Great things about the Texas Hill Country

Texas makes my heart happy. 

As a surgical technologist, I have had the opportunity to take on jobs across the country as a traveler, typically for three months at a time. My very first travel assignment that I took from October 2013 to January 2014 was to the hill country of Texas. The hospital was then located in Llano, Texas. I liked the experience of working in Llano, and enjoyed the people I worked with very much. After several travel assignments to new locations and the pleasure of meeting so many new people, I was ready for something familiar and comfortable and opted to go back to Texas. This time, the hospital moved to a brand new building, 30 minutes away. Here I will discuss some of my favorite things about my time in the Texas Hill Country. 

Flowers

On my first assignment to Llano, when I told my new friend Laura that I would be leaving in January she said, "Oh, you'll miss the bluebonnets- they are so awesome!" I wasn't too concerned as I had seen spring flowers before. This time around, I saw the bluebonnets and oh my wow, they were truly a sight to behold. We're not talking about a few flowers here and there that you have to search far and wide for. They are EVERYWHERE in great abundance in the hill country. The stuck around for a good 6-8 weeks and as they were fading, new wildflowers from every color of the rainbow sprung up in their place. It was the kind of beauty that either you have to see in person or experience through the lenses of great photographers. 

H-E-B   

H-E-B is an acronym short for the founder, Herbert E. Butts (I kid you not), and is the grocery store monopoly exisiting in Texas. It's great, and there are plenty of them. 

Barton Springs Pool

In Austin there is a pool kind of like Glenwood Hot Springs pool except it is twice as long at 900 feet and much, much colder. It has an average chilling temp of 68-70 degrees. The clarity is awesome, and the bottom of this pool is all natural. On one exceptionally warm day in February I thought it would be pretty awesome to go for a swim. I felt confident as I watched others jump in and swim laps back and forth. I dove in and was shocked to the bone at it's cold unwelcoming hug and got out as fast as I humanly could. I also forgot a towel, so drying off after a shower was tricky. I bet its more fun when its ungodly hot outside in the summer months. 

Hamilton Pool, near Bee Cave

My biggest regret is that when I visited Hamilton Pool, I did not bring my swim suit. I was a bit scared off by the freezing cold waters of Barton Creek Pool to trust that I wouldn't be immediately disappointed in the water temperature. I'm a little fuzzy on the details but I believe the cost is $15 per car to get in, and then a short hike of a quarter mile or so to get down to the pool. I visited while my family was in town and we had a lot of fun just marveling at the beauty of this place, as well as walking around behind the waterfalls and in the cave area. It was awesome and highly recommended to anyone who finds themselves in the area.

Enchanted Rock
I heard it said over and over again that the hike to do in the hill country was Enchanted Rock. I am trying to be cautious in not sounding like an arrogant Coloradan when I say, yeah, its cool, but as far as hikes go it did not offer much. Enchanted Rock is a huge rock that climbs 425 feet from the base in 0.6 miles. It's like climbing stairs to see a great view of the hill country. I noticed, and may have laughed a little on the inside when I saw people climbing it with thick hiking socks, hiking boots, trekking poles and backpacks. Additionally, although racing to the top may not be the point, I quickly discovered that climbing straight up was tiresome and noticed many people taking long breaks after 10-20 steps. I decided to go up by way of switchbacks, which may have looked ridiculous to some as it requires more steps, but I didn't need to take breaks and I got to the top much faster.
Whole Foods
When I was 15, my best friend's recently divorced mom paid for and invited me out to Austin to visit. (It sounds a little weird in hindsight that my best friend did not join me, but I digress). The first place we went to after she picked me up from the airport was a health food store. All that produce and "health food store smell" that hit my 15 year old nose was odd to me. It stuck out to me so well because I'm not sure I had been to one before. At one point, many years later, I saw a picture of the original Whole Foods that started in Austin, Texas and realized that it was the same store I went to ! Since then, they have expanded and rebuilt their flagship store on Lamar Blvd. Its very nice, and kind of fun to visit. They have a hot food and cold food bar for everything from Italian to subs, juice and pizza. Everything is put very nicely in its own place.

