Austin City Limits

Friday, November 8th, 2013

Shannon arrived at the Howard Johnson Inn after dark. Her google map sent her to the north part of Austin to an apartment complex. Once she figured out where the real HoJo really was located, she turned around and came south, crossing the Colorado River, which cuts through the center of Austin, and found the motel. We brought in her stuff, locked up Henry David, and went out on the town. Well, we didn’t really kick up our heels that much.

We went to Chuys--the ORIGINAL Chuys restaurant--it started right here in Austin. The building was old and colorful and quaint and we split a veggie enchilada plate. Even sharing the dinner, we were so full, we were glad we didn’t get a full plate each. She regaled me with stories of her time earlier this week in Austin with her close friends Shersy and Lori. 

As the evening wore on, we got sillier and sillier. We drove to downtown Austin and parked her Hyundai near 6th street and ---- and shot photos of St Mary’s Cathedral, even though it was dark. There were enough street lights to capture just a fraction of the magnificence of this building, which was constructed in-----. Looking out over the downtown area, we saw a mixture of architecture styles, from modern and post-modern skyscrapers to grand old brick buildings to ornate Gothic and romantic Victorian era buildings. And of course, in the section of 6th street known for its night life, the buildings were a hodgpodge of bars and restaurants and nice stores. It was Friday night, so the live music was pumping. After wandering just a bit, we went back to the motel. Tomorrow night we would do the music thang!

How sweet to be in Austin with Shannon.

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Saturday, November 9th, 2013

This morning involved drinking coffee from the continental breakfast room in the motel. There was only cereal and bread, no fruit or yogurt, so I returned to the room to rouse Shannon and get the good times rolling. She doesn’t drink motel coffee as a rule, so we planned to go to a quaint little coffee shop a few miles away. Within a short time, she was ready and we ventured out into the Austin city streets, ending up at Flipnotics, a great little coffee shop, perched on a hillside. They play live music most nights and a man was busy tuning the piano for the hour or so we were there. With both inside and outside seating and the shabby chic that is the cool Austin style, this little coffee shop is a local fave. While sipping our joe, Shannon and I took care of business on our macs.

Then, to the thrift shop we went. Last night, Shannon had shown me a music video about thrift shopping. Apparently, the slang term is now “poppin’ tags”. The video is by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. It does have some very “colorful” language and is a rap/hiphop song, so go there only if you like that style of music. I found it absolutely hilarious and we kept singing phrases from the song while we headed for the thrift shop.  Shannon makes me laugh so much that every thing becomes funny.

We bought books for 25 cents each; she will bring them home to Carlsbad. She picked up a few things, including a very cool leather belt pack. She can find a deal, lemme tell ya!

Then, we wandered along South Congress, or SoCo to the locals. The buskers were out on the street corners and there were several craft and art fairs tucked between buildings. We wandered through a craft fair and then into some local shops selling goods from all over the world. I have been looking for a headscarf since I lost mine several months ago. I had been unable to replace it because the fashions have changed and you can’t find a simple scarf to tie country bandana style around your head and ears. You can get either a small bandana scarf on which to blow your nose, or a long narrow rectangular scarf to tie around your neck. So, I found what a needed to keep my hair back and ears warm, as I am expecting some cold weather as I trek across Texas in November.

After coffee at Jo’s (cool, huh?), we went back to the motel and got ready for the evening. 

We met Daniel and Kristine Griffin at Masala Wok in north Austin. Daniel is my son’s best friend from 6th grade. They were best man for each other’s wedding and Daniel will always hold a very special place in my heart. Both Deois (my son) and Daniel are rather brilliant men and were the lovable nerds in high school. Both of them have a gift for languages and travel and have many exciting stories to tell. This was my first time to meet Kris, Daniel’s wife. He done good! She is just a cool lady and we had a great time. Daniel works at Spreadfast, one of the fastest growing software and website companies in the world. Daniel works in the customer support department, so he has to understand technology communications to a tee. Which he does.

After dinner, we went down to THE area in Austin to spend a Saturday night: 6th street. While Daniel was able to park in his company parking garage, Shannon and I searched the streets until we finally succumbed to a paying $10 for a spot and walking to the night scene area. We met up with Daniel and Kris, walked to a jazz club which was closed to outsiders that night, and then wandered back toward 6th street, popping into a bar with a good blues band. We had a single drink, listened to the music, and then shared hugs and goodbyes.

Shannon and I were back at the motel by 11 or so. She had meetings to attend the next day, and I had a date with HD and the road towards home.

Austin was wonderful. I loved the architecture, the shops, the funky people, the local and international arts, the music, the music, the music. Everywhere the music.

This trip has been Amazing.