Our first stop in Austin was inspired by the movie Chef which, if you haven’t watched ever or lately, I recommend highly. There’s a great scene shot at Güero’s Taco Bar in Austin and we headed there first thing after arriving Sat. afternoon. The restaurant was packed, but the outdoor music garden opened at 2:30 and we were there waiting….(It’s kind of nice when you are the hip one telling people why there is a line..) There was music all afternoon and we spent about 2 hours just lounging and listening to a group called AllSkate. Rock, Reggae, R&B, they had it all. The sun was shining, the music was lovely and the place was packed with friends, families, everyone just chillin. It was a delightful spot. Guero’s is in the heart of SoCo (South Congress) which is an amazing stretch of restaurants, boutiques, live music venues, retro hotels, etc. We walked over to The Continental Club which has been around since 1955 and listened to a group called Continental Breakfast….they were filling in for their friend who played piano for Johnny Cash but was out of town, and they played good old country swing. Then we hit the White Tiger walking to the back alleyway where there was a small stage and seating and another live band. SoCo was packed, very hip but historic too which made just wandering the streets checking out old buildings and signs pretty cool.
The next day we had reservations at Moonshine downtown and were aware that the marathon was that day, but thought we could snake our way through the crowds. WRONG. Everything was fine until it wasn’t and we spent literally 2 hours trying to find a way through the traffic to get to the restaurant. They were kind enough to save our table, but by the time we got there, couldn’t valet park, found out it was buffet only and( BTW packed with tired marathoners)….the brunch was a bummer. Frustration ruled….so after breakfast we walked off the rage by following the riverwalk. Great views of the skyline, crisp but sunny day, cool Yeti and Bote window shopping, turtles, raptors, geese, rowers and by the time our walk ended (serendipitously on Rainey Street) we ended our downtown Austin afternoon at Lucilles. Thank God for Lucille. Again, great crowd, great playlist, great sunshine….and voila, our heads were in a much better space.
Although we’ve always loved this song….we really LOVE it now and whenever it comes on we are swept back to the amazing M&M wedding at Solitude and a weekend filled with JOY and LOVE.
From Austin we headed to Port Aransas, TX and Mustang Island where we were hoping to get some beach time on the Gulf of Mexico. (We are refusing to acknowledge our president’s ridiculous ideas….. ) Unfortunately, it’s been 34-45 degrees here with serious wind gusts so trailer time has been more the norm than beach time. Blog and laundry are getting caught up! Heading next to Big Bend National Park ( hopefully it will still be open given all the NPS cuts. :(. )