Wait. What is that? Do you hear it? It’s silence. Complete and utter silence!!! Ya’ll, a couple of weeks ago, the mother in law and the boy took a trip to visit her other son and his wife for a week and that ish was glorious!!! There were no “mom can I have this?” or “mom can I do that” or even “I went dancing today down south”. There was nothing!! Although I did miss the random I love yous from the little person.

So while they were frolicking in Maryland, we frolicked in Austin. I still had to work but we still managed to hang out, go out to eat, run errands, veg in front of the TV and even had time for the hubs to make a quick trip to Houston to see my dad which I truly appreciated. My dad hasn’t quite been himself since his retirement and the progression of his disease (Huntingtons). But my husband always has a way of getting him to open up, share quite a few laughs and generally lighten up his day. The highlight of our week was a trip to one of Austin’s gems (well the surrounding area actually), Hamilton Pool Preserve.

Now if you're not familiar with this magical place, you need to get acquainted ASAP. Y'all it's absolutely gorgeous. Because of the lush natural vegetation and a variety of birds that call it home, you feel as if you're in a little lagoon tucked away on an island. With the sea foam green of the water, fish swimming around you and even a waterfall it's not hard to see why it's a local and tourist favorite.

On the way there, we made a quick detour and stopped by Mansfield Dam for a look annnnnnnd a pic.

Shortly after arriving, I noticed a surprising number of kids there with their moms, some who clearly had planned this day together because I witnessed meetups happen two or three times. I thought either they're homeschooled or these moms are being some of the coolest by letting their kids play hooky and for a good reason I might add. I mean look at this place!

After exploring our surroundings the hubs took a swim while I dove back into Luvvie Ajayi’s ‘I'm Judging You’ (go get it and get your entire life). You see the way my swimming skills and cardio output is set up I decided to stay close to the shore to keep from being an embarrassment to him and myself. Plus I was hungry sooooo…..

The hubs did join me for lunch but then went and perched himself under the damn cave and I was like yo, um I don't think I'm gonna be able to do it. Like nah...but peer pressure. He called me a pansy sooooo I doggy paddled my ¾ of the way to where he was sitting and he kind of pushed, ok literally pushed me the rest of the way. So sad.

As we chilled I began contemplating my life and trying to figure out how I was going to make my way back to solid ground. I prayed to Jesus to fix it because I saw no options to get back without trying to climb big ass rocks that had absolutely no place to put a foot or hand. Le sigh….I sucked it up, had him swim out first, tucked my shades in my hair and did the sorriest freestyle back to where my feet could touch the bottom. But I made it!! Lord Jesus I made it!!

Before we left (there is a time limit based on morning or afternoon reservations) we had to conclude our trip with a mini photo shoot and a few selfies.

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful and it was glorious! We ate pizza, ran a quick errand and then spent the rest of the afternoon AND the night watching episodes of the Walking Dead and Stranger Things posted up on the couch uninterrupted. Like I said, glorious.

While we probably won’t get back there again before the season ends, it will definitely be on the list to take our little person. In the meantime, we’re going to try to make it to Jacob’s Well before it gets cold. Its another local gem. I'll let you look that one up yourself.

Until next time,

Amber

An Austin Staycation: Hamilton Pool Preserve