Austin

I am waaaay behind on this post.

But you can't blame me. Work has been crazy. I mean, drive-me-crazy crazy.

Thankfully, this weekend provided a nice reprieve so I am ready to blog once more. Here's what I can remember:

We left SD Thursday afternoon and arrived at 8pm. Tom picked us up and took us to a festive Tex-mex restaurant for fajitas and margaritas. Yum!



The next morning, Christina introduced us to their precious baby Elowyn. Such a little cherub!


Too cute.


We also met their sweet but fierce-clawed cat Tiko.


After some hanging out, we went out for coffee and then bbq. I had moist brisket, pork ribs, and coleslaw. The ribs were a bit dry but the brisket was moist as promised, and oh so good wrapped in bread and drenched in tangy bbq sauce.


Stuffed, we walked around trying to work off our food coma. Given the hot humid weather, we couldn't resist having a cool refreshing treat. I really wish I had one of each but I settled for hibiscus tea. Good move.


Here's Badge being a dork.


Pretty butterfly in the park where we strolled.


That night, we went to an Italian grocery store/restaurant for dinner followed by delicious gelato.


They appeared to be selling the world's largest tub of nutella.


We even had took some cookies to go. The pignoli cookie was very memorable. It was chewy and packed full of almond and pine nut goodness. It also made a great breakfast.


The next morning, we took a tour of their incredibly bountiful garden.



Look at this ridiculous harvest!


Afterwards, we put on sun screen (Badge with Badger sun screen below) and went to Barton Springs for a dip in the freezing water, which actually was nice in the summer heat. It was fun sitting on the grass, watching the weirdos that gathered. Of note were the swashbuckler pirate wanna-be, the old man doing yoga in a speedo, the hippy dippy drummer and scarf dancer, and the woman with the hoola hoop (though we didn't get to see her do anything with it).


For lunch, we went to Tacodeli where I had mole chicken and pork verde tacos. The pork verde was good but the mole was incredible. I can't even attempt to describe the flavor. All I know is I wish someone could send me a mole taco every day for the rest of my life.


Once home, we decided to be nerds and play an intense game of Settlers. At one point, Tom tried to talk Badge into giving him all his cards in order to prevent me from winning. He actually considered it!


That night, we went out to a cool restaurant called East Side Showroom. The place was decorated in a very cool French burlesque style. We ordered a cheese and pate dish, venison skewers, and fried okra to start. For my entree, I had a steak with chimichurri sauce and fries. For dessert, we shared a peach cobbler. All in all, a great meal, despite all the mosquito bites I acquired.


The next morning, Tom made us a tasty breakfast of migas (eggs with tortilla chip).



For the rest of the afternoon, we hung out (I practiced by baby skillz on Elowyn). Then it was of to the airport where we watched the World Cup finals and waited for our flight.


To summarize, it was a great weekend with friends, food, relaxation, and fun. Can't wait to visit again!

Many more pics to be found HERE.