Day 4 and 5: Austin and the Western Abyss

FULL DAY IN AUSTIN Y'ALL!!!

And it couldn't come at a better time. Turns out driving 8+ hours every day is EXHAUSTING. So, this full day of rest and relaxation (ok, neither of those things ended up happening) was more than needed.

Finally also able to sleep in for the first time this trip, we woke up with solid nights sleep and headed out to see what else the coolest city in America had for us. So just a few blocks walk away from the hotel, we head right for THIS big guy:

We then realized we're actually accidentally on a Capitals tour. (Austin, Baton Rouge, Jackson, and Springfield, IL.) I know, Springfield didn't make the blog but if you've ever been to Springfield, you'll know why. 

Also, notice my shirt. That's a Michigan jersey. More on that later. 

From there, we head North towards the University of Texas campus and, of course, their football stadium. Anyone who knows me long enough knows that I have an utter fascination with colleges and their stadiums, so this was a BIG one the list! Just a few blocks away from the capital we turn the corner and WA-BAM!

They unfortunately wouldn't let us into the stadium (it was GameDay in Austin as well), so if you're confused at all where the stadium is in this picture Helper Sean is there to guide you. 

We walk around the campus a bit more and then realize we're in CENTRAL TEXAS. It may late October but the humidity has other plans. Good thing I wore an undershirt. We hop on some (air-conditioned!) public transportation and head down to 6th Street, the nightlife hub of all of Austin and maybe the universe. Also, more on this later.

But for now, we had ONE intention on 6th Street. Finding a bar who could tolerate my screaming during the Michigan Football game. Well, that was easy enough. We plop down at the classiest little establishment in Austin called Bikini's (you called it, the girls are all in Bikini's). But if we're being honest here, the place should really be called Lower Back Tats. But I digress. They tolerated my rapid swing of emotions during the game and had surprisingly GREAT fish tacos (thats in reference to nothing but the menu item). So we enjoyed the place. 

Whoever follows me on twitter knows how the Michigan game ended up, so we don't need to touch on that too much, but I knew the outcome of the game would largely impact the rest of our day. So YAY! MICHIGAN WINS!!! 

Carpe Diem bitches. 

We head back to the hotel, get in the car, and head about 20 minutes Southeast of Austin to a small little town called Driftwood, Texas. 

"Are you guys crazy?!? Why would leave Austin??" 

I'll tell you. For one very specific, important reason. THIS:

The drive out here was BEAUTIFUL. The area surrounding Austin is equally as awesome as the city itself. We round the bend of a long curvy country road and see this sign and possibly the largest parking lot I've EVER seen for a restaurant. Seriously, I've seen smaller MALL parking lots. But every single spot in the lot is filled. (The best sign for ANY restaurant). 

There's also a guy driving a tram around the parking lot, in case, you wanted to get picked up and driven to the front. American obesity is real.

We opt to WALK and as soon as we get close the front, my mouth already starts to drop. This isn't a restaurant, its one GIGANTIC ranch house. There's a bit of a wait, so we put our name in and begin to take in everything this wonderful place has for us. Salt Lick is BYOB, meaning that when you're waiting for your table (and AT your table) you can drink you're own booze. So everyone brings coolers FULL of their drink of choice and sits around and takes in the beautiful surroundings. There's a fresh lemonade stand, free popcorn, a winery (!) and even a little stage where a local country band is performing. 

I honestly felt like I was at the largest family reunion of all time. Not a restaurant. So I'm in love. But just wait everyone. Just wait. 

Before long, our little buzzer thing we're holding goes off and we SPRINT to the front desk lady, eagerly waiting for her to seat us. 

She grins and begins to take us through the many open rooms of this ranch house filled with happy patrons. 

Lets just ONE ROOM! So cool.

AND THEN. We round a corner and our eyes fall onto THIS:

I'm sorry. Lets see this again without my stunned self in frame. 

Apologies to my vegetarian followers, but thats quite possibly the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my entire life. 

The waitress is now carrying us to our seats because my knees gave out after seeing the meat pit. Finally put at our table, we know exactly what we're ordering. I mean, its the ONLY thing you order at Salt Lick BBQ. The all-you-can-eat, Family-style BBQ celebration. In other words, eat everything you can. So in a matter of minutes, this is our table:

This is my happy place. 

