Hill Family hits the road
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Stop over in San Antonio...Next stop El Paso!

7/8/2015

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Had a fabulous time in Houston! It was great to see my TAV peeps and hit tryouts. I've been so blessed to work with this organization. They are such an amazing group of people. I also had a great visit at the University of Houston.

Marty and the kids mainly relaxed. At this point we are dreaming about our beds and more square footage. We miss our family too!

Last night after tryouts, we headed to San Antonio. We arrived at 1:30 in the morning and stayed at an awful RV park. Fortunately it was only for us to sleep, and now we are already back on the road. We originally planned to spend a few days in San Antonio, but with so many of my athletes playing beach, I need to get home and catch up!

We have 543 miles to El Paso. This is an insane drive for us, but there is nothing in between. We will stay the night, sleep in and then drive to Phoenix tomorrow. This will put us home on Friday evening.

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George Ranch Historical Park on the 4th of July!

7/5/2015

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Yesterday we spent the day at the George Ranch Historical Park. We arrived around 11:30. We were disappointed we missed the reading of the Declaration of Independence. The truth is, we left more than enough time to get to the park for the reading, but we discovered I left my wallet in the trailer after we had already traveled 20 miles toward the park. So we had to go back, and it added 45 minutes to our drive. To top it off, the lunch was sold out by the time we got there, so we left to eat. It is just too big of a place to explore on an empty stomach with 3 kids.

We headed to the Texas Roadhouse for lunch. We were all feeling very flustered at this point, so we ate as quickly as we could and headed back to the Historical Park to explore. The volunteers working at the beginning of the tour didn't have as much knowledge and experience as the tour guide we had the last time we were there. Needless to say, it was a little disappointing. Mainly since I had raved about this place the entire drive over. The highlight were the cowboys at the end. They herded cattle, and showed us how they care for the animals. Jake, the lead cowboy, showed us the variety of whips they used over the years, and explained the history dating back to the Greeks. It was very cool! Devlin asked so many questions, Jake finally said, "Does anyone, other than this young man, have any questions?!" We laughed, but we were a bit embarrassed. We told Devlin to stop asking so many questions at least a dozen times. Clearly he has some things to work on before returning to the classroom in the fall. We will pray for his first grade teacher. He gets this from me. When I was his age  I was the exact same way. 


We left the George Ranch Historical Park around 4:00, and headed back to the trailer. We had an hour drive. When we returned, Marty got his fishing pole out and headed to the pond to fish. He met some nice people using one of the bbq's who asked if we wanted to share the grill. So we brought our hamburgers and hot dogs over to cook. It was nice to visit with some new people.


After dinner we went to a place called Chill…the Milkshake Bar. The dessert here is really good. This is a very fun place to hang out with the kids. It's similar to Which Wich. When you walk in, you fill out a form with everything you want in your shake, or you can choose a waffle. The shakes are fantastic. They have a great seating area where you can play games and hang out. The boys played checkers. We didn't spend much time here, because McKinley was a bit of a handful. So we left and headed back to the trailer to play games.


We all played a few rounds of Uno, and Connect Four. It was a great night. We missed fireworks, but after all the Disney World Fireworks, we didn't feel like we missed anything.


Today we are off to the USS Battleship Texas. There are also some battlegrounds to explore. After we will likely grab a bite to eat and head back to the trailer.

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New Orleans was a blast! We are now in Houston!

7/4/2015

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Time is literally flying! We spent a week in New Orleans, but because I was working 12 hour days, I didn't get to update the blog. We ate enough for an army, and everything was fried or buried in a cream sauce. It was fantastic for a while, but we definitely got our fill. 

Junior Nationals was a huge success. It was great to see so many of our athletes performing at such a high level. By the end, I felt like a zombie. Everything ached, and I was so glad it was over. I'm so proud of all our kids. 

The highlight of New Orleans was definitely the Swamp Tour! We went with Cajun Encounters and had an awesome experience! We saw wild pigs, alligators, a giant grasshopper, and learned about the swamp. It was beautiful. Greg was our tour guide. He was so funny, and knowledgeable. He really made it an incredible experience for all of us. 

Marty, Derek, Devlin and McKinley went to the Insectarium. They loved it! They also visited the Children's Museum. Marty wanted to hit the World War 2 museum, but didn't get the opportunity. The kids were a handful for him while I was working. By the end of each day, he was so relieved to see my face. 

We ate at Acme Oysters, Emeril's, Cafe Du Monde, Cochon, and a few other hole in the wall places in and around the French Quarter. The food was really really good! Emeril's had the absolute best corn bread I have ever had in my entire life. It was amazing! This is a dangerous place to live. We would all be 500 pounds!

We left New Orleans on Thursday, and stopped at LSU to visit the coaches and take a tour. Derek and I went on the tour. What an incredible school. If Devlin or McKinley are talented enough to play any sport at LSU, I'd send them in a heart beat. They are very focused on ensuring every student athlete is a success. They have several events on how to transition out of college, manage student loans, and network. I was blown away.

After we left LSU, we had a long drive to Houston. We stopped at Steamboat Bill's for dinner. The food was so good! The place was packed. We figured it was our last chance to fill up on cajun food before moving on to Houston. We ate 10 pounds of crawfish, gumbo, red beans and rice, fried shrimp. The cheesecake was delicious as well. Can you tell it was a healthy meal? I'm not exaggerating...we would each be 500 pounds!

We made it to Houston at 11:30 pm. The RV site is really nice, and it was easy to pull in late. The place is very well lit, and very clean. They have nice amenities and the kids are really enjoying the pool. I actually got a nap in yesterday which is unheard of and very much needed! I'm still feeling wiped out from so many back to back volleyball days in a convention center.

Today we are off to the George Ranch Historical Park. They are doing an old fashioned 4th of July with games from different generations, reading the Declaration of Independence, and we will learn about the history. Marty, Derek, and I have actually been to this park several years ago and it was one of our favorite things we did in Houston. We are excited Devlin and McKinley will have a chance to go. Devlin is excited about the watermelon eating contest contest.

We will miss our family celebrating the 4th at home. Everyone goes to my aunt and uncle's house. We are sad we won't be together, but we are trying to stay busy. We will be home next week!




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Waiting in a 30 minute line at Cafe Du Monde.
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Best corn bread EVER!
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Head Beach Coach Russell Brock
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We kind of made a mess! So worth it!
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Heavenly cheesecake!
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Derek is a giant in his bedroom in the trailer.
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Devlin and his gator bites!
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I have bags under my eyes from the long days!
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    Kara Hill is a wife, mother and business owner with a passion for travel!

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