Austin...Part Dos.

Hard to believe this trip has come to an end. SB09 was amazing and I am so thankful the idea to come to Austin to visit Amanda and LB turned into a reality. A lot has happened since Austin...Part One.

Where to begin...

Monday was Brian's (LB's boyfriend's birthday) and in his honor, she took a half day! I went to lunch on Monday at Hula Hut with JWood (a friend from college I haven't seen in a couple years) and then went kayaking Monday afternoon at Town Lake with Brian and LB. We rented a single and double kayak and I braved the windy river alone while LB and Brian navigated the waters in their double kayak. They were having some trouble and after yelling "WATER MOCCASIN" (for the second time that day), LB kinda spazzed out and leaned too far inward tipping the kayak over and sending Brian, LB, the camera, and Brian's blackberry into the water. Luckily (or unluckily), they fell over near the shore and were able to stand up in shallow mud to regain their balance. The camera and phone managed to dry out and recover so all in all, the fall provided only good laughs...Check out photos here.

Monday evening, we went to the Flying Saucer for dinner and drinks with Brian's friends before heading to BINGO. Yes, BINGO. Apparently it's a big to-do here in Austin, TX. The place smelled about as fresh as a bowling alley and was filled with smoke to high heaven but we fit right in with our coolers of beer, daubers, and BINGO sheets. We didn't realize how intense BINGO could be but with $750 games on the line, we were in it to win it. We thought we'd have a low key evening of Bingo and beer but instead found ourselves competitively engaged and focused on our 12 Bingo cards per round. Again, photos here. I walked away empty handed (well, minus the orange dauber I got to keep) but LB's friend Ashley won $337.50 after winning BINGO and splitting the pot with one other person. Not too shabby for a night out if you ask me.

I got up this morning and went for a run on the trails at Town Lake. Amazing. They have a 3 mile, 4, 5, 7, and 10 mile trail option (incredible) and I ran the 5. The weather was gorgeous and you couldn't have asked for a better setting than a park and a beautiful lake. I had lunch with Amanda at a delicious sandwich shop called Food Heads and then ventured down to S. Congress to check out the eclectic stores down in the area. I felt like a true Austin-ian.

We stayed in this evening and cooked on the new grill LB bought Brian for his birthday and enjoyed my last evening here in Austin. It's been a great past few days and I'm sad to say goodbye to this great city and to this much needed and much appreciated break from graduate school.

I hope to return to Austin soon be it to work here or just to visit again...

Be well. Cheers.