I’m in San Francisco, on the second leg of my three-part journey leading me to Soil Born Farms in Rancho Cordova, California. I left nearly a week ago, last Thursday, from New Haven. It worked out that my parents were leaving around the same time from JFK to fly down to southern Chile, to do their own version of the Torres del Paine hike that I so loved when I was there last April. We were able to drive to the airport together and wish each other “Bon Voyage.”
And then I was off to Austin, for the first leg of my trip, to visit one of my best friends from college, Lily, in the city she has called home for the past three years. It took me the full four days of my visit to get used to seeing people in shorts and flip-flops in February, but I loved my first visit to Texas. She toured me around the city, bringing me to some of her favorite spots, like the Alamo Drafthouse, an awesome movie theater and restaurant, where, as we watched the Oscar-nominated animated shorts, I ate a delicious black bean burger and drank one of the theatre’s draft beers, locally-brewed 512 Pale. (The first film, Madagascar, Carnet du Voyage, a beautifully-drawn travel journal from the artist’s trip to Madagascar, was far and away the best). We “hiked” around Barton Springs in Zilker Park, checked out the crazy cowboy boots at Allen’s, and I ate way more than my fair share of cheese and sour cream, as Mexican food is everywhere.
Now, I know it was a brief visit, but I made some observations about Texas, or at least, Austin, that I wanted to share:
1) People are SO friendly! Smiles flow like water, patience is the default reaction to inconvenience, pleasantries between customers and clerks extend far beyond the cursory. What a lift such simple gestures bring!
2) Texas is all about Texas. The state name and outline is incorporated into store names and logos ALL OVER the place. I’m not sure about the rest of the country, but I know there aren’t many businesses using CT pride to sell their products! (“Don’t mess with Connecticut?”)
3) Austin is serious about the casual dining experience. Neon-signed Mexican and barbeque “joints” are everywhere, in both classic and hip-kitsch forms. The food cart/food truck revolution has hit the city in a big way, with not one but several outdoor “food courts” scattered around the city: parking lots full of picnic tables and rows of taco, waffle, Thai food trucks and retrofitted Airstream trailers.
4) Vintage is huge. From the kitschy glow of neon signs to the vintage stores on every block, the city is a retro treasure trove. Would love to return when I'm in more of a nesting mode.
5) UT is so big it's scary.
