4th of July Roadtrip

We were in the middle of unpacking the boxes which had just arrived at our new house around July 4th this year. We didn’t want to make a big trip so we just hopped in the car in the direction I chose. The first small town we passed was deserted, a common experience for us on the holiday. And just about the time when we were confident that this would be the year it wouldn’t work, we saw a sign for a frontier museum in Bandera. It was open and happening. The nice lady offered Anna a scavenger hunt and we looked all around at the interesting and ecclectic collection of items. We saw valentines and clothes from the 19th century. We saw saddles and even a birthing chair. The oddest item was a preserved two headed lamb.

Bandera would have been a fun place to stop for lunch; their bank looks like it is from an old western town, facade and all. And the town had a few places to play in their local creek. But we ate our packed lunch in the Hill Country State Natural Area. There were some picnic tables by the main building. There were a lot of people out riding their horses on the lovely trails there. I think it could be a fun place to camp once the heat of summer is gone.

We drove off to let Anna nap after we ate and ended up in Fredricksburg. It is an old German town about an hour and a half north of our home. The town’s main street is filled with adorable shops that we perused and there were museums to explore but we were tuckered out. Anna ended up hanging out on the playground in the town square for a while before heading home. It was a simple day but complete just how we like it.

Our poor car had a hard time fighting the Texas heat. We spent most of the summer on morning outings then hiding at home in the hot afternoons, when Anna was napping anyway. But the 5th of July we joined some friends at our local wave pool for some swimming time to cool off.

After sunset our neighborhood lit up with fireworks. At least two of our touching neighbors were shooting them off and since we are at the top of a hill we could see the explosions all through our little valley. It was great. Anna loved watching them.