Summer Vacation(s)

You read that right...vacations. There were two of them...one to South Texas in June/July and one to Wisconsin in August. Needless to say, we are broke and out of time...for now. Don't worry, there will still be plenty of adventures and fun before our next vacation...whenever that may be.

South Texas

We flew to South Texas this time and our flights were fairly uneventful and enjoyable. We only had a significant layover in Houston on our way home, but we took advantage of sampling some great local craft beer at the airport! (I know you're completely surprised, right?) Then our plane had to go back to the terminal to be "rebooted." No big deal, I guess. We made it home safely.

Here are the highlights of the amazing things we did while in South Texas...

Breweries and a Distillery

We made a return visit to Brewsome in McAllen, but unfortunately we didn't have the same amazing beer experience as we did during Spring Break earlier in the year. Nonetheless, we enjoyed ourselves in the mist of the overhead sprinklers.

We had wanted to check out 5x5 Brewing during Spring Break, but they weren't open while we were there. Boy, are we glad we got to connect with them this trip! This is a brewery owned and operated by Veterans and they know how to brew beer. It was so good that we made a return trip while we were there this time around and we will be going back! They had amazing live music the second night we went.

We had seen a distillery on our way to South Padre Island and decided to stop for a bite to eat and check it out. Great food and spirits that came with an interesting story...and a kid from Iowa working there. It's a small world. 

The distiller had won a distillery competition, and we watched the winning episode while we dined. Overall, a cool experience.

The Food

The Beach!We discovered a sandbar a way off the water's edge and yes, we took our chairs out and sat in the middle of the sandbar off the coast. I'm sure others thought we were weird, but we thought it was pretty amazing!

SpaceX

We follow a group on Facebook, but absolutely love seeing the activity at SpaceX in person. It is phenomenal to see all the changes in person, up close!

Mexico

One of our highlights is visiting Nuevo Progresso, just over the border for some of the best mango margaritas at Ground Zero Bar!

Headed home

We checked off a bucket list item on the way home. Ronda has always wanted to fly at night on the 4th of July to see fireworks from the sky. While it wasn't nearly as impressive as one would think (because you are SO far above them), it was cool to see the little puffs of color from the air.

Wisconsin

We got to spend a week at cabins in Chetek with Lars' family in early August. It was so much fun!

Of course, there was brewery exploring along the way...

And, the art teacher in Ronda had to pack an art store full of supplies and activities for the kids to do. 

There was also boating and fishing and campfires...

We had a lovely dinner out with the whole family one night.

So here's to a great summer and back to work and school for us. Stay tuned for more adventures, because you know there will be some!