Hitting The Road: Austin, Texas

Recently we had the opportunity to visit my brother and SIL Austin. We haven’t lived away from a suburban environment for long but its funny how easily you get out of the habit of driving in city traffic. I remember as a 20-ish adult laughing at my parents for exclaiming how fast-paced things were in my Dallas suburb as I zipped in and out of traffic, them in the backseat holding on for dear life. Now I understand what they meant.

We thoroughly enjoyed our familial visit over the weekend. Of course time spent with beloved family members is always special, it seems we never get enough talking and laughing and sharing our lives. But we also had the opportunity to ride a vintage steam engine into a quaint little town, enjoy lunch, do some shopping and then head back to the depot.

Outside our train window we saw beautiful Hill Country scenery dotted by old farm houses with hand-made animal pens and country churches with shining white steeples stretching high into the sky. Some of the children on the train were wide-eyed as the conductor strolled down the isle in full costume requesting tickets to be punched.

Conductor

There are many stark differences between life in a large city and this life we’ve carved out for ourselves here at the ranch. When I was a youngster I loved the sparkle of the tall buildings and hustle and bustle of the large city in which I lived and worked. There was always something to do and fun places to go – I loved it!

Now I find myself enjoying the peace & serenity of the beauty of nature.

I’m out of the habit of dealing with big-city traffic, although we have bovine traffic here when cubes are offered.

Traffic Jam Comparison

The skyline view is certainly different. We have tall buildings on the ranch as well, just not as tall and not as many

High Rise comparison

Our vehicles are certainly different. This Google car advertised itself as “self-driving”. Wow, I’ve never seen that before – wonder if you can retrofit a tractor?

Vehicle Comparison

All in all we had a great time. It was fun to be in a large-city environment again and my brother and SIL are amazing hosts, anticipating a need or comfort before even we did. We’re humbled by the extraordinary efforts they both went to in assuring we had a great time.

But it sure feels good to be back home. It especially feels good to LOVE home like we do. It means we certainly made the right decision when charting out our life’s course.

And as beautiful and welcoming as that Homestead gate was, our most joyous reaction was to the arrival of this little girl. I was nervous to leave the ranch for the weekend since her mama hadn’t calved yet.

Yes, I know cows have been calving without human interference for centuries, but a gal can’t help but to worry. We’ve been present at the actual time of birth or at least within the first hours of life for almost all of our calves. There’s no feeling like witnessing this beautiful beginning. This girl is healthy and happy. Welcome to our ranch, little one!

2-13 18-3

~TxH~

Other Fun Trips

All Our Travel Posts

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4 thoughts on “Hitting The Road: Austin, Texas

  1. TexWisGirl

    love your ranch gate! 🙂 happy new arrival!

    Reply
  2. Anne Payne

    We feel the same way. It’s always nice to get away for a few days but there’s nothing like home! Love your comparison photos. And that gate is awesome, as is your new calf 🙂
    Visiting from the Rurality Blog Hop and I liked your FB page.

    Reply
    1. Texas Homesteader Post author

      Thanks for your comment Anne, and thanks for checking out our FB page. I strolled through the pastures this afternoon and got some closer-up pictures of our new little girl, I hope to “formally introduce” her in the coming days. It sure doesn’t take those little ones long to get their legs under them, but they’re oh so cute when they practice jumping & romping. ~TxH~

      Reply
  3. Texas Homesteader Post author

    Thanks! The sunrise is our theme here, it stands for “Sunrises Forever”. We believe that each new morning is a brand new beginning, a blank slate, a new opportunity. We had that sunrise placed in our gate when it was being designed and I think they did an awesome job as well. 🙂 ~TxH~

    Reply

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