I [heart] Austin!

The good news: Turns out I'm not too old to rock 'n roll. The bad news: David says there's more to come in New Orleans.

Yesterday started off innocently enough. For the first time since tearing myself away from Doug's embracing hospitality, David and I savored coffee and a light breakfast by the hotel pool without pressing to get dressed.

You can see my computer there, the daily blog just completed and posted.

Continuing our leisurely morning, David and I indulged in a rambling morning stroll along Lady Bird Lake. Why it's called a "lake" we couldn't quite figure out; as far as we could tell it had way more in common with a river than anything else. But since Austin treated us so well, I'm more than willing to give the city the benefit of the doubt.

Don't we look relaxed? It's quite the popular spot and there were lots of avid joggers, walkers, and dog owners for company. There were also several interesting distractions. First was the parcourse area, where David performed quite admirably.

Then came a random encounter with a quite large goose, who accosted us begging for food. Reminded me of the homeless folks who come up to your car begging at intersections.

At some point along our walk, we decided to stock up on car snacks at the Mothership—a.k.a. the original Whole Foods. It was truly the religious experience of the trip.

The store is a HUGE paean to gustatory satisfaction (and WAY larger than its Rockville progeny). Not to mention its artistic merit, as this still life of (some, not all) tomatoes shows.

Of course we bought far more than we intended, which assures us that, whatever Gulf disaster may strike next, we are well provisioned.

We toted our goodies back to the hotel which, we figure, put us at about 3.5 miles of walking for the morning. I can't begin to express how good it felt to be in workout clothes for 4+ hours!

Changing into something a wee bit more respectable, we walked across the bridge to another part of town for lunch.

We had seen Perla's the night before and David thought their oysters would be a perfect lunch. I liked the idea of sitting and being misted nonstop!

Our waitress was a recently minted MFA sculptor named Dawn. Fresh faced, funny, and full of good food advice, we put ourselves in her hands. It was a banner day for me -- first time I've ever tried oysters (not bad, almost even delectable), octopus (after being assured over and over that it wouldn't be rubbery, which turned out to be true), and five cocktails at lunch.

That's a snap of our fried green tomatoes with crab Louis. And here's a snap of Dawn providing stellar customer service. It was all perfect.

Having wiled away most of the day in sybaritic delights, we returned to the hotel to shower and get ready for the evening. But first, we stopped off at the pool and dangled our feet in the water. What we had expected would be a five minute stop turned into nearly an hour when David rescued an errant pigeon that was helplessly flapping its wings and trying to extricate itself from the pool. Once on land, it was too wet to fly, and sat helplessly in our hands.

David repeatedly tried to get it going, but the bird was quite simply moribund.

Eventually David set it by a tree and off we went, hoping it would be gone by morning. We had 9PM reservations at La Condesa, a restaurant that deserves top billing on your Austin itinerary. We had thought no place could top Perla's. We were wrong! Overwhelmed by how delicious and interesting every menu item sounded, we put ourselves in our waiter's hands. He did not disappoint. The high point was the entree, described on the menu as spicy guava-glazed ribs pork ribs, sweet plantains, pickled onion, queso fresco, salsa verde and cilantro. To die for and not at all captured in this photo!

And then we were off to the Broken Spoke for some two-steppin'.

What a great scene! I taught David how to two step (my old days at the Junction coming back to me) and we laughed as we managed to navigate the heavy traffic on the dance floor. We hooked up with two young ladies we had met in Marfa; around 12:30, Dawn, our waitress from Perla's, joined us as well. (That David! He can amass a harem in a matter of minutes!)

Once we'd closed down the Broken Spoke, we headed to another club, this one pounding out the techno beat. I tried to beg off but I think the "kids" loved the idea of someone so completely out of place joining their festivities. While perhaps the least flattering picture ever taken, this photo of David and me gives you an idea of what I thought of the placehow we were faring by 2AM.

I think my graying hair grew an inch from the experience!

Dawn dropped us at the hotel, at which point I headed up to bed. I don't know what else went on, only that for the kids the party was just getting started. Not sure if David had slept or not when he woke me up at 8:30 to get on the road.

And now, groggy and fighting a not unpleasant headache, we're packing up to head to New Orleans today. Wish me luck!

PS - David found the bird in the exact same spot this morning. Bummed, he walked over to see how it was doing, at which point it flew away.

Wee-Haw! We're in Texas Now!

Yes, it's true. Even the grasshoppers are bigger in Texas. We won't even discuss water bugs or snakes or any other critters!

