Almost Heaven...

Part I

With no disrespect to residents of West Virginia, John Denver may have gotten it wrong. It was about 1am on Wed[/Thur], about half way through James McMurtry's set [the third act of the night that I reached nirvana - that I fully realized where I was and why. It could have been partly the lack of sleep or partial dehydration, but it was definitely the searing electric guitar going over, under, around and through every level of intensity in that small room and hitting every nerve.

I was in Austin, the Continental Club, doing simply what one was meant to do - slip over the edge of consciousness into a meditation, where the laws of physics no longer apply. And if some higher power should decide at that moment that my time here has concluded, rest assured a sweet ride is awaiting outside to provide the ultimate transportation !




Saturday -

We arrived in Austin for the second time in consecutive years, and basically picked up right where we left off. With the exception of a monolithic condo complex that had stolen the parking lot of our favorite morning launch pad - austin java, things looked pretty much the same. Cathy and I were both ragged from a long and tough New England winter and job pressures, so our planning was not up to its usual snuff making scheduling and my hopes of making it a productive trip questionable. Cathy had done her job well though, and we were here. In Austin, at least from a visitors perspective, there always seems to be a conflict between relaxation and choosing from the full menu of entertainment, cultural, and commercial venues. I kept trying to remember this was supposed to be a vacation - but the city was calling.

A short ride later we were settling into our perch on the 15th floor overlooking downtown Austin and the water. Friend and food awaited.





When we go to New Orleans we always make our first stop The Gumbo Shop to get a quick fix on the local cuisine. Fortunately Austin has our friend and consummate host Donna, who generously offered us a wonderful lunch greeting of homemade etouffee - a perfectly delicious start ! Our first evening found us too tired after a full travel day to look for unplanned entertainment. The amusement for the evening came when we went downstairs at the hotel to have desert and walked into a Boston University Alumni hockey tournament gathering in the bar area which saw Boston pull off a dramatic come from behind win. So far we had traveled 1700 miles to watch hometown hockey - Boston is EVERYWHERE !




BU Hockey Video - Final 3 minutes

Sunday -

Texas has a long rich history, and we decided to spend our first full day picking up where we left off last trip. We wanted to see the next battle site following the Alamo, where the troops of Col. Fannin were also defeated and massacred by Santa Ana at Goliad, a 2 hour ride south. What we hadn't expected was the bonus history lesson on the Spanish era of Texas and to find that this town claimed the birth of cattle ranching in Texas.

The Mission Espiritu Santo, below, records some of the Spanish legacy.




Goliad - Mission Espiritu Santo




I'm not sure why angels painted in the the 18th century look like Elvis - but I decided to cover my bets by singing 3 Hound Dogs and 1 Love me Tender later as a self-prescribed penance.

We finished the afternoon of Easter Sunday with a meal at The Hanging Tree restaurant - NO, really - I'm not kidding !




The Hanging Tree - THE CART WAR OAK


This concluded our brief history lesson and provided additional depth and understanding to our growing knowledge of Texas. Next it was time to get back to Austin in time for our our scheduled evening music event !

So, that concludes the first 24 hours of our trip - still a whole week to go, but that was too much to fathom at the time, we were still getting our feet on the ground. When thinking toward a second consecutive vacation to the same location I was doubtful the second visit could offer the same level of excitement, enthusiasm, or experience as last year's overwhelming awakening, but again Austin rewarded us with more that our fair share of new offerings and old treats and still left us wanting more !

It should prove more logical and interesting if I provide further information on the musical, artistic, and other points of interest on our visit in separate posts, so please stay tuned for more.