I’ll only be in Austin for one more hot minute and while it’s still fresh, here’s the rundown (for posterity)…

Day 0: Land at the airport and be briskly whisked away by my Texas bestie who wastes no time heading to our traditional first night dinner spot. The District Kitchen. I depart from my norm (ordering a cocktail and cheeseburger) and opt for a cocktail and steak instead. Not a bad call as it was delish. 

After that we head home and have a relaxing night and are in bed early. 😊

Day 1(Wednesday): I hide out in the master guest suite until the kids are taken to school and my friend is back at home. She makes me avocado toast for breakfast and also reserves a tennis court for us for 11:am. This is strange to me as we have plenty of open courts in omaha and I’ve never had to make a reservation at a club. 

We volley the ball for about an hour and a half and then enjoy lunch at a cute restaurant where we sit outside. This time I ordered the cheeseburger. Cuz… it’s what I do. 🤷‍♀️

When we arrive home I get cleaned up and go for the ride-along to pick up the kids. 

We leave shortly after arriving home to meet another friend out for a drink and sushi dinner. I can’t recall the name of any of the places we went to, which is definitely part of the “letting go” that was a primary goal of this trip. 

We’re not really out that late and go to bed early (again). I realize this makes me sound old, but at the same time I don’t care because it also makes me happy.

Day 2(Thursday): Spa day. I actually had to set an alarm because Rebecca wanted to go early to our day spa destination to take advantage of the saunas and tubs before our treatment. The spa was a 45 minute drive and we spent about 4 hours there. I had a massage and facial and we walked the grounds and down to the river and also had lunch. It all made me feel really spoiled and pampered and relaxed. It also made me wonder if there’s anything like that in Omaha?? 🤔

On this day we did not have to pick up the kids and basically ordered take-out from a Tex mex place for dinner and sat on her back deck and watched the sunset. It was a little meh, but obvi I can’t complain!! I had less than 6K steps all day which is the lowest in a long while.

Day 3(Friday): There really was no plan except for the fact that we wanted to counter the laziness of Spa day with more activity. 

We had scrambled egg and bacon breakfast tacos and headed out to the Hamilton Pool … which is not actually a pool but a nature location with trails and lake water people sometimes swim in (swimming closed because of Covid). We hiked both trails and it was neat, but mostly good for the conversation as the scenery was nothing special. One of the trails ends at the water with a large rock overhang that had water cascading off of it. That was super neat but we weren’t allowed to explore as most of of that was off limits.

After this we went back home to clean up as we decided to hit another one of our regular spots which is a winery that is right next door to a fantastic Italian restaurant. I ordered my standard pork chop with Brussel sprouts and after, we walked over to the winery and got a glass of wine to enjoy at a table outside. 

Since we ate so late that day, we didn’t really get dinner. Just rummaged the refrigerator for leftovers from the previous meals out. Since I almost  never eat all my food I had like 4 things to choose from. 😜

We spent that evening playing card games with the kids and drinking from the bottles of wine we bought on the way home from our lunch outing. Then once the kids went to bed we settled into chatting about all sorts of different topics. It’s nice to have people who know your history and conversation that’s just effortless. This was probably my latest night up, but I was still in bed by 11:30. Lame by comparison to previous visits, but again.. I don’t care. 

Day 4(Saturday): I slept in and kept to my own space until about 10:am at which time we had a quick breakfast with the kids and played a few more card games. Once the kids were tired of that and went off to do their own things, Rebecca and I got dressed and went for a neighborhood walk. She promised me there was a Hindi temple within walking distance and it was actually super close to her place. We’d been on walks on visits before and had never seen it so it was striking when we rounded the bend and there it was!!

Clearly this was the most visually stimulating adventure of the week as it is where I took the most pictures!

When we got back home I decided it was time to rest and pack a little bit and then didn’t come out of my room again until it was time for lunch. She offered to cook but I opted for leftovers again because I didn’t want the food to go to waste. This was about the time I started feeling a little sad I have to leave soon but also that I’ve seen and done enough and don’t want to interject myself into more of their family time.

Us three adults had one more round of the card game, which I dominated 😜, and then I headed back up the stairs one last time to collect my things for the drive to the airport. 

Sad to be leaving but happy to be headed home. 

All in all it was a wonderful visit and the weather the entire time was amazing. Clear skies, little to no wind (except on day one when our tennis was happening), and no precipitation. Temps were between 50 and 70 the entire time.

It’s the perfect time of the season to visit. Not sure when I’ll be back after writing this, I hope I can make it happen more regularly like I used to now that the pandemic is (mostly) behind us.

***

My goals this trip were to, as I said, let go, but also relax, catch up with a good friend, and do enough thinking and recharging to come home with a clear head and fresh perspective on life. I believe I have done that and am ready to be home, back in my own space.

Perfect timing since the plane just touched down in Houston and I have only one more flight to go to get there. 

Peace and Love from Texas, 

~Miss SugarCookie