Our Staycation

With the recession in full effect and a new addition to the family that is currently not ready for some long distance travel, the Vacek's ventured out for their usual May vacation. Rather than those far away places like Italy, Great Britain, France or Spain, Kristen, Emmy and I packed up the car and headed out into the throws of the state of Texas. Kristen and I had thought long and hard about what we would like to do (on a budget) and figured on a wonderful Texas landmark, the Blue Bell ice cream factory. Blue Bell is not open during the weekend so it took taking a day off work to get to see the excitement of making ice cream.

Once we arrived in Brenham, hungry, we were greeted by blocked streets and hordes of Brenhamites swarming downtown. We had just so happened upon the town during Maifest, a little known German festival that envelops the entire town. Nothing says German heritage like hip hop music blaring from a low rider as girls in booty shorts throw candy to the olds and small children lining the street. Yes...Maifest has apparently changed over the years...

Just in case we forget where we were, and thought we had traveled to Europe...

After enjoying the Maifest parade, Kristen, Emmy and I bolted for an early lunch at a local restaurant known as Volare in downtown Brenham. Thanks for the suggestion Aunt SuSu. Nto only was the food good, but it was cheap! Real cheap! An appetizer, two entree and two drinks at an Italian restaurant for $25. Where have you been all my life Brenham!? Kristen and I actually began to joke that this day might actually make a great episode of Rachel Ray's $40 a day. The lunch was only the beginning of the fun. We left Volare and headed back to the car for a quick trip to the factory. I will let the pictures do all of the talking. Funny thing, you cannot take pictures on the tour itself. Trade secrets? Illegal workers? Nope. I am guessing they don't want all the flashing to bother the executives since you walk by their offices as they talk on the phone, type on the computer, etc. I bet its fun to have the diverse population of Texas roaming outside your door every day at work. Something else I thought was funny. On the your, you walk past the break room/dining area for the workers and their are large windows so you can look in on the employees relaxing. The disappointing thing was that none of them were eating ice cream. I for one felt that all employees eating in front of the large windows for the tour groups to see should always have to be eating ice cream. I mean, come on...Kristen told me I was acting immature...and that Blue Bell was not Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory...and that everyone that worked their did not always eat ice cream at every meal. While reasonable, I felt it destroyed some of the magic of the place.

Notice how the hats fit normal heads (Kristen)

The cutest person ever to wear a paper hat at Blue Bell

I am definitely the luckiest man on Earth...

It was pretty hot outside so Emmy could not touch/eat Bell the cow as her bronze skin had reached the boling point...

After enjoying our complimentary ice cream, which Emmy slept through, we headed to downtown Brenham in search of some shopping. After five minutes of "shopping" we got back into the Tahoe and headed to a nearby winery. Kristen and I have been to wineries before in France, Spain, Italy, California and here in the great state of Texas, but nothing prepared us for what we pulled up to that Friday afternoon. Again, the pictures will help better explain our surprise and help you understand our laughter.

Just in case you are confused, on the left, the "winery"...on the right, the home of the people that run the winery...

We asked the man that tended the winery if Emmy was the only baby ever to enjoy a wine tasting...he was nice enough to tell us no...whether or not that is true is another question...

Just because Emmy is 5 months old doesn't mean she should not have a beverage...

Although small and out in the middle of nowhere, we left Windy Winery outside Brenham with two bottles of a great little wine known as Saucy Red. Actually, for the price, it was terriffic. The man at the winery even gave Kristen her glass, tasting and a truffle for free. Again, cheap entertainment on the staycation. Two glasses of wine, two tasting, one truffle and two bottles of wine for the ridiculous total of $36. This is where I started to tell Kristen that we may never leave Texas again on vacation. We were having a great time, with Emmy, for basically nothing. Times...they sure have changed...Windy Winery was so much fun we decided to give another winery a try. Feeling nostalgic, Kristen and I made the short trip to College Station and Messina Hof. I had only been to Messina Hof once before. Kristen took me while we were still in school for my birthday...a long, long time ago...Another winery, another tasting and some great conversation with an older couple from Idaho that had come to Texas for a bike rally in Kerrville the next day. They had made their way to the Bush Library on campus and loved the area. Fun couple...huge, huge Republicans...held back nothing about how they felt about the current political regime...wonderful...Kristen thought it was funny that they looked nothing like bikers. "Bikers are supposed to look like your superintendent Richard" she says. These people looked more like my grandparents, not my superintendent...

Me and my baby girl

The "PeePaw" face

After enjoying some more wine and visiting Post Oak mall in search of Emmy a new A&M shirt, we made our final stop of the day at a restaurant that holds a special place in mine and Kristen's heart, Cafe Excel. For those of you that don't know, I took Kristen here on our first date and on the night I asked her to be my wife. And now...we are sharing that magic with the most important part of our life, our baby girl. It truly was a whirlwind day filled with many memorable moments. It will be a day that we will not soon forget and a vacation that we could share with our family's newest addition. Maybe next year we will venture a little further. Until then...

The happy family at the end of a long day...Don't tell anyone that Kristen is only minutes away from throwing a very poopy diaper into some poor college kids personal trash can at their apartment on NorthGate...awwwwww memories...