Beach Volleyball, Beef Tongue, and Capitol Building

I will continue to keep y’all up-to-date on my latest goings-on here in Austin. It has been three weeks now since I arrived, though it seems like quite a bit longer.

Friday after work I came home and sat on the couch and asked myself what in the world I would do with my weekend. I debated for a long time as to whether I would stay in or go out, but ultimately decided to walk 1.1 miles to the second-nearest bar, Weirdo’s, which is known for its sand volleyball courts and live music. I ate dinner, had a couple beers, and wandered outside to the courts where I patiently waited for a chance to jump in on a game. Of course, everyone assumed I would be a great player due to my height, so I was at least given a chance. I played for almost two whole hours, diving all around in the sand and got extremely sweaty and sandy before calling it a night and walking home. The prices were very good there… I had dinner and 5 PBR Tall Boys for under $20.

Saturday I again debated long and hard as to whether I would go out and explore the town again, or stay in and save my precious few moneys. But, boredom set in and by 2:00 I was downtown exploring. I visited the Texas state capitol building, which absolutely dwarfs the other state capitol buildings I’ve visited. I was just a block away from an art museum, so I walked over to check that out, when out of nowhere a shirtless bum approached me on the sidewalk. I figured he just wanted change, but he got right up in my face, gave me a shove, and told me he’d put my coffee shop out of business… Okay… I tried to walk around him but he stepped in front of me and cut me off. He continued to yell jibberish at me as I eventually got around him. As I walked away he screamed that he would steal my hat, which I bought from my coffee shop profits. Bizarre encounter.

The art museum ended up being a real snoozer. There were only three exhibits, and one of them was dedicated to chairs from the 50s through 80s. They weren’t even artsy chairs, they were just regular chairs. Lauren’s dad has one of them in their house! Luckily it only cost me $5 for admission.

Next I drove over to East Sixth Street where I was told by a co-worker to check out some of Austin’s most delicious food trailers. I tried out three of them, eating some super odd things like a beef tongue sandwich and pork belly. Honestly I figured those were both just names for different cuts of meat, but I later learned they were just what they said they were. They were both extremely good. Also tried some fish & chips, which is a very hit-or-miss food item, but this time it was great. I also visited a bar called Liberty Bar, where the bartenders were friendly and very big baseball fans. I had a pleasant chat with them for a couple hours. They told me about a Vikings bar that I must check out once the season starts. Apparently most every NFL team has a dedicated bar here in town.

Sunday I again found myself in the same position… stay in or go out and explore. This time, money was just too tight to do anything other than a quick grocery shopping trip. I stayed in and worked on some Microboards contract work and started watching Friday Night Lights, which came highly recommended from a number of friends. Four episodes in and I’m hooked. I also watched the episode of King of the Hill starring my landlord Mark, who once had KOTH writers follow him around at a farmers market and take notes on his mushroom stand.

Nothing exciting on the slate anytime soon… the Twins are in Texas next week and a friend in Dallas has free tickets. I’m thinking I’ll try to get up to Monday’s game, especially if there’s a chance Jim Thome could hit his 600th HR.