Red Rock Ranch.

Austin was a lot of fun. I got to experience downtown, the suburbs, and the countryside. Did you know Austin has North America's largest population of urban bats? Fun fact, there's about 1.5 million that live under the Congress Avenue Bridge and Austin has no intention of getting rid of them, they do wonders for the mosquito population. It's a sight to see, if you don't mind waiting for a little bit. They come out at dusk and we got there way too early since they didn't come out for another hour, but did have the perfect spot to see them. There were easily a thousand or more people waiting. They were everywhere; on the bridge, on the boats, and huddled underneath it where we were. Waiting and waiting, it was like all of a sudden someone shot off the bat signal. Out of nowhere five, then ten, then hundreds of bats came pouring out of the bridge. Thousands flew out of the farther end and thousands more at ours, meeting in the middle and fading into the night sky. The whole thing lasted a solid ten minutes. I have no idea where else I'll ever see that so I know I wasn't going to miss it, you shouldn't either. 

I'm getting ahead of myself though, back to downtown Austin. Thatcher and I got there Wednesday afternoon and decided to stay at Drifter Jack's Hostel downtown for one night. There's more than one hostel in Austin but this one is awesome. In Nashville, I made friends with a girl at one of the hostels who took a road trip like mine last year, is from Philly, and just moved to Austin. She worked at Drifter Jack's for a few months before finding an apartment so I already had a great recommendation to go off of. The people are awesome, the walls are covered in graffiti, the beds are pretty comfortable, and they have group outings all the time. Keep in mind it fills up fast. Thatch and I got the last two beds in the place. Our first stop was the Hope Outdoor Gallery or Graffiti Park as it's more commonly known. It's a hillside of old concrete walls taken over by graffiti and street art. It's a steep walk up to the top but it's worth it. Old, empty spray cans are strewn about and even the plants are multicolored; unintentionally, of course. After exploring that a bit, we headed further downtown. Sixth street is where the action is. Bars, live music, restaurants, tattoo shops, they all decorate the street from start to finish. We ended up at a bar called Easy Tiger at the end of the street. It's a big open beer garden with delicious sausage and pretzels. Waller Creek, an offshoot of the Colorado River, runs through it. The small twinkle lights come on at night and makes it feel like you're not even in a city anymore.

I missed Thatcher a lot. Five days together was enough time to figure out everything we need to know about traveling in a car together for long distances. In case you didn't know, starting in June, Thatcher will be joining me for, most likely, the remainder of the trip. Couch surfing may be a little bit harder with two people, but it will be worth it to have him with me. We've already come up with two ground rules. First, no insulting Bertha. She's what the trip relies on so no need to jinx us. Second, there is a swear jar that will be in effect. Yes, that's right, $1 per swear. Honestly though, we're on a budget, so it may have to be knocked down to 50 cents.

We did so much in Austin I'm surprised we didn't crash and burn sooner. We walked around the rest of downtown and by the river, went to the Capitol building, and saw my second, Thatcher's first, presidential library. Downtown is walkable and everywhere you want to go is accessible with a few extra steps in each direction. It's really clean and beautiful and the size actually reminds me a little bit of Center City, Philadelphia. The Colorado River runs through the city and at the end of the main street, Congress Avenue, is Texas' state Capitol building. It's actually, excluding Washington D.C., the largest Capitol building in the U.S.A. I guess they're not lying when they say everything is bigger in Texas. Inside is large and grand and, by the way, free. I proudly put on my new cowboy hat that Thatcher helped me pick out while we walked through it. Attention to detail was obviously important when they designed the building. Stars are everywhere you look, right down to the doorknobs and hinges. It's an active building so there's some areas you cannot access. We walked past a protest for transgender bathroom rights, which I agree with and made sure to tell them, sat down for a few minutes in the House of Representatives room before it was called into session, and wandered through the library. The records from every meeting they've ever had, law they've passed, or even considered, are on file there. There was even a record from that morning's Senate meeting where they unanimously passed "Jenny's Law".

Half the time in Austin we stayed with our cousins who are excellent hosts and, I speak for Thatcher as well when I say, we cannot thank them enough for having us! They live about forty minutes outside downtown so we made sure to check out the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum on our way out to their place. I didn't know too much about him going into the museum, but man, did he do a lot of great things for our country. His larger than life personality matched the large building that almost looked like it was slightly curved at the top and a bit imposing. Interestingly enough, LBJ recorded over 642 hours of phone calls he made from the white house and even the oval office. It's really cool being able to listen in on history. He speaks to everyone from MLK Jr. to playwrights about every topic imaginable. Unfortunately, and one of the main reasons he didn't run for a second term, the Vietnam War consumed him. He thought it overshadowed all of his accomplishments right here at home; civil rights, voting, the space program, the list goes on. He quite literally didn't have enough power to find a way out of it and it weighed on him. When he chose not to run again, people sent him letters expressing how much they loved having him as president. One man, Brewster C. Denny, wrote this; "If it becomes appropriate to name celestial bodies after their discoverers as continents and islands once were, the moon should be Johnsonland, for in space you were the towering leader."

