Austin, TX

What can I say, my trip to Austin, TX was nothing short of awesome. I've heard killer things from everyone and it truly fit the bill.

Arrival: Thursday, April 7, 2016 - 10:30am central
Upon arrival it took me a bit to get out of AUS and figure out how to snatch an Uber/Lyft. I was a total newbie for catching those rides, but eventually figured it out. I had the driver drop me off at the Jones Center of The Contemporary Austin. There I wandered around the smaller gallery that was currently showcasing Mark Mothersbaugh's Myopia. From there I hit the streets of Austin with my roller luggage. I stumbled upon a few food trucks and Wholly Cow Burgers sucked me right in. After that I headed south, still dragging my blue carry on, towards the Colorado river. After snapping a few photos of the perfect clear-skied view, I found a pathway that lead to a trail along the river. I found a place that rented canoes for $10/hr which is by far the best deal I've ever seen, and added that to my bucket list for the trip-once I got rid of these bags! Eventually I walked down Barton Springs to my friends Air B&B spot and finally got to relax. This was the first time since waking up and catching a plane from Philly to Detroit that took off at 5:45am. That flight landed early so I had the opportunity to walk the entire terminal to my gate to catch the flight to Austin. For the record, Delta is on point. Anyways, after meeting up with my friends we set off to do some exploring, finally without my luggage in tow. We ventured up and down South Congress into all of the fun and quirky shops. My favorite was Yard Dog which was a small gallery filled with exciting bright colored paintings and such. Eventually our afternoon led is to Rainy Street, another one of my favorite spots I had found down there. We grabbed a drink outdoors at the first spot we found and enjoyed the perfect Texas weather. My two friends from Oklahoma City arrived around 7pm and we eventually headed back out to Rainey Street for the night. Rope lights filled the sky, live music filled the air and I was amongst some of the best company.

Friday saw another sunny day in the 70s. During the day the Oklahoma girls and I ventured to 6th Street to check out the shops and entertainment. We stumbled upon The Museum of the Weird and had to give that a whirl. It ended up being well worth the few dollars to enter the self-guided tour that led to a performance by a man who was immuned to electricity. Yep, similarly to Uncle Fester with the light bulb in his mouth. This man held a power cable in his hand while a girl held a lightbulb on his other hand and when it touched his skin, the bulb lit up. Furthermore, when you fist bumped him you would get shocked. He then took it a step further and held the power cord to his tongue. I'm telling you, he put on a show. We explored a few other shops and eventually headed to Fair Market for the Handbuilt Motorcycle Show that was having Flat Track Races and featured the traveling Oil and Ink Expo art show. Throttle Down Speed Co. rider Dan Bromley entered the flat track races aboard a borrowed Triumph with the number 278. This was the very first race Bromley sported his freshly painted TDSC Bell helmet (detail shots coming soon). Bromley was quite competitive but the results just didn't shake out in his favor for how quickly he was running. Either way, it was a total highlight to see that hand painted helmet on a race track. The Handbuilt Show was packed and the line was forever long that we decided to come back another day to see what all was inside Fair Market. For the night, we were off to dirty 6th street.

Saturday was the big race day and we were one of the first to arrive in the P1 lot. I ventured around the pits and track and found a good spot out of turn 3 to watch practice. Unfortunately, right before turn 3 the track quickly developed a huge "pothole", which sent two riders tumbling into turn 3 with their bikes twisting in the air. Many others hit the hole but managed to hang on to their bikes, but it was clear that this track was on the dangerous side. It's difficult to build a track and have it work out smoothly right away. The best tracks are seasoned tracks that have time to get packed in, worn in and have a sound structure. (This is why clay car tracks and horse tracks are commonly used because they are very well seasoned and broke in). With the track being in the shape it was in, it proved to be a very technical night for the riders and all in all they put on a helluva show. I watched the GNC2 main on the back stretch with Throttle Down Speed Co. rider Tristan Avery and cheered as my buddy Andrew Luker battled and held onto the win on the Texas half-mile. For GNC1 I moved to turn 4 to watch the main that turned into a battle to see who would last all 25 laps. The races ran late and the night was long, but I thought it was one of the best days. I'm so very fortunate to have such great friends within the pits of flat track and would not trade the experiences with these people for the world.

Sunday morning my goal was to hit up the Colorado River in one of those kayaks. We met up in Barton Springs, rented single kayaks for $15/hr and it was the best money I could have spent. The skies were cloudy but the water was calm and extremely clear. About two rows in I saw turtles swimming in the water and fell in love. We paddled our way out to the Colorado River and ventured towards the bridge that entered downtown Austin. With turtles in the water, live music in the air and the city skyline straight ahead, it was a very sensual experience. So beautiful, so at peace, I'd do it 100 times over. When we got back to land we eventually ventured on over back to Fair Market to get into the less busy Handbuilt Motorcycle Show. I particularly liked this show, but I have to tell you, the bikes outside of the show were just as beautifully overwhelming. I've never seen a city with so many gorgeous pieces of metal cruising around. We saw the Wall of Death, which I was surprised with the differences in the performances that I had seen in Daytona the month prior. It was very entertaining and the entire event at Fair Market was a huge success. Sunday afternoon we found ourselves back on South Congress venturing into different stores and shops including The Museum of Wax. We grabbed famous doughnuts from Gourdo's trailer, (I highly recommend the Chunky Monkey), and cruised on over to the bridge to see the bats come out at dusk. What an event THAT was. Well for starters, Fuse Box was having a music festival that weekend and they ended their fest at the bridge with a sound art performance which was indeed quite interesting. I particularly enjoyed partaking and witnessing the reactions to the performance as we waited for the bats to fly out from the bridge. When the bats finally did begin to trickle out, I really had no words to describe what we were seeing. It was... unbelievable, also somewhat eery and gross and certainly nothing I've ever seen before in my life. I'm glad we marked that off of our list, it was worth it.

Monday was departure day with a flight out of Austin at 11:52am. I woke up early to head there early and ventured around the surprisingly smaller airport. We connected in Houston, a much larger airport, and arrived in Philly before 8:30pm when we were scheduled. I have to admit, I'm uncertain of ever being so happy to be in my own bed by myself when I finally got home. I'm telling you, the trip was awesome and those were just the highlights. I failed to mention the authentic BBQ from Iron Works, Texas-shaped waffles at the hotel, late night tacos from the truck at Bungalow on Rainy Street, Pizza from Home Slice on South Congress, the pricey yet delicious burger from a truck at the race track and the delicious blended scoops of ice cream from Amy's Ice Creams. So many things, and such few pictures. It was great.