Copyright wholefoods.com 

Fiesta Texas, San Antonio
I love amusement parks, specifically, rollercoasters. I grew up in Colorado, where Elitch Gardens was the best I ever knew. And for a long time, Elitches was good enough, but Texas has ruined me on this. I decided to get a season pass to Fiesta Texas and it blew my mind. The rollercoasters were bigger, longer and more terrifying than anything I had ever experienced before. I got to visit about 4 or 5 times and was well worth it to go first thing on a Saturday morning, ride a few rides and then leave as the lines got too long.

Park Road 4, Between Marble Falls and Kingsland
If you like rollercoasters, you'll like this road. The speed limit on this two lane road is 55 miles an hour with some of the steepest dips and hills I've seen on a country road with a speed limit that high. It will freak you out the first time you do it. I was disappointed by how out of the way and inconvenient it was as a route home from work. I wish I could have driven it every day.
The Alamo, San Antonio
The Alamo, I'm sad to admit, was not as exciting as I had hoped. I went there hoping to learn more about it and came away more confused than educated. Maybe I'm not into shrines, or museums enough to appreciate the huge piece of history that was before me. The same thing happened when we visited Gettysburg last year. 'Tis unfortunate, for me. If any of you go, or have gone, I truly hope your experience is/was more exciting. One of the most abruptly interesting things one notices upon arrival is that it is right in the middle of downtown. Like, right there.

Fredericksburg

I enjoyed this town. It seems to have a lot of German influence which I was too lazy to research why. I particularly enjoyed all of the eclectic and gift shop-y stores. The town just has a nice feel to it, with cool victorian type houses and neat architecture. The Pacific Wars Museum looked neat but I did not visit it beyond the gift shop. I got a little teary eyed when I thought of my Grandpas and the men of their generation that fought in those wars to the point of wanting to leave. Interesting. 

 Texas State Capital, Austin
The Capital building in Austin is fascinating. I loved visiting there, and have been three times. It is the biggest state capital, which does not (obviously) include the nation's capital in Washington, D.C.. It is a beautiful building with so much detail and splendor of Texas. I highly recommend checking it out to anyone who is visiting. You can do guided tours for free or self- guide.

Llano, Texas

I just think Llano is so neat. To me, it is the heart of the Texas Hill Country. It's a town of a mere 3000 people that has so much character, great food, and beautiful scenery. 

Riverwalk, San Antonio

Its awesome, and a must do. Lots of good restaurants, and very pretty scenery. There are is a lot of walking to be done, so make sure you wear comfortable shoes.

 

BBQ
Nearly everywhere in San Antonio, Austin or the Hill Country you will find great and amazing BBQ.

Mom, Dad, sister Heidi and brother Zach visiting from Colorado, enjoying Black's BBQ in Austin. 

I'm not huge on BBQ, but oh my goodness, Coopers BBQ in Llano Texas is incredible.

Saint Anthony's Cathedral, San Antonio

Here lies Davy Crockett and other significant people in Alamo history. Its neat. 

Wading/swimming in Llano River

Bat watching at Congress Bridge, Austin

Yes, bats live in the bridge, and go out from it around dusk. Its a sight to behold, once. Best viewing is on the bridge, not below it. 

Alamo Drafthouse
I think others have started doing what makes the Alamo Drafthouse so dang cool for so long. You can watch a movie and eat a meal, drink beer and have your popcorn and beverage refilled without ever leaving your seat. I really like watching movies, so it was great for me. Side perk: the popcorn comes with real butter, and its bottomless. Awesome.

Shark Bait

David and me (with red goggles). Thunder Buddies for life. Photo by Joe Troiano

WATCH THE DIVES ON YOUTUBE HERE!!!

When David and I decided it was time to go on a scuba diving trip, the idea of tried and true Cozumel, Mexico sounded easy to plan until a cheaper, potentially better trip idea came up.

David spent a huge amount of time researching the best dive locations, hotels, dive charters and restaurants in Florida. He read forums and reviews while planning it all out. In the end, we spent a week full of wonderful diving near Boynton Beach and Jupiter, Florida. We saw a lot of awesome fish and large creatures, as well as beautiful reefs, amazing clarity, and plenty of life moving along as usual under the sea. I was very impressed and surprised by how great the diving was in Florida. 

