Austin, Texas

Hey Ya'll! Greetings from Austin, Texas!

This town was probably the most exciting day we had on our road trip. When we got into Austin, the first thing we did was go down to Lake Travis and take a dip and relax. It seriously looked like we were swimming below the cliffs in Greece. Holly didn't do so much dipping as Shannon and I did. She didn' t like the little minnows biting at your legs. They weren't that bad though. It was fun. Shannon went exploring and found out from a local that this lake was 20 feet higher than normal because of flooding. How about that! It came up to a cliff that was supposed to be something you walk down. It was crazy. We truly enjoyed our stay there.

After some reading and relaxation, we decided to head to Hamilton Pool. This pool was created by natural spring waters and waterfalls. Look at the amazing pictures! We explored around there, hiking a half a mile to get there and back. It was awesome! We spent some time exploring there and taking pictures. Taking in all that beauty made us hungry. We went back to Lake Travis and ate at Oasis which was built into the cliffs. The view was incredible. Absolutely fantastic. The restaraunt was okay. The food was Mexican and incredibly spicy. By the time we got done eating, we were ready to go to the Congress Bridge in the city of Austin.

This was very cool. Underneath this bridge lived 1.5 MILLION bats. At around dusk people gather to watch all of the bats fly out at the same time. By the time this happened for us, it was pretty dark out. We couldn't actually see the bats until a camera flashed, but there were thouands and we got a couple good pictures. A local told us that later in the season they have to travel farther so they come out earlier. He said they look like a big black mass.

Finally, to end our night we went to my cousin Paul and Lisa's house, who were wonderful hosts. Unfortunately, we only got to spend about 20 minutes with them because we got in so late. Then we left 5 am in the morning on our way to Roswell, New Mexico. Alien Country!

In the car, we spend our time reading, writing postcards and playing games. We play "Would You Rather?" which Shannon does not really like too much. Friends trivia and when we passed through the town Truth or Consequences in New Mexico we played truth or dare without the dare. hehehe. We only have about 16 states left in the license plate game! Woo Woo. One of the best things about driving is seeing the landscape change. It has been the best views from Austin, TX out to Scottsdale, Arizona. The whole reason I came on this trip was to see America like this and it has just been fantastic. The mountains, the desert, the clouds rolling over all of it. We see so many wild animals out on the road. The beauty is indescribable.

Monica