Weekend on the River

I do get a lot of questions about how I plan out my random trips that I take. For the most part I thoroughly plan out about 50% of them and the other 50% are all done on a whim. Sometimes I just get the idea of wanting to go somewhere and I can’t wait to plan it out I just have to go. Meanwhile other trips I need to have them planned out because they are mainly the longer and expensive trips.

A few weeks ago I decided in about a 5 hour time period that I was going to take a trip down to New Braunfels, Texas and go float the Comal River. When I got off of work on Friday I packed up the basic things and headed south. I had not made a reservation at any hotel, didn’t know what I was going to eat, or what I was going to do besides float the river. I like trips like these because it leaves my trip with an open agenda and I don’t feel rushed to get done with one thing so I can get to the next.

While on the drive down to New Braunfels, I happen to look up to see if there was anyone performing at Gruene Hall that I could go see. Just my luck, Chris Knight was going to be performing Saturday night. So the only 2 things I had on my list for the weekend were to go float the Comal River and see Chris Knight. At the same time I booked my hotel for the night in New Braunfels.

Now I do travel a lot for my job so I have a lot of rewards points for a few different hotel companies. But on the drive down I decided this was going to be a baller on a budget trip since it was very spur of the moment trip. I used some of my reward points and pay a small amount and stayed at a decent hotel room. I tried to think logical because I was only going to spend just one night at the hotel so I didn’t need to spend a ton of money on my room.

When I woke up the next morning I went and had breakfast at the hotel and then went and got a real breakfast at some local coffee shop. I tend to find that the local places are cheaper and have better quality food for you. The chain places to me try to get you your food as fast as they can and not put in any care to what you are eating. Don’t get me wrong I do enjoy some Starbucks coffee from time to time, but supporting local/small businesses is always a plus to me.

I am pretty familiar with the New Braunfels area because my aunt and uncle live here. I went down to Landa Park and did some light walking around the park while enjoying by coffee. You really couldn’t complain about the weather at all on Saturday. It was partly cloudy with a small breeze and the high was only 85 degrees. With the weather being so nice there was already a ton of people out enjoy the fresh air at the park. People were out running, playing on the playground, setting up for picnics, and so much more. This made me extremely jealous that I don’t live there.

I normally use the same tube rental place every time I come down and float the river, but they weren’t open this time. So I had to try a place a little bit further down the river. I was very eager to get on the river as early as I could because I wanted to get in 2 floats. I couldn’t have picked a better day I don’t think. As soon as I flopped in the 72 degrees year water I knew that it was going to be an amazing day. The river wasn’t busy, no loud annoying groups, or anything that could ruin this day. The tube shoots weren’t even packed, which was very surprising because how amazing the weather was.

My first float only took about roughly 2 hours. I did talk to a lot of people as I was going down the river. I am a real friendly guy and tend not to meet any strangers anywhere I go. That’s the fun part mainly about floating the river, you are there to relax and have a good time just like everyone else.

When I got off the river I jumped on the bus to take me back to the tube rental place. As soon as I got back I charged my GoPro for a few minutes, refilled my drink, and talk to some more random people in the parking lot. When I got back in the water to do my second float there was obviously more people in the water. Not like there was a ton but there were more people then this morning when I got in. Still no complaints about crowds or anything but I did see a lot more trash on the river on my second float.

There are strict rules that you have to follow when you float on the river in New Braunfels. You are not allowed to have aluminum cans, Styrofoam cups, glass, any kind of disposable containers, or zip lock bags. You can even get a ticket for having these banned items while on the river. One thing I started doing on my second float was picking up trash as I was going. If I happened to see people on the banks of the river I would ask them to throw away the trash for me. In the 2 hours I picked up 4 plastic cups, 3 tiny liquor bottles, and 2 plastic bags with food still inside them. When people think they are the exemption to the rules it can ruin it for everyone else. Just be smart and follow the rules.

By the time I got off the river the second time it was already late in the afternoon. I had called my aunt and uncle who live in town to see if they wanted to hang out, also so I could crash at their place and not have to get another hotel room. We had dinner and then it was off to Gruene Hall with my uncle to see the Chris Knight show.

If you live in Texas and you haven’t heard about Gruene Hall are you really a Texan then? Gruene Hall is the longest continually running dance hall, founded in 1878. I have seen a few shows before here but nothing at night or anything that cost anything. A lot of time during the day they have free shows of up and coming musicians. Chris Knight plays folk/Americana style music. I really enjoyed the music and the atmosphere there. You can’t go wrong with live music and a cold beer in Texas.

After the show we just came back to my aunt and uncles house and went to bed since I had to drive back home the next day. When I woke up my uncle had fixed breakfast tacos with coffee. I slowly ate breakfast with him and my aunt on their back porch enjoying every second of what I had left of my weekend.

I know it is sometimes hard to do spur of the moment trips like this because you might have more responsibilities you have to get squared away, but if you ever get the chance, “Nike”(Just Do It). I think doing these spur if the moment trips also help me plan out my bigger trips because it lets me know what I truly need plan more for. If you care to join me on one of my future spur of the moments trips or invite me to one of your trips just send me an email and let’s go!