Barbara and Scotts house was great. It is right in the downtown core of Austin so it's central to everything. It is a 2 bedroom apartment on the 7th floor. The building they live in is great because it's built up around a courtyard, in the middle is this great swimming pool. Their is also bbq's set up around the courtyard, so it's a great place to meet people. We had a great time with them. We parked the rv in a parking lot across the street and took full advantage of the space in the apartment, which to us, felt like a mansion. Im not sure Barbara and Scott thought that we would actually stay in their home with them the whole time, but we proved them wrong.!!! I mean, they had laundry and a bedroom with a very comfortable bed, even if we had to share it with the two youngest kids. They had internet and cable, water that you could drink right out of the tap, a bathtub/shower with hot water and great pressure, we felt like we had won the lottery. Barbara proved to be a fabulous cook, im sure we all gained 2lbs in just one week. They were both such wonderful hosts we didn't want to leave. We saw many sights while we were there. We checked out the parliament buildings, Barton Springs, and this great river that was teared like Aqua Azul. We did some shopping for Vegas, and had a couple nights out on the town where we were lucky enough to catch some of Austins local talent. .We also tried to get Teaghens nose peirced. (an early birthday present) but that voyage was unsuccessful because you cannot pierce a child under the age of 16.( I cannot say i was that disapointed about it) The city itself was beautiful. We are so greatful for Barbara's and Scott's gracious hopitality and their patience. It was a great thing that both of them are so wonderful with kids!! Thanks again you guys.
After Austin we headed to Carlsbad New Mexico. We drove straight through and stayed the night at a Walmart. The next day we checked out Carlsbad Caverns. WOW, this place is crazy. You need to google it because i just can't do it justice. The decent into the caverns is 750 feet. There are 2 ways of getting in, you can walk down a switchback paved path all the way down, or you can take an elevator. We decided to split up, Mark and the older girls went down the switchback path and than came up the elevator, me and the little ones and we headed back down the elevator. Now, those of you who know me are probably wondering if i freaked right out, well let me tell you, i was freaking out inside, especially when that elevator door opened. I had to take a moment and decide whether i could really do it.....but i did. It was unbelievable down in the caves, there were stalagtites, and stalagmites everywhere. It was all limestone and it was awe inspiring. I had to part ways with everyone when we came to the shortcut back though, i mean i couldn't escape that voice in my head that kept telling me we were 750ft below the earths surface.!! After the caverns we went to the living forest. This is like a zoo, but all the animals are outside in a natural environment. We headed out on a mile loop to look at all the animals. We saw cougars, elk, prairie dogs and snakes. We saw links and porccupines, badgers and hawks. Lots of different animals, it was great. The day was a hot one so we headed to Bentley Lake(?). It was a state park just back from a lake, we took a swim and had a bite to eat. There were rabbits everywhere, it was pretty cool. In the morning Mark and i went for a 6km run in the desert while Rryla and Teaghen put together a great breakfast of scrambled eggs, beans and toast, thanks girls!! We then took a high summit road that reached heights of 9000ft, on our way to White Sands. What a spectacular sight this was. It was white sand dunes. Amazing, we hiked around abit and took some fabulous pictures. From there we went to camp at Three Rivers, we wanted to investigate the petroglyphs. They were very interesting, unfortunately we lost our pictures from this site. After camping in Three Rivers and listening to the coyotes howl as we fell asleep under a sliver of a moon, we drove to Santa Fe. What a beautiful artsy city it is. Everywhere you look you see art, from the downtown architecture to the many shops we browsed through. We also had a great dinner out at this rooftop pizza place, so nice to not have to cook! Tomorrow we head to Sedona AZ and than onto the Grand Canyon. I am personally counting down the days until i see my girlfriends in Vegas on the 28th, the only one i'll be missing is shortcake.!
This trip has been full of good times, it has been full of adversary too. We have learned alot from the places and the people we have met as well as each other. We have discovered that life has some unforseen things that happen, that you cannot control or predict. In saying that i would like to share with you that our beloved dog K'yoosh died recently. He suddenly got sick and after taking him to a vet he was unable to recover. We have had him cremated and Barbara will bring him home to us in July. We were heartbroken and shocked. We all look at things alittle differently now. It's funny how a situation like that changes you inside forever. Its like the lenses that you've stared at the world through have been tinted ever so slightly. Time will heal us all i know, but i miss that dog, we all do.
I am sending you all K'yoosh kisses on the wind tonight. He loved to give kisses. May you sleep soundly under the clear sky, may the moon shine brightly apon you all.
With love always.
US