Austin, TX

I have to admit, I wasn't really all that fond of Austin. We had trouble finding places to sleep, and had to deal with asinine men (the people there in general seemed to kind of suck), and the nightlife we experienced more closely resembled a circus. There were a few highlights: Barton Springs was wonderful, and the aftermath of the Pride parade was quite visually enjoyable. Plus, we found the Austin Jesus: Moxy, Vineet's friend who rescued us from the Austin heat and let us stay on her couch.

The first morning we were all grumpy and pissed off because a certain male friend of Katherine's completely blew us off at the last minute and we had been forced to stay in another expensive, yet crappy, hotel.  We perked up a bit after a visit to Quack's, an adorable cafe with great food, and they also employ some of the few nice people in Austin. We had turkey brie sandwiches and a huge buttercream cupcake for dessert.

After Quacks we visited Waterloo records which was quite impressive and then made our way to Barton Springs!

I didn't bring my camera because I didn't want it to drown, but here is what it used to look like (I like this picture better than all the current ones)

Katherine and I went to the more shallow end, since I am still unable to get my back wet, while Jack swam through the mossy deep end and checked out ladies. I had a great time, but it reminded me of Belle Isle and made me miss home just a bit.


Then we ate at Magnolia Cafe and then drove to Moxy's house. Shortly after we arrived and after waiting for Jack to take a 35 minute shower (yes, I timed it), we left for the Austin Gay Pride Parade. We got lost several times, even with the GPS AND handwritten instructions, and by the time we had parked and arrived the parade had ended. I did manage to get a few shots of some of the parade- goers though.

Then we rode in a Pedi-Cab and it was REAL fun. Almost like riding on the back of a motorcycle, but not...

This was our driver:

This was us riding the Pedi-Cab:

I don't know if we just went the wrong places, or if it was the wrong time of year, or if most of the good people were out of town, but Austin was not such a good place. Thankfully I was able to get a delicious breakfast taco in before leaving.

 In Austin I had to say goodbye to my darling Katherine, which was very sad. She better come visit me soon, or else I will kill her.

I can't wait to show you guys what happened next!