Adventure 72: Hill Country RV Resort/Post E

Honky Tonk

Well, she did it again. I'm a smelly skunk, and in a deep hole down 6-2. And this was all before nine o'clock Monday morning. Undeterred we pressed on for the day. First, we dashed off to the automatic car wash to give Fric a bath (So we didn't look like rubes in Austin), then we dashed down (Our third trip) to Naegelin's Bakery for a poppy seed kolache, and then we dashed fifty miles (I-35) into Austin. That's a lot of dashing around. We confirmed our reservations at the Pecan Grove, relished the perfectness of the funky place, found the site we'll have (54), and checked in at the Hyatt Hotel less than a mile away. From there we set our boots awalkin'. First, we strolled up Congress avenue, the street that keeps Austin weird (It's a success). We poked our noses into some shops, did a little people watching, and mostly enjoyed the warm sky blue day. Around lunch time I followed my nose to a great little unassuming cafe (At least from the outside), and we had a delightful lunch. We then strolled back down Congress to the capital building just to get our steps in (21,303) and to take in the magnificent pink granite structure (Taller than the Capital in Washington). After we had an afternoon nap, we went back to the South Congress Cafe for a late dinner. Both meals were excellent, and we will go again, I'm sure. The highlight of the night was the late show at the Continental Club where we enjoyed Dale Watson and the Lone Stars. They came on at ten sharp and played straight through until 1:15 A.M. Lots of campy and entertaining things happened during the show (Including a spelling bee), but the most hilarious were the nine or ten Lone Star beer commercials. Dale would do a little jig, he'd jibber-jabber about how drinking Lone Star beer improves brain cells or some such banter, take a sip, and point at the bottle just as the spot light shined on him. We can hardly wait to enjoy as much of this as we can stand when Leticia and Libby get here, and after that, when Dave and Liz Ulmen get here. Our overnight scouting trip has barely scratched the surface of what Austin has to offer, so we're excited for more. Most amazing of all, is that Judy stayed awake all the way. For those of you who know her, you know she is a sun up to sun down girl. After midnight is not a song she usually sings, so as you must know, Life is good, especially today.


 The view from our living room.

 Like Hunter Thompson wrote: "When the going gets weird,the weird turn pro."

 This guy was playing the lunch crowd outside the South Congress Cafe.

 This rusty, faded door, and the plain brick exterior belied the simple elegance of the place.

 Squash bisque served over shaved fresh parmesan: sweet and yummy.

 We shared blackened tuna tacos: The plate is the fix ins' for the corn tortillas.

 Our "Frac" for the night: Room 901

 The immensely impressive capital building in Austin.

 Even the doorways are impressive, bot in weight and in cowboy elegance.

 The tiny star at the top is eight feet across from point to point.

 For dinner, we broke our sharif rule (I'm still bursting at 2 A.M. ) The entree above is a pork chop served over sweet mashed potatoes with a homemade marshmallow wedged in to provide the height for plate presentation. The vegetable were pan fried brussel sprouts.

 This one had a fancy name (Which it deserved), but it's really just a fabulous chicken fried steak served over mashed potatoes with steamed broccoli. In addition, Judy enjoyed a glass of wine from the Paso Robles area called Troublemaker. I sipped: it was ver nice.

 We can't believe we ate the whole thing.

 Dale Watson and the Lone Stars. They will appear on Austin city Limits Feb. 8.

Just one of the Lone Star commercials. Made me a little wistful.