A few weeks ago Walker and I went to Austin for a wedding. We actually had 2 weddings in the span of 3 weeks so I stayed for the entire 3 weeks and Walker came and went for 2 of the long weekends. It’s always so nice to be in Austin where the sun is shining and the nights are warm. Walker’s parents are also in town so we got to spend some time with them and also catch up with a lot of our friends both in town and visiting for the wedding.
The rehearsal dinner for the first wedding was held at Franklin Barbecue. Perhaps you’ve heard of it or seen it in those American express commercials? If not I’ll tell you it’s damn good barbecue and people wait in line for hours every morning to get a taste. If you’re the meat eating type and have the patience I recommend it next time you’re in Austin.
We stood around and drank beers and talked with our friends while we patiently waited for the food. Then we got to get in line and order what we wanted. I always go heavy on the ribs and really light on everything else. (I should also mention that I really haven’t been eating meat but I was really excited for this so I indulged a little or a lot maybe.)
It was a fun and laid back kind of party and a great way to kick off an extended stay in Austin.
It’s day 31 in the blog every day in May challenge! Can you believe it! I blogged all 31 days! I’m so proud of that and I’m so happy with all I’ve shared. I hope now you have an even better idea of who I am. So the prompt to day is: a vivid memory.
Memories are a funny thing. I remember listening to a radio lab episode about memories and how the more we recall a certain event the more it changes in our minds. So our favorite memories are the ones that have changed the most for us. Fun fact.
I’m going to tell you about the day Katie and I first arrived in Austin at the end of a 3 day drive to move there. I will set the scene a little. On the first day of the journey I got a call that the position that I was applying for, the one I made it to the final 2 of, was given to the other candidate. So I was jobless. We had yet to choose an apartment and had booked 4 days at a hostel/hotel. So we were homeless.
On the afternoon of the 3rd day of driving we made it into Austin. I remember driving through downtown thinking, holy cow, this is where I’ll be living now. We drove through downtown and ended up on the feeder of I-35 heading north. We were looking for our hostel, the Roadway Inn, when I realized we had passed it. I mentioned it to Katie and she took a pretty quick right into a parking lot. While doing so she ran over a median in the parking lot and the car stopped quickly. It didn’t end up being too terrible but the muffler had been damaged and as such made a super loud and obnoxious noise when the car was on. So here we are in the middle of Austin, it’s late August and therefore extremely hot, I’m jobless, we are homeless, the the car needs to be fixed. Wonderful. At this point we could have totally freaked out but we we calmer than I ever could have imagined and made our way to the hostel.
We checked in, unloaded our few belongings from the car, and asked the attendant to direct us to food. We headed down Dean Keeton toward campus and where it meets up with Guadalupe right across the street we saw a restaurant called Madam Mam’s. They served Thai food and that sounded good, plus we were super hot and tired from our walk to get there. (Turns out I would visit Madam Mam’s many a time while living in Austin, it was one of my favorites-plus it was really close to my work)
We split a meal since we were being frugal, remember I was jobless, and when we were done we took our leftover’s back to the hostel. Once we were back we took care of some business. Katie talked to her parents about the car. We watched some summer Olympics on tv and talked about how not hot we thought Michael Phelps was. Later that evening we decided to take a dip in the pool out front. It was somewhat refreshing and kind of funny because the freeway was right over us.
Then we went to bed in a new strange place with a lot of hope and an equal amount of apprehension.
My trip to Austin last week was pretty spontaneous. A few weeks back Walker had booked a trip to Dallas for a bachelor party so I decided I would visit friends in Austin. Plus I used air miles so it was basically free. Bonus!
My first few days in town were pretty quiet since most everyone works during the week, go figure. I used this time to take myself out on a few dates and treat myself. I got my hair trimmed, a facial, a massage, and enjoyed some of my favorite Texas beers. These few days were made even better by the amazing weather and sun. There were two days in a row that were around the high 60’s and low 70’s and nothing but sun. I sat in the sun for as long as I could and it was glorious. I enjoyed a nice local brew as I worked on my cowl for my return to colder weather.
My evenings were filled with catching up with ex-coworkers, visiting a local brewery for their monthly party, trying out new restaurants and just getting to be myself with friends. That was a nice change to the small talk I’ve been working through in Seattle trying to make new friends. I know it takes time but it was nice to take a break from all of that and just relax.
-working on a bit of knitting
-my good friend and ex-coworker took me out for a belated birthday dinner. It was so good! {crispy kale salad? Yes!}
-I got to see the new gym my old coworkers got up and running at the office
-A pretty awesome Austin brewery and lots of cans!
