The Return Part 1: The Largest Spring Fed Swimming Pool in the World

San Diego.  The place of my birth.  A place that I had not been to since the summer of 1997.  Since connecting with my oldest and dearest friend, Pierre, back in 2011, I have. yearned to go home, to go back to this place I hear so much about and yet know little about.  So in January of this year my wife and I decided to do it.  Go back to San Diego and see the land of my youth.

I hate flying with my kids.  Why? You ask.  Simple.  I have to carry all their stuff: the backpacks, the car seats, the snacks, the stroller and whatever other crap my wife says the kids need/want.  I did it once with one kid and I swore a private oath that I'd never do that again.  At least not until they are older and don't require so many support items.  No.  We would be driving West.  That's the way I was raised to travel and that's how I want my kids to travel.  Not only do I have more control when driving, but you get to see more of the world and create more stories and memories.  I think this is more important than quickly traveling to places.

We departed somewhat early on a Thursday.  We were fortunate to miss the rush hour traffic of Memphis and to make it through West Memphis, Arkansas with very little issue.  The road went by in greens and browns and grays. Little Rock came and went and we finally stopped for lunch.  To save money we packed sandwich fixings and a ton and a half of snacks.  We pulled up to a rest area and began our first lunch on the road.  The kids were happy with the sandwiches and stuff that they usually don't get to eat in their day-to-day lives.  Back on the road.

The hours went on.  The sun was getting dangerously close to the western horizon and we weren't near Dallas yet.  The oldest boy began to get restless and wanted to stop.  We pulled over and got gas and saw the golden arrow of In-N-Out Burger.

Some may say this place is overrated.  Say what you will.  We don't have these in Tennessee and I have great memories of eating here when I was a kid.  Whenever I get a chance to stop at one, I take it.  We popped in and in no time we were eating those delicious burgers with animal style fries and sweet sweet Coca Colas.  It was awesome.  The feeling of being on vacation finally started to spread through my mind.

Another plus to our dinner stop was that by the time we got back on the road the dreaded Dallas rush hour was over.  Huzzah!  We made it through Dallas and then Ft. Worth.   I was surprised that there seemed to be wilderness between the two as I always thought they basically clumped together into one mega city.

I was getting tired.  The boys were getting tired and so was my navigator, my wife.  We had originally thought to camp along the way, but our gear wouldn't fit in my wife's car with all the other stuff we needed to bring.  So we abandoned that idea before departure.  We pulled off the interstate in Weatherford, Texas, a place that I had been to a few times as my grandparents used to live in a town close to it.  We found a Super 8.  It was decent.  The rooms were clean, they were close to shopping and food, and the staff were friendly.  Also, the free breakfasts are worth it.

Day two saw us depart a bit earlier than the day before and we drove into West Texas.  Desolate.  Hot.  Brown.  That sums up this region of the Lone Star State pretty nicely.  Not that it's not without it's own beauty, but it is a stark place.

By lunchtime we were rolling through Abilene.  Using the modern miracle of the smart phone, we found a nice little park to eat lunch.  It was actually right next to the Abilene zoo, but we did not stop there.  The play ground allowed the boys to run off some of their massive energy stores and gave me time to make their sandwiches.  We ate, ran some more and went to the bathroom before heading back West.

As the hours ticked by I became a bit more worried about our accommodations, or the fact that we had no plans for such.  I made a couple phone calls just before reaching Pecos, TX.  A gruff voice answered for the second number I called.
Hotel guy:  "Yes?"
Me:  "Yes, I'd like a room for the night."
HG:  "What?"
Me:  "...A room?  For tonight?"
HG:  "Oh.  How many folks you got?"
Me:  "Me, my wife, and two little kids."
HG:  "Weeellll.  I only have one queen bed left so..."
Me:  "We can squeeze in.  The boys are small."
HG:  I don't know.  I don't mind kids, but I don't y'all to be uncomfortable."
Me:  "It's fine.  We just need it for one night."
HG:  slightly irritated "Well okay.  About when can I expect y'all?"
Me:  "We are just about to Pecos and will cut down state road 17.  I guess we'll be there in about an hour or so."
HG:  "Y'all be careful on that road."
Me:  "Thanks"

