to the south

Ahoy!

Another milestone for me this year is going to the south! Although some folks argue Texas is a whole other category for the south - it's Texas - it's quite possibly the closest I've been at this point in my life. We stayed with friends that say "y'all," who were incredibly kind and accommodating. Our initial goal was to meet up with our cruise director - our favorite Jewish Texan, currently in Seattle. You may know him from other appearances on this soapbox. We love him! And we love his friends! Their house is hugenormous. Although I could never imagine myself in such a house, I do appreciate the hospitality of others who have such gargantuan homes.

Our first stop was for burgers and fries - the equivalent of in n' out in this neck of the woods. The burgers were good; I'm no burger connoisseur. But the fries were way better than in n' out. Now every time I munch on in n' out fries, I'll be thinking about P. Terry's fries. My fry world has been ruined. Austin is the hipster capitol of the south, and I totally believe it. We went to a hipster coffee shop and ate at a homey brunch place in a formerly sketchy neighborhood. Also, we ate at a Tex-Mex place that gave out huge portions, and an amazing bbq place. I prefer American/ Southern bbq over kbbq. Kbbq has never been my favorite. I never want to go, and dread when others request it. It's really out of peer pressure, but such is life. There is no force as strong as peer pressure! It was hotter than a brick over pizza there! We spent part of a day on the water canoeing. We went to where the bats are and we could hear them! Another day we spent at a brewery, and then we came home and A napped for probably more than 5 hours. I love this part because he started out the day really adamant about doing something athletic. Really, really adamant. And then he napped on the couch until dinner. Sometimes the brain wants one thing, but the body wants another.

Our last day we had time to walk around downtown Austin before our flight. We made it out early to try to beat the heat. We saw the Capitol, UT, and made it all the way to the flagship Whole Foods. It was pretty toasty by the time we were on our way to the airport, but we made it before the worse of it. Whew! There was a lot of downtime at the airport, but I was more than happy to be sitting inside.

We did a lot of fun things, and ate yummy food, but Austin was so incredibly toasty! I really thought it would be normal by September. I don't understand how anybody goes anywhere for more than half the year. It's amazing. I would not make it out there. I would not.

determinedly climate controlled,
jt