Every year right after the 4th of July my husband’s side of the family rents cabins from River Rim Resort along the Frio River in Concan, Texas. This was our 2nd year to join the family for the four-day trip. There were over 90 people there related to my husband! 90! I find it incredible that every year they all come together to hang out at the Frio. My 4-year-old son and my almost 2-year-old daughter had an absolute blast this year. In fact, my son has asked me weekly if we can go back to the river.
This year we started our river trip off a day earlier then the rest of the family. Last year we felt like we needed an extra day to enjoy the river, go to a few shops and try out a restaurant or two. We could not check into our cabin until 3pm so we did our grocery shopping at an HEB in Boerne, Texas after spending the 4th of July with our good friends that live there. You really have to do all your grocery shopping before you get there because there aren’t any HEB’s or Wal-marts close by. We had my husbands truck loaded to the max! Once we were all checked in, we waited for my sister-in-law to arrive with her family and then we went to dinner at The Buckhorn Bar & Grill in Leakey, Texas. It was kid friendly! YAY! The kids could run around on the dance floor, play pool or shuffle board and sit outside. They have live music at night, too. We had awesome burgers! My husband tried their Famous Horseshoe Plate, which was an open faced burger with fries on top smothered in cheese! After dinner we drove by Garner State Park. It started to rain and we got to see a double rainbow! Absolutely beautiful!
Our cabin had two bedrooms and two full bathrooms, a full kitchen and living room with a TV and pull-out Futon. Oh, and good A/C! My family of 4 stayed in the room that had full-sized bunk beds and we had room for a pack-n-play for my daughter. You have to bring your own sheets and towels, which is a pain because it’s more stuff you have to pack and load and unload from the car and wash when you get home, but I guess you get the comfort of your own sheets and towels. My sister-in-law and her family slept in the other room, which had a queen sized bed. There was plenty of room for the 7 of us! After 2 nights my sister-in-law and her family left so we were able to spread out between the 2 rooms for 2 more nights. Where our cabin was located there were 2 larger cabins that slept 14 each and several other 2 bedroom cabins like ours. They were completing a swimming pool in the middle of all these cabins, which will be nice for future visits. The cabin is walking distance to part of the Frio River called Majors Crossing. We took the kids fishing a few times here in the mornings and evenings. It is a little deep in this location for small children, so they would have to wear life vests or floaties of some sort. It is a great starting place for tubing and kayaking the river.
For the past two years we have ended up taking our kids up to the part of the river close to the main office about a mile up the road because it is very shallow and it was closer to some of the other family members that have children the same ages as ours. We would pack coolers with drinks, snacks and lunch and camp out on the river bank for the day. The kids could walk, sit, run and play in the shallow water. My son even figure out a way to float through some small rapids with his puddle jumper on. One day all the kids shaved bars of soap for a boat race and decorated their own sails. We all met at the river on our last evening before dinner for the races. We also raced rubber duckies for the little ones.
My husband’s family always has everything all planned out for the trip: potluck desserts and a family picture on the first night, crafts in the mornings with the kids, dinners with our families, playing Tripoley for the high-school aged, college aged, Mommies, Grandmothers and Great-Grandmothers. It really is a great time with everyone. This year our family picture had over 90 people in it! Each kid got to plant their own seeds into plastic cups with googly eyes glued to it and pom-pom noses. The kids got to paint rocks and make their own frames to put a picture of them in it from the river. Super cute ideas!
On our last day at the river I decided to venture out and check out one of the shops in Concan. It was called the Frio’s Dry Fifty. They had the most adorable things: clothing for men, women and children, jewelry, purses, shoes, toys and cute home decor. I ended up leaving with a cute wooden Texas Tech sign for my husband as an anniversary gift, a Consuela make-up bag and a headband. It is definitely worth stopping at if you are in Concan and need a break from the river.
Overall, we really had a great trip. It is always great to see everyone from my husbands side of the family since we don’t get to see them as much throughout the year. I think it is really neat that they continue this tradition with their family. I did not grow up with family reunions and trips, so I am really glad that my kids get to experience it and be part of it. I am looking forward to our next trip to the Frio River. I know my kids are!
