Day #9: Swimmin’ Hole!

One of the items on my kids’ bucket list (yes, they do have one) is to some day swim in a real swimming hole.  Well, Austin is RIFE with them, and so I had decided today would be the day they could check that one off!

We started the day rather leisurely.  It took awhile for all of us (and by all of us, I mean Steve, Pete, Emily and me) to get up and moving.  We realized that we have this wonderful kitchen with nothing in it.  So, our first stop was to Whole Foods (their flagship store).  We have always been a big fan of Whole Foods, and this store was MIND NUMBING in it’s size and offerings!  I really can’t believe just how big this store is.  I know we would have purchased more if we were planning on cooking dinner here, but there are so many wonderful places in Austin to eat, I just didn’t think we would.

So, we ended up buying breakfast items (coffee, eggs, muffins), snacks (olives, chips and salsa, cherries) and some other fun items (a Bento Box lunchbox for Emily for next year, and AMAZING smelling bulk soaps for all of us!) 

After an hour in the store, we checked out, were way to easily amazed at the down walkway which locked our cart on without letting it roll down the ramp, and were back home quickly.   As it was already going on 11am, we decided on cereal today, saving the egg meal for tomorrow.  We got Andy moving, had cereal, got into swimsuits and were on our way by noon.

Our first stop was Barton Springs.  It’s located right downtown, off of Lady Bird Lake.  We parked, got our stuff and were headed to the entrance when someone pulled up alongside us and told us that the Springs had been closed for cleaning…that it would open again at 7pm (a natural spring closed for cleaning...that was a new one!)  Well, that would never do.  I immediately turned to my phone to research another option.

I found a place called Krause Springs, located about 45 minutes outside Austin.  While it was quite a drive, it was worth it!  We found a place that had a natural spring running into a man-made pool.  From there, the pool created a waterfall that fell into a lower area that was a natural swimming hole.   There were a lot of people there, but they were a lot of fun.  Many people had rafts or floats, and a lot of them were standing in the water with beers.  There was a cooler with built-in speakers blasting music, but everyone seemed really nice.

There was a rope swing, and when Andy got up there, the group with the music and beers started cheering for him.  When it was Emily’s turn, she was really scared to go, so they started chanting to encourage her to go in.  She finally did.  See below to view the photo.  Her entry into the water wasn’t pretty. 

Peter ended up borrowing a swim noodle from someone, and was able to swim around a bit with us.  Andy, Emily and Pete ended up near a water cave behind the waterfall.  It was really pretty.  As I was swimming over to join them, I noticed another couple pointing something out to Emily.  All of a sudden, that girl was almost running on top of the water.  She couldn’t get out fast enough!  Peter was right behind her.  When I finally caught up to them, she told me that Andy had gone into the cave and noticed a huge spider nest.  Just at that moment, the couple had pointed out a spider in the water, and Em said it stretched out its legs and was about the size of a softball.  I think I would have run across the top of the water too!

After that, they were pretty much done.  Pete wanted to stay longer, but there was no getting Em back in that water.  It was 3, and we had only had breakfast, so we decided we’d better get going.  We made our way back to the upper level where the man-made pool was, and they had drained it for cleaning.  There was still a spring feeding it, and it had a sloped bottom, so the kids took the opportunity to use it as a water slide.  After a few slides, we were finally done and ready to head out.

Steve realized we weren’t too far from a great barbeque place he had heard about called the Salt Lick, and we decided to go!  We stopped for money (it was a cash-only place), and soon found ourselves at an amazing all-you-can-eat barbeque restaurant.  We were served sausage, brisket, pork ribs, beans, cole slaw, potato salad, bread, jalapenos, pickles and onions.  Seeing as how we’d only had breakfast, and it was now 5pm, we really ate our money’s worth!  I think we had seconds, thirds and fourths.

When he asked if we wanted dessert, there was no way…I wanted it…but there was just no way.  We rolled out of the restaurant and headed back to the condo.  There we were able to shower off the day.  After we were clean and dressed, we headed out:  Andy to hang with his Rooster Teeth friends, and Steve, Em, Pete and I to go visit my friend Susan (whom I have known since 1990).  It was great catching up with her, and her sweet dogs Cody and Gromit (poor Gromit was in the cone of shame, which was sad and hilarious all at the same time)

We visited and before we knew it, it was almost 11!  So, we headed back to the condo and to bed.  Another leisurely morning awaits us tomorrow.  I’m excited for my cage-free eggs and organic maple bacon in the morning!