In August the Fam and I took a trip to Corpus Christi for my Father's birthday.

My dad, who served in the Air Force, has always appreciated aircrafts so my sister drew up an itinerary that included a visit to the USS Lexington Museum (one of the largest surviving aircraft carriers).

We were on the beach and weather was nice, so we also took a dip in the not-so-friendly waters where I had an uncomfortably close run in with a jellyfish.

We started the trip at our home base here in Austin. Christy and I prepared an Italian Sausage filled Timbale to kick off the occasion. Yum!

Well-rested and with full stomachs we set out to Corpus Christi with the gang. We got situated in our rooms and then exchanged birthday gifts to the man of honor.

The old folks rested and the young kids went out to explore the beach and oceanfront. I ventured into the ocean, with Christy doing her best Butter's impersonation and warning about the dangers of jellyfish. Pff. I went in anyway.

I ventured out until I could no longer feel the sand beneath my feet, and just enjoyed floating with the rhythm of the tide. Then I felt something whizz by. I turned around and then Holy Cacao!
A bulbous jellyfish about the size of small ballon just breezed by along the tide.

I darted out of that ocean, and ran to shore in a panic. Christy and my sister, wondered what all the hub-bub was about and then I explained the encounter. I could just see Christy doing a little "I told you so" dance in her head. I guess she's right (sometimes).

That was enough adventure for me that day, so we packed up and let sleeping jellyfish lie.

The next day we set out to see the local aquarium...

Curiously enough, at the end of the exhibit was Mr. Jellyfish. Just hanging out...

Day three and we were off to the USS Lexington Museum. This place was Huuuge! We toured most of the exhibits, but my personal favorite was all the planes on the top.

Inside the corridors of the ship, you could see the cafe, barbershop, dentist, theatre, and engine rooms. All very cool and interesting...

Before leaving the USS Lexington Museum and Corpus Christi, we took one final view of the ocean from the edge of the ship. My sister then told me to look down, and lo and behold a whole cluster of jellyfish as far as the eye could see -- just bobbing up and down like apples in a barrel, waiting for the next idiot to dive in for a taste of the ocean.

We started out visiting my friend since high school, Ryan Shams.  He and his wife, Alicia, just had their first child, Anjali.

She is now just about three months old, but she partied all day with us as we played some impromptu "smaller games".  If you've seen "Minute to win it" you're on the same page.  This is basically what my friends and I did at each other's houses on the weekends to pass the time.  We had a website of events, standings, and even medals.  Someone must have found that site and decided it'd make a great game show, because I swear some of the things on that show are dead on versions of the challenges we did.

After all the games we worked up quite an appetite and finished the day right by eating at a favorite shuck shack of the Shams' and playing trivia. First place secured.

We then spent the following day visiting Christy's old roommate, Jennie.  She and her husband, James, just got a new house in Atlanta (like just 2 months ago!) with a cool red door.

We spent the next couple days with them exploring areas of Atlanta like Midtown, Decatur, Buckhead and the international grocery store which was like a city by itself.  We even found a cool, hidden pie shop serving a mean homemade peach pie...

The next morning the girls woke up early to do a morning run (that Christy sticks to her half-marathon training).  And I took the opportunity to take a photo-run / walk.  We were in a great area so I saw a lot of neat things..

Later that night Jennie showed us her culinary skills preparing a delicious meal featuring chicken with blueberry compote, cornbread, and finishing with peach sorbet and sugar cookies.  Yum!

Oh, forgot to mention that Jennie also treated us to an excellent breakfast casserole (or was it a "Sasser'ole"?) in the morning as well.

With our friends going back to work, we finished the trip amongst ourselves checking out the tourist attractions like the Olympic Park, the Georgia Aquarium, and Federal Reserve Bank.

It was a great trip and here are the rest of the pics to prove it...

Definitely a great time, and something that I'll have to consider doing on an annual basis.

Check the Photos section for the pics.

This was my first trip there, and we saw a lot of the big tourist attractions....Pike's Market, Space Needle, EMP, Qwest Field, etc.

More pictures in the photos section

Pictures are in the photos section

We definitely had a great trip, and it's something that I'm sure we won't ever forget. The scenery and landscapes were stunning, the food was delicious, and the car was 'totally amazing!'

Pictures of our adventures in the Photos section.