George and I drove from Nashville, TN to Oklahoma to meet up with his friend Omar for dinner. We had originally planned to stay in Oklahoma for the night, but Omar tipped us off that our hotel wasn’t in a safe area. George and I decided it was best to keep driving south to Texas…with a car full of moving boxes and our cumbersome luggage (okay, fine, MY cumbersome luggage), we wanted to be as cautious as possible. We ended up staying in Henrietta, TX…and were a little confused by the bleak surroundings when we woke up the next morning.
How did we entertain ourselves for days on end driving in the car? Two big things (aside from great conversation): music and bubble gum. We asked our friends to make us mix CDs for the trip, and they were SO much fun to listen to! I loooooooove mixes, and having soundtracks from different people made the trip extra special. Secondly, George is a bubble-blowing master. We went through several packs over the course of the week. Did I manage to blow a SINGLE bubble the whole trip? No. I never learned this skill as a child.
We hit a significant amount of traffic getting to Austin due to an accident. It was sunset when we finally arrived, and everything looked beautiful – even from the highway!
We found a great deal at the Radisson downtown – this was the view from the parking garage.
George and I were craving steak and the hotel concierge directed us to Sullivan’s. Yum yum yum! We made the mistake of ordering the peanut butter black bottom pie for two for dessert…when they said pie, they really meant a WHOLE pie! We were soooooo full by the time we left and decided to walk around 6th Street. While we were strolling, I heard someone yell, “MARY COSTA?!” All of a sudden I saw my friend Meg running towards me! Meg’s family has known my family for ages; we lived three minutes from each other back in NH. I had no clue she was in Austin! We took a picture with the point-and-shoot to document the occasion. Small world!
Meg suggested that George and I go to the Elephant Room for jazz and drinks. It was one of the highlights of the trip, and we never would have found it if she hadn’t recommended it. Thanks, Meg!
The next day was beautiful. This was the view of the “Bat Bridge” from our room!
We ventured over the bridge to the South Congress Cafe. This is one of the MANY restaurants I discovered thanks to the Design* Sponge city guides. Ohhhhh how do I even describe the bliss that was the carrot cake french toast? I can’t. It was that good. I was not kidding when I said how much George and I love food.
We had a lot of fun browsing the funky district!
This is in celebration of the Bat Bridge. During the summer, millions of bats rise up from the bridge at dusk to feed. It’s apparently an incredible sight!
Walking back towards the downtown area:
We made a visit to the capitol building:
I played around with the camera we picked up at the antique store. George bought me one several months back and we’ve started a collection!
George found film in it!
We finished up our time in Austin by going to the Austin Museum of Art. We saw a great exhibit by David Bates, but my favorite piece was entitled “Townsville” by Polly Apfelbaum.
While we would have liked to have explored Austin a bit more, it was time for us to leave and head further south to San Antonio. We arrived later that evening and, after having quite the hotel search adventure, decided we wanted some authentic Texas BBQ. We did a quick Trip Advisor search and saw that the #1 restaurant was Augie’s Barbed Wire Smokehouse. WOW was it fantastic! George had a full rack of ribs (and nearly finished them!) and I had the brisket. We were quite satisfied.
George and I wanted to have an early start to our day in San Antonio. We kicked things off with a great breakfast at the Mad Hatter’s Tea House and Cafe (another Design*Sponge find).
Of course that’s coffee in my teacup!
We went to the Tower of the Americas for some San Antonio tourism.
Historic San Antonio!
The Alamo:
I’m not sure if George was trying to look pensive here or if he was staring at the atrocity across from the Alamo, otherwise known as the Lara Croft Tomb Raider 3D Adventure. So tacky.
Incredible lunch at the Twin Sisters Bakery and Cafe (thanks again, Design*Sponge!). Extra points for Beatles decor!!
We went down to the Riverwalk:
We decided to go back to the Tower of the Americas for happy hour and to take the “4D Big Skies Over Texas” ride that came with our ticket to the top. Now, I was unaware that 4D meant shaking seats, things popping out at you, blowing air, etc…I detest those rides! Furthermore, I have an insane fear of snakes. We’re talking completely irrational, to the point where if I see one on TV I cannot help but scream aloud and curl into a ball. It makes no sense! George thought we’d be safe going into something called “Big Skies Over Texas” but ohhh was he wrong. Not only was there a snake, but it was in 3D, and it struck the audience! In truth, I saw nothing of the snake because my defense mechanisms went into overtime the second the camera scrolled down in the desert, but I did feel air on the back of my neck and screamed out in terror. Had I not curled into the fetal position I would have felt the snake slither across my legs….ahhhhhhh! Needless to say, happy hour was a necessity after that experience.
Hours later, after we had a few tasty beverages and enjoyed the skyline of San Antonio, we decided to explore the Riverwalk at night. It was gorgeous!
George came up with the idea for this long exposure. It’s one of my favorite photos from our trip!
We had a great Tex-Mex dinner at Casa Rio. The nachos were terrific!
The Alamo at night:
We left San Antonio early the next mornings and hoped to see some missions on our way out. Unfortunately, only one was open. I grabbed a quick shot:
We had a long way to go to get out of Texas!
The open road:
This photo was one of my goals for the trip:
We tried to get a shot of the skyline of El Paso from out of our sunroof on the highway, but it didn’t work out as intended.
My dear friend Alyssa requested that George and I get a photo with a cactus, but we could not find a good one close to the road! I grabbed this shot of George’s car while on the hunt:
At a rest stop in Arizona:
Here’s a final photograph to leave you with. We spent a few days unpacking and relaxing in LA before I headed back east to Boston, but I gave my camera a break!
Road trip #2 begins tomorrow!!
by Mary
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