You might remember this post here about the 2009 Dzubinski family trip. Well, for Christmas this year, I made a scrapblog of our family trip and ordered one hardbound book each for my parents, my sister and her family, and my brother and his family. I was quite happy with how they turned out.
Category Archives: Travel
Ruidoso, NM
Last weekend was a long weekend for James and I. We traveled to Ruidoso, New Mexico with James’ parents and nephew Dawson. Initially, his sister Tami was supposed to go with us also, but she couldn’t get off work. The trip was a lot of fun.
Friday, June 5, 2009
We left Midland about 9:45 AM for the 6-hour drive to Ruidoso. Our first stop once we arrived was the Billy the Kid Scenic National Scenic Byway Visitors Center.
Joe, Dawson and James
We stayed at the River’s Edge Cabin. It was a really nice cabin, although the river out back was disappointing since the embankment was under construction. The cabin had games and we played an hour long game of Uno after arriving. I eventually won. Dinner was at Cafe Rio, which had excellent hand-tossed pizza. We then went to Pillow’s Funtrackers, where we played a round of miniature golf.
James and Olivia
Deer (seen near the cabin)
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Flowers (seen near the cabin)
Flower Close-up
View from Monjeau Lookout
Dawson and James
Jennifer and James
Joe and Olivia
Dawson
After driving down the steep, mostly dirt road from the lookout, we went to the Flying J Ranch for their chuckwagon supper and western stage show. They had pony rides and gold panning for the kids. Dawson found 5 tiny pieces of fool’s gold. There was a gunfight between the “sheriff” and the two “outlaws” in the street of the “western village” before we went into the theater/dining hall to find our seats at table C6. After the dinner bell was rang by a little girl named Kate, we were directed table by table to the serving line. Dinner consisted of chicken or beef, beans, a foil-wrapped baked potato, chunky applesauce, a biscuit, and a piece of spice cake. After everyone finished eating, the Flying J Wranglers put on a show that consisted of western singing and some comedy and was very entertaining.
Dawson Panning for Gold
Sheriff During the Shoot-out
Sunday, June 7, 2009
After spending the majority of the morning relaxing at the cabin, we went to Kidz Konnection, an awesome playground where James had as much fun as Dawson.
James Goofing Off
Dawson
Joe and Olivia
We then had lunch at Casa Blanca Restaurant. They served tasty Mexican food and had excellent service. Afterward, we dropped Dawson and Joe off at the cabin since Dawson didn’t want to go to the horse races and it was very windy. The rest of us then went to Ruidoso Downs, the first time I’ve been to a race track. The first race we watched was the 6th of the day. James picked #4 Eyejesslovelouisiana, Olivia picked #5 Jess a Candy Gal and I picked #10 Jess Sippin. If we had actually bet, Olivia would have been richer as #5 won. We also watched the 7th race, a Thoroughbred race before heading to the Racehorse Hall of Fame on the second level of the grandstand. We then caught the 8th race from the second level of the grandstand.
6th Race
8th Race
Monday, June 8, 2009
We left the cool cabin getaway by 8:30 AM New Mexico time and arrived back in Midland at 3:30 PM. James and I had initially planned to continue back to Austin, but ended up spending the night and getting back to Austin on Tuesday.
Nashville Scrapblog
For my in-laws, I decided to do a combination Mother’s Day/Father’s Day gift. I made a scrapblog of the trip we took in September 2007 together. We went to Nashville, Tennessee for Barrett and Rachel’s wedding and did some sight-seeing while we were there. We’re giving a hardbound book of it to them this weekend when we see them.
South Padre Island
Every year my family gets together for a family vacation. Usually we go in August or September, but with three babies scheduled to be born between August and November, an earlier trip was a necessity. This year, we went to South Padre Island. James and I had never been to South Padre before and we had a lot of fun. Check out Dzubi Dzubi Dzu and SEW Very Blessed for Julia’s and Sarah’s commentary on our trip.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Jason, Julia, James and I joined Sarah, Brian, and Cameron on their plane to Harlingen when it stopped in Austin. Cameron ended up spending most of the flight sitting with James and I. Cameron really likes his Uncle James. He also enjoyed shutting and opening the airplane window shade.
