Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Our Weekend at Lago Vista

Our friends have retired to a beautiful community in Lago Vista, Texas. They built a gorgeous home on the edge of Lake Travis with stunning views. My friend's daughter is an interior decorator so this home is a real show stopper, beautifully appointed down to the tiniest detail. We had the entire downstairs to ourselves which consisted of 2 bedrooms, an office, 2 baths, and a den--all overlooking the lake. 

To say that we did not want to return to our humble home is an understatement. Although that little taste of luxury was intoxicating, I don't know if I could handle the upkeep on a home like that. Or the taxes. I like to keep things simple. Still...this lifestyle is very tempting... 
Views from the 2nd floor balcony



Turkey vultures are in abundance there.
We dined at the famous Oasis restaurant. Trying to eat chips and hot sauce in 100 degree temps
is not as fun as it might sound.
The Oasis has hundreds, maybe thousands of these umbrellas, but they did little to shield us
from the intensity of the sun's glare. I think I lost a couple of pounds that night.
All of us have been to Italy so we pretended that we were dining on the Amalfi Coast.
It was easy to imagine. I wish this picture had come out better, but you get the idea.
As we left the restaurant a little girl no more than 10 years old was letting this tarantula crawl all over her hands and arms. She had quite an audience, making it difficult for me to get a good shot. She must've felt a little like Lady Gaga at that moment.
Besides turkey vultures, there were plenty of these. I think it's a grackle. This was shot at The Gnarly Gar, a restaurant that sits on the water. It is clear that these birds have come to expect a steady diet of Gnarly Gar fare from clumsy and/or generous patrons.The restaurant rocks back and forth as boats and jet skis go by, and made me a little sea sick. 
Hundreds of the biggest catfish I've ever seen float up to the front of the restaurant. People dump their french fries or whatever is left over into the waters for them to greedily devour like pigs. Personally, I think it's disgusting and unhealthy, but it seems to be a custom, so I kept my trap shut.

28 comments:

TexWisGirl said...

amazing views! the heat sounds a bit miserable tho!

Evelyn S. said...

Fabulous photos!! The heat doesn't sound so fabulous, though! I was amazed at the color of that lake; I'm going to see if I can find it in my old atlas. (I have a tarantula that I "inherited" from our oldest son when he flew the nest more than 10 years ago....no spider should live this long! I've picked it up with a leather glove,but that's it.) Thanks for sharing such wonderful images.

beth said...

wow....what a beautiful place to vacation and what great friends to have :) their home sounds amazing, but as we get ready to downsize, i'm with you on the up keep.....i just don't want to do that any longer !

and that bird....maybe it's a texas grackle as it doesn't look like ours at all....

we saw huge catfish last week, too {photos to come soon} but your photo is fantastic. mine turned out pretty awful, but i wanted to share the size of these grossly beasts !

xo

Anonymous said...

Is the water down THAT MUCH? (4th shot from the bottom) Surely not! Are those just cliffs or dried rock due to water level? You said you wished that shot had came out better, but it's beautiful, to me!

No way could I touch that tarantula... *gasp* =0

missing moments said...

Looks like a beautiful lake ... some great photos, except for the tarantula ... how on earth can she touch it!

Anonymous said...

Whoo-hoo! Looks like home to me, although I for sure don't have that view. I know exactly where you were, though. Glad you had a good time and got to experience my neighborhood! I just hate that we missed each other!

Anonymous said...

Gosh! I would have never known you were here in the States if you hadn't mentioned it. Lovely scenery, except for the tarantula that is, but you even made that more tolerable to examine!

Rosie Grey said...

What a wonderful selection of photos, Gail! Thanks so much for taking me around and sharing the views - it feels a bit like holiday for me :-)

Rosemary Aubut said...

Gail what beautiful photos. Glad you had a wonderful weekend in spite of the heat. Does have a very European feel. Love them all. Thanks for the tour.

Karen @ Pieces of Contentment said...

A beautiful place to visit, especially with friends and accommodation provided. I love the colour of the water.

the wild magnolia said...

What a treat, tagging along! : )

Shug said...

Some great shots...
Lake Travis is a beautiful lake. I am sure that the water level is really down...Love going to that area. Glad you had the opportunity to visit with friends and enjoy the views..sorry that it was so hot!
Enjoyed....shug

Lisa Gordon said...

What amazing views from this home Gail!
Looks like you can see forever!
Fantastic shots!

Marguerite said...

Your photos are breathtaking and so beautiful! Sounds like a lovely holiday!

Tina said...

Sounds like a wonderful get away and such a gorgeous place. Love all your pictures, they're all beautiful. Love that water tower picture, the sky is blue...gorgeous.

Anonymous said...

What great holiday photos! I love that view from the balcony.

Joey said...

Gail,

I wouldn't want to come home either... it's just a ways from us. Beautiful photographs!

Joey

Hula Girl at Heart said...

Jealous! Looks beautiful.

That catfish thing? They do it around here, too. They've done it so long, I had never thought about how that seems to others. LOL. Now that I think about it, it is kind of gross.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful series, Gail. I look forward to following your blog.

Mike

P.S. I'm one of your Flickr contacts (MNE Photography)

Tricia said...

The views from that home are just spectacular! I can't imagine how great that must be. Boy, that tarantula photo gives me the creeps. Why is she touching it? Aren't those things poisonous? I didn't even know they had those in Texas.

Unknown said...

What a view, really gorgeous. I understand what you mean:)

Anonymous said...

That catfish is a good example of poundage attributed to French fries. Nice photos though...

Starla said...

Jealous of the get away, but not the heat! I love " visiting" new places through your camera's eye!

LindyLouMac said...

It is good to be back at last catching up with your blogging activities, lovely photos and I totally get your comment about Italy and the Amalfi coast Gail :)

septembermom said...

Beautiful photos...even though the spider one freaked me out a bit LOL

Michelle said...

Okay, I don't know where to begin because several of these pictures should get special mention. It sounds like you had a wonderful time, I'm so glad you were able to get away and enjoy.

Okay...now the pics. The girl holding the spider. What can I say about that...it gave me chills...lol. The pic with the umbrellas in the foreground makes me want to go there. The beautiful blue and silver in the grackle shot is the perfect compliment to the bird. And...that water tower is very interesting. I like the way you captured it. Sorry for writing a book instead of a quick comment, but I couldn't help myself. :)

Charlotte Wilson said...

Gail,
Looks like you had a ball! Actually, it looks more like Italy than Texas. You could have fooled me.

Katherines Corner said...

beautiful! The book club selection has been posted, please add your name to the book club page. Hugs!