Now, let me say this. There is NO WAY we can compare the food we've had on this trip. New Orleans Creole is totally different than Memphis dry rub BBQ which is totally different than St. Louis's BLT which is TOTALLY different than Jackson's soul food. They each stand by themselves. 

However, this has been the best overall experience thus far on the trip. The BBQ was astonishing. You didn't even need to chew the sausage and brisket. It just melted in your mouth. Even the bread you see in that picture was some of the best bread I've ever had. But I say "overall" because the food was one thing, but the atmosphere, the surroundings, THE MEAT PIT, the service, and the history of this place combine to make what has to be one of America's top culinary destinations. Fly to Austin and come to Driftwood. It changes you. 

Ps: They give you to-go boxes. So if you want to take some home, they're give you AS MUCH AS YOU WANT. 

We opted out of that. I was blurry-eyed as it was. 

So, we headed back to Austin and had a few hours to desperately digest the food because we had a night on the town planned!!

Well, we manage to do just that and eventually take the walk down to what locals call "The Dirty 6". It's 6th Street. And it looks like this:

Texas know how to do it. 

So we begin our journey into the night. The bars are stacked on top of each other in this town, each with guys who stand out front and scream at you to come into THEIR bar and take advantage of THEIR drink specials. "$1 beers! $3 shots!". Trouble. 

So we drink things like this: 

Thats whats called a Captain America "shot". And I say shot cause you're required to chug it. TEXAS!

Can't say 6th Street is my normal crowd or scene, but the people-watching was stupendous. It was a mix of UT sorority sisters, overwhelmed tourists, and locals who crawled in from the surrounding Hill Country. 

I was called a "Yankee" for the first time in my life. And at the end of the day, what more could you want than that.

GOOD NIGHT AUSTIN!!!

DAY 5: The Western Abyss. 

Honestly guys. Not much happened yesterday. And you can thank West Texas for that. 

We spent the morning in Austin (watching our NFL teams of course). And I think we were also just dreading the drive we had ahead of us. 

So, obviously, we went back to Bikini's to watch our NFL games. And outside of both our teams winning (GO PACKERS!), the other thing of note was that I became a sought-after centerpiece in a scavenger hunt that was happening in Austin. 

Apparently, this city-wide scavenger hunt required the teams to go to Bikini Bar and find someone (on NFL Sunday) who was wearing a non-Texas college t-shirt. GUESS WHAT Y'ALL! That meant ME. I was literally the ONLY one who fit the requirement. So basically, every 5 minutes I had a new team of people in themed costumes asking to take my picture.  It was LeakyCon Part 2. 

The bar felt bad for me (though I didn't mind one bit, I LOVE scavenger hunts) so they gave us free beer for the remainder we were there. HUZZAH!

Well, thats all from Austin!! Honestly, this city lived up to ALL of its hype. I'm in love. Its a place that takes one day for you to realize you could move there tomorrow. Cool people, amazing food, great nightlife, great music, and MORE than enough culture. 

I'll certainly be back. 

Westward bound! Destination: El Paso, Texas. 

I see your scoffing. In all honesty, this was a place to sleep. (It should be noted that on our longest driving leg of the trip, we didn't leave the state). TEXAS IS HUGE. 

The next 8 hours consisted of pretty vistas overlooking Texas Hill Country, quaint little tourist towns (Fredericksburg!) and oddly named ones (Johnson City: Home of Lyndon B. Johnson...so...what was its name BEFORE he became president?)

Amazingly there's no good way to get out of Austin (and I think they intend to keep it that way). But when the biggest form of entertainment is the SMACK of gigantic bugs hitting your windshield, you know you are in trouble. We did pass a tiny store called The Wonderful World of Things. Which given its name, was surprisingly small. But props the owners. You can literally sell ANYTHING you want. 

Well, we eventually made it to El Paso. And thats all I need to write about that. We were starving when we arrived so we went right to the local El Paso gem: 

And ate their WORLD CLASS PIZZA!!!!!

Ok who are we kidding. We both got stomach aches. 

Alright everybody!! Thats it for now! But today (Day 6) has some AWESOME stops along the way. See you Phoenix!!

Bye NOW!