Texas Day 3: Gruene, pronounced Green

With Mark and the kids in school on Friday and Mark at his JROTC event all day Saturday, Kyler and I had enjoyed our first two days travelling to the big cities to take it all in. But we planned to spend Sunday with Mark and Alli and the kids, and they promised a good time showing us around New Braufels. First we hit up Natural Bridge Caverns, located right there in New Braunfels.

There was a playground right off the parking lot, so first we all had to climb on the orange dinosaurs for photo ops. We all acted like none of us had ever seen an orange dinosaur before...

Then off to the caverns. Mark was decked out with his fanny pack and hiking boots. Kyler joked that it looked like he was ready for anything, to Mark's reply of always being prepared.

Here is our tour guide in red. Kyler and I agreed that if anything happened, we were sticking with Mark.

You can see the 'natural bridge'. We were actually standing in a sink hole. The caves had formed below the earth's surface until the surface collapsed, all but this tiny strip of land...alas, the natural bridge.

Kyler and Blaisey.

Pictures from inside the cave.

There's Mark and Scout.

My eyes look so weird in this picture since my pupils were huge in the dark. The ceiling was constantly dripping with water.

Despite the term cave, it was a very spacious strip of underground rooms.

Smile Scout!

Pool of water.

Back out on top. View of the naturnal bridge from above. We were loving the blue skies and green grass.

After the caves, we headed home for lunch and naps for all before finishing the hometown tour. However, Scouty wasn't waiting around to get home before she napped. So deperate times turned to desperate measures. Mark rolled her window down so the wind was blowing right in her face, while Blaise was behind her pecking her on the heading screaming Scooooooooooooooouuuuuutttt! Stay awake, Scoooooooooouuuuuuuttt. I told Kyler not to get any ideas. I love a good snooze in the car.

After we all had our naps, we headed to Gruene, pronounced Green. We took the scenic route and travelled along a river...I can't remember the name. Guadalupe. Comal. San Antonio. Who knows.

But we found this super cool house on the riverside. Ethan counted seven stories.

We all debated if there were stairs or an elevator.

Once we got into Green Gruene, Alli and I hit up a couple of antique stores while Kyler entertained the kids...I mean, the kids entertained Kyler.

We toured the historic town for a bit.

Oh, I guess we did get more than one picture together on the trip.

I love this water tower.

The House Family.

Then we walked across the street towards the restaurant we ate at for supper.

A little bed and breakfast.

Old water pump.

Beautiful sunset.

We ate outside on the deck, overlooking a beautiful valley at sunset.

Inside the restaurant. Beautiful. Old. Cozy.

Then we headed to the general store for some ice cream. We also saw some interesting souvenirs.

Hillbilly Brief Case.

I passed on the briefs and wind chimes and opted for some mint chocolate fudge. MMM! Tasted like an Andes mint. Seeing as how it was a school night and all, we headed back to the house after our full day of sightseeing. Thanks Mark and Alli for a wonderful tour of your new town!