It didn't click with me about what he said until about 1-2 minutes later.  Why did he say that?  Suddenly visions of The Hills Have Eyes started playing in my mind.  I could just imagine us getting a flat and ending up the main course in house full of mutants.  Great.  I white knuckled the steering wheel as we drove down the lonely road.  Trucks would pass us.  Oil derricks pumped rhythmically as we wound our way south toward Interstate 10.  Finally, we turned down another small desert road and soon found our way to the town of Balmorhea, Texas.

I had been there once before in the late 80s.  My grandparents took my mom and I there on the way from San Diego to their home in Mineral Wells, TX (the aforementioned town near Weatherford).  I loved to swim and somehow my Granddad found out about this pool near Balmorhea that was absolutely huge.   It's the largest spring fed swimming pool in the world.  It's located in Toyahvale, TX and is housed in the Balmorhea State Park.  This thing is pretty big.  It's shaped somewhat as an L with a large circular pool where the two arms meet.  The circle is about 20 feet or more deep.  I think it's actually 25-30 feet, but can't quite remember and I don't know where my notes are for this trip.  People were scuba diving in there.  There's also turtles and fish living in it.  I loved it then and have spent the last 30 years talking about it.  It is one of my best childhood memories.  It's something I wanted to do with my boys since before the oldest one was born.

We found the hotel and checked in.  It truly was small, but only $74/night it wasn't bad at all.  We had been pretty good about not buying food out so we decided to do dinner at a restaurant.  We chose a Mexican place down the road called La Cueva de Oso and it was pretty tasty.  Food sizes were good and it wasn't too expensive.  Since it was about a million degrees we decided an ice cream treat was in order.  We walked down the road to the small ice cream shop and each got a cone.  By the time we got back to the hotel most of us has rivers of melted dessert flowing down our arms.  My youngest son also had the cutest chocolate goatee.

Another powerful memory of my first trip here was that my Granddad loaded us all up in the car a little while after dinner and drove into the middle of the desert.  He had us get out and look up and bam!  The Milky Way!  It still stands out in my mind.  It's something that I didn't fully appreciate or understand at the time, but now it's something that thrills me.  So I wanted to check out the stars.  After our ice cream trek, my wife went about bathing our monkeys and I went looking for a place to see the stars.  It was still fairly light out so I wanted to track down a place so I could find it.  I asked the guy in the office where I should go and he directed me down the road to a chapel.  I found it with no issue and returned to the hotel.  I helped put the kids to bed and read for a little bit.  After awhile I could tell that it was dark out so I got ready and headed out into the desert.  The little chapel was perfectly charming...in the daytime.  Now, however, it looked like something out of a horror story.  The wind whipped through the dark desert and carried with it the cries of coyotes.  I stared up into the heavens.  I couldn't see the Milky Way just yet, but several stars were visible.  It was beautiful.  I wanted to take some pictures, but the eeriness of being by myself out there and the potential for not-so-friendly critters lurking about gave me the drive to get out of there.  I got back in just a few minutes.  I wanted to be well rested for the pool.

The water was cold.  Don't know how cold, but it was teeth chattering cold.  We all splashed around and swam.  I dove in a few times and BSed with the dads near us.  It was fun trying to stand up because the ground in the pool is covered by a slimy film.  I towed my oldest son out to the circle so he could see the turtles.  I loved being there and sharing it with my family.  It was so great and fun.   The boys, being small and skinny, got cold quickly and wanted to leave (Where's their sense of adventure!?).  We made lunch and ate while we dried off.  We were back on the interstate and heading west by 12:30pm and began our third day of travel.

Something important to note is that Balmorhea State Park advises you to buy a day pass.  I highly recommend it.  By the time we arrived at the park, there were already signs out saying that the park was full.  If we did not have the pass, we would not have been able to get in.  Here's a link to their website.