Birthday Present (28th Birday)

Last month, for my birthday, Claudia took me on a surprise trip to The Crossings just North of Austin. Well, the trip wasn't so much of a surprise, but the destination was. On my birthday, a Saturday, we took off driving South on I-35 from Fort Worth. The led me to believe that we were going to either Austin or San Antonio. On our way to the final destination we stopped in Waco to eat lunch with my friend, practically a brother, DJ. He wanted to know where we were going, but all I could tell him was "I don't know, it was my birthday surprise." Claudia wouldn't even let him in on the secret. I guess she thought he might tell me.
After lunch we continued South on I-35 towards Austin/San Antonio. I had asked Claudia if I could drive because I started to feel a little car-sick in the passenger's seat. She didn't mind because she could give me directions just as easy as she could drive it herself. I think it was a good idea anyway because it allowed her to read the directions without driving at the same time. (She worries me when she multi-tasks in the car) Our final destination, The Crossings, was near Round Rock. The Crossings is a resort where people can simply relax. It is an all inclusive stay so that you don't have to leave their peaceful environment to go get food. As cool as it was to eat there I wish the food was a bit better and a little less healthy. While we were there we went on a hike, a couple of walks, played Disney Trivia on our suites porch as the sun set, and relaxed. Oh, and we took pictures all along the way. (You can see them at the end of the blog)
Sunday after checking out of the resort we headed to where we plan on getting married, Chapel Dulcinea, in Austin. It was about 30 minutes away, and when we were five minutes away from the Chapel Claudia realized she left her phone in the room and we had to turn around and go back to the resort. She was freaking out and felt bad that we had driven for half an hour and had to turn around and go back, but I took it all in stride. While we were back at the resort Claudia and I decided to eat one last meal there, but we both kinda wished we hadn't since it was the worst one of the weekend. But it kept us from starving.
Finally we made it to the chapel. We arrived right as a bride and her mom did for a wedding that was about to start. The mom asked if we were there for the wedding, I wanted to ask if we looked like we were dressed for one, and I told her no. She then asked if I would carry a radio and a CD to the chapel for them so that she would have music to walk down the trail to, and I told her that I would. It was strange to me, but I commend her for her boldness. We didn't want to disturb the wedding so we walked to the reception hall to have a look around. On our way to the reception hall we came across a family of deer! It was totally unexpected and I shot a few good pictures of the deer. When the wedding was finished we scoped out the chapel and took pictures of it. We really like it. It is small and most will have to stand for our wedding, but it won't take long and the view over looking the hills is beautiful.

Now it is time for pictures. Click on a picture to enlarge it.