Days 13-16 McKinney Falls State Park, Austin Texas
Day 13
Travel day to our first City, Austin TX. Left at 11:30 and we continue to get a little better on our steps to “travelize”. Starting to Tetras a little better thanks to our neighbor Don. Don worked so many days at our house on the trailer that he all but moved in there for a month. He put dividers in all our kitchen drawers so we could separate utensils, he put stops in all the cabinets to prevent stuff from flying around, he put a shelf in for books, a specialized one of kind triangle garbage can for trash in the bathroom, locking arms for cabinets in the bedroom that open up and his and hers dresser drawers under the bed. All of these things have been life savers for us and we are so thankful to Don for his skills, ingenuity and willingness to help us.
The drive today took us down toward Houston, but thankfully we stayed out of the major traffic. What appeared to be a fairly new highway took us around the north side of city. It was a “Toll” road but there were no toll booths - maybe Florida Sun Pass works but I doubt it, probably will get some bill in the mail, it will be lost, then I will get a bill with a huge fine and that toll will end up costing a fortune. Se la vie. Everything seemed to be under construction outside of Houston. Gina saw a Chick Filet in a new shopping center and made me pull in. Wasn’t health food, but I must admit it hit the spot.
The rest of ride was pretty boring and finally arrived at McKinney Falls State Park at 4 pm with 10 miles of gas to spare, set the RV up, took dogs for walk, and got ready to go into downtown Austin, filing up with gas first. Gina booked dinner at Swifts Attic, a Tapas style restaurant on Congress. I worried about parking the oversized truck, but we scored – There was an outdoor parking lot right across the street, in the middle of the City, with open spots! Back and forth, back and forth into the spot – normal for that truck. Swift Attic had some fun cocktails, we had one of their specialty ice balls, A Gin Sage Infusion. When you first get the cocktail it is extremely strong, but the ice ball is not completely solid and includes a piece of sage inside. As the drink sits the ice warms and the ice ball breaks apart a little, releasing the sage flavor and waters down the alcohol. Well done, we had 2 each. Dinner was tapas and we had the Brussel sprouts, A Patai made out of kohlrabi noodles, and bacon wrapped dates.
After dinner we decided to walk the city a little bit, through a girl she followed on pinterest, A Small Victory Bar was recommended in which she claimed were the label best martinis in Austin. We couldn’t find the place and went into a couple of wrong spots. It was right there on my phone and we were standing right next to it, yet no bar in site. We went to the corner and asked a valet who pointed to a glass spiral stair case that looked like it was going into the parking garage. Ok, so we walked up the stairs, opened the door, and boom, there was the bar. It looked like they actually took a section of the garage and turned it into the bar. The old concrete pillars that you always have to be aware of when parking were actually in the bar. We each had a gin martini with Mahon’s gin at a 5:1 ratio. 5 parts gin, 1 part vermouth. They have several ratio options you can choose from depending upon your taste and you can also choose between sweet or dry vermouth. When we left the temp had dropped and we both were cold. Nice walk back our parking spot find, Got back to RV by 11. I took the dogs out for a walk then Lights Out.
Day 14
A little slow getting up. Last night was the latest night to get to been in weeks. We didn’t leave the Rv until about 11am – walked dogs for about 4 miles around onion creek trail. Along the walk we think we heard a pig in the bushes and hightailed it out of that section. We came down to the river and threw the ball with remi. We continued our walk and came across the upper falls of McKinney, The falls are not big but very scenic. Remi was beside himself hearing the water and wanting to jump in. The path continued on to rock shelter trail, part of that trail was closed due to renovations. We were able to slip under some guard rails and make it down to the river and walk along the gigantic overhanging rocks. We were not the only ones to do this as others were down there with us.
The path worked its way up to a very large flattop rock and you could hear the lower falls below. This rock was actually the same rock that we were just standing under. I marveled and what could have made this. To me it looked it could have been the foundation of some enormous skyscraper hundreds of thousands of years ago and was the only thing that remained. We took some short cuts home and Teddy was dragging three tracks when we got back to RV and did not even want to go back out for his normal walk later in the night,
Gina took a nap with the dogs and I had to go in to town to file the OT 1099. One thing that was not planned but I just found coincidental is the IRS center that I had to mail the 1099 to was in Austin, but they don’t give an address so I still had to mail it and that took several stores to accomplish the feet, The fed es store I was able to get the necessary copies made, had to go to Walmart for stamps and envelopes and a mail drop store to put it in the mail.
When I got back at 4:30 Gina was almost ready to go out. We had dinner reservations at Lambert’s at 5:45 then the Rebelution concert at 8:00. I hauled ass down to the public shower and was ready by 5:00 and we headed to Austin. Traffic was insane trying to get in as it was rush hour, We made it there almost on time but one wrong turn in the parking garage and we were back out on the street in jammed up traffic. Not a good move, but you cant make any mistakes in that damn beast of a truck, you cant 3 point turn ever, its more like a 20 point turn. We made it back to the garage and was lucky to park the beast, the front end stuck out a little and the tailgate was hitting the back wall, but we were in. On the way out of the garage we encountered a group of people wearing red masks, and one dressed in a pigs head. They were all chanting about some Womens equal rights thing and beating the pig over the head with Styrofoam bats. WHAT!! We moved on quick.
