Austin, TX

Here is the thing about Austin, Texas: It is rad
One thing that is really rad about Austin: The food trailers.

This one was called "3 Little Pigs" 

This is what we ate:

Matt: Cracklin' Meatloaf wrapped in bacon with 
cheese grits and collard greens 

Hillary: Pulled Pork Sandwich with chipotle potato salad

So good. I recommend everyone wraps their meatloaf in bacon.

Something else about Austin: It is the "Live Music Capital of the World"

And although there was at least two bands playing on every block on 6th St all we could hear from the road was the sound of motorcycle engines revving.

It was the Riders of Texas Motorcycle Rally that same weekend.

It was insane. Bikes lined 6th st at least three deep on both sides.

There were so many people crammed on this one street and the noise was so loud it gave the place a ton of energy.

Our second day, we woke up "early" and headed toward Round Rock, Tx to get one of the famous "Round Rock Donuts" They do have normal sized donuts but we prefer the "largest donut in the world"

I thought for sure a donut this big couldn't be very good. I was wrong. It was very good.

So back in Austin we had to check out Stubb's BBQ.

We wanted to see a show there and low and behold Matt and Kim were playing

I can totally listen to their music long enough to say that I got to see a show at Stubb's

Only problem (and I totally should have known): tickets were sold out

so, alas, no show at Stubb's but we did have one other historic thing on our agenda that may require as much standing in line as all those 14-year olds who's parents bought out the Matt and Kim show.

But this will be worth it: Franklin Barbecue

On the top of everyones "To do in Austin" list and on the cover of "Edible Austin" magazine, we knew that if we were going to try some real Southern BBQ it had to be this.

So we waited. 

Woke up early-ish the next day. Didn't eat breakfast. We just found the place, parked the car in the next city over and got in line.

We were in line at 10:50 AM behind a group of frat boys with a cooler full of beer

We knew what we were getting ourselves into.

As the sign says, they sell out every day. Its usually within 2 hours of opening.

Waiting in line isn't an option. So people just do what they can to make it less of a chore.

Their menu is pretty simple. It echos back to the days when they started serving food out of their trailer.

Aaron Franklin is passionate about barbecue. 

He doesn't just cook the meat and walk off.

He is at the counter cutting it and serving it.

We've never really had barbecue like this so when it was our turn to order (which, by the way was about noon) we were still a little unsure of what or how much to get.

So Mr Franklin just put together a nice pile of food to sample.

Brisket (fatty mc fatterson, and lean so we can try both), pork ribs, and sausage

It was beautiful.

It was gone in a fraction of the time it took to get to the front of the line. But it was so worth it!

Dublin (Dr Pepper) Texas

We stopped by Dublin Texas for their 120th anniversary

Got to see the original bottling plant!

And got to try the original Dr. P and a crazy Frosty Dr. P

It was amazing.

The shop was pretty crazy too

awww Texas

New Mexico

The first stop on our road trip was Los Alamos, NM

and Bandelier National Park

We got to climb into little shelters built by the pueblo people.

 

It was so crazy to see the shell of a whole civilization 

Inside a Kiva

We got tired of climbing ladders at the end of the day

On our way back to the car we ran into a deer... and as you can see by the enlargement,

he was very happy to see me.

To be honest, I was a little nervous to see him walk toward me!

We stayed the night in Santa Fe and explored the city that day but for some reason I don't have any pictures.

Then it was off to Portales, NM

The scenery was a lot of the same:

You can tell you are getting close to a city when the buildings start looking a bit newer...

We spent two nights in Portales and got to visit a bunch of people from Matt's mission

Its a pretty cool place. 

Next stop was Lubbock, Tx

Visited some more people, ate at all the restaurants Matt has been missing for the past three years.

It was Texas Tech graduation so all the hotels were booked.

We got to stay in a shady motel called "Inn of the South Plains"

Prairie Dog Town, Lubbock, TX

Baby Races.

The last hour of our crazy roadtrip (which we haven't posted about yet) felt like the longest.

It was incredibly muggy outside, I was tired of eating fast food, and we were both as dirty and run down as our poor car.

But as we were about to get on that last freeway towards civilization we ran across this:

We slowed down and saw this:

Then we parked right here and watched

It was the tiniest race I've ever seen.

Tiny drivers, tiny cars, tiny track

Even though it was dark it was still really warm and muggy and smelled like freshly cut grass. There were about 9 spectators on the bleachers, two of which were local firemen reading books, waiting for one of these babies to fly over the fence (which is made out of water barrels). 

It was fun to watch. Made for a good last stop of the trip.

we went to a horse race

So I am skipping a few things we haven't posted about yet... 

but those will come eventually.

So. Here we are. Dallas. Well, Colleyville, actually.

Matt had a great time in Puerto Rico with the Bayer people

(he'll have to post those pictures sometime... when he isn't completely drained after work)

and he is having a great time in Dallas with Southwest so far.

Even if we don't get to fly as much as we thought, there is tons to do in the "Metroplex" 

example: go to a horse race

That's matt watching the tractor pull the starting gate around the track

Behind those huge banks of windows are rows of seats where "fancier" people 

can avoid the heat while watching the race and losing money

This indicated the race horses were approaching the track...

Never seen one of those played before

I'd die if I had to wear that coat in this heat!

Dumping Gatorade on the winning horse...

except its not Gatorade and that horse totally lost.