deep in the heart of texas

I've lived in Austin since January 2001. When I was a young lass, I took full advantage of the 6th street scene. But that was about it. I didn't really experience all of the other things that make Austin a neat place. I've been trying to remedy this for quite some time, but actually started making it happen this summer.

The Magical White Guy ("MWG") knew that I wanted to do more "Austin-y" things, so he got me this calendar for Christmas:

Since I'm what some people might call "directionally challenged," he also gave me a GPS unit. I call her Greta and she speaks with an Australian accent:

To start with, "MWG" and I started to eat at more local places on the east side. We went to Cisco's after church one day.

I had a biscuit and honey. Mmmmm. Later in the summer, I got to visit Barton Springs pool:
and Deep Eddy pool for the first time. (photo by Steve Hopson)

Earlier this week, "MWG" was in the mood for fajitas, so I googled "best fajitas austin." The restaurant "Polvo's" kept showing up, so we decided to visit it after church on Sunday.
Let me tell you - the Cerveza Fajitas are unbelieveably good. I hear the margaritas are pretty good too.... we'll be back to try those. After Polvo's, "MWG" took me over to Sandy's to get a frozen custard:
It was good, but $1.65 for an ice cream cone? Eh.

I got to experience one more "Austin-y" thing last night... a live taping of the Austin City Limits tv show. My good friend "Country" was given tickets by a former co-worker to the taping of the Dave Mathews Band show. I loved DMB in college, but haven't really listened to much of their new stuff. I forgot how talented they are. Seriously, it was amazing. Here we are outside of the building:
That is the one and only picture I got, because they were tackling people inside if they saw you pull a camera or phone out. The lady working the elevator also told us to be very careful washing our hands if we went to use the restroom, because if we lost our hand stamp, we would NOT be let back in.
Apparently there were quite a few drag rats trying to sneak in. I really do have a new respect for the DMB, as I could not believe how talented all the musicians were. Plus, he looks way better than he has in years. He has lost the gut, lost the pudgy red face, and doesn't sweat near as much. (Although he is a STRANGE, STRANGE cookie.)

Let's see, what else? I finally got tickets for ACL fest this fall. And my last goal for this summer is to finally see the bats fly off the bridge.

If there is anything else I need to be sure and put on my list, let me know...