Two weeks ago, the family and I took our annual trip to visit the in-laws in Texas.

I admit that before I married a Texan, I had some stereotypes in my head. One was that Texas was a bit of a dry wasteland, hot and hot and then, maybe even hotter.

Really, really hot, with nowhere to get away from the heat except for an air-conditioned car which would take you to an air-conditioned building until you got ready to get back into that air-conditioned car again. In my mind, there was little contact with the natural world, unless you were some kind of rancher.

And wasn’t everyone in Texas some kind of rancher? Or oil person?

While it’s true that Texas is often hot, hot, hot, several visits later, I’ve realized that Texas has tremendous beauty. This time, it was the wildflowers that left me in awe.

Fields and fields and fields of wildflowers. Everywhere.

Yellow and red and gold and orange filled the meadows.

Wild white poppies grew in the middle of Texas highways, and cactus flowers bloomed everywhere.

In the morning, sometimes I would go running and find a quiet road, the smell of flowers drifting across the meadows, the perfect way to start my day.

The other gift of getting to know Texas is the discovery that I can SWIM there! Outside! And it’s warm and wonderful!

First, on the day of our arrival, a short dip at the San Antonio Country Club pool. Just the thing to stretch the stiff body out after a day of travel.

Of course, as everyone knows, for me it’s all about the open water.

And I can swim for hours and hours and hours on Lake LBJ, where the in-laws live. Which makes me really super happy.

I spent hours on or on this lovely water, every single day.

My in-laws have a great spot with a path and platform where I would climb down to the water.

Every day, I found time to make my way there.

Brisk at first touch, the water was in the 70s and felt perfect after the hot sun.

Sometimes rough, sometimes the water was blissfully calm.

I spent a few hours in the water each day, thinking ahead to the Border Buster Kingdom Swim in July.

Because I am a bit of a cold water wimp, this offered me the perfect time to practice, remembering how much I love the freedom open water offers me.

The water wasn’t perfectly clear.

But the sky was often amazingly blue.

Also, how cool is this photo? I love how it looks like there’s a crazy moon loitering in the sky.

There are definitely a lot of boats on the lake, and I was glad to have my Safer Swimmer for visibility.

Yes, I take it with me any time I travel, just in case.

It made me feel even more eager to do the Lake Travis Solo Swim one of these years. Fingers crossed!

And of course, my son would like to go back really soon to do more of this.

Thanks for a lovely visit Texas! See you in the water soon!