toured the Lyndon Johnson Presidential Library & Museum, walked through the University of Texas campus, and spent some time hiking along the Colorado River. He also enjoyed some great Texas BBQ at Iron Works BBQ.
We flew to Dallas for Tiffany to attend an interview. While there, we were treated to dinner at Blue Mesa, toured the George W. Bush Presidential Library & Museum, and toured the Sixth Floor Museum where President Kennedy was assassinated. We also participated in a behind-the-scenes tour of AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys football team.
We traveled to San Antonio for Tiffany to attend an interview. While in the city, we took a River Walk boat cruise with Rio San Antonio, rode to the top of the Tower of the Americas, and ate two good meals at the Buckhorn Saloon and Maria Mia Mexican Bistro. We also toured The Alamo and drove to each of the missions that make up the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park. The mission churches are also sites on the El Camino Real de Los Tejas National Historic Trail.
We flew to Houston for Tiffany to take a medical exam. While there, we visited the Downtown Aquarium, Texas Medical District, and Memorial City Mall. We also toured Space Center Houston and the NASA Johnson Space Center on their 50th anniversary, however the United States Government was experiencing a 'shutdown', so we were not able to see and do as much as we had hoped. On the tour we saw a Saturn V rocket, Mission Control, the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility, as well as some moon rocks, and a replica of the Space Shuttle.
We enjoyed some great Tex-Mex at Guadalajara Hacienda and had our first ever taste of Whataburger. We also drove to Galveston Island for a night where we visited the Historic Pleasure Pier, saw the ocean, and enjoyed some fresh seafood at Fish Tales restaurant.
We drove along Route 66 through the panhandle of Texas on a summer road trip. Spending the night in Amarillo, we had an incredible meal at the Big Texan Steak Ranch where we witnessed someone succeed at the 72 oz. Steak Challenge. We also drove by the Giant Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ Ministries near the town of Groom.