everything is trashier in texas

and i love it.

4 day whirlwind tour of austin spent a considerable amount of time OUTSIDE the city itself.

friday==>

-flew in, landed at 4:30

-straight to chuy's where we have heard they have the best: tortillas, chips, queso, frozen margaritas. we tried all of them on an appetizer platter. they lived up to the hype.

-off to hill country where they live- holy gorgeous. i thought texas was flat. nope. limestone cliffs. (whats the difference btwn a bluff and a cliff?)

-we tried the oasis. its a bar with a different number of levels depending on who you talk to. "and its got food." apparently the view is impressive. the lot looked like festival parking. we retreated.

-that landed us at rudys for second dinner. its a bbq place attached to a gas station. its a chain and they are all 1/2 gas station. texas is classy like that. it was goooood.

-then off to the hideout (bar) that reminded me a lot of christys outdoor patio in cincy. a table of 10 drank for $30. i like texas prices.

saturday==>

-brunch tacos at torches. more queso. this was my favorite tex mex place.

-then tubing... ooooh tubing. ok, so the lazy river at the water parks is based off of this thing (i dunno if its exactly THIS river, but you get the point) except you rent an inner-tube for your cooler too. you fill your cooler with lonestar. its texas pbr. it was a mixture of lazy river, rapids and a bar. think frat party meets river. everyone is excited and friendly and then 2 hours later everybody is puking. well, everybody but us bc we arent 20 anymore.

-then dinner at texadelphia. cheesteaks. fries come with a side of queso. i kid you not.

sunday==>

-breakfast tacos at gueros. queso. and really good frozen margaritas.

-shopping on south congress. it was too hot and dresses were too short. we topped it off with a snowcone.

-then we went swimming at barton springs. its the local waterin hole. GIANT pool fed with natural spring water- think 3 or 4 giant pools long. it was too green for my taste. i was also nauseous from the heat and sugar combo.

-dinner was out at salt lick. you bring your own beer and sit on their patio while you wait 2 hours to be seated. but everybody does this, and they are with their families, so you feel like you are at a really crowded high school graduation party. it was all KINDS of good people watching. i was told i need to go to dallas to see the sights bc there were some drag queen looking ladies that were, in fact, ladies. i was fascinated.

monday==>

-breakfast at kerby lane. srsly. if it isnt barbque, it comes with queso.

-home

i took 3 pictures on my phone the whole trip. i am only allowed to post 2 bc the 3rd involves luke in my swimcap and he has vetoed any posting of it... ill show you in person id you ask.

*view from the apt*

















*luke mid sentence at salt lick*