Texas

Happy New Year!!!

We went to Texas for the Winter Recess and stayed with our good friends Liza, Francis and their daughter Arianna, in Plano. One week went by so fast!

Dec. 27, Sunday: Left the house at 6am to go to the airport. Arrived in Dallas just before noon and was fetched by Francis. We went to their house and spent the day lounging, catching up and repacking.

Dec. 28, Monday: Liza had to work (bummer). The rest of us went to South Fork Ranch, made famous by the TV series Dallas. The original owners agreed for Lorimar Productions to film their property but only the outside, no filming inside the house. So the interior of the house was filmed in a sound stage. Later on, the owners were forced to sell their property because fans kept coming to their house looking for the Ewings and sending cards and stuff that they got fed up. Now the interior of the house was redesigned and turned into a museum for the Dallas Show. Each room represented a character from the show. The only prop original to the show was the dining table on the patio that was used for the breakfast scenes.

After that we went to the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. We were gonna go up but no recording devices were allowed so we just went to the souvenir shop instead. This museum is all about JFK's legacy and assassination. We also took a short walk around the area.

That night after Liza got home from work, we packed overnight bags (which I already prepared Sunday night) for our drive to San Antonio. We left around 9pm and got there at 2am. Checked in the hotel which was right beside the Alamo, and slept.

Dec. 29, Tuesday: Woke up before 8 and prepared to go out. Weather was crappy but at least it wasn't raining hard. We strolled along the River Walk, looked at the shops and had lunch at Rainforest Cafe. Too bad we weren't able to ride the Rio San Antion Cruise because it was raining.

After going around the River Walk, we went to the Alamo. No recording inside the main building and the exhibit area but at least we got to take pictures outside. And it's free so I'm not really complaining.

We then had dinner at Saltgrass Steak House. Great food and drinks!

Dec. 30, Wednesday: Checked-out of the hotel and drove 4 hours to Houston. Had lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant along the way and then went to the Space Center. Was going to take a tour but the waiting in line was an hour, and the tour was another hour. We didn't have enough time since we had to drive back to Plano which was about 4 hours away. So we just enjoyed their exhibits.

Dec. 31, Thursday: The morning was spent at Amazing Jake's. Bought a 3-hour unlimited pass for Finn which he mostly used for rock climbing and the bumper cars. You basically pay for the buffet when you come into Amazing Jake's and add extra for the amusement card.

Finn rock climbing:



After lunch we headed for the recreation center in Plano for the kids and their dads to have a swim. They enjoyed this a lot too since the water was warm and there was a big slide. Liza and I didn't go in so we didn't have to pay. Therefore, no pictures =P

Before 5pm, we drove to Fort Worth to watch a bull riding show at the Cowtown Coliseum. Show started at 8pm and it was fun! We left at 9.30, 30 mins before the end of the show coz we had to drive back to Plano, about an hour away. It is New Year's Eve so we wanted to get home before countdown.

Pardon the blur ... my camera is not made for action shots (wish I had a DSLR).

Here's a video:



Back home, we turned on the TV just as they were counting down the ball drop in NY (^_^) So we cheered Happy New Year New York!!! hehehe. Of course we counted down an hour later for the Texas New Year.



Jan. 01, Friday: This day was spent shopping for Arianna's birthday party and prepping the house with decor. I was in charge of that and the loot bags. The boys were in charge of the food. Liza did all the cleaning.

Jan. 02, Saturday: I started packing our suitcases in the morning and then more prepping for the party afterwards. Everybody was busy. Party started at 3.30 and the guests started arriving one after another. The house was packed! The boys were busy with the food since they had to keep cooking to refill the buffet table. They did an amazing job! The last of the guests left before 9pm and so we were all so tired.

Jan. 03, Sunday: We went to church in the morning and then I had to finish packing when we got home. Loaded everything in the car and then went to Rafain for lunch. Food here is soooo goood! Wish we have it here in NJ.



They then took us to the airport. One week, gone in a flash. Had an uneventful flight until we landed in Newark. Landed safely, but just as we were taxiing to our gate, the captain announced that we have to wait in the plane since there are no gates available. Terminal C was shutdown due to a security breach. This happened like 5.30pm. We landed just after 10pm (0_o) The captain said there were 30 other planes waiting. So after 2 hours, he says we finally got a gate at Terminal B. The plane taxis and then as were almost there, he says we have to wait for a towtruck to take us right to the gate. 20 mins after, the towtruck arrives and pulls us to the gate. When we got out, we had to wait another 30 mins for the taxi to arrive. Finally at 2am, we were home.

Jan. 04, Monday: Had to wake up at 6.30 since it's the first day of school for the year. Good thing Finn was asleep the whole time we were on the plane. Otherwise he'd be groggy =P. Hubby decided to take the day off since he doesn't have anything urgent to do at work and he needs to rest. Went back to sleep from 10-12 and then I had work that afternoon.

Thank you so much to the Pascual's for having us and showing us around and all the good food and company!

So that was our winter break vacation. How was yours?