Roy turns the big 4-0!

40 is a big deal and I wanted to make sure I made it special for Roy in some way.  He didn't want a party and said he agreed with my idea to go away for his birthday this year.  Just somewhere easy and relaxed.  It's always a tricky time of year right after Christmas and New Years, but the way school break worked out this year, it was perfect!  I thought about what would be his ideal way to celebrate so I settled on something that would include beer and wine and food and shopping!  Luckily we have some great options for all of those within a short road trip distance!

I didn't tell anyone where we were going or what we were doing!  I just told Roy where to drive!

Once we got part way to Austin and stopped where we'd stopped before for cinnamon buns and kolaches, I think Leighton figured it out!  But nobody know what we'd do when we got there.  And we didn't go through downtown Austin, so I kept even Leighton guessing!

We started with shopping at The Domain ...

And then had burgers for lunch at Shake Shack (Roy and I had eaten at the original in NYC many years ago, but never at any of the now wide-spread locations) ...

Then we went to a brewery.  It was advertised as kid friendly, and they even had freezies for the kids!

It was time to check into the hotel.

And then dinner at a pizza/brew pub restaurant.  I loved the idea of the long shared tables, so that's what cemented my plans to eat here!  The pretzel was also delicious!  And the salads looked great but the line was too long to go back and order one, so I didn't!

The next morning, we checked out of the hotel after breakfast and got in the car.  Nobody knew where we were headed next!  We went to San Marcos for some shopping.  We'd never been, and now I think we are all addicted!  Roy found a lot of great items, and the kids and I got a couple things too!

We had lunch at another brew pub that had a massive burger on the Texas Bucket List show we like to watch.

And we grabbed some cinnamon buns to go from a place that apparently had some of the best!

And then we hit the road and stopped at a winery for a tasting.

And then the drive home!

The next day was Roy's actual birthday, and we went out for steak for dinner.

And of course we had cake and custard for dessert, like always!

Happy 40th Roy!!!

P.S.
Unlike Roy who takes it all in stride, I can't bring myself to say that I am turning that same age this year.  I've decided to just call it the birthday that comes after 39!