As mentioned in a previous post, we celebrate our wedding anniversaries following the nautical/marine theme we had for our wedding. I also make it a point to catch the sunset because not only do I love sunsets (more than sunrises, yes!) but on our wedding day, I witnessed the most gorgeous sunset.
In fact, I was so captivated by the brilliant scene of the sun setting behind the Justice of Peace solemnizing our marriage I completely tuned him out for a good half minute or so. Could be longer, I’m not really sure. But he probably thought I was listening intently with a look of awe on my face, so it all works out.
The plan was to go jet skiing, catch the sunset while we’re at it, and head off thereafter for a seafood dinner. Sounds totally in theme right?!
Unfortunately we only found out literally 5 minutes before we were about to head out that jet ski rentals are prohibited after dark, and they must be returned before the sun sets. PHOOEY.
We still got the sunset and seafood dinner though, so that’s 2 out of 3!
We arrived at The Oasis, a restaurant overlooking Lake Travis. It is famed for its sunset views, not so much for the food. But that’s ok. We’re there for the ambiance!
THIS. What we came here for. Breathtakingly beautiful!!!
The restaurant was several stories high, with plenty of balcony seating, each one giving complete, unobscured views of the sunset and Lake Travis! It’s kinda unexpected to find so much water and greenery in Texas, eh?
Before I came here, when I heard the word “Texas”, it immediately conjures images of two cowboys facing off in a desert dotted by cactus in the background, and the lone gust of wind swirling by is the only thing that breaks the silence. Lol.
But nope! The capital of Texas is a far cry from a desert! Or cowboys, unfortunately.
Omg, there’s something I must mention about this photo. When we sat down, the waiter asked if we’d like any dips to go with the chips. He mentioned cheese dip and I immediately shouted said “YES PLEASE!!!” Cheese fiend in the house, yo.
Later while paying, we found out that it costs $9.
NINE BUCKS! For a bowl of melted cheese!!! (ok, plus jalapenos and other random shizz I didn’t eat anyway) But well, we were enjoying them when we were ignorant though so it tasted very nice then lol.
We shared an atlantic salmon and fried shrimp plate. It was… alright.
Salmon was too salty for my tastes but strangely Fu found it okay. He’s usually the less tolerant one when it comes to heavy flavors. Fu actually skipped the sweet potato cakes, which means it must be pretty bad since he loves sweet potatoes! Shrimp and fries were normal. It’s pretty difficult to screw up fried food.
Mascarpone cheesecake, which was cheaper than our cheese dip btw -_- Fu really enjoyed this one, and said if we ever come by again, we’ll just enjoy the view and have dessert haha.
Our total came up to $70 and we had to pay with cash since our lousy JCB card didn’t work. AGAIN. Gonna cancel that useless card when we get back to Japan.
We could only pay with a hundred dollar bill, so the change came back in one $20 and one $10 bill. We still had to leave a tip and we looked at each other.
$10 would just barely meet the 15% mark. From the waiter (very friendly!) to the servers, service was pretty good so $10 felt a little borderline. But $20 would make it a 30% tip!
In the end, we decided to go with generosity, since the service was good and it was our special day! Why not make someone else happy as well and earn some good karma points? Heh.
A few moments later, the waiter came bouncing back, positively squealing with happiness and excitedly repeated how sweet we were LOL. Good karma: Score.
When we stepped outside, the place was lit up and resembled a little charming town!
The day was a simple affair, but truly, it’s the company that matters.
And I’ve got the best one by my side :)
