Its so good to go home. Just so so so good to go home. And this trip was extra super special. Not just because I got to go home and stuff my face with mexican food and good beer, and not just because I got to hang out at my favorite haunts, like Town Lake, eh hem, I mean Ladybird Lake, Barton Springs, Draught House, Ginger Man, and Reimers Ranch. No, this trip was special because I got to come home and watch my little sister get married to a wonderful man. And to add to that specialness, I also and got to show Brett to Austin and Austin to Brett. As I expected, the 2 got along splendidly. And, as usual, a trip to Mexico was thrown into the bargain.
Considering that we're planning on leaving Asia next year, it's not a trip we would have done otherwise. So Kit, thank you for making me make the trip. It was a whirlwind of a trip and as usual there wasn't enough time to do everything, but we can't be accused of not cramming as much as we could into our limited time. So here's a brief rundown/highlights:
After our hellish 29 hour journey across the Pacific and Western US, we got picked up by Kit and were dropped off at our fabulous accomodations courtesy of the charismatic Argentine, Estebi. He was gracious enough to let us use his lovely apartment which is just a 5 minute walk down to Barton Springs and walking/biking distance to many of my favorite spots. My friend Lauren, who I still consider part of Austin even though she moved to Tahoe, was in town at the same time with 2 other friends. There were lots of Barton Springs and Town Lake runs. There were also sprinkles of Taco Cabana, one of my guilty pleasures.
We had countless fantastic meal with friends and family. We started off at Threadgill's with Amy and Kurt followed by a crazy Karaoke session at Austin Pizza on the drag. Kit's wedding meant that one of the other Pilgrim girls, Kate, came to town, as well as her mother, Lee. I haven't seen Lee since I was in college and we got to enjoy a delicious if not noisy dinner at Maudie's. On Sunday, I had what used to be my traditional Maria's Taco Express breakfast tacos (which got even busier than I remember but the migas breakfast tacos were still really yum) followed by climbing at Reimer's. Erik prepared his famous steak which exceeded expectations and actually put me into a food coma. Seriously. I joke about food comas, but this was an actual food coma. I got up after the last bite, went to the couch, and was unconscious. A vague recollection of chocolate getting pushed into my mouth comes up but nothing else. Magnolia's Mag Queso made an appearance in the trip followed by Shady Grove and topped off with camping chairs and a BIG pick-up truck as we gulped down an array of ambers and browns in the parking lot of the Draught House. I made another attempt at paella at Erik's house which allowed Brett and I a stroll through Whole Foods flagship store, the disneyland of pricey, socially-conscious groceries. A yuppy dream come true. A walk down to the Barton Creek greenbelt with Omar was planned to show Brett New Wall and Flintstones but Brett passed out from exhaustion. Next trip. There was dinner with Esteban and Maria at, where else but Arandas - a place you either love or hate - followed by a sad sad attempt to see Her Space Holiday at Mohawk. Brett had a nap. But I guilted myself into taking Omar for a quick hike down the Shoal Creek greenbelt. We arrived. I payed cover. I started to fade, and fade, and fade. I discovered it was another hour until Her Space Holiday came on. There was NOT A CHANCE I was going to be able to keep my eyes open until then. I missed Her Space Holiday (kicking myself). Brett tells me it was a great show. Poop.
OK. That about rehashes the visit except for the main event: The Wedding. Oh, and MEXICO. I will be spending more time on that one later.
My pictures of Austin can be found here.
