Saturday, October 27, 2007

Big 'D', little 'a', double 'L', 'A', 'SSSS'!

Here are pics from the trip JF and I took to Texas in early October. We stayed with his sister and her family for a few days in Plano (a suburb outside of Dallas).



We went to the State Fair of Texas. It's one of the largest state fairs in the country!



Just as we were having unseasonably warm weather here in New York it was also summer weather in Texas. It felt like 95 degrees in the shade!




Here's a shot of 'Big Tex." All the kids seemed to like him but I found him a bit creepy especially when he starts waving his hand!



They had an petting zoo with many exotic animals. For a couple bucks you could buy some grain and seeds to feed the animals. In addition to the usual sheep and goats they had ostriches, kangaroos, large tortoises, a mama pig with her piglets and this giraffe. It seemed a bit cruel to have the animals in relatively small pens in a hot room but it was interesting all the same.



After the weekend JF and I hit the road and drove the 5 hours to San Antonio. Here's the famous Riverwalk. We ate at that restaurant on the left 'The Republic of Texas.' The waiter was really nice and gave us tips on what to do while we filled him in on what's it like to live in New York City.



Here's a daytime view of a bridge passing over the Riverwalk.



These Mexican tiles were everywhere in San Antonio. I loved the bright colors and interesting shapes.



We stopped at the Goodwill in San Antonio to get out of the sun for a minute. I found a bunch of acrylic yarn that looks like it's from the 80's.



Our hotel was right across the street from Texas's most famous landmark-The Alamo. I became an Alamo expert during the course of this trip after watching an IMAX movie then taking the tour of the actual site. After learning more about the history of Texas I understand why Texans are so proud of their state although I still find it obnoxious at times!



We went to the top of the Tower of Americas. It's kind of like the space needle in Seattle. We saw a "4-D" movie inside that was really cool. During a part where you were supposed to be in a helicopter your chair vibrated and the room got real windy. Then during a scene at the rodeo you felt a bull 'horn' jab you in the back and bull 'snot' was sprayed on your face. Gross but definately felt like you were in the moment!



The entrance to Hemisfair Park where the World Fair was held in 1968.



We visited an artist's village aptly named "La Villeta" Most of the stuff was more 'art' than 'craft' so a bit out of our price range. I was shocked to see these handknit scarves made from Lion Brand novelty yarns selling for $50 and $60! Yes, that red scarf IS made out of Fun Fur. Maybe I've been missing out on a big money-making opportunity. More likely it's too hot for Texans to ever wear scarves so they have no idea how much one would actually cost!



From San Antonio we drove another 2 hours to Austin, the capital of Texas. We were so tired from walking around in the sun our first stop was to pick up a swimsuit for JF so we could relax in the hotel pool and spa. Next door to the sporting goods store REI was one of my favorite browsing stores, Anthropologie, where they were selling these knitted bears.



Many of the Mexican shops featured knitted and crocheted finger puppets. Here are a few sheep I though were cute and well designed.



Speaking of sheep here's our mascot, Woolly, who likes to come along on our travels. We took Wendy's advice and dined on authentic Texas BBQ at Stubb's our first (and only) night in Austin. It lived up to its reputation. The next week after we had returned home and were food shopping we found Stubb's BBQ sauce being sold at a grocery store on Long Island! It was a bit surreal. While in Austin we heard some live music on the famous 6th St and played a form of bar shuffleboard that was really fun.



This is a hat I cast on at the start of the trip. The yarn is a silk bamboo variegated blend I bought at the Garden State Sheep and Wool Festival. For some strange reason when I knit it up as a hat it formed this moon pattern.



Look, the back is just all brown except for the brim. Weird!

As you can see the Texas trip was a lot of fun. Glad I could share the highlights with my faithful blog readers :-)

3 comments:

Dame Wendy said...

Yay Stubbs! That's so awesome that you guys went. :)

San Antonio looks beautiful. Makes me want to visit there next.

$50 for a fun fur scarf!! We have definitely been missing out if that's the case. Craziness.

Alyssa said...

Sounds like you two had fun. You saw so much!!.

I think we might be missing an opportinity here with the $50 lion brand scarves!!! Who knew?

Unknown said...

A lot of NYC supermarkets sell Stubbs products. If you can't find any near you, they definitely have them at Fairway.