austin was an oasis of weirdness in the midst of a red state. i didn't want to leave.
the surprising thing about austin is its size: 690,252 as of the 2005 census, despite being the cultural center and capital of the state. this contributes to it's independent spirit and spunky underdog flavor. austin certainly has it's own kind of pride and anyone i know from austin is careful to point out that "austin is not really texas." keeping austin weird has become a sort of civic campaign to support local businesses and i must say it is one that generates more exciting and desirable merchandise than say, "baltimore: the city that reads," the slogan i remember growing up.
having survived waco where the most exciting thing that happened was eating garlic parmesan wings and finding a nanette lepore skirt for $12 in amelia's attic consignment shop. we made a wrong turn getting out of the motel to try to get to downtown and ended up on the set of texas chainsaw, or so it seemed. we did not stay past lunch.
ian enjoys wings as i recover from waco ptsd.
the moment we arrived in austin, i knew i wanted a whole day to enjoy here. i booked us for two nights at the austin folk house and we haven't regretted it for a second. the room included its own bathroom and a giant king bed and has been the perfect place to catch our breath from the relentless city a day pace we have been keeping. i was afraid i wouldn't get out of the bed when i first crawled onto it when we got to the room.
the inn also has a number of gold-star worth items: homemade cookies available in a pretty glass cookie dish in the front hall 24/7 as well as free soda and wine in the kitchen's fridge. we also enjoyed delicious breakfasts both days. the first day it was served at the star of texas inn, the sister property one block away, which was also beautiful. it was so good the first day that we decided bernard shouldn't have to miss out this morning.
he was a little jealous of ian's two pancakes, though.
the folk house also has the nice feature of an extensive collection of folk art throughout the house and dining room. bernard felt right at home.
during our day in austin, we enjoyed wandering around and tried out the new pleasure of eating sushi at maiko's while using the internet. austin is big on public wireless and almost the entire city has access. there are a few bugs in the system, though and lots of routers seem to be jammed a lot of the time. still, it's a great concept and will be amazing once it is running smoothly all the time. maiko's sushi was fantastic and the decor made me want to fly the decorator out to l.a. to help me with my new place.
other activities that were fun: hanging out in book people, austin's best and largest independent bookstore. ian opted to hang out in the lovely cafe for a few hours and get some work done and i explored austin solo after making a few book purchases.
on my outing i checked out some shops on south lamar near the drafthouse theater. i wish i had known how close it was. we opted to go the the dobie on guadalupe, right near our house and the university, to see little miss sunshine our first night. however, i can't describe how nice it was to walk to a movie after having to use the car all the time lately. plus, even though we couldn't get a meal and beer while seeing the film, the dobie did have giant pickles at the concession. not just dill, either. spicy ones, too.
while shopping in the plaza near the drafthouse, i poked around in vintage shops and found a lake placid olympics silk scarf and a fantastic typo in the sign for one shop:
last time i checked, it's the "g" at the end of bitchin' that's missing, but i could be wrong...
then i found myself in the delightful nook of shops on south congress. the nice man at the checkout of book people had suggested it as "a nice diversion" when i asked him what i should not miss in my last day in austin. he also suggested swimming at barton springs, which i am sad we didn't make time for.
the shops, right near the austin motel pictured in the post intro, were just what i had hoped for. fabulous bags, boots, and hand silkscreened t-shirts at creature kept me enraptured and pacing around for 45 minutes. i got out of there with just a new orla kiely bag to replace the angela adams i have beaten to death and a t shirt with an owl on a branch on it. i was rabid for a pair of frye cowboy boots, but they didn't have them in my size and since i have been obsessively searching on-line since i can't stand to pay full price for them since i have seen them on sale for half off in size 6. foot binding is starting to look reasonable.
after i picked up ian back at book people, exhaustion hit. despite the amazing series of evening activities we could have enjoyed: the boiling pot restaurant, suggested by ian's brother david, improv comedy shows, more movies, swing dancing lessons, and trying to spot the bats that might still be flying out of the bridge this late in the year, we opted to recharge and stay in. it is surprising how easy it is for me to feel at home with a movie- in this case billy elliot on vhs on the ancient player and tv combo in the room- laying around, even in a city i've only just begun to know.
i hope to know more of you, austin. thanks for the hospitality. and now, on to marfa, tx. mecca for mini coopers, according to the company. and so we must bring the car there. it has been perfect for the trip, with plenty of room for the excess of stuff i thought we would need. it is true- small is the new big.
so marfa, let's motor.
stats:
number of places you can swim in public parks: 2. meals we ate in restaurants: 2. (the rest were in the room or the b&b- excellent) complete movies watched: 2- i almost feel like myself again.
tuna melts: 3 1/2 (three actually eaten plus one serious craving). number of new t-shirts; 2- silkscreened beauty plus a suprise shirt ian got me from veggie heaven on guadalupe- best tofu and broccoli ever!
song of the day:
9-13:"only living boy in ny " -paul simon
9-14:"cosmic dancer" -t. rex (i love billy elliot!)
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