Inks Lake and the Frio River are probably my two favorite places in Texas. Inks, a small lake in the shadow of larger Lake Buchanan, is just about an hour northwest of Austin. It has clear, cool water, great fishing and a spot called "The Devil's Watering Hole." The Devil's Watering Hole is a quiet cove where you can swim, float and jump off a 20-foot-high rock into the water. There are hiking trails, a small river to float, and natural rock slides that send you splashing into the water below. The views on the water rival anywhere in the world. The Frio in Concan is about an hour and a half west of San Antonio. The Frio is an amazing, cool river to float down. You pack up drinks, snacks and a waterproof speaker into innertubes and just let the water take you downriver. If you'd like, you could choose to swim all day long, too. There are swimming holes, rocks to jump off of, and a giant slide that may or may not toss you a little too quickly into the crisp riv...

One score and 4 years ago, our nation was on the precipice of war. We watched in horror as the Twin Towers fell. Our mouths agape, standing in utter shock, we held on to each other. After the attacks of 9/11, our nation had never been more united. We had never been more solidified. Together. The left and the right amalgamated into Americans that day. We plastered “Never Forget” on bracelets and T-Shirts. We flew American flags in our front yards and our apartment balconies. We slapped an American flag bumper sticker on our Fords and Chevys. However, less than a quarter century later, we indeed have forgotten 9/11. We forgot the camaraderie we felt in the days following 9/11. We forgot the brotherhood that united us. We have become so polarized in our political opinions that children have gone no-contact with their parents. People have cut off lifelong friends just because they wear a red hat. We are starkly divided by race, by religion, by politics.  Yesterday, a life was ended...