Band Camp

Mackenzie started band camp on August 6th as a freshman cymbalist on the drumline.  She had never participated in band and had never even held a cymbal.  The two weeks of band camp was going to be a real learning experience for her. The first week she attended from 8am to 3pm each day. Marching in the August heat can be brutal! As a surprise, fire trucks came on Friday to cool the students off with water.

The second week Mackenzie attended camp from 4pm to 9pm each evening.  By now, she was starting to get blisters on her fingers and bruises on her hips from her cymbals but she was not discouraged. She was loving it, the cymbal line had started to bond and the drumline was asked to perform at Freshman Orientation. That Wednesday morning, Mackenzie should have been sitting in the auditorium along with all the other incoming Freshman, but instead, she was performing for them on stage. How awesome was that?
On the last evening of band camp, the parents were invited for a parent preview show and BBQ.  It was the first time we got to see Mackenzie perform.

The drumline is always playing when the band enters the stadium.

Gulf Coast High School has one of the largest bands in the state. Almost 400 kids if you include the dance and flag line.

 At 7:10 each morning Mackenzie has a percussion class with the above students. 

School started on Monday and the band has been busy. They performed early Monday morning at a school wide pep rally and again on Thursday evening for a parent pep rally.

We are hoping that Hurricane Isaac blows through Naples quickly since our first home game is this Friday.

Here is a sneak peak from the parent performance:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZkpO63XDgw&list=UUySZSA7Pz4MqZ31wO1S0KcQ&index=1&feature=plcp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsG7DzvzYEE&list=UUySZSA7Pz4MqZ31wO1S0KcQ&index=2&feature=plcp

San Antonio

Everyone knows there are two reasons why you visit San Antonio ...
 
...to see the Alamo
,
... and to visit the Riverwalk during the day


...or in the evening.



But in San Antonio, we found a lesser known gem.  The Drury Plaza Hotel along the bank of the river. Speaking of banks, this hotel is the former Alamo National Bank.  The registration desk is the original teller window and the bank's safe is still located in the basement.



I enjoyed the history and fine details within this hotel.  The kids, well, they enjoyed the rooftop pool.  And when I say rooftop, I am talking the 22nd floor in downtown San Antonio.





This was an amazing view for two kids from little ole Naples, Florida.



Even though the sun has set on our two week tour of Texas at least we can say that we went out with a bang.  Mackenzie fell in love with San Antonio and hopes to return.  We had to drag her away from the Riverwalk the morning we left. Mason hopes to return as well.  We had to drag him away from all the tourist trap activities around the Alamo such as Ripley's Believe it or Not and Tussaud's Wax Museum. What 10 year old doesn't love those kind of places?

We are back in Naples and preparing for the start of school on Monday.  We have a high schooler in the house, big gulp!

Next post: band camp
 

New Braunfels

The shortest drive between cities was from Austin to New Braunfels, only about 30 miles.  We spent the morning tubing down the Comal River.  The Comal is a much calmer river than we are used to.  That day the water was crystal clear and the kids spent more time snorkeling from their tubes rather than riding any rapids. We enjoyed the leisurely 2 hour ride but would have preferred more action. Maybe next time we will try the Guadalupe River instead.



After tubing we headed to historic Gruene for lunch. 



We ate at the Gristmill River Restaurant which used to be a cotton gin.



It is situated on a bluff that overlooks the Guadalupe River so you get a view of the river and other tubers. It felt like we were eating in our very own treehouse.  It was one of my favorite meals of the entire trip.



While in the New Braunfels the kids were starting to feel a little homesick.  We had been gone for almost two weeks and had covered a lot of miles.  Little did we know that our last stop, San Antonio, would spark their interest to the point where they weren't ready to go home just yet.

Next post: Remembering the Alamo

Austin

Austin was the one city that I hadn't spent much time researching prior to leaving Florida.  I wasn't really sure when we would arrive in Austin, how long we would stay and what we would see.  We decided to leave Mt Vernon on a Sunday at noon which would place us in Austin around dinner time.  While en route, I googled hotels and found one within walking distance of the capitol.  It ended up being the best last minute decision of our entire trip. Our room had a view of the University of Texas stadium. The hotel was only blocks from the capitol building and from infamous musical 6th Street. Because we walked to the capitol building, we were able to visit it twice.  Once at night and then again the next morning.    





The capitol building is amazing.  It is the largest capitol in the United States, it is even bigger than the capitol in Washington D.C.. I would be lying if I told you that the kids enjoyed 6th Street.  We had a nice rooftop dinner but they felt unsafe walking the downtown street at night.  I think they were over-stimulated with the music, lights and bouncers outside each bar. Darin and I were laughing because it was only a Sunday night. Can you imagine if we had been there on a Friday or Saturday?

Next post: New Braunfels and the Comal River

Mt. Vernon

After Dallas, we made a quick weekend getaway to the Morgan lakehouse in Mt. Vernon in east Texas.



Nine of the eleven cousins were all together. They spent hours doing one of two things. Either playing board games ...



...or tubing on the lake.









We were sad to leave family behind but we still had three more Texas cities to visit. Thanks Brent and Angie, you sure know how to show the NaplesMorgans a good time in Dallas and Mt. Vernon.

Next post: Austin (the state capital)

Dallas

After leaving Lubbock we started making our trek south. We stayed for five nights in Dallas with Darin's brother Brent and his family. We were able to spend some quality time with Darin's parents.



We had dinner with my Dallas BFF and former college roommate, Diane Degenfelder.



We did try something new and very popular in Dallas, TopGolf. TopGolf is a golf entertainment complex. It is a point-scoring golf game that anyone can play.  Picture a 240 yard outfield with dartboard like targets in the ground. The closer to the center and the further out you get, the more points you receive.





TopGolf reminded me of bowling, you can even order food and drinks from the bar.



Next post: The Morgan's lakehouse in Mt. Vernon

Lubbock Again

We left Amarillo and headed back to Lubbock for one last visit with my sister and her family.



We attended mass at the catholic church within walking distance of the Tech campus.



Although we did not marry in this church, we attended mass here as undergrads. Years later we returned for a wedding in this church as members of the wedding party. Tech has outgrown this original chapel and it is now used for weekday masses only.

 

We toured a Llano Estacado Winery that was started in the 1960's by two Tech chemistry professors. Today this winery is the top producer in Texas.

Hunter and his girlfriend, Gabi

All the underage kids enjoyed their complimentary glasses of Welch's finest grape juice. The free chocolate chips were an added bonus.



We also made a quick stop to visit Lubbock's favorite son, Buddy Holly. 





Thank you Deborah, Lindsay, Hunter and Steve (not pictured).  The NaplesMorgans had a great time in Lubbock!

Next post: Dallas