April 19: Austin, TX to Houston, TX

I awoke this morning pleasantly surprised I didn't have a headache after Jimmy made me have a beer with him last night. For the record, I hate (H-A-T-E) beer! It took all my resole to not retch the stuff.... Anywho, the day started off a little rocky. Steph got up this morning to go running at 7:30a, while Jimmy and I kept sleeping. When she came back at 8:50a...we were still sleeping. On this trip, I've been in charge of setting alarms and getting us going, but in my defense, no one told me to set an alarm last night, so I didn't. Anywho, we got ready and left the hotel a mere half-hour later than originally planned.... We then proceeded to wander downtown Austin, including visiting the Capitol. We were hoping to see the legislature in session, but everything was pretty quiet. Jimmy wanted to barge in on the legislators' offices and yell, "let's make some laws, bitches!" but in the end we just took a couple of pictures...



...including this one of me under the portrait of Gov. George W. Bush (he's no Reagan, but he'll do).

We hadn't had breakfast, and it was already 10a, so. We set off to the little...town?...community?...

of Driftwood for the supposedly "World Famous" Salt Lick BBQ. They had an all-you-can-eat deal where they just kept refilling a large plate with sausages, beef brisket, and pork ribs, and an assortment of sides and BBQ sauces (including the dreaded habanero). I wasn't feeling too well, so I didn't eat as much as Jimmy and Steph, but here's what the food looked like...

...now multiply this by three and you start to get an idea of what we're working with here.

Back on the road and off to San Antonio...the trip wasn't too long, though now we had a bundle of leftover BBQ in the backseat to be mindful of--Steph took care of it, though....


Once in San Antonio, there was some confusion as to how to get to the Alamo, but we eventually found it. It's literally in the middle of downtown San Antonio--I had always envisioned it just outside the city to give it a sort of significance it deserves, but no, it's in the midst of the bustling metropolis. Once there, my search for the basement of the Alamo began! (If you got that reference, award yourself 50 bonus points)


After the Alamo, we decided to wander San Antonio and to go on the "Riverwalk." I was confused and thought this was some sort of tour, and it was only halfway through that I realized the Riverwalk is a series of shops and restaurants set along the river that runs through the city. Okay, so I clearly wasn't paying attention when we were planning the day, but the Riverwalk was actually really cool, as seen in the following pictures....




On our way to Houston we stopped at something called Buc-ee's--a little rest stop based on some beaver mascot--with clean bathrooms and an abundance of snacks and other merchandise. Steph got a pair of pajama shorts, but otherwise pretty uneventful....


Once in Houston, we had to race to our hotel because we were supposed to meet Steph's high school friend, Carol, for dinner. Here's something I didn't know about Houston: their "freeways" aren't free at all! They actually require tolls! Jimmy lost about fifty cents when he partially missed one of the toll dealies. Checked into the nicest hotel we've been in on this entire trip (sorry, Sandia Peak Inn in Albuquerque, but once again you're #2), then hustled over to Rudy's BBQ for dinner with Carol.

I thought this place was WAY better than the Salt Lick (Food Network, get off your ass and check THIS place out!)...take a look at these pictures and judge for yourself....




Kept Carol out talking WAY later than we meant to (she's a graduate student and has work tomorrow), then returned to the hotel to plan our day tomorrow...looks like we're going to the Space Center...hooray!