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Visiting San Antonio, Texas

A picture of the front of the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas.
The Alamo, San Antonio, Texas.

Following our semi-regular tradition of taking a long weekend around the holidays, this past winter we took a few days off while visiting San Antonio, Texas. If you’ve followed our travels for any length of time you’ll know that we love a good brewery – or five. So follow along in today’s post covering our craft brewery itinerary while touring downtown San Antonio.

Ink Drawings by Valdyr

Ink drawings by Valdyr.

I’ve shared quite a bit of my graphic design and scenic painting over the years, but it’s been awhile since I’ve featured my ink drawings in any meaningful way. I’ve done a particular form of abstract ink drawings since high school, and I attempt to get a little work done on any number of works-in-progress each week. Starting in early 2024, I plan to start releasing my work as a limited edition NFT series under my online handle as Valdyr on the Solana-based platform Solarplex.

Hiking at Elmer W. Oliver Nature Park in Mansfield, TX

Hiking at Elmer W. Oliver Nature Park in Mansfield, TX

Living in a large metroplex like the one surrounding Dallas and Fort Worth means that it’s sometimes hard to ‘get out of town’ and out into nature. So it’s always pleasant to find those hidden areas in the middle of the hustle and bustle of city life, just like this one I’ve found down the road in Mansfield, Texas. As the closest nature park to my home, you’ll often find me hiking at Elmer W. Oliver Nature Park.

Visiting New Braunfels, TX

Looking down at some of the historic store fronts in New Braunfels, Texas.
Looking down at some of the historic store fronts in New Braunfels, Texas.

We were recently able to take an extended weekend vacation to New Braunfels, Texas, while celebrating the wedding of our friends in the area. An easy drive from the DFW metro area (roughly five hours if you’re like us and avoid the interstate), we decided to take advantage of the offerings in the historical downtown area for the days we were in town visiting New Braunfels.

Revisiting New Orleans, Louisiana

Bourbon Street in New Orleans.
Late night Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana, December 2021.

We were thrilled to be able to make our much-awaited return trip to New Orleans recently, and I’m excited to write my first ‘return trip blog’ post, too. I wanted to branch out to see a few new-to-me locations, while there were several places I wanted to revisit in New Orleans from our previous trip.

Visiting Lake Travis, TX

View from The Oasis at Lake Travis, TX.
View from The Oasis at Lake Travis, TX.

After a long pandemic year, we felt very fortunate to be able to get fully vaccinated just in time for our ten year wedding anniversary! We had decided to take an extended weekend road trip visiting Lake Travis, Texas. Still wanting to be COVID-conscious, we opted for a secluded Airbnb on the water, and kept to outdoor locations throughout our visit. Read on for recommendations for outdoor fun while visiting this location just outside of Austin.

Looking Back: NASA Magnetospheric Multiscale Launch in March 2015

Driving up to the launch pad the day of the NASA Magnetospheric Multiscale Launch.
Driving up to the launch pad the day of the NASA Magnetospheric Multiscale launch.

And now for something a little different from my usual travel blog posts: witnessing the NASA Magnetospheric Multiscale at Cape Canaveral, Florida. I’ve mentioned in previous posts that my husband is a space plasma physicist, and we were fortunate enough to witness the launch of one of his primary projects in person!