Saturday, June 7, 2014
breakfast at a nearby restaurant: breakfast burritos. john w and i took a cab to avis car rental on i-35. i drove us to his friend donna v's house in new braunfels. we met her mom who was making a tortilla chicken casserole. donna v, john w, and i visited schlitterbahn. the weather was perfect: 90 degrees and warm, occasional breezes. i've never seen a better waterpark. lockers. splashcard setup. rode rides. donna and john got alcoholic slushies at a swim-up bar. we rode more rides. we snacked on food we brought. tram. rode rides. surprised to learn it was 8 pm already—park closing time—that time went by fast. tram back. lockers. splashcard refunds. afterwards we got dinner in a small, charming, historic town called gruene. someone famous was playing gruene hall which after looking it up later I found to be Reckless Kelly. We ate at Gristmill River Restaurant & Bar (830-625-0684, 1287 Gruene Rd, New Braunfels, TX 78130) and I was amazed at the size of the place. I asked how many seats they had and was told just under a thousand. food, service, and setting were all excellent (except for the june bugs crawling on the wall and scaring me at the end of our meal). after dinner we visited the general store. we dropped donna at home and said our goodbyes. i drove for about 12 minutes before i got sleepy so i took an exit, and john w took over while i fell asleep. street parking near the hotel was easy. to bed late.