To Austin and back

Last Wednesday Brian and I headed for Austin, Texas and we arrived back home last night. Some friends of ours were getting married and Brian was a groomsman in the wedding. He put a couple pictures up on his blog, if y'all would like to see them.

I love Austin. The weather was a bit cold the first day or two, but after that it was just perfect. It was really great to be at Becky and Matt's wedding, to see our other friends, and to just hang out in Austin for a few days. But the real star of our trip was the food.

We left Wednesday night and took turns driving through the night to arrive Thursday morning at our friends Lisa and Robert's house. We went to Freebird's for lunch, and I had a quesadilla. (www.freebirds.com) That night was the wedding rehearsal, and of course the rehearsal dinner. We ate at Buca de Beppo. All the food was pre-ordered, so we just sat down and they brought it to us. Matt (the groom) didn't think two entrees was enough, so he ordered five. So...much...food... I don't even remember what all I ate. I just remember that after serving us bread, salad, and a whole lot of entrees we got huge pieces of cheesecake. It was one piece per two people, but I still don't think anyone finished it. After being so stuffed, I was ready to get some sleep.

Friday morning Lisa (a bridesmaid) and I headed out to pick up Jo (the other bridesmaid) and go help set up the reception area and get everything and everyone ready for the wedding. We stopped on the way at a place called Taco Shack which has the best darn breakfast tacos I've ever had. We dropped our stuff off at the Bride's cottage and went to the reception hall to see what needed to be done. After a little while, Lisa, Jo, and Becky (the bride) went to get their hair done. I spent the day doing odd tasks and just helping out wherever I could. Lunch was just sandwiches and goldfish crackers for the most part. Besides, we didn't want to eat a whole lot because we were having barbeque for dinner. Before Becky got into her dress, I got to give her a half an hour massage. After the massage I gave her a couple of books to read on her honeymoon. Well, not that they'd want to be doing a whole lot of reading in Tahiti. But I got her "The Good Girl's Guide to Bad Girl Sex" which is actually a lot more about self-confidence, and then I gave her a book called "Sheet Music" which is a marriage/sex book written by a Christian psychologist and marriage counselor. They are both really good reads and really helpful for newlyweds.

The wedding itself was fairly short - only just over half an hour. But it was lighthearted overall and very fun. At the reception there was lots of chatting and dancing, and a whole lot of food. Rudy's BBQ catered the reception. (www.rudys.com) and it's probably my second favorite barbeque place to go to when I visit Austin. They had three different kinds of meat, of which I had some of each, and then they had beans and some really good creamed corn and potato salad. For meat there was brisket, sausage, and turkey. I think one of the signs of good barbeque is if the meat is so tender and flavorful that it doesn't need sauce. But of course, if you've got a good "sause" like Rudy's does, then you want to bathe the meat in it anyway. The reception wound down and we bade farewell to the newlyweds, who were off to a hotel for the night then to Tahiti for their honeymoon. Again, it's time for sleep. On the way home Lisa was so tired she was debating taking small naps at the stop lights.

Saturday morning we slept in. After a big wedding day yesterday, we just spent the morning sitting around the house doing not much of anything. We called up Jerry and Julie (other friends in town for the wedding) and met them for lunch at Chuy's. (www.chuys.com) The one thing I love almost as much as good barbeque is good Tex-Mex. Jerry ordered the Elvis Prestley Memorial Platter, which comes to you on two plates, and almost finished the whole thing. I have to say, the creamy jalapeno dip is wonderful. I could have filled up on chips dipped in creamy jalapeno if I hadn't stopped myself to save room for my lunch. I had the number five combo - Chicken Chalupa and Chicken Enchilada.

After Chuy's we walked around and saw the sights for a while. We went to Mount Bennell, which isn't really a mountain but it's the highest point in Austin and you can get a great view. After that we went to a park and walked along the river for a little while. Even with all the walking we did, I still wasn't hungry for supper. We went back to Lisa and Robert's house to watch tv and/or sit at the computers. Somewhere around midnight I think Lisa, Brian, and I went to pick up Lisa's son Bradley at school (he had an all-day band competition) and stopped off at Taco Bell. Not nearly as good as the Tex-Mex we had for lunch, but Brad was hungry and there's not much open after midnight.

Sunday we got up and went to Lisa and Robert's church, Gateway. After church we met Jerry and Julie yet again for lunch. This time at the best barbeque place I've ever been to. The Salt Lick. (http://www.saltlickbbq.com) It's served Family-style, like Buca. But they just keep bringing you more and more food. Your table will get just over halfway done with the plate of meat, and the waitress will come by and offer to "top it off" for you. And then she'll take your plate and bring it back with a new large pile of meat on it. And after you've had your fill of bread, cole-slaw, beans, brisket, pork ribs, beef ribs, and sausage you can box up whatever's left on your table and take it home.

After Salt Lick, we decided to bum around Austin for a while and went to a used CD store called Cheapo, which is also in St Paul. It's weird - there are only three cities that Cheapo is in - St Paul, Denver, and Austin. After that we went to the uber-huge Whole Foods. We spent most of our time at the chocolate section. They've got a chocolate fountain behind the counter, where you can purchase fruit like strawberries and pineapple and they'll dip them in chocolate for you right there. They've also got about 10 different kinds of fudge, also about 10 different kinds of chocolate bark, chocolate covered smores, various different kinds of chocolate treats, and more kinds of truffles than I've ever seen in my life. Brian got a chocolate covered smore and a small piece of rocky road chocolate bark. I got a chocolate fruit cluster (a cluster of berries that had chocolate drizzled over it so they all stick together), a cinnimon coffee chocolate candy, and a chai truffle. It was all very good, but that chai truffle was my favorite. It was absolutely delicious.

We said goodbye to Jerry and Julie after that so they could leave for the airport. Then Brian and I introduced Lisa to the joys of the no art dvds at Movie Trading Company, which are currently on sale 5 for $20. After that we went to the building site for Gateway church's new building to see the progress. It's really coming together, but there's still a lot to be done. They're hoping to be in it by January. Then we headed home and like Chuy's the day before, we weren't hungry for supper. We sat around and just hung out, watched tv, played on the computers, and went to bed. Then we got up the next day, put everything in the care, said goodbye to Lisa and Robert, and got on the road around 8:30am. We stopped at Rudy's, the place that catered the wedding, for some breakfast burritos and sausage wraps. The breakfast burritos are build-your-own there. You choose from a whole list of things what you'd like on your burrito, and they make it to order. It's very good. From then on it was fast food for lunch and supper on the way home. When you're on the road for 14 or 15 hours and you're anxious to get home, that's what's available to you. We stopped at a McDonalds for lunch and used the bathroom there. The sinks in the bathrooms were shaped like the state of Texas. Texans really have a lot of pride in their state, I guess. We pulled into our apartment complex, unloaded the car, and went straight to bed. After this trip, I don't think I'm going to be eating out for at least a week.