Austin, TX and Bumming Rides

Friday, August 10

After way too much time passed, it actually happened. I started my vacation :D

This day was sooooo long...it actually felt like two or three days! I picked Gayle up from work at 0315, headed to my house for a quick nap, and then to the airport at 0600 for our trip to Austin. Neither of us had been, nor really heard all that much about it. I had a voucher for a flight, and my favorite BBQ sauce maker has a restaurant there...seemed like enough of a reason for me to go ;) Yes...we were flying over 2000 miles just to eat BBQ, and very proud of it.

Now we some time to fill, so we used our resources over on the VWVortex to introduce ourselves to some other VW people and get folks to show us the town. And boy...we were not disappointed. Everyone we met was superfriendly, and they sure know how to have a good time. Gayle had a friend Don that was super cool, and he even picked us up at the airport in his TDI Jetta. We met everyone at Fast Eddie's Billiard Hall (gotta love the name) and planned out the evening. Which really didn't consist of much of a plan....go barhopping and drink a lot. Austin is a crazy town- 6th St. downtown is amazing. Bar after bar after bar...it's endless. We were there in the off season and it was crazy- I couldn't imagine what it would be like with thousands of college kids. You want any type of bar scene- Austin will have it!

Some of the more memorable moments:

-We met Cort, Jake, Jason, and Sasha among others. These were some great locals that definitely know how to have a good time.

-We visited Lovejoy's, Nunos, Maggie Mae's, MooseKnuckle, Apple, Coyote Ugly, and a bunch of places I can't remember (or didn't know) the name of.

-I'm not much of a drinker, but maybe 3 or 4 times a year I cut loose and let er rip. This was one of those times. I think I had 14 beers and a couple shots. I didn't fall down, didn't throw up, didn't drunk dial anyone, but I can't quite remember how I got back to the hotel, where evidently I took a shower and threw all the towels in the tub

-I did the Thriller dance with some random guy named Rob or Ron, who I thought was part of our group but evidently was not. We had it down- it was almost choreographed! I woke up the next morning with my right palm extremely bruised- guess I got a little overzealous with the claps.

-I almost got assaulted by a random dude. He wanted to fight, but I was too happy to fight. My award winning dispostion must have cooled him off a bit.

And that was Friday.

Saturday, August 11th

Recovery day. We slept in for a little while, and prepared ourselves for that which is Stubb's. I had a game plan to stick to...order everything on the menu and eat it all. And that's exactly what we did. Brisket, chicken, pork, beef, turkey, ribs, sausage, fries, coleslaw, beans, sweet potatoes, collard greens, okra, mashed potatoes, spinach, serrano peppers, apple crisp, blackberry cobbler, banana pudding, and pecan pie. And yes, I ate it all. Maybe not all of it...but I ate a bit of everything and it was all heavenly. Plus, I stole a bottle of sauce. I know...I'm going to hell for it. But with Stubb's looking right at me I had no alternative- he wanted me to have it. Of course, we bought Tshirts galore and even an apron. I think our tab was well over $200...and totally worth it :D

Now that I've recovered from the night before, I needed to recover from Stubbs. Gayle and I went back to the hotel and zonked out. We woke up about 7pm and had an evening to kill. What should we do? Oh...I know. Get a tattoo from Katzen the Cat Lady.

Now...I love tattoos. I am completely facinated by then, and the history and stories they tell. But the crazy part is- I don't have any, and probably won't every get one. I just can't figure out what I'd want on my body for the rest of my life. Now Gayle is another story- she has ink! Two very big pieces, one complete one on her back and a work in progress on her torso and legs, plus 4 smaller ones in various places (ankle, back, back, and calf). I love them all, and she decided to add one more- to remind her of me and our first vacation together. I had never had anyone get a tattoo for me before, and it is quite the feeling. She evidently is planning on keeping me around for awhile- like forever! I'm fine with that...kinda hopin' she does ;)

Anyway, I digress. The Cat Lady. Shannon from Stubb's had some work done, and she recommended we go see this lady, you know, the Cat Lady. Now I thought she meant the person how did the Cat Lady...but no, she meant the actual Cat Lady. Which is kinda cool. She was very accomodating, staying open late to give Gayle her 7th tattoo- an orange lone star. Orange for me, the Lone Star for Texas. It's perfect, and everytime I see it I see the meaning behind it. And I smile :) Out for a quick beer and some live music, before heading back to the hotel to order room service and watch payperview movies. Hot Fuzz is some funny ish!

Sunday, August 12th

So...going to bed at 3am for the third night in a row is starting to catch up with me. Especially when I had to be up at 6:30am to meet Jason and his wife Rene for our lift to San Antonio for the MJM Autohaus BBQ and Show and Shine. This is evidently a big deal for the Austin VW crowd- it sounds like they don't get these opportunities very often. People were cleaning their cars like it was a judged show, and getting pumped up more than I have seen people get pumped in a long time. There was electricity in the air and people were totally giddy. We piled into Jason's GLI and headed out. The drive started OK...but then people started to hang it all out and get a little stupid. This is one time I was happy to be in the back seat- 'cause I probably would have joined them. Like they say, it's all fun in games until someone gets hurt. Or passes a Texas State Trooper at 105 miles per hour. He was about as cool as he could be...he only wrote the ticket for 94, which means Jason can take traffic school and get it off his record (at 95, that's not an option). Plus he only gave him a warning for not having a front plate :) It's a good story to tell at any rate.

The MJM GTG was great too. Kelly at MJM is super cool...unfortunately he was the only cool thing there 'cause the rest of it was freakin hot! I mean like super hot. Nuclear hot! I was melting! My only saving grace was that all the Texans were bitching about the heat more than I was...God knows I wanted to. It was so hot that even though there was free beer, there was no way I could drink it. After sweating my ass off for a couple hours, it was time to go. Jason and Rene suggested we stop at Chuy's for some TexMex...and again I stuffed myself. So in my most recent food coma I slept my way back to Austin, where we were dropped off and headed straight for the pool. Gotta tell ya...pools are freakin sweet. I lounged in the sun, in the water, in the sun again...and let all the stress flow away. Jason and Rene returned, and gave us a brief tour of the Austin area, followed by drinks at The Oasis- a HUGE complex that looks out over a lake. It felt like the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse, with all the balconies and stuff. I highly recommend it if you are in the area...especially if you can catch a sunset. Afterwards, we said our "See ya laters" and drifted off to bed...exhausted.

Monday, August 13th

Our last day...spent sleeping in and at the pool. All day. About 2:30 we headed to a fantastic little Creole cafe and had a light lunch before finding our way to the airport. We caught our plane, and made it home by about 11pm. I was totally exhausted....and completely happy. I don't want to belittle the occasion or anything, but it was about as perfect of a vacation as you can get. It was a great experience for Gayle and I...it kinda reaffirmed something that I think we both know. That we have something really special, and because of each other, the trip was made all the better.