Three Nights In Austin

When we left Shoeff's Barbecue, we had an hour left of driving on I-35 South before reaching Austin. Wolf's longtime friend, Kyle Johannes, is currently completing his Masters at the University of Texas and rents a house nearby the campus. Wolf traveled to Austin earlier this year to visit Kyle so he slightly knew his way around town and was able to guide us to his place. Unfortunately, Kyle was back in his hometown of Bellevue, WA attending a wedding, but his house was vacant. Or so we thought.

Without any keys, we had no way of getting into Kyle's place so we planned on setting up our tent in his front yard. Wolf went around the side of the house looking for a place to relieve himself when he noticed a shadow from within the house. We knocked on the door and the friendly face of Sean answered. 

Sean is a neighbor and good friend of Kyle's who happened to be staying at Kyle's place for a few days in between his own house move. Wolf met Sean on his previous visit to Austin and everyone was happy to see each other. Within five minutes, Sean was in the back seat of Black Sally on our way to the Liberty Bar on East 6th street for an ice cold one. We left so quick that Sean didn't have a chance to change into a Hawaiian Shirt Wednesday outfit.

Wolf and Sean catching up with each other. Sean was a graduate student at University of Texas studying geology, a school synonymous with the subject due to the abundance of oil off the gulf coast. Sean had other plans for his degree.

Austin is known for its night life on 6th Street. The first night we made it to West 6th, which is the clubby, touristy part of town. 

Peter and Sean cheersing in front of a band that played all the southern rock favorites. From "Sweet Home Alabama" to some crappy country hits.

Here's the band butchering a version of a Kid Rock song. The building in the background was designed by an alumnus of Rice University who happen to have an owl as a mascot. If you look at the top of the skyscraper, you can make out the face of an owl in an abstract way.

Peter and Sean playing ping pong with the locals at a bar that served a variety of craft beers from all over the country. Once again, Rogue Brewery from Oregon was a featured beer.

Wolf entered the game to face the same challengers. Wolf is adamant that ping pong is his best sport. Peter is unfortunately an average player and we lost a few close ones against these guys.

After ping pong we went to Rappolo's pizza, which was voted 16th best pizza in the country by some obscure poll. The pepperoni slices were to die for.

Wolf and Sean sporting Texas horns in front of the UT Tower as we continued on the mile-long walk back to Kyle's house. 

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The next morning we did our best to sleep in, but the lack of air conditioning in the morning called for an early departure of a coffee shop. We had a touristy day planned of checking out the campus and downtown, but needed a wake-up espresso to get the day going.

We went a local coffee shop called Thunderbird. The first appearance of the blog on the blog. 

Sean told us to check out Waterloo Records in downtown Austin. The best record shop we had been to on the trip also consumed the most money we had spent at a record shop on the trip. We purchased albums and greatest hits of Badfinger, Lovin' Spoonful, The Kinks, Kevin Ayers, Hall and Oates, Fleetwood Mac, Nuggets Volume 2, and Donovan (check out "Barabajagal" at the bottom).

The intense Austin heat is tough to beat, but the locals know about the free three-hour parking at Whole Foods downtown. We had never seen such leisurely grocery shopping. We picked up burger sliders and corn for our own Texas BBQ. Here is a picture of the craft beer bar, which is situated next to a wine bar and three restaurants. Apparently people need a thirty-minute break in between the vegetable and bread aisles.

It was lunch time and we were in the mood for a refreshing beverage. We had plenty of time in the three-hour lot, so we walked a few blocks to Shoal Creek Saloon.

Clearly you could tell from the above picture, but we enjoyed our Modelo Especials over a few games of shuffleboard.

Our next stop on the city tour was the Texas Capitol. This beautiful burnt orange structure is said to stand just a few feet taller than the US Capitol Building in D.C. Texas' reputation lives strong.

On our way back to Kyle's house, we passed through campus on our way to the football stadium. As we were driving, we snapped this picture. If you guessed basketball arena, you are correct.

After circling the building looking for access into the stadium, we found an open gate and walked in. Oddly, it allowed some views and paths along the concourse, but there was another fence blocking field access. Security is even bigger in Texas. On a side note, we did find an unlocked gate. It was closed, so we decided avoid the breaking and entering case which may have ensued.

Statue of Heisman Trophy-winning running back and marijuana enthusiast, Ricky Williams.

And Earl Campbell. We had seen a statue of him before in Canton, Ohio.

Our access allowed us entrance into one of Texas' practice facilities.

When we got back to Kyle's, we immediately got the grilling going.

16 sliders for the three of us.

The sliders were hand formed with jalapenos, onions, cheese, and infused spices (we got them at Whole Foods). We added brie and mozzarella to the mix. They were cooked a delicious medium and the corn complemented them perfectly.

With a cheers of our... drinks, we headed to Rainey Street. This street is a renovated neighborhood of houses which were turned in to bars. Each has a unique feel with several rooms inside with nice backyards to play a variety of lawn games.

Our first stop was Bar 96. We enjoyed a 16 oz Lone Star while playing this game.

It seems so easy. The purpose of the game is to guide the ring and have it catch on the hook. After thirty attempts a piece, Peter was the only successful player.

Amazingly, at the second bar we went to, Lustre Pearl, Peter bumped into friend from University of Oregon, Miranda Cavness. Miranda now lives in Austin and wants to become a nurse.

The two gentlemen on the left are current students at the University of Oregon and were staying with Miranda on their own cross country road trip. I knooooow. Crazy, right?! (Not in the picture: Wolf, who was playing another game of ping pong)

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The next morning, we visited Peter's late grandmother's best friend, Nati, and her husband, Jack, at their retirement home in Austin (see follow-up post). 

After a late couple nights in Austin, we decided to take it easy. We headed back to campus to get our bowling fix.

We passed several fast food chain restaurants in the student union building before arriving at the bowling alley on the basement floor. Here is Peter tossing in his patented bounce spinner.

We decided to shoot pool after bowling.

And then our night began. We had a lot of time and hadn't experienced all of the Austin nightlife. We wanted to see the historic Scoot Inn, but there was a terrible band playing which required a cover. We figured since it has been around since 1871, it probably isn't going anywhere.

Close to Scoot Inn was La Perla, which is located on East 6th St. Kyle had encouraged us to go here, so when we stumbled across this dingy Mexican bar, we had to stop in for a beer.

Our first beer was an "Armodelo." We had seen an armadillo on our drive through Texas, but this was our first Armodelo. The spicy drink calls for a Modelo Especial, salt, lime juice, and tabasco sauce. With a loaded top, you crack open the beer, the liquid flows in, and you take a drink.

We had one more over a couple games of pool. We loved this bar. The owner, bartender, and patrons were all great company.

Our next and final stop was The White Horse. It was getting late and it seemed like this was the last stop for all of Austin.

The packed bar was dancing to this band from Lubbock. The band couldn't have been any more Texan with their cowboy hats, steel guitars, and whiskey-driven covers ZZ Top (even had the beard!). 

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It was our time to say goodbye to Austin. Here is a picture of Kyle's house. Thanks for the photo bomb Sean.

As we were leaving Austin, we decided to treat Black Sally to a spa day at Jiffy Lube. We replaced two brake lights and got the oil changed. Black Sally should do us well for our hot desert excursions to come.

Donovan - "Barabajagal"