I began my day yesterday sitting out in front of the El Cosmico office, ear buds in place, carrying on a conference call via cell phone, and pecking away at the laptop. I'm sure a shot of me contrasted with the rangy, wild surroundings spotted with trailers would have been quite amusing.

Conference call completed, we darted off to the Chinati Foundation for a tour. Marfa as an art center was conceived by Donald Judd, who saw it as a space where he could (finally) exhibit large-scale installations as he thought they should be shown. The tour lasts a full day but we only did the morning segment. Here are some photos of his work (aluminum), an installation of an abandoned school by a Soviet artist, a Chamberlin welded piece, and the Marfa barge (which may also be by Judd or not; don't quite remember).

Absolutely worth the visit, and had we not been committed to a seven-hour drive to Austin, we'd have stayed for the afternoon tour as well. (Now, along with seeing the Marfa Lights, I have a reason to return.) I really got how Judd used space, how he positioned the works in a way that really allows you to see and experience them.

To give you a further idea of Marfa, one of its best restaurants, Food Shark, also operates a food truck that happened to be strategically placed about a block from where the morning tour ended. That's where we had lunch.

And then it was off to Austin. The scenery was compelling, as you can see from David's expression in the picture below.

Okay, it was not very interesting. But at least they let you go through quickly.

We decided to stop in Fredericksburg, LBJ country, for dinner. The town was settled by Germans and still has many biergartens and Alpine touches. We ate at Hondo's, basically a burger joint with a very nice garden and live entertainment.

The weather was cool enough to sit outside. Quite enjoyable. And we were noticing something new in the landscape -- trees! We were definitely moving out of the Southwest and into different terrain.

After dinner it was a little under 1.5 hours to Austin and our lovely Radisson overlooking the lake. We dumped our luggage and headed over to the Hotel San Jose. The place is owned by the same folks who run El Cosmico and we had considered staying there. But the room rate is over $250 per night so, instead, we decided to check out their bar for a drink.

If it weren't for the fact that you can actually get a table as soon as you arrive and that there's space between the tables, you'd think you were nestled into a courtyard in hipster NYC or LA. Young, attractive folks, steel and wood decor, misters going nonstop. Very pleasant, although it was also my first encounter with something I haven't experienced for a while -- humidity! (Gosh, and I haven't missed it at all!)

This morning is perhaps the second (maybe third) time this trip that I haven't had to get up and get out immediately. David and I are luxuriating by the hotel pool, sipping our Starbucks coffees and contemplating a walk around the lake. It's going to be hot, hot, hot today and I look forward to a hot time tonight!

Marfa Marvels

It’s really hard not to skip over everything that happened today and just talk about where we ended the day. But that would be wrong. So here’s how we traveled from El Paso to Marfa. (By the way, today's entry was guest edited by the real professional writer, David.)

We hit the road under a cloudy and cool (high 70s) sky. Unlike last night, when the streets were grimly deserted, they had apparently trucked in a load of actors and set designers; people were walking about, stores were open, and the abandoned look of the night before was gone.

About an hour outside of El Paso, traffic had thinned. Realizing we were only a few miles from Mexico, we decided to see how close we could get without ending up on some kind of government watch list. So we ditched I-10, and headed down a parallel road, the smooth pavement turning to dusty gravel. 

From here it was through a sea of cotton fields until we dead-ended at an intimidating berm. The end. No border patrol. No helicopters hovering overhead. No gunshots. Just everything looking very abandoned except the thriving cotton crop. Slightly eerie, but I think that had more to do with my imagination than any actual strangeness.

A few U-turns and countless potholes later, we were back on the freeway, happily cruising southeast until I noticed…that I was nearly out of gas. By the time we got to the metropolis of Sierra Blanca (metropolis = two gas stations and two, maybe three restaurants), the car was begging for fuel.

And so were we. 

Across from the station we noticed Curly’s BBQ, a delightfully ramshackle joint that specializes in anything smoked, seared, and spicy. 

Teresa, the owner, plied us with delicious Texas treats – a brisket sandwich for David, and a Curly’s special for me. That’s a fire roasted poblano pepper covered with brisket and melted cheese.

Do we look content? I think David's camera app takes pictures of my aura!!

Teresa and her husband were with the Border Patrol (where, by the way, we’d been stopped again outside Sierra Blanca), and she regaled us with quite a few stories about what goes on along the border. Short version: drugs, bureaucracy, drugs, bureaucracy, illegals, bureaucracy, illegals on drugs.

