I've had many great Mother's Days. This Mother's Day I was able to combine all of my favorite things into one big day: relaxing, supporting small businesses, adventure, and trying new foods. We truly loved our time in Austin, Texas and enjoyed as much as we could. We managed a leisurely Sunday morning with a homemade breakfast at our Airbnb. In the afternoon we drove into Texas Hill Country (the area just West of Austin) and checked out North America's largest wildflower farm, followed by hiking and river floating in a State Park, and ending our day with amazing local BBQ. I really couldn't have asked for a better Mother's Day!
For $20 we could have picked the wildflowers, but since the beach was calling our names the next morning, we decided it would have been pointless to picking them and not enjoy them at all. We were content walking through the flowers and gardens, snapping pictures, and picking up a wildflower mixture for our side yard.
There was mild panic after the farm because it was discovered no one packed the snack bag that held all of our protein bars for our afternoon. Luckily, we were able to locate a gas station and grab healthy-ish snacks for our afternoon. The second panic came on our way to Pedernales Falls State Park because I realized I never made a reservation for a day pass to the park. Texas State Parks are different than what we're used to. At the moment, every state park requires a reservation to enter (and all cost money to get in to). Most parks sell out, but if they don't, then they'll allow "drive ups." We took a chance and went to Pedernales Falls knowing we could get turned away at the gate. Thankfully, since it was Mother's Day, they were allowing people in!
We had a great afternoon floating on the river, hiking, and eating or newly acquired snacks next to the river. My research on this area of Texas lead me to purchase new river tubes before our trip. Once we were at the park, I decided I didn't feel like blowing each tube up by hand. So, we stuck the minis in their life jackets and let them float down part of the river. They loved it! The dog happily swam with them and kept busy watching the lizards while on the side of the river. We didn't wind up doing a lot of hiking since it was a HOT day (hello 95 degrees), only the easy 1 miles trail to see the actual Falls area. There is no swimming in this area, so we only did the upper part of the trail since I know I would have issues keeping a furry someone out of the waterfalls!
Beautiful blooming cacti.
The official poop picker-upper.
The drive into Austin to grab dinner (to go) was gorgeous. Hill Country is truly beautiful and full of adventures. I can see why Austin is one of the fastest growing city in America.
We had hoped to try out Terry Black's BBQ for dinner, but wound up at Black's. Everything was absolutely delicious! The unique street corn was my favorite part of the meal. For the bargain price of $65, we got brisket, bread, mac and cheese, Frito pie, and street corn. Maybe we were just hungry after a busy day, but we thought the food was wonderful!
While the day was relaxing, I had to spend the night packing up. Luckily I had my furry goofball who, after three days, saw the dog shaped door stop and freaked out at it. It's always good to end the day with a laugh.