Let's take a walk...

San Marcos is a very eclectic town because of the university. A lot of the houses are rented to students, so you can have a very nice house right next door to a house that's being rented by a bunch of students who don't take care of it. That's the way it is. My neighborhood is no different. Quite a few of the homes are in disrepair and many have a lot of junk in the yard. It's hard to tell which ones are lived in by the owners and which have students because a lot of them look the same. This doesn't really bother me because my house is very nice and I've never had any problems.

When I lived in New Braunfels, I used to walk my four miles at Landa Park and have done a post on that. Then, when I lived in the apartment, I walked a trail around a nearby hospital (which was really boring). Now I live close to a park and I divide my walk between my neighborhood and the park.

One thing I do like about my area is the colorful houses. I would say most of them are white or tan or gray, but others do stand out.

Sidebar: I really don't like these mailboxes. They remind me of Little Tykes toys that I got for my kids when they were five years old. They're probably as sturdy as hell, but they sure aren't very pretty.

More color...

And everyone's favorite...pink flamingos...

Here's a fixer-upper. $50,000, but it needs "everything." Hey...a little paint, spackling and granite countertops and you could turn it around...

Into something like this...

Anyway, you can always tell the places where students are staying. They have bicycles locked up in front...and a ratty old couch on the porch. I guess it's a guy party thing with the couch deal.

But then here are some really nice places just a block or two away...

Isn't this one pretty? I love this wrap-around porch. It's a good porch to be sipping on a cup of coffee in the morning or glass of wine in the evening.

Here are a couple restaurants that are within walking distance of my house and are right across the street from one another.

This one looks more popular. Some of these local dives have some pretty good food, but I'll have to say that the Mexican ones all taste pretty much the same. Nonetheless, Jared and I want to check these places out and I will probably end up doing a post on them.

Now I'm on my way to the park and pass by where the Cat in the Hat lives...

Weird...

This is the playing field where all the little leaguers play ball. This place is PACKED on weeknights and Saturdays. I can hear all the cheering from my house.

Here's a view to the university which kind of sits on top of a hill in San Marcos. As you can tell by the train warning lights...

...a train runs through town. In fact, we have two frequently traveled train tracks that run right through the middle of town. They are required to blow their horns at intersections, which means they pretty much blow their horns the whole time they're going through San Marcos. I guess I'm getting used to it, but sometimes it can get kind of annoying.

Getting the pool ready for summer...

The San Marcos River runs through the area and here's the little falls in the middle of the park. When the weather is warm, this place is PACKED with bikini wearing college coeds and gawking male students.

Kayakers like to come here...

It IS a pretty area...


This is where we had our departmental picnic last summer...

Here is the walking trail behind the softball diamonds...

And the view from the little walking bridge...

This little guy must have thought he was pretty photogenic because he just sat there eating his food while I got right up to him to take his picture.

On the way back home, I took a picture of Gringo's house. Not a bad little house...

But grrr...I don't like the owner. But I DO like Gringo.

Poor little guy.