More From Texas

Austin is my favorite city in Texas so far...hands down. But before I go into details (cause you know I will), let me catch y'all up on what's been going on since Houston. We left Houston Monday morning and headed for San Antonio. I had an absolute blast in Houston. It was fantastic to see Brett and meet Sam (Who I'm sure I've met before somewhere. OU is a small world.), and of course it's always great to be with fellow Bobcats. SO THANKS A MILLION BRETT AND SAM FOR LETTING US STAY...ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING WE DRAGGED IT OUT FOR FOUR DAYS! WE HAD AN AMAZING TIME SO THANK YOU!

In San Antonio we saw the Alamo and strolled along the Riverwalk. The Alamo was very cool and had an old Spanish/western vibe. It was strange how such a historical building is right in the center of downtown San Antonio, across from a Ripley's Believe it or Not. There was a lot of history to read, but no one wants to stand around reading in 100 degree heat, so we spent about an hour or so there. The Riverwalk was amazing. It's very peaceful and relaxing to just walk around. All the restaurants and shops are cool too. The BEST part was that Christie met us for lunch because she's in San Antonio on business this week. It was so great to see her and catch up. San Antonio (or at least the Riverwalk) in a word: "Quaint"

We arrived in Austin Monday night at Marisa's house. She's a friend and former co-worker of Mike and Christie. Her roommate Theresa and her have a nice little house, and Theresa's younger sister and brother are visiting too, so it's a full house. Last night we went out to 6th Street in Austin. Marisa's description is very accurate. "Bar. Pizza place. Tattoo parlor. Bar. Pizza...you get the idea" I loved it because it reminds me of Court Street in Athens, only on a much larger scale. But it's fantastic and I had a blast. We hopped around to a few different bars, and by the time we took a cab home, I was feeling no pain...until this morning.

After a late and painful start this morning, all of us went to lunch at a great place with mostly Mexican food and a Hawaiian theme. It's right on the river/lake too, so we had a great view. After lunch was the favorite part of my day, and of my trip to Texas for that matter. Marisa dropped me off at Austin Rowing Club. I rented a kayak for an hour and cruised around on Lady Bird Town Lake, which is pretty much more of a river. I have some great pictures I'll be putting up soon. Oh and just in case anyone out there is as dumb as me and didn't think about this, if you go one way downstream, the return trip will be upstream. In my defense, it's supposed to be a lake, not a river. Anyways, I just love being out on the water and it was incredibly relaxing (even the trip upstream). I listened to Simon and Garfunkel on my iPod the whole time, and my mood afterwards was about the best it's been in a while. 

I walked from the lake back to Marisa's. About four miles in Texas heat is fun. But I made it and I'm glad I walked because it gave me time to listen to some tunes, get some exercise, and enjoy being outside. I know most people wouldn't enjoy being outside when it's 101 degrees, but I'm not most people. Stay tuned to read more about Texas in the upcoming days.

Adios,

Matt