Keep Austin Weird – seriously, it is awesomely weird. We had a GREAT time in Austin visiting our friends Aaron & Melissa. I have known Aaron for 16 years through work and college. I met Melissa through an awesome book club about 4 years ago. We spent three days in the Austin area. There were late nights, sangria, inappropriate jokes, lots of laughing, shopping, BBQ, and beer… so really… we had a GREAT time.
Where We Stayed
Aaron & Melissa just moved to Austin within the last year. Although we are not the first house guests (thank Toni!) we are #2! #2! I guess I shouldn’t brag about being #2. We had our room & bathroom, plus lots of space for Sparky to get in the Austin spirit and be weird.
I also must mention, Aaron & Melissa have an Alexa, which we thought was funny. After watching several South Park episodes we enjoyed messing with Aaron & Melissa’s shopping list. In addition to Steve acting like a teenager, we learned that Alexa also plays Jeopardy and can Meow like a cat (Spark loved that). If you know Steve, you now know that Steve wants to buy one. Thanks Aaron, my wallet hates you!
What We Did
The night we arrived Aaron & Melissa took us to downtown Round Rock. We bar hopped, ate pizza, and ended the night at a Green Bay Packers Bar that had a singer who was a contestant on America’s Got Talent. Don’t ask me who, because I already forgot.
The next morning we went to a festival on the famous “6th Street” – an area known for bars, music, drunken shenanigans, and cheap pizza for those who need it. In fact, my first visit to Austin was a few months after my 21st birthday, and I was convinced that night that I was able to do the worm… it was not the worm, but more like a dead fish trying to get back into the water (sorry Mom if you are reading this). You would be happy (or unhappy) to know that there was not a repeat of the worm; I retired that dance move years ago. Still, we had a great time attending the Pecan Street Festival on the street. There were lots of arts & crafts to browse through. We also had to hit up at least one bar, so we made it a cheap one – Two Bucks! That’s right – Shiner Bock beer and Mimosas – all $2.
Aaron & Melissa took us to Rainey Street, which is the more grown up version of 6th Street. Here we enjoyed a few drinks in a place that we can actually hear each other and have a conversation. We also had some amazing German sausages at Banger’s. Our walk back to the car included seeing a few Austin highlights: the capital building, the Driskill Hotel, and Aaron even showed us a secret bar in a speakeasy style. You had to move the bookcase to get in. Very cool!
Steve and I went out the next morning to give Sparky some exercise. We went to Mt. Bonnell for a short (less than mile) hike. After hitting the many stairs in the heat, we weren’t able to find another hike nearby on AllTrails, so we had to get him tired out somehow – BATHTIME! We found a place that we could wash him at. This bath will stick out to me for a long time because of a few things. 1) When trying to blow dry Sparky, he actually bit the blow dryer and had it in his mouth. His entire cheeks got puffy and flabby; it was hilarious. 2) After the blow dryer incident, he got scared and actually jumped off the tub, which resulted in him hanging, by a rope. I frantically scooped him up. At this point Sparky was even more freaked out and we just had to call it a day. We ran some dry towels over him and called it good. Lucky for us Texas is quite hot, and he air-dried on the car ride home.
I am so happy that Aaron & Melissa are happy and thriving in Austin. We had a blast there with them. Thank you Melissa & Aaron for making us feel so at home there. We can’t wait to visit again!
What’s Next
San Antonio, Texas
I told you he got the leaf blower in his mouth too so I am not surprised to hear about the blow dryer