J.T. bringing baseball back ;-)

Justin Timberlake was in town to film scenes from his movie "The Open Road" where he plays a fictional Corpus Christi Hooks baseball player named Carlton Garrett. The film teams Timberlake with Mary Steenburgen, Kate Mara and Jeff Bridges, who plays Garrett's father, a legendary athlete. The film was inspired by the director Michael Meredith's life. His father is legendary Dallas Cowboys quarterback Don Meredith.

They shot scenes before, during and after Sunday's game, and Timberlake apparently is a righty, but for some reason they had him batting left... maybe since he was such a bad batter either way ;-)

Timberlake's girlfriend, actress Jessica Biel, stood near the dugout for some of the shoot but went back to the Hooks' clubhouse after about half an hour, waving at fans as she walked by. Two bodyguards stood watch over Biel and Timberlake.

Swim meet & baseball

Early start for Saturday... Kiersten had a swim meet, winning the 25free and placing third in the IM relay... getting better with her freestyle but still not podium-level.






























Then at 1, Kees had team pictures and then a game... a close one until the final inning when they lost 6-5!

After the game the kids had fun playing in the opening day carnival with the usual blow-up bouncy things (not sure what you call them, LOL!), climbing walls, pitching booths, etc.

Enchanted Rock

We traveled to Enchanted Rock to do some hiking and exploring.

Similar to Ayers Rock in Australia, Enchanted Rock is an enormous pink granite pluton located approximately 15 miles (24 km) north of Fredericksburg, Texas, USA. Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, which includes Enchanted Rock and surrounding land, spans the border between Gillespie County and Llano County, south of the Llano River. Enchanted Rock covers approximately 640 acres (2.6 km²) and rises approximately 425 feet (130 m) above the surrounding terrain to elevation of 1,825 feet (556.3 m) above sea level. It is the second largest such granite monadnock in the United States after Stone Mountain in Georgia. Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, a part of the Texas state park system, includes 1,644 acres (6.7 km²).

While it looks like an easy hike from the base, some parts of the trail are strewn with boulders and are steep, steep, steep! Since I was the pack horse, carrying about twenty pounds of water and supplies, I felt it in my legs when I reached the top... not necessarily for any other reason than the pace the kids made racing to the top!

Exploring the top of the dome and trying to find the cave...

The kids get adventurous and descend into the cave... me... not feelin' it so much ;-)

Fredericksburg

After climbing Enchanted Rock we stopped in Fredericksburg, a popular weekend destination for people in Central Texas, specifically those from Austin and San Antonio, who come for the bed and breakfasts, abundant hunting, fishing, antique stores, the German influence in the form of bakeries, restaurants, stores, and peaches. Fredericksburg and the surrounding area are home to over 300 B&B's.

Fredericksburg is also home to a unique form of residential architecture called "Sunday Houses". These houses were built by the early German settlers of Fredericksburg as weekend homes, since a large majority of the counties' population lived in outlying rural areas. The settlers would use these homes while in town for the weekend; often to patronize local merchants and attend church services. The form of these houses often consisted of several rooms downstairs, with an upstairs sleeping loft that was accessed by an outside staircase. Many of these are now bed and breakfasts.

Fredericksburg is located near the center of the wine industry in central Texas. The designated American Viticultural Areas of Fredericksburg in the Texas Hill Country AVA and the much larger Texas Hill Country AVA both include Fredericksburg inside their boundaries. Fredericksburg is a common starting point or destination for tourists visiting wineries in the Texas Hill Country.

The town is also notable as the home of Texas German, a German dialect spoken by the first generations of settlers who initially refused to learn English.

Here we're enjoying schnitzel, bratwurst, apple strudel and some German folk music!

Sea World

San Antonio Riverwalk

We spent the afternoon on the San Antonio Riverwalk, enjoying the beautiful weather and taking the obligatory boat tour.

With almost all Texas school districts taking spring break on the same week the Riverwalk was crowded and we saw several friends walking along the banks.

One thing we always enjoy is listening to the Peruvian pan-piping groups that play by the Rivercenter Mall.

Aquarena Springs

We went to Aquarena Springs, a place I went to as a kid, and toured the springs in the glass-bottom boats.

Aquarena Springs is primarily the source of the San Marcos River, rising from hundreds of fissures under Spring Lake. A Spanish mission was established on the site, and later became the homestead of General Burleson and Eli Merriman. For many years, Aquarena Springs was a resort and entertainment park with boat rides and features such as mermaids. The 'Aquamaids' would wear oxygen tanks to eat pickles and drink Dr. Pepper underwater. Attracted by the scenic beauty of the area, A.B. Rogers started the park in 1926 and developed it into a popular tourist attraction. The park had a large hotel, a Swiss sky ride, glass- bottom boat rides, and a submarine theater with mermaid performers. By far the most popular attraction was Ralph, the Swimming Pig. Ralph swam around Aquarena Springs performing tricks and dives until the early 1990s when he retired.

In the late-nineties, with the arrival of Sea World and Fiesta Texas in San Antonio, attendance dropped dramatically and the park was sold to Texas State University and converted it into a wetlands project developed by the University life sciences department.

The kids enjoyed it, and it was sort of fun revisiting a place with my kids that I had visited over thirty years ago.

Immediately below is the underwater "submarine" where visitors would watch the underwater mermaid shows, and the last picture is of one of the glass-bottomed boats.

Climbing Wall

The kids had fun, and a little competition, on the climbing walls... after a while racing each other up the walls!