From Harlingen, it was about an hour drive in the two rental SUVs to South Padre Island. After getting settled in at the Redfish Inn, we went to eat dinner at the Shrimp Haus Restaurant, next to Schlitterbahn Beach Waterpark. My Dad and I had read a really good review in the June 2009 issue of Texas Highways about this restaurant, but we were all gravely disappointed. Afterward, we walked the boardwalk to the beach where Cameron got his first taste of the Gulf of Mexico and got soaked in the process.
View of the Gulf
Friday, May 22, 2009
After eating breakfast, we drove to Brownsville, about 45 minutes away, to go to the Gladys Porter Zoo. There were a bunch of school children at the zoo, but it wasn’t too crowded besides them. The Gladys Porter Zoo is one of the first zoos to utilize cage-free exhibits. I think my favorite exhibit was the Western Lowland Gorillas.
Mexican Spider Monkey
Butterfly (possibly a Tawny Emperor)
James and Jennifer in Front of the Gorilla Exhibit
On the way back to the island, we stopped in Port Isabel. We climbed the 75 steps of the Port Isabel Lighthouse, which was originally built in 1852. The view from the top was outstanding.
Port Isabel Lighthouse
After relaxing at the inn for a little while (so Cameron could take a nap), we returned to Port Isabel and ate dinner at Marcella’s Italian Restaurant, which was much better than the Shrimp Haus the night before. Afterwards, we watched “Will Some,” the fire-eating pirate perform some tricks before boarding the Black Dragon for some high seas adventure. We learned the pirate code. Jason, Julia and Brian practiced their fighting skills with water-shooting pistols. We saw dolphins, including a baby and his mama, in Dolphin Cove. The pirates gave us a pirate look even if we didn’t necessarily want one, because it was all about equality. For James, they just added curlicues to his mustache. Brian, Jason and Julia played hot potato with a rubber crab and buckets. Jason and Brian did the pirate limbo. The evening ended with a good view of the fireworks over the Laguna Madre bay.
Fire Breathing Pirate
Queen of Isabella Causeway
Julia, Jason, and Brian Participating in a Water Gun Fight
Sunset over the Queen Isabella Causeway
Cameron, Mary Ann and John as Pirates
Saturday, May 23, 2009
After breakfast at the inn, we went to the gulf side of the island to hang out at the beach. We jumped in the surf. I ended up losing my sunglasses when an especially strong wave knocked me over. We built sand castles. Jason asked two sun-bathers to judge for us and they picked Sarah and Brian’s sand creation.
Jason and James in the Surf
Cameron and Jason Playing in the Sand
Group Photo on the Beach
We cleaned up and had lunch at Tom and Jerry’s Burgers and Beer, a decent restaurant on the main drag. This was followed by our annual stockholder’s meeting on the covered porch of the inn. We had dinner at Louie’s Backyard, which had good atmosphere, okay food and excellent dessert. Dinner was followed by the adults playing a game of Cranium that Jason and Julia won.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Group Photo on the Veranda of the Redfish Inn
While we were at the beach, the rest of the gang went in search of paddleboats to rent on the bay side of the island. When they didn’t find any, they rented a 4-person covered bicycle that the four of them pedaled and Jason controlled directionally. Based on the pictures they took, it looked like fun.
Julia, Jason, John and Mary Ann Cycling Around Town
Monday, May 25, 2009
After a relaxing breakfast, we packed up and drove back to Harlingen to catch our flights home. I was sad to see the trip end, but we had a lot of fun.
Philadelphia Scrapblog
I made a scrapbook of our trip to Philadelphia, using the Scrapblog site. I was very pleased with my first foray into digital scrapbooking. The Scrapblog site is very user friendly and the hardcover book I printed out and gave to my Mom for Christmas turned out very nicely. The friends she has showed the book to have been impressed. I also ordered a copy for myself, the bonuses of digital scrapbooking, multiple copies for the work of one. One of the pluses to using Scrapblog is that you can publish the scrapbook to be able to share in a blog. Check it out for yourself. Let me know what you think.