After New Orleans, Luke and I spent two weeks in Dallas while I did archival research in the DeGolyer Library at SMU. We didn’t have a car, which meant we didn’t see much outside of our hotel room other than the campus and In-N-Out Burger (yum).
To compensate for feeling cooped up, we decided to rent a car for the weekend and promptly drove to Austin. Ah, sweet Austin. So much lovely wrapped up in a nice little city.
The Austin Motel was the perfect combination of kitsch and comfort. We were able to park our Chevy Aveo and walk the city, visiting friends for brunch and bars at random, before retreating back each night for our Canasta championship.
Learning to play Canasta
The Jackalope Bar, featuring “Dune”
One definite highlight was dinner and a movie at the Alamo Ritz. Bottomless popcorn, whiskey sours, and pizza made their way to us while we laughed with the crowd at the cult classic, “Noises Off.” This movie never fails to remind me how hilarious John Ritter was, and how surprisingly funny Christopher Reeve could be.
Another was the lightening-fast late night swim we, er Luke, took in the motel’s pool. Turns out 50-degree water is cold, even in Texas.
Austin was the perfect escape, and just the temperature and cultural boost we needed for our second round in Dallas.
Luke in Austin, TX
On the last night of our trip, we ventured south to Lee Harvey’s, a great bar with a great set of stories from previous adventures. The jukebox still houses an awesome collection of tunes.
Owl and Penguin 