Living in Texas: the local swimming hole

Summer is, hands down, my favorite season.  Always.
And probably forever.  Okay definitely forever.

I just love spending time in the sunshine, with family and friends, goofing off, having fun.
Which is probably why I love living in a warm climate.
I would rather spend extra-long summer months splashing in water, than extra-long winters bundled up in snow.   Less clothes over more clothes?...(in the most Rated-G kind of way).
Right?  Right.

What I'm trying to say is,  I like wearing shorts.  I like swimming.  And in Texas there are a lot of swimming holes to explore.  Yay!
Some spots are calm and serene, and perfect for fishing (which we love to do)

And others are just a party on the rocks.   

If you ever come to Austin, you definitely must visit the famous Barton Springs pool and water area.  In a city that's roasting, the spring-fed water temperature stays at 66 degrees.  It's amazing.  And it also feeds into Lady Bird Lake, which we love to kayak on.  We've paddled out as a family in two kayaks, jumped out for a swim, and we've also spent date nights cruising around.

Such pretty views of the Austin skyline.

And just this week we discovered the Deep Eddy Swimming Pool which is also spring fed and overlooks the Colorado River downtown.  

It has such an interesting history---built in 1915, with a cool bathhouse, a diving horse platform, zipline, giant slide! (I wish those were still there...Wild Hearts Can't be Broken....)   But today there's a really cool mosaic depicting what it was like back then.

The water is not chlorinated because they empty half of it each day and the Spring refills the pool.  And in the summer they put up a screen and project movies! Duh-nuh, Duh-nuh, Duh-nuh (that's my best Jaws impersonation)

Basically,If the weather's warm, we're outside doing this:

And one of our favorite swimming holes so far is Blue Hole.  It's so picturesque.  And every visit is a new adventure.  One particular evening we found a turtle, a giant crawdad, frogs, and plenty of bluegill fish.

It's total small-town fun.
The stuff Huck Finn books are made of.

And the cascading waterfalls create 3 different pools for kids to enjoy from below,

or above,

or in the air.

 And most definitely in the water.  Sometimes I even jump in too.

And let my kids run around like ragamuffins.  I mean, how many bruises and dirt spots are on those legs? The sign of a good afternoon.

Thank you Texas for always showing us a good time!
As we do more swimming, I'll post again because there's so much more to discover ---like the other Blue Hole in Wimberely with a rope swing, Hamilton Pool, the Frio River....

In the mean time, you can read more about our adventures here:
Texas Day Dress
Wildflowers in Texas
Friday Night Lights
Lake LBJ
3 days at the beach - Port Aransas
The Kite Festival
Trip to Dallas
Shopping for fabric in Texas
Weekend at the Lodge
We're building a new home

Happy adventuring!