Austin, Texas - Part II

Presenting.......... the night scene of Austin!

Horse-drawn carriages on the streets!

USA Sports Car - Corvette

Oh! Hubby went out with his friends coz I had to stay in the hotel to help Megan settle down for the night. It has been a long day for her and I don't want to overtire her. It's only the beginning of the trip.

But look at what they had for dinner!

Alaska Crabs!

Red Fish!

All paid for by the US government! Boohoohoo... I had bread and canned tuna for dinner! Boohoohoo!

Do not disturb me before my morning coffee.

Nope, I won't be swayed by your fake cries! I need my caffeine!

Hmmm, I'll look for someone else to bother then.

What about you? Are you free?

Yeah! Mom's done with her coffee. Let's see if I can reach for that phone while Mom's away.

Awww shucks!

Well, we left the hotel and headed for San Antonio. There is going to be 2 stops before we reach San Antonio. First stop is the Prime Outlet at San Marcos.

My playground! You can see the tears of joy in my eyes and the tears of pain in my hubby's.

Did you see all those shops??? OMG!!! It was endless and we only entered into one section of the outlet. There was another entire section just like this which we had no time to go! 3 hours of shopping time only! It's so cruel!

Anyway, it was like the amazing race, dashing through all the shops at top speed. It's so sad when I had to leave.

Especially when we couldn't even participate in the next stop. They were going tubing down the river. My girl was underage, so........ *sigh*

There was nothing nearby for us to do. So we hang out at a biker's bar (it's the only place available) and waited for them to finish.

Did I mention how good she was on these road trips? She puts up with anything and is always in a good mood despite having no food or proper sleep throughout the bus ride.

We finally reached San Antonio! It's a really really really nice place. So nice that I wished we stay here instead of El Paso. Sigh...

Everyone's tired and hungry. Megan's doing her beauty routine.

Okay mom, so it's cleanse, tone then moisturise?

Hello? Room Service? Can I get a large sundae and fries? Hurry, before my mom gets out of the bath or there's no tips for you!

We were all tired but I wanted to go out for dinner coz they were going to the Rainforest Cafe. It is suppose to be a rainforest themed cafe. Sounds fun! How can we miss that? So off we go. Megan's a trooper! It's way past her bedtime.

MOM! Look at the big gorilla!

The picture looks a little sadistic huh? Me smiling away happily while the girl looks terrified? And just what was it that scares her? Just about everything in the cafe! Particularly this:

Scary little fellow isn't it? Especially so when accompanied with movements and sound effects.

That's Sophia. She's from Taiwan and accompanied her hubby for the same course Kevin's attending. This is her honeymoon! They just got married before coming on this trip.

Eh... we forgot to take pictures of the restaurant. The entire place was dark and has vines and huge birds, giant butterflies, gorillas and snakes! Fake of course! Hahahaha. Megan didn't seems to like the place. She tries to climb out of her high chair everytime the special effects start, like the sound of the rain, the gorillas roaring and snakes hissing.

But then, the next day, she kept pestering us to bring her back. And kept asking to look for the alligators. AIYO!

Oh! We are going to the Sea World tomorrow.... updates coming soon.

Austin, Texas - Part I

Yeah! Another road trip.... This time for about 6 days to Austin and San Antonio. First stop, Austin.

Can you see her excitment? I dunno if it's the trip or simply the bus ride that she loves. If it is the bus ride, I can save money on taxis next time!

Lunch break! Its a long ride to Austin, about 6 to 7 hours. So we need to refuel.... our stomach. I forgot to take pictures of the food we have been taking huh? This place sucks, the beef taste like leather! There's a Dairy Queen next door, I'll be taking that on our way home instead of this crappy place again!Megan and Nora.

Megan amusing the crowd with her "Ugly Face". That's how she earns all her lollipops and chocolates!

First stop, the Texas Capitol. Wowweeeee! The restoration was done in 1997, so I guess we came at the right time.

She ran round and round and round the circle until..........


"Round and round the mulberry bush, the monkey chase the weasel....... "

Oppsssss.... and she fell!

Time to start our guided tour. That is the Surrender of Santa Anna Painting. That was the Texas General Sam Houston resting under the oak tree after being wounded at the Battle of San Jacinto while the Mexican General was brought to him as a prisoner of war.

See... I actually listened!

That is because this is the first introduction of the tour. I missed everything else after that.

This is the dome from where we were standing. Each level of the stairway up has portraits of all the presidents from day one till now.

The seals of the six flags of Texas from where we were standing previously, looking up at the dome. The United States, Mexico, France, Spain and the Confederacy surround the emblem of the Republic of Texas.

Megan trying to memorize all the governors of Texas?

Fat hope... off she goes!

The Goddess of Liberty as viewed from inside the Capitol. Oh and this one is supposedly a replica. The original has been transferred to a museum somewhere.

Waiting for the rest before proceeding to the gift shop, naturally...

Horsing around the gift shop. Lucky we didn't break anything.

Acting dainty to get her lollipop again!

Back to the hotel and waiting for our next destination. The LBJ Library.

Here we are and Megan is trying to explain the events of the day to Nora. Either that or she's just drunk.

By the way, LBJ is Lyndon Baines Johnson, the 36th President of the United States. Hubby ask me why is he such a big deal that there's a whole library and museum dedicated to him. Well, I told him if he was born in Pasir Ris, raised in Pasir Ris and died in Pasir Ris after being the President of Singapore, Pasir Ris will probably dedicate a museum to him too.
I'm standing in the Oval Office ok? Dun play play.

Pictures with the Ex-President and the Ex-First Lady! Impress bo?

The Oval Room

The Red Room

The Green Room

The Yellow Room

How else will you know what rooms they are? Such innovative names!

Ok. Moving on to the last stop of the day. We are visiting a children's home. It's actually for single moms.

Not what I was expecting at all! Everything was neat and clean and looks new. I was disappointed that the children weren't in. They were all at daycare. This facility take cares of the moms and their kids by providing lodging and food. But the mommies are expected to find jobs and take care of their kids. So during the day, they will bring their kids to daycare and go to work.

Megan didn't wanna leave this place. She didn't have time to go through all the toys! This is her playground!

Tomorrow, we are going to MY PLAYGROUND!