...usually shows up the next day with an "Ouch" as you brush your oversized kneecap and remember your epic, but very slow motion, fall from the day before.
The cousin's, their respective others, and me and mine made our way to New Braunsfels for a very relaxing weekend on the river. Courtesy of an old buddy of mine, I was introduced to a great little house sitting right on the river and right next to a tube rental place. Win, win!
We loaded up my cousin's truck bed and piled in to the cab. A brief stop at the oasis of Buc-ees on I-10 and we wound our way down River Rd to the house. And there went my cell service.
I appreciated the disconnection because being on the river means you do nothing but BE on the river. Which we did. We made breakfast every morning and enjoyed cups of coffee on the deck. We caught up with all of our new changes to life: a baby on the way for my bro and my cousin (a boy and unknown, respectively), a new job for one, and a new puppy for another. Oh, and a
new house for me!
The nights were absurd and made mostly so by my brother who just seems to blossom with ridiculousness when surrounded by the cousins. We played Cards Against Humanity and learned that the youngest of all of us was way too knowledgeable because obviously she's still an 8 year old to all of us, my brother made a ninja fart and thoroughly bothered my cousin's wife. Putting me, my brother, my cousin and Tbot in one room turned out to be a bad idea. Bunk beds were obviously created for snickering, whispered stories and laughter which ensues from said stories. We hadn't just laid our heads down after a very long day and my bro starts a conversation as if it were 4 in the afternoon. Really, Yanni? Now is when you want to ask me about the state of the union? This prompted a banged wall, a pregnant woman nearly peeing herself with laughter and an eventual quieting. Oh, and a flare throwing contest onto the island in the middle of the river. Winner: new dad, Kev! Well done, cos!
The float was slow, low and hot but the special drink concoction I brought made it great. No matter that I drank the entirety of it in the 45min it took us to float one dock down to our house from the tube place because it proceeded to last me the rest of the float. And a nap.
This slow break gave us time to refill the beers and snacks and continue on our merry way. 4 hours later, our bedraggled, relaxed selves floated to our own dock and tied up for the next few hours. The weather couldn't have been better considering the perfect shade we got from the tree at the edge of the property.
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| Picnic table IN the river? My kinda meal eating. |
We played several rounds of Ladder Toss while sitting on the deck watching the floating people slowly dissipate and the crickets take over. Our entertainment consisted of our neighboring tent village which we spent many hours debating as to who went with whom and what was their "situation" considering there was a house on the property but, all told, about 10 tents. *shrugs* River people...
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| Said island, there will be a dying flare there in approximately 3 hours... |
The cousin grouping slept well, ate well, drank well and played well over our 3 nights on the river and we are all looking forward to many more.
Also, family pictures to follow...eventually...they are pretty funny.
