Dis-connected
We were heading to Austin for a very special
occasion...one of the only people I talk to from high school was getting
married. You don't realize how much you grow and change after
you graduate from high school until you come home. Prior to the
age of Facebook and when the Internet was in its early stages in order to stay
in touch with someone it took a little bit of work. You had to take the
time to connect with someone whether it was in person or on the phone. I
still don't use Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or many of the other resources
people have to stay in touch so easily but that is by choice. However, I
do keep notes on my phone of peoples birthdays and other important
events and I try to send a card or at least a text message and wish them
the best. When is the last time you picked up the phone and called
someone to hear his or her voice and say hello instead of sending a text
message? Are we all really so busy that we can't call one another when we
just want to say hello? I have friends that I will try to talk to
every so often and I will even set a time to speak with them for an
upcoming weekend or specific date and it still may fall through. Is this because we
are all so "busy" (myself included) it ends up taking a while to
actually "connect" with one another?
I think we are creating our own ideas about what is
important and what we think we need to be doing as oppose to taking a moment to
sit back and enjoy the moment. There are many things I really want to
focus on and writing is one of them. One of the reasons for starting
this blog is so I could get my creative juices flowing and start pushing
to write more. Yes, it takes time out of my day or days to put this
together and I doubt that many people actually sit down and read the whole
thing start to finish but its more therapeutic for me, and it's way to
keep ME on track. It's so easy to get caught up in life and the many
things we have going we forget to take time out and realize just how great it
is to be in the moment. I am the worst about planning for the future and
always thinking ahead...I am already planning for my trip in February and I
have not even left for the December trip to Maui. What is wrong with me?
Halloween
We booked a mid morning flight from San Diego to Austin
on SWA with a quick stop in PHX. We were going to use car2go to get from
the airport in Austin the Hyatt http://www.austin.hyatt.com/en/hotel/home.html downtown
we were staying at but Jake and Colby offered to pick us up at the
airport. We had not seen them in quite a while and from the second we saw
their smiling faces at the airport we could not help but smile and enjoy the
moment. There was a rough start to our morning before leaving for the
airport because Eva received a call from back in Hungary and her grandmother
had been hit by a car while crossing the street. This was not the first
time we received bad news on the day we were traveling somewhere and I thought
to myself...WTF? Are we going to get to go on this trip? Does Eva
need to catch a flight home? Fortunately, Eva was able to stay in touch
with her family throughout the weekend and we are keeping our fingers
crossed her grandmother comes to a full recovery.
We arrived on Halloween and headed over to 6th street
to people watch and see the activities. 6th Street is the main
street downtown Austin with bars restaurants and during major events, holidays, and
most weekends they close it off to through traffic and use it for pedestrians
only. The four of us took a Pedi Cab across the Congress Ave Bridge and it
was worth it to see our driver dressed as Superman tote us from our hotel
across the river and into downtown. He told us not to speak at times and
had us sit in a certain arrangement to balance the load (almost 600
pounds) but it was the comments that were made that made us all
laugh. He said he had been doing this for 10 years and Eva asked if had
measured his calves before he started doing this volunteer work (they can't charge
and only work for tips) and he hadn't. We were laughing the whole way
over and picked out a great little spot to eat and get drinks that I highly
recommend called Peche http://www.pecheaustin.com/ The
atmosphere was amazing and reminded me of something out of the 1920's with a
bit of a New Orleans flare. One of the main ingredients on the specialty
cocktail was Absinthe. The food was just as good and the people
watching was great especially for us on Halloween. We will
definitely be back to this place on our next visit to Austin. We went to
a couple places after dinner and one of my favorites in Austin is The
Handlebar http://www.handlebaraustin.com/ the theme
is the Handlebar mustache and they have two music areas one downstairs when you
walk in and another upstairs on the balcony with live music. The DJ
downstairs played great music from the 80's 90's and 00's. We were even
fortunate enough to run into Miley Cyrus "wow" what a
night. Jake and I finished our evening off with a run to Taco Cabana and
even though Eva and Colby gave us flack for taking the cab and picking up food
they ate the snacks we brought back for them :)
Friday morning we headed out for brunch at the South Congress Cafe http://www.southcongresscafe.com/ I highly recommend this place not only for the food but also the atmosphere. It reminded me of SoCal and the people were ALL so friendly! We loved it so much we came back on Saturday for brunch again! The walk from the hotel to the cafe may have been a mile or two but there are plenty of trendy boutiques and shops to keep you busy as you stroll from one place to the other. Eva found a very eclectic and cool boot store and picked up a pair of cowgirl boots for herself that she loves! If you are ever cruising down South Congress poke your nose into Heritage Boots http://heritageboot.com/ the smell of leather is powerful and the types of different skins used to customize the boots varies widely. She's had more compliments on those boots and she swears they are her most comfortable boots.