Jupiter, Florida waters.

David put into the mix three dives with a company that baits and attracts sharks and allows divers to get up close and personal with those sharks- without a cage. I had weeks to think about this, and naturally had a little bit of anxiety. I also assumed that it must be safe, since a lot of people dive with sharks without injury or harm. 

Before our trip I watched an old episode from Shark Week titled, "Shark Trek" that focused on tagging and trekking the migratory patterns in great white sharks that have been found in Cape Cod. The episode started out really interesting until the sharks were trekked all the way down to the exact places we would be diving in: Jupiter, Florida (holy crap!).  I also learned about the huge influx of black tipped sharks that end up in Jupiter, as well as the hammerheads, tiger sharks and bull sharks that basically live there. And of course, everything mentioned about all sharks was extremely dramatic. 

I freaked out a little bit. In the past I had been diving with nurse sharks without any problem, and most people would say that they are harmless "puppy dogs of the ocean." But hammerheads, bull sharks and great freakin' whites? Ugh. Sometimes my husband has some crazy ideas of what "fun" is. 

We went with a reputable dive company that has allowed so many (experienced) divers to witness these majestic man eaters without a single fatality. And yeah, Shark Week, and movies like Jaws tend to make people a little anxious with their overly-sensational dramatizations of a shark's behavior. Sharks have a bad rap, but it is also important to respect their ability to rip you to shreds by being cautious and educated on how to protect yourself. Sharks are known for seriously harming or killing people.

I went onto the shark bait diving boat a bit naive. I figured that we will probably get an amazing run down before the dives of what to do if a shark approaches you with the intent of eating you, and how to stay safe. I did not do my research, and I did not know really know what to expect. I have only logged 60 dives, and although I am technically a dive master (DM) at this point, I am more book smart about diving than I am in practice. Therefore, I am still figuring out buoyancy and how to not look like a flailing idiot who can't look calm underwater (at times). For the first dive, we got a run down of staying North to South (or something?) of the DM in order to stay safe and staying close but not too close or whatever. I think I was pretty nervous so I missed most of what he said. I just knew that I did not want the blood of the barracuda to drift near me in the current while the dive master was chumming.

Flailing Emmy. 

On the first dive I made a stupid mistake of following the DM's depth as we descended and found myself at a depth of 136 feet. This was dangerously deep on Nitrox, a gas blend I was breathing. So, even though you can't really hear yelling underwater, I sure felt it as I was corrected by the DM to check my depth. Eventually everything calmed down and we were in the midst of bull sharks. I started fidgeting with gear, working on being horizontal and ended up flailing about. Several times a shark came right up to me, mouth open and then turned away at the last possible second. I think I wet my wetsuit, if you catch my drift. When I asked the DM what that was all about, and if I could have done anything to save myself in the event of an attack, he just said, "You looked like a dying, struggling seal or something and the shark wanted to check you out. When he found out you weren't, he lost interest." Thanks.

That's me, ever so close to a thing that could eat me. 

The next two dives were pretty cool, as we descended down to the ocean floor and watched lemon and tiger sharks come up to a box of bait. Some of the sharks got so close that we were brushed by a fin or tail as they passed by. Although slightly unsettling, it almost became a little bit monotonous and boring. There were a lot of smaller white fish and ramoras in the mix that joined in. Every once in a while a nurse shark came a long (remember, puppy dogs?) that the DM pushed away so as to say, "You're not welcome here." When I asked him about this later he said that the only times he has been bit or attacked by a shark, its been by a nurse shark and he "$@#*ing hates them." Interesting. 

It is a really cool thing to look back on but I remember how much I dreaded and disliked the anxiety at the time. I made more than a few rookie mistakes that made me feel like an idiot. I think this is why the dives are advertised for experienced or advanced divers only. We were not really given much of a safety orientation, which surprised me, however the dive company did an awesome job at giving us a once in a lifetime experience. I survived, yet at times it seems just barely. I am so glad I did it, but even more glad that it is over.

Bonus picture: While walking along the beach in Jupiter, Florida, we looked North and realized what we were watching was a rocket launch from Cape Canaveral.