Gayle and I each do research before we take a trip together. Then we plan our itinerary, make reservations and plan our sightseeing. For this trip we made our plans and then we changed them several times, canceling reservations and making new reservations. We kept finding new things we wanted to see and do. But when it came to planning for Austin all we did was figure out where to stay. We didn't schedule any specific sights in Austin because we were leaving it open to see family and we didn't know what timing would work in their lives. But life happened and we will not get to see family here in Austin. In the confusion we didn't make any concrete plans.
So many people I talked to about my trip told me how wonderful Austin is. It is the bastion of liberalism in Texas. We got recommendations for where to eat, drink and eat ice cream. Our waiter in Dallas even gave us recommendations for jazz clubs and restaurants. We didn't make any plans before we crashed last night because we spent the evening researching Branch Davidians in Waco and finding additional juicy tales of the place.
We took our time this morning drinking coffee, completing our Connections and Wordles, doing laundry and getting dressed for the day. We left at 11 a.m. to go to Franklin BBQ, which was on everyone's restaurant recommendations. Their hours are 11 a.m. to sold out. We figured if we arrived around 11 a.m. we would easily get served. The first challenge was parking. We found a spot in a dirt parking lot next to a pile of trash and walked over to the restaurant. The line was so long and never moved an inch the whole time we were there. People had brought lawn chairs because they obviously knew how long it was going to take.
The man behind us said that he stood in the line yesterday and finally had to leave because he had to go to work. He said eating at Franklin BBQ has been on his bucket list for a long time....and he lives in Austin. We asked how long it might take for us to get to the front of the line. He said, "Awhile." "How long is awhile?" I asked. "A couple hours," he said. "Why do people do it?" I asked. "For the good barbecue, the social aspect of meeting others while waiting and to say they did it," he replied. The man in front of us said that he had gone to Terry Black's BBQ the night before and while the line was long it moved steadily forward. "Was it good?" "Yup." Gayle and I left our spot in line and said, "Have fun!" We headed for Terry Black's BBQ. It allowed us to drive past the State Capitol building.
The line at Terry Black's ran across the front porch and snaked around inside but it moved steadily and quickly. We chose our sides and then were directed up to the meat counter to chose what kind of meat and how much. The place was packed and so noisy we couldn't converse.
It didn't matter because we were very busy eating some good barbecue.
After lunch we decided we wanted to go card shopping. It is something Gayle and I always do when we travel together. Austin has the largest independent bookstore in Texas. It is called BookPeople, named for the Book People in Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451. Book People are those people who are dedicated to preserving books in a world where the written word is forbidden and books are burned. We enjoyed a solid hour looking at greeting cards. Gayle even found a stool to crawl up on to make sure she didn't miss even one card on the top row.
We left with our spoils to head back to our rental for naps and to move our laundry over to the dryer. But as we were headed that way we saw a store called the Whole Earth Provision Co. that looked interesting. We stopped and poked our heads in to look at cards and jigsaw puzzles. By then we were tired and ready to be horizontal for awhile.
On the way back to our rental we drove next to this pickup truck made up to look like a semi. It was blaring "Hakuna Matata". I know that everything is bigger in Texas but I think he must be compensating for something that is smaller than normal.
Gayle napped and I puttered around. I know that my sister loves jazz so I researched a jazz club where we could make a reservation for a table tonight for a late show. Our plan was to go watch the Congress Ave. Bridge bats emerge into the evening sky. We thought we could pick up some food and sit in lawn chairs to watch while we ate our dinner. The best viewing time is April to August at dusk. Oh well, there are still some bats that don't migrate. The best viewings happen in hot, dry weather. As I was figuring out where to pick up food for bat viewing, it began to rain and then to pour. So we pivoted and purchased tickets for the first show (instead of the second show) at the Parker Jazz Club. We had fifteen minutes to get ready. We got there at 6:15 for our 6:15 reservation. We ordered food and drinks and relaxed back ready to hear live music in Austin. We heard the Kris Kimura Quintet perform music from New Orleans. I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
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