Ryan was on his way in from Houston for the wedding and Jake and Colby
headed down to San Antonio on Friday to see some friends. We lounged and
red our magazines by the river at the hotel and visited with Ryan to catch
up. For Dinner we headed back to Peche where Ryan tried some infused Gin and I opted
to let the bartender create a cocktail or two for me. At places like this
where they pride themselves on craft cocktails I tend to tell the bartender
what I don't like and let them create a drink for me that is not on the
menu. We had a great time and ended up stopping in the Handlebar for a
little bit and then headed over to the Hangar Lounge www.thehangarlounge.com/ which resembles an airplane
hangar and anything to do with aviation always appeals to me!
Saturday
Saturday was the big day and one that many of us had been waiting for, for
quite sometime. JRo had met Ryan through our ski trips to Park
City and the Sundance Film Festivals and she knew Jake and Colby through us
when they moved to Austin. We were all excited and happy to see her happy
and find a great man that we all knew existed it just took her a while to find.
We opted for a shuttle to take us out and pick us up so we could enjoy
ourselves and not have to worry about who was doing what and how we were going
to navigate the roads after a few drinks. The wedding was at the Hills of
Lakeway Country Club. Everything was perfect and the weather was
amazing for Jessica and Romaine's outdoor ceremony. Jessica looked
amazing and Romaine and his side of the family were dressed top notch for the
occasion. The food was great and it was decorated perfectly.
We ate and danced and visited and enjoyed our time with the
newlyweds! We took off at 1030 and headed back into Austin and had
a nightcap at the Hangar Lounge and called it a night. Congratulations
Jessica and Romaine! Sending you both the best for many years to come…everything was perfect!
Off to see the family
Eva and I headed to my hometown to visit with family
and see everyone. We picked up the rental car at the airport and headed
towards the beautiful Texas hill country. My family was planning a BBQ
for us and it was just as divine as I can remember growing up. Eva has
never been a big meat eater but she makes an exception for my family's
BBQ. The weather was good and we were able to visit with the family and
tell stories around the fire as we ate, indulged and enjoyed the tasty feast
that was prepared for us.
On Monday we headed to Fredericksburg http://www.fbgtx.org/ to walk around the quaint streets and do a little shopping. We took a detour around Enchanted Rock http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/state-parks/enchanted-rock to see the countryside and site see. I did the driving and some things never change because after we passed enchanted rock a whitetail deer shot out of the shoulder of the road and directly in front of us. Deer season was in full swing and those deer tend to be a little more jumpy than usual this time of year. Upon our arrival we made a stop on the square did some window shopping and then went to have lunch. On the way home I wanted to take my parents out for some wine tasting so they could get the experience and I could try to local wines. http://www.wineroad290.com/ I could not believe how many different wineries they had in the area. The wines weren't the best I ever had but they weren't the worst either. There was a lot of money put into some of those places and it was a nice touch to finish our trip in TX.
We flew back late on Tuesday and had to be back to work on Wednesday. Overall it was a great trip and a great time with BOTH friends and family! While I enjoy traveling and seeing new places there is something about home that you just can't replace. The friends that I have been fortunate to share some amazing times with always seem to make my trips better as well. I remember going to Brussels solo when I lived in Europe and while it has many cool things to see and do it is still one of my least favorite places and it makes me wonder had I been traveling with someone else if I would have enjoyed it more?
While we live in a digital world and everything seems to be so fast paced taking the time out to enjoy a little home cooking with great friends creates real memories that last a lifetime. Social media is here now and while it may seem to make our life easier I think everything went great and I didn't have to send a single tweet or post anything to Facebook… until then I will keep living and blogging in between…enjoy!
On Monday we headed to Fredericksburg http://www.fbgtx.org/ to walk around the quaint streets and do a little shopping. We took a detour around Enchanted Rock http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/state-parks/enchanted-rock to see the countryside and site see. I did the driving and some things never change because after we passed enchanted rock a whitetail deer shot out of the shoulder of the road and directly in front of us. Deer season was in full swing and those deer tend to be a little more jumpy than usual this time of year. Upon our arrival we made a stop on the square did some window shopping and then went to have lunch. On the way home I wanted to take my parents out for some wine tasting so they could get the experience and I could try to local wines. http://www.wineroad290.com/ I could not believe how many different wineries they had in the area. The wines weren't the best I ever had but they weren't the worst either. There was a lot of money put into some of those places and it was a nice touch to finish our trip in TX.
We flew back late on Tuesday and had to be back to work on Wednesday. Overall it was a great trip and a great time with BOTH friends and family! While I enjoy traveling and seeing new places there is something about home that you just can't replace. The friends that I have been fortunate to share some amazing times with always seem to make my trips better as well. I remember going to Brussels solo when I lived in Europe and while it has many cool things to see and do it is still one of my least favorite places and it makes me wonder had I been traveling with someone else if I would have enjoyed it more?
While we live in a digital world and everything seems to be so fast paced taking the time out to enjoy a little home cooking with great friends creates real memories that last a lifetime. Social media is here now and while it may seem to make our life easier I think everything went great and I didn't have to send a single tweet or post anything to Facebook… until then I will keep living and blogging in between…enjoy!
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