We took a weekend trip with cousins from Texas last weekend. We always have a good time, and this was no different.

We rented a vacation home and traveled to two different cities near Austin: Evant and Salado. It’s wonderful to have a local driver (cousin) who thinks nothing of zipping up and down I-35 and if he misses the exit, there’s always another.

Evant, Texas is a small community, but it has a nice drive-through nature preserve and a petting zoo. Animal lovers, all, we enjoyed the drive. I had never seen a Watusi (not the dance or the culture, but a cow.) Their horns are monstrous! But he looked docile though he never approached the vehicle for feed. He had plenty where he stood.

An ostrich chased a for a while. And an emu tried to come home with us, as did a buffalo. They loved the feed in the sacks inside the vehicle and tried to climb in after it.

The next day we traveled to Salado, Texas. It is a touristy kind of place with artists, breweries, wineries, glass blowers, and tons of food. We watched a glass blower make a glass bowl from scratch until it became too hot to stay and watch. We finally found the mermaid statue that is a legend in the area. An Indian princess was turned into a mermaid in a land-locked state. I didn’t quite understand, but the statue was lovely.

We drove to Georgetown for their annual Poppy Festival and had no idea what we were in for. Texan’s take their poppies seriously—like their bluebonnets. We couldn’t even find a parking place and there were red poppies growing everywhere. They were beautiful and maybe I’ll go back to Georgetown another time.

But the weekend was fun, and we’ll do it again sometime. There’s always someplace fun to go if you look hard enough. Get out and try something new!

What are you reading, writing, visiting, or creating this week?