Antelope Island, UT

Although I have been a resident of Utah all my life so far, I had never been to Antelope Island State Park. The park is about one hour north of Salt Lake City. You get to it off I-15 just before Layton.
The island is accessable over a man made road through a portion of the Great Salt Lake. There is a park admission, but you pay by the carload (up to 9 people per vehicle).
Once inside the park, you can choose to stop at the visitor's center. I would suggest this, especially if you have children. Why not buy them a trinket so they have a memeory of the park? The visitor's center explains the history of the island and of the lake.
The next stop should be the beach. As you near the water's edge,you will encounter the brine flies. Dont' worry, they will move out of your way as you get closer to the water, and they don't sit in the water. They do not bite-
You must go wading, and if you are adventurous, you should try a float in it! Since the lake is so salty, your body had more bouyancy. Should you get water in your eyes, there is a trick you should know- suck your fingers prior to rubbing your eyes. This gets the salt off of them and prevents further aggitation.
When you are done playing in the water, head up to the restaurant (really more like an outdoor burger stand) to get a bison burger and garlic fries. We told the kids they were eating cheeseburgers, and it worked- they ate them!
The view from the restaurant is nice. You can see quite a bit of the island from there. If there are buffalo anywhere near, they are easy to spot due to their size and color. Make sure you go to the farm. There are replica farm houses, and equipment to look at, and if lucky, you may see some mule deer.
Buffalo are the main inhabitants of the island. You are sure to see a few of them- we did! The kids were facinated at how big they are and how close they came to our vehicle.
Overall- we had a great time!

Texas

I made it into Texas, due to training for my new job. Flew into Austin. I was disappointed in the hotel choice the company put me up in for the week. It was a La Quinta, but was located on the wrong side of the highway to walk to any of the local attractions or restaurants. My room was OK, but not the greatest.
I worked with a rep the five days of my trip. I saw a lot of country, but nothing to brag home about. One day we went to Corpus Christi, but didn't get near the ocean (not even a view of it).
The country side was interesting. I expected desert and was surprised at the areas that were lush with vegetation (grass, trees, and bushes). No mountains in this part of Texas, just rolling hills.
I ate every night at a Mexican place, that was not very busy, but had good food. On one evening, I had to walk back to the hotel in a down pour. Needless to say my clothes got soaked and I had to hang them to dry. I was glad this happened prior to my last day or I would have had to pack them damp.
Not sure when I will travel again. I am now covering only UT and ID. I will try to post places that are different and off the beaten path.