Enough about history, time to tell you more about the full Texas experience. Driving out to the ranch, we admired the view of the hills peppered with similar looking homes as far as the eye could see. When we got there, we took the 22' cruiser to dinner at Hula Hut for some delicious Mexican food. Wind blowing in my hair, camera out and ready, Lake Austin was as smooth as glass and we flew over it effortlessly. The homes got larger as we got closer to the restaurant. Some sat on the top of the tree covered hills and even had their own trams to take them up and down from the docks way down below. Since we're on the topic of Mexican food, definitely go to Chuy's in Barton Springs. This is a staple and easily some of the best Mexican food I've had yet. It's well worth the overly full feeling you'll undoubtedly experience if you do it right. Add Texas Martinis to your list as well, while you're at it. Barton Springs is a cool little area with food trucks and old RV's outfitted as thrift shops. Up the street is Zilker Park and Barton Springs Pool, another Austin staple. A bike/walking path runs from here all the way downtown to the Congress Avenue bridge, kayaks and paddle boards for rent along the way. Barton Springs Pool is much larger than an olympic size pool and the bottom of it is slick and mossy. We jumped in and relaxed on the grassy hill next to the clear, turquoise, water which I imagine is incredibly refreshing on hot Texas days. I'm really glad I am going through Texas now, I've heard it gets unbearably hot here.

One night we went out to Mason, Texas, with our cousins to their ranch. The easy, hour and a half drive was lined with wildflowers and blue bonnets, a common sight in Texas Hill Country which I'm sure I will find more of in the next few days. The tiny town was like most other tiny towns, a small square with a few shops, a movie theater, and a central city hall. A small house on a much larger property, the ranch is just enough space for the family plus friends, decorated with a western, contemporary theme, and is stocked with guns. This is Texas, after all. Thatcher and I both shot a .308 while laying down and aimed across the pond at the sheet metal target about 200 meters away. I'm not sure how Thatch did, but I hit the target two out of three times. Not a bad shot, if I do say so myself. Lee took us on a walking tour of the property when we got there. We ogled at the cactus everywhere and even saw what looked like a prehistoric bird dart out of the bushes maybe fifty feet in front of us and take off in the other direction, her fluffy feathers bouncing as she ran. Other than deer on the property, there are also a few Rhea birds. They're easily as tall as we are and similar to an Emu or Ostrich. Do you remember the birds that ballet dance in the Disney movie Fantasia? They look like that. During the grand tour we found what I over-excitedly decided was most likely a dinosaur egg, because that made sense, but in reality was a Rhea egg. Oblong, rough in texture, and as big as Thatcher's hand, we decided to keep it and make it for breakfast. Don't worry, there's no baby in there. Don't ask me how or why it works like this but both of the birds are female, it's literally just an egg ready to be whipped and scrambled in a frying pan. We googled it and one of their eggs makes 10-12 regular eggs. It took some serious muscle to break it open the next morning. The creamy, milder than a regular egg, flavored yoke was so thick it pulled my fork back down when I tried to lift it up. The rest of that night we spent relaxing by the fire, driving four-wheelers around the property with Peyton, and cooking up some exceptional homemade BBQ. Honestly, that was probably the highlight of my time in Austin, the Red Rock Ranch.

Before Thatcher headed back to Philly, Peyton, our younger and pretty awesome cousin, showed us how to wake surf. An expert in the subject, we went out on the boat and he showed us how to push your heels down and pull your body up when the boat accelerates. Remembering all the times I've come close but never succeeded at wake boarding and water skiing, I wasn't sure how this was going to be any different. Y'all know me by now though, I was determined to stand up on that board. The water was a crisp sixty-something degrees which I'm almost positive helped the situation. I wanted to get up on that board so badly just to get out of the water. Situating my feet just right, I stood up on my first attempt, thought to myself "holy crap, that was easy," and promptly face planted. I'm so graceful, I know. The next few times were different once I had gotten the hang of it. I swerved back and forth only a little bit and practically flew on that board behind the boat. Thatcher also stood up and did so great! I would love to do that again, maybe with a smaller board next time once I really get it down. P.S. The picture below of me surfing was taken by Thatcher, gotta give credit where it's due.

Peyton, Lee, Kim, Jamie, Cousin Lynn, and of course the happiest little baby ever, Liam, were so awesome to spend a week with. I joined them for Seder and Lee even helped me pick out my first pair of real cowboy boots. Happy Passover to those of you who celebrate! I am so lucky I was able to spend it with my family, they made my stay in Austin one of my favorite stops so far. 

I'm going to spend a few days in Hill Country, show off my hat, and strut my stuff in my new boots through the wildflowers. I hope y'all are enjoying my trip so far, I know I am. 'Til next time!

- G. 

The Photo:
Thatcher with the Rhea egg.
Mason, Texas.
4/7/17.