Category Archives: Travel

Random Trip: Austin

If you know me, you would know that I have a hard time sitting still. So, it’s only easy to predict that if I don’t have anything planned on any given weekend, chances are I am planning a random trip, to a random destination for probably a random reason. This particular weekend, on Friday evening, I was planning a trip to Tishomingo, OK to check out Miranda Lambert’s store, The Pink Pistol. Before I went to bed, my plans had changed to go in a complete opposite direction!

I had an old friend from Vermont, who now lives in New Jersey, visiting New Jersey friends now living in Austin. Austin is only a three hour, easy drive. They offered up a couch to sleep on and a guaranteed good time and the plans were changed!

Saturday morning came along. I swung by the grocery store to hit up the ATM inside. How can you say no to a Girl Scout? This is not a good way to start a road trip….

Off I went. Highway 35 South.

This is one of the reasons I love Texas. I despise the city. I wish I didn’t live in such a populated area but I don’t really have a choice considering I need a paying job but there’s nothing more relaxing than driving out in the country and thankfully its not far away!

And drive anywhere on 35 isn’t a drive without stopping at the Czech Stop in West, TX.

When I finally got to Austin, I met up with an old friend, a couple awesome new friends and we headed out to 6th Street to watch some hockey and eat some dinner. We took the bus…. I can’t remember the last time I took public transportation somewhere. (Maybe D.C. in 2009… DFW isn’t really known for their public transit.) At one point, I actually knew where I was.. University of Texas (UT) Co-op Building for all of your UT paraphernalia needs!

And then we catch a glimpse of this building. The State Capital building. Seriously, one of the most beautiful buildings I’ve been in. Gorgeous!

We made our way to the restaurant / bar, grabbed some delicious nachos with brisket and soaked in some much needed hockey. Bill and I are wicked excited that hockey has started however our choice in teams do not agree. He’s a NJ Devils fan… the team that I despise. Go Habs!

I’m going to have to explain this one. Do you ever come across things that are in the shape of your state? Well my friend Meredith and I apparently have a thing for this, especially in the Vermont form…
Are we the only ones who do this?

6th Street was a ton of fun! I have zero pictures from the evening but if you’ve been to Beale Street in Memphis, it’s similar. Bar after bar after bar and live music is everywhere. The street is closed off, there are a ton of people but it’s a ton of fun. We even tried getting Bill to ride a mechanical bull but he just wouldn’t do it. I guess we’ll have to give him a few more drinks next time!

The next day we tried out a local BBQ place called Stiles Switch. I overheard someone say they’ve only been open for a year. The interior decor was my favorite! Rusty, vintage, exposed brick. All favorites here! The sign on the way out was also a favorite!

Food wise, my friends loved their ribs. I had a chopped brisket (as usual). I felt that the brisket was a little dry and there was a bit too much BBQ sauce mixed in but I guess I should’ve just went for the ribs!

I couldn’t stay long. I had a three hour drive to get started and I do love those drives. It clears your mind, there’s always good music playing. It’s just so relaxing. I even saw this guy on the way home and I think he was loving the drive as much as I was!

Oh, Those Dirty River Boys!

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This is going to be part catch-up and part recent. One thing that I absolutely LOVE about Texas is the music scene. It’s pretty amazing! If you wanted, you could catch a different show each night between Ft. Worth, Denton and Dallas. One of the bands that I’ve come to love are the Dirty River Boys. Hailing from El Paso, they bring together the right amount of Texas Country mixed in with some bluegrass and a twist of rebellion. If you were to see them, you would know they’re in a band.

Back in December, they played their first show at Billy Bob’s in Ft. Worth. It’s a pretty big deal to play, one that you don’t turn down. Anyone who is anyone in the music business has played there… Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Garth Brooks, ZZ Top, the list is endless. So it was pretty cool being able to see them play their first gig at the historic venue.

Now for a little more recent news…

There is a restaurant / bar in Arlington, Texas called The Grease Monkey. It’s pretty fun to go to as you can grab a delicious burger and hang out (inside or out) and either watch some sporting events or listen to live music. Every once in a while, they will have a private show the venue is only open to those who have purchased a ticket. It’s limited seating so if you really love a band, seeing them in a small venue is the way to go! This past January, The Dirty River Boys played at the Grease Monkey and a couple of my friends were nice enough to buy me a ticket for Christmas! Lucky me (us really) – we were front row!

This may have been my favorite Dirty River Boys show to date! Midway thru the show they all switched instruments and played something different. If you happened to walk in during this time, you would never know. Talent, folks!

Now, if you happen to be in the Oklahoma / Texas region where these guys usually play, get on out there and check them out.

If not, send an email to your local venue telling them to get in check and book these guys… they’re only going to get bigger.

No matter where you are – buy their CD. I promise you won’t be disappointed!

Granbury, TX at Christmas Time!

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January is going to be full of catch up posts I suppose. Here is another in another great town – Granbury! Granbury is just a short drive outside of the Fort Worth area and a town that I absolutely love to visit. The town square is where it’s at. Centered around the courthouse, the square is full of unique shops where you can find just about anything you are looking for (plus things that you’re not even looking for). It’s a great place to do some shopping with some girlfriends, a significant other or even just by yourself.

And a historic area it is. These signs can be found all over the place. Be sure to stop by a few to check them out!

Something that I love about these old Texas towns – the Courthouse. They can usually be found within the town square. I love Granbury’s.

To go with the antique signs, antique cars!

Here’s a another piece of history that you can catch in the area – I caught the tail end of a shoot out. I’m not sure what happened but as I walked over this lady had a gun and there was only three left standing (and one of them was a Sheriff) and there were about three guys down on the ground. Good thing they got the three year old little boy from the crowd to come take the bad guy away!

In all seriousness, Granbury is a very historic. As mentioned, there’s many, many historical markers, many old businesses and homes (which have been turned into B&B’s). Here is my favorite in town that was decorated so beautifully!

In each corner of the square around the court house, these giant Christmas trees were decorated. Yes, that’s a chair in the tree! They were all different! LOVE IT!

It was really nice to get out of the metroplex for the day and walk around this cute town. I can’t believe the holiday’s are already over. Did they seem to fly by to anyone else?