On Saturday, I went to Austin for an unofficial pledge class reunion. I did not go Friday because of many work & dog related issues, but I managed to get my butt in gear and get down there early afternoon.
We stayed in a pretty nice (and cheap, yay) motel close to downtown. The other patrons of the motel were quite interesting. Actually the city was quite interesting this weekend. There were two major events going on: 1 – hot rod convention, and 2 – relays. We witnessed some of the randomness that was the hot rod convention while we wandered around South Congress. The relays were witnessed all over town in the strange amount of traffic at weird spots, HORRIBLE drivers, and massive amount of motorcyclists (yes, strangely enough, it was relay-related).
All in all, we had a great time. I could easily just spend all weekend in a hotel room, drinking with these girls, but getting to go out in Austin was a blast. South Congress is such a fun area, filled with random stores, restaurants, outdoor seating, bars, etc. We enjoyed beer and live music at Gueros – more or less enjoyable, though it got quite crowded as we were leaving.
Saturday night, we decided to go to a very Austin-ish dinner off Lake Travis. After looking at prices, quality of food, etc., on the Internet, we decided on Carlos and Charlie’s. While waiting for a table (which always means getting a drink at the bar for us), I ran into a guy from my brother’s fraternity. Pretty funny. The food was alright, but the view more than made up for any shortcomings. Plus, I had some pretty great company. What’s not to like?!
We then went to Vino Vino, a wine bar outside of downtown, to meet up with a few friends. We enjoyed a few bottles of wine, amazing chocolate mousse, and good company in a nice atmosphere. This was definitely my kind of place. After that, we ran off to meet another friend at the Flying Saucer. We had some beers and cheese fries (always a good idea after a few drinks), and then headed back to the hotel for a little post-partying.
It was a rough morning, but totally worth it. I am so glad I went down to hang with my girls, despite how much has been going on up in the Big D. It was a great chance to relax and spend time with some of my favorite people in the world. I definitely look forward to getting together with them again.
