Thank God For Weekends

I don’t know about you, but after a hard week of work (actually, as soon as the week starts) I’m ready to hit the road and enjoy another weekend. If the weekend isn’t already planned, I use Texas Outside to help us find an area to explore.

We enjoy a weekend that involves some combination of multiple activities including: camping, biking, boating, golfing, music festivals, hiking, cruising, touring, restaurants, and more. We try to cram as many activities into the weekend as we possibly can. Which means on Monday, it’s really hard to drag our sunburned, tired, and sore body into work! Having done this in Texas since 1980, we have gone through four RVs, a sailboat, three ski boats, and multiple bikes, golf clubs, tennis racquets, walking sticks, and Frisbees – the good news is that we haven’t worn out or replaced the knees, elbows, or other body parts.

Thank God For Weekends will provide you with an overview of our activities for that weekend. The overview includes: what we did, where we did it, what we liked about it, pictures, and links. Thank God For Weekends will eliminate a lot of the pain and time needed for you to research what you’re going to do next weekend. Check out the archives. In 2010 we will start putting the most recent weekend events at the top of appropriate listing.

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Current "Thank God for Weekends"

Playing & Partying On Possum Kingdom Lake

It doesn't get much better than a great weekend playing and partying on Possum Kingdom Lake. Possum Kingdom Lake is one of our favorite Texas lakes - it's scenic with clear deep water and beautiful homes along the shore and on the high towering multi colored bluffs, good camping or lodging, a couple restaurants, and a great party cove. And on a bluff above the lake is a fantastic resort and one of the best golf courses in Texas. So it didn't take much convincing of our family and close friends to get them to pack the bags and join us for a fun filled weekend on PK lake..

If you're heading to Possum Kingdom lake and want to camp, check out Possum Kingdom State Park which has over 100 sites or the Brazos River Authority has several tent and/or RV sites on the lake. You'll find plenty of options for lodging from rustic cabins, to hotel rooms, to a fantastic resort. Our choice is to stay at The Cliffs Resort & Spa. They offer a variety of accommodations ranging from great hotel type rooms with panoramic views from a sheer bluff 200 feet above the lake, one bedroom Villas with a kitchenette, or two bedroom two bathroom fully equipped condos. On our last trip we stayed in the condo and loved it - they are well done and very roomy and have a full kitchen and great views of a couple holes on the golf course. The only downside of staying at the Cliffs is that none of the lodging is on the water.

The Cliffs does have a marina with overnight boat slips, ships store, and boat, waverunner, and kayak rentals. So bring your boat or plan on renting one - you've got to spend some time on the water. Possum Kingdom lake (see this interactive Possum Kingdom Map map) is huge with over 310 miles of shoreline. The lake is narrow as it twists and turns through some beautiful hill country, along towering sheer bluffs, and past some huge stunning mansions. On Saturday, we spent all day on the lake:

cruising the south end of lake at the base of the bluffs, enjoying the cool clear water in one of the coves, and wishing we could find a way to afford one of the beautiful homes on the bluffs or dotting the shore
skiing along the bluffs which seems to always offer some smooth water
tying up with some of the up to 100 boats that raft together for a party in the cove at Hells Gate - you'll get to know a lot of fun people
heading over to the Grill at the Harbor to enjoy a margarita and appetizer on their outstanding stone patio on the lake

The patio at the Harbor's Grill Rafting together in Hells Gate at Possum Kingdom Lake The bluffs of Possum Kingdom

After a full day on the lake it was back to the condo to BBQ some steaks and a rousing round of cards. As much as we wanted to go to bed early to make sure we had a clear head for our tee time the next morning, it never happened.

The Cliffs Resort is home to 18 of the best golf holes in Texas. This course will throw a something of everything at you including: elevated tee boxes, forced carries over deep ravines, bunkers, berms, water, rock formations, dog legs, and some narrow approaches and landing zones. It is clearly one of the most unique and toughest courses in Texas and playing it with a hangover is not recommended! The secret when you play the Cliffs is to buy a lot of used cheap balls, move up a set of tee boxes, forget about scoring well, relax and enjoy the scenery. This is also one of the most scenic courses in Texas and has some of the best par 3s around. Holes 8 and 9 play along the tall bluffs overlooking the lake - these are a couple holes where we always loose a few balls to the ravine or the lake and at least two balls trying to see how far out over the lake we can drive the ball - winner always gets a margarita! Our grand kid loves to drive it off the high bluff. Watch out for boats below. This is a must play course and one you will want to play again. Read our review of the Cliffs Golf Course to find out why it is in our top 25 Favorite Texas Courses.

One of the holes at the Cliffs Golf Course The Grandson getting ready to drive on into the lake One of the par 3's at the Cliffs Golf Course

After a round of golf, we either head to the Spa to clear the head and relieve the kinks, to the pool to cool off, to the tennis courts for a couple sets if we still have the energy, or to the bar to settle the debts. The pool and bar seem to be the most typical ending to a fun round. And to satisfy the appetite after a challenging round, the Chaparral Grill at the Cliffs serves some very good grub.

The Cliffs offers some very reasonable stay and play packages. Another fun weekend and we can't wait to get back - Thank God For Weekends.