Filled with food and tales, we set off again. David settled in for a long nap, which he needed since apparently someone in the hotel had snored and kept him up for several hours the night before. He conked out as I sped along I-10 and then veered off for Route 90 to Marfa.

It was along this stretch that the car turned a milestone of sorts. Check out the odometer reading. 

Oh, and here’s the speedometer reading at one point. The roads are so flat and deserted that this is not a difficult speed to achieve. I consider this my homage to Ruth Wadsworth Murphy.

We passed miles of pecan trees, which introduced a strong green color into the landscape. 

By and large, it’s greener around here than I expected. We still had a huge sky that dwarfed the land but the clouds were no longer so disorderly.

 About 10 miles or so outside of Marfa, we passed the Prada store.

Actually, this is an art installation, truly in the middle of nowhere. It’s so abandoned that David could lie in the middle of the road while I shot his picture.

Here’ a 360 degree video. I hope you can view it.

Soon enough, we arrived in Marfa. Here’s the main intersection. 

We headed for our digs for the night, the coolest place I think I’ve ever stayed. It’s called El Cosmico, a set of variously sized vintage trailers, tents, and tepees that have been outfitted in a hip, funky way. We are in the Imperial Mansion, a two-bedroom model with a lovely kitchen, pink bathroom, leather sofa, and front porch. 

You park at the office and walk a pathway to each home. These photos really don’t do it justice. You have to picture how completely barren this area is to appreciate how cute a randomly gathered set of mobile homes can be.

Why Marfa? David suggested seeing it. It’s the hipster, New Yorker ex pat town in Texas where artists come to lose or perhaps find themselves. It’s Williamsburg, New York, with far more land than people, and I can hardly wait to explore it tomorrow. Tonight we'll be meeting a friend of David's for drinks but that will have to be told in the next blog entry.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

We woke up in Tucson this morning to find ourselves situated on a beautiful golf course at the foot of the mountains. Checking with the extremely helpful help at breakfast, we learned that there was wonderful hiking at the Sabino Canyon nearby, so after (reluctantly) packing up, we headed over there.

Hatless and otherwise unprepared except for the water we were carrying, we managed about a 45 minute hike in the 98 degree temperatures. It was hard to believe this was a natural landscape -- the plantings looked so judiciously placed. There were several types of cactus and scraggly trees, little shade and the sound of thunder in the distance as a storm rolled over the mountain top.

It was altogether a wonderful expedition, although it was so hot I insisted we keep the top up on the car as we drove for the rest of the morning/early afternoon.

Leaving Tucson (without actually ever going into the town proper, something for the next visit), we decided to detour to Tombstone for lunch.

Lunch at the Pioneer Grill (barbecue pork for me, chicken with bacon sandwich for David) filled the bill. We then walked around Tombstone, which really consists of promenading along wooden sidewalks nicely shaded with an overhang and glancing into one tourist trap after the next. Nothing really called to us so we skipped the OK Corral re-enactment (of which there are many to choose) and found our way back to I-10 and the route to El Paso.

This was our first encounter with being close to the Mexican border (the whole reason we chose this route). On our way back from Tombstone, we were stopped, inspected, and sniffed by the Border Patrol.

The weather by then had turned quite ominous. If you can make it out in the photo below, you can see where we could see the sheets of rain ahead. (We could also see past the rain to where it was clear again, something that never ceases to amaze me out here.)

The sky and the light was spellbinding. The terrain was not at all what I expected -- more mountainous and green than I had conjured up in my mind.

As we neared the New Mexico border, a rainbow appeared and accompanied us for the next 20 miles or so through intermittent rain.

We made it across the border and into New Mexico. Kudos to David for snagging this shot at 80+ mph and with two other signs in front of it. You'd have thought we pulled over for this one!

We switched drivers and David took over. Here's a shot of a HUGE train that was passing alongside of us. It, too, shows how crazy the sky was.

New Mexico featured some rather disconcerting road signs.

It's actually a series of 4 signs. As David pointed out, if there really was zero visibility you wouldn't be able to even read the signs so what's the point except to put you on edge? But we had no dust ups and eventually crossed through New Mexico, lost an hour due to the time change, and found ourselves crossing the Texas border at nightfall.

After some deft driving on David's part, we finally located our hotel, the Camino Real in downtown El Paso. The streets around the hotel were completely deserted at 8:30 -- nothing but blowing paper and plastic bags and gated businesses. Very eerie. Some welcome!

Fortunately the hotel (built in the early 1900s) was livelier and featured a beautiful Tiffany dome atop its cherrywood bar.

Several drinks and some dinner later, we were happily settled and ready to call it a night.