Lambert’s was not a disappointment. I had the best deviled eggs ever, along with the best porkchop I have ever eaten. Gina broke her no gluten diet again with Chicken and waffles and devoured them all. The also had some excellent cocktails, gina a gin gimlet and me an ole fashion. After dinner we walked across the street to Moody’s Theater at Austin City Limits for the Rebelution concert. Iya Terra was the opening band, they were solid reggae - 3 foot dreads on all of them – they even did one old Bob Marley tune. The were very good. Rebelution was excellent as always. Our seats were in the middle of the mezzanine section and were excellent. We purposely stayed away from the floor tickets where you had to stand during the entire concert.
We were back to RV and in bed by midnight! YIKES! City life is wearing on us.
Day 15
Another slow start today, thanks again to the City Life. I walked dogs in morning, Laid around and did some ot work. Gina finally got to do some work on the computer too. When we finally got our asses in gear we took the dogs to a picnic area. No one around, so we let Remi do some swimming in onion creek. It was another overcast misty day so we decided to go into Austin for lunch – we wanted to get the city trip out early and take out any temptation to go OUT another night. We wanted to be in bed early. Another recommendation from Gina’ pintrest lady: Tylers Tacos - a real hole in the wall north of the city on airport road. Tacos were excellent and the place had a continuous line – apparantly they are open 24/7 and always busy. Instead of taking instate 35 back we listened to Supertramp and “took the long way home”. We drove down N Lamar Blvd on the west side of the city. There are a lot of dog parks off that road and we wanted to stop and let the dogs run free but it started raining. Down next to the city on the West Side is a very nice shopping district. We found whole foods and it turned out to be one of the largest in country – Gina was besides herself in that place. Still raining when we got done so shot right back to RV. We went for a nice bike ride around the park. We tried to find the Homestead Trail but had to cross the lower falls and couldn’t figure out how to do it. The ride was uphill all the way back. Got back and we called jack to find out how his RV lot purchase was going. Sounds like he is getting close, we then took dogs for walk around the camping loop. Gina cooked dinner and I updated blog. She made sauted ground turkey and cabbage bowls. We ate the bowls around the fire pit. We called Lily and wished her safe travels on her trip to Denver. We were inside by 8:30 – gina read and I updated blogs. Lights out at 9:30.
Day 16
Up at 7:00 – I like the early to bed early to rise much better. Gina made another killer breakfast. Finally used the jelly from natchez on some gluten free bread. Took dogs for walk on a portion of the homestead trail – we called the ranger station and learned how to cross the falls – there are two choices, one below the falls and two above the falls. On the way out we crossed below the falls and it was easy, just had to take shoes off and carry Teddy, Remi charged it. The hike was about 2 miles and Teddy did great although we were worried about him keeping up. We crossed above the falls on the way back – not the best choice, besides having to walk through a much wider river, the underbed of the river above the falls was basically on giant rock with slippery slimy algae on top. Gina and Teddy made it and so did Remi and I finally, but Remi presented a major challenge as he likes to pull – and when he pulls, he pulls hard. I had to keep my balance on a slippery rock with a dog pulling me around. I ended up almost riding on Remi’s back across the river. To make matters worse the park was very busy today since it was Saturday, Gina said I became the entertainment with my river crossing. Why couldn’t this have been on a slow day.
When we got back to the RV it was bath time again for the dogs. Gina washed them outside the RV using the outdoor shower while I held them. Teddy was easy but Remi was once again the bath monster. When his stubborn mood sets in he does what he wants! Ultimately after some screaming and wrestling we can subdue him but by the time that is over we are soaked. But the deed got done and he is clean, drying him is fairly easy and he loves the towel.
Gina did her sauna and I went for a bike ride. I was determined to do all the trails in the back. So I crossed the falls (below the falls) and hit the entire homestead trail, the flint rock trail and another trail way in the back. When I finally emerged back at the falls me and my bike were covered in mud from top to bottom. what fun.
When I got back I headed to the public shower and de-mudded myself. Our plan was to head into Austin early, drop off our laundry at the Spin Zone, pick it up on the way home, fill up with gas and be ready to head out tomorrow. We are actually getting better at this planning stuff - Everything went according to plan and even better. We went to Rainey Street - a very big bar scene with what appeared to be college kids roaming up and down the street, in and out of bars. Gina picked a quiet little place and we had a good cocktail sitting outside right next to the sidewalk. The only others at this spot were parents with small children. While sitting outside I actually overheard a group of college kids go by – “Don’t go in there its just a bunch of old people and kids”, We had to be the old people. Gina’s pinterest lady recommended a restaurant on Rainy called Emmer & Rye. Gina map quest said they were closed! Bummer! Wait, they open at 5:30 – What time is it? For my college friends the answer to that question has always been “Its Early Times”, but in this case it was 5:10. SNAP! Open Table – No available reservations! Bummer Again! Well lets pay the bill and walk down there, maybe we can sit at the bar. We arrived right at opening time and got a primo spot at the bar – good thinking Gina. The food was magnificent. We had several small tapas plates and a couple of great cocktails. They make their own flour out of ancient grains. We had to try their bread and pasta. On the way back we picked up our laundry, filled the truck with gas, walked the dogs, did some blog posts and hit the hay. Like I said, the plans this time worked!
