On our golden day in Dallas, while most of the cast was at the Cowboys game tailgating and watching Tony Romo break another rib on the jumbo tron [because why would you watch the field?], a small group of us drove 3 hrs to Austin. in the middle of the dang state. Monday morning we pulled onto S Congress around 1pm. Halfway there, after Belton TX, down 35 south we went under this big cluster of Highway interchanges, kinda like that famous section in Dallas where 5 highways intersect. This was Waco...Definitely more metropolitan than I remember seeing from the news footage of the Branch Davidian compound in that field where that David Koresh had his creepy operation back in the 90's. I did have a sneaky suspicion just to go out to that spot and see what was left. probably not much. The idiot burned it all to the ground along with himself and 74 others. Maybe a memorial to the brainwashed?
We got to Austin. kinda like driving up to a green oasis in the middle of a desert. The 5 of us-Lee, Larkin, Emily, Jared, and I parked the car on Congress and made our way up to hopdoddy http://www.hopdoddy.com/...this local wonderland of Austin. Emily had eaten here before so we followed her lead. We agree'd looking around at the locals that there is an unusual amount of facial hair in Austin. I noticed a group of ZZ top looking guys on our way into town. particularly beards and mustaches. a little '70's show' vibe mixed with the 30 something young professional women in their lululemons. And black people. True they've embraced the whiteness but yes, black folks too. I like this town.
hopdoddy's a burger and beer spot and their philosophy is they only serve food natural-from the earth/tree/pasture/sea/nest. And as close to home as they can get. If you cant identify it in a lineup, its not on the menu. Good place, open, spacious. They get it right. something difficult to find in NYC. In NYC, new burger places pop up every few months-offering whatever word will get their yoga gluten free conscious clientele in the door. but they don't do it well. either its too Ikea ish-gray plastic decor looking and mediocre burgers that remind you of Astoria Queens or its over the top health conscious. Either way, theres always the vibe you get where they try too hard to please. I had a tasty lean medium well Bison burger with blue cheese on a brioche bun with some St Arnold Lawnmower beer. before going to explore, we went down the block and booked a room for the night at the Hotel San Jose https://www.sanjosehotel.com/index2.php.
My old grade school mate who I met up with later, Ed Hansen, told me about the history of this place. My first impression is it looked like a chic little boutique hotel. Turns out it used to be a shady motel in a seedy part of town that supplied the prostitutes and crack heads a place to do their business. The neighborhood and S Congress were gentrified and the rest is his history. The story is explained, he told me, in the documentary 'The Last Days of the San Jose'.
We headed up Congress for funky trinket and vintage shopping. It reminded me of the Little Five Points section of Atlanta. Austins hot. Its situated smack in the middle of Texas like the valley in LA where all the heat is directed to the lowland where Austins comfortably shaded with elm and cypress trees. for how hot it gets it's amazing that its still as green as it is and not a drought wasteland like you'd expect, especially given that they haven't seen a significant rain, Eddie tells me, for over a year. And that was a hurricane passing through. We ran across the street to the Sno-Beach food truck for something cool. a Horchata flavored sno-cone pick me up and then across the street to the Big Top Candy Shop for their drink of the day...a classic [real sugar] Dublin Dr Pepper and coconut cream soda. I forgot the name.
At dusk we headed toward downtown to watch 1 and a half million Mexican bats fly out from under the Congress bridge to blanket the sky in search for food. There's not a sight like this. Just a sea of bats flying in one direction over blanketing couples and kayakers on the edge of the Colorado river underneath. And they just keep coming out. Probably dropping a load of their guano on them too. The dry heat rising up from the water make the stench of the guano even thicker. And, I feel weird saying, kind of nice. Like the way I smile over the painty smell of gasoline. Only guano smells more like moldy banana bread...if you can imagine.
My boy Ed Hansen from my Clay High School days met up with us at Cedar Street Bar on 6th where Jared's friend Matt was playing piano...and we toasted to the drought. Ed makes dentures for a living... it was fascinating listening to him talk about his job...and about the meth addicts and elderly who are solely responsible for keeping him in good business. Basically if you need new teeth on the cheap, ripping your teeth out and adding dentures are the best solution.
Ed mentioned that we were in luck because Dale Watson was playing at the Continental tonight for only $5 and we could still catch his set. Dale Watson is an Austin legend. Just a maverick...sporting the shiniest most silverest fox pompadour you'll ever see. He's got to be one of the leading Nashville and International honky tonk artists of his time, spanning a few generations. I got lost in the onstage banter that follows each few songs, complete with a ditty about a cab driver, Carl who was there that night. If I'm that much of a stud when I'm his age, I'll be happy. The night ended with a MILFy drunken woman singing Patsy Klines 'Crazy' into my ear asking me if i'd sing along with her. It mustve been her warm breath pressed against my ear that gave me goosebumps because she she wasnt exactly on pitch. She pulled away wiping tears from her eyes and I told her she gave me shivers...she admitted, covering her eyes and embarrassed, 'I'm crying'. And sure enough she was. The night got ahead of her but I wont take the credit for bringing her to tears-I aint that special. Maybe it was an ex-husband...or maybe it was Dale himself who was the heartbreaker. PS-if you look close, there's quarters that stud his guitar fender. apparently the quarters were from his earlier days when fans would boo and throw them onstage.
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| Dale Watson and his Texas Playboys |
We ended the evening walking up East 6th, [Austins very walk accessible as well] past the string of bars and clubs that looked like the Ybor city strip in Tampa, until we reached Lustre Pearl and the taco truck that was attached to the backyard. Its basically part of this section of neighborhood where houses have been sold and turned into bars. They hollowed it out and stripped some of the old walls and it makes for a fun little atmosphere. Between the rustic vibe indoors, the bier garden backyard, and the ready to use hula hoops, they've got a good formula. The fish taco at the taco truck with the Shiner bock hit the spot.
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| Lustre Pearl exterior |
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| Inside |
Early the next morning, before we hit the road, we got up and went to Barton Springs Pool...actually its a big natural spring that stays 65 degree's all year round. It was so clear and clean. At the deepest part, you can look down and see the grains of green algae swaying on the rocky floor.
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| Barton Springs Pool |