Friday, April 23, 2021

The Big Trip Part 2

 After heading south from Carlsbad we stopped at Stonehenge 2 on our way to San Antonio.


It's about 2/3 the size of the original

We stayed at a really nice KOA in the middle of San Antonio.  The only reason you knew you were in the city was traffic noise.  We had some time in the afternoon so we went on a small train ride and Zane got to do some amusement park rides.

Riding the Train

Train Ride

Boat Ride

Even Pop fit on the ride

Zane and Pop in the hammocks

The campground had these peddle scooters for rent

Zane could just barely peddle on his own

The next morning we toured the Alamo.  This was something that Casey had always wanted to do.  It was great to learn about the history and walk through the building.

Zane's favorite part was the Koi, they were huge

The fence around the Mission

Zane and Casey in front of the Alamo

After the Alamo we headed south again to Kingsville, Texas.  This was our final destination for the trip.  My friend Kara(aka Phoenix from Cascades) lives here.  We got to spend four days with her and see the local sights. The first day we went to the Aransas Wildlife Refuge.  It was a bit cold and windy but we saw lots of birds, javelina and an alligator.

We found alligator tracks

Alligator

Javelina

Hiking one of the trails

From there we headed south along the coast and got to ride a really fun ferry to Port Aransas.  We stopped at a playground for a break and were watching the dolphins in the water. I even got a picture of one when I was actually taking a picture of a pelican.

Dolphin and Pelican


We continued along the Gulf of Mexico and Zane really wanted to play in the water.  It was in the low 60s with a very stiff wind.  But he played for about half an hour while us adults shivered.

Zane playing in the Gulf

A heron surrounded by cattle egrets


The next day was very hot and sunny so we headed to Loyola Beach for the afternoon.  Kara had a kayak that we took turns riding in and Zane got to play in the water and sand.

Casey and Zane in the Kayak

Kara and Zane


Digging in the sand

Casey and Zane

We spent another day taking a tour of the King Ranch.  Zane had been waiting the whole trip to see Texas Longhorns.

Javelinas on the ranch

King Ranch Barn

Another King Ranch Barn

Zane with Panda and Pancho

The biggest Longhorn on the King Ranch


After our fun time in Kingsville, it was time to head back to my parents house for Easter.  It was a long drive and the first day held some excitement.  We had a tire blow out on the tent trailer on the freeway and in downtown El Paso, the door latch for the tent trailer fell off.  So Casey did a great job with some duct tape and bungee cords to get us back to Arizona.  Zane had a great time finding Easter eggs among the cactus.  We also tried out Confetti Eggs.  These are huge in Texas, everywhere we went we saw them for sale.  They are real eggs that have had the insides cleaned out and then filled with confetti and you are supposed to smash them on each other.

Eggs in the cactus

Confetti eggs

Confetti on Zane

Nana, Grandpa and Zane with Nip and Gus

More eggs in the cactus

Confetti on Grandpa


Making Applesauce with Grandpa for Easter Dinner


After Easter we headed home.  Over all it was a great trip and we made many memories.