"I like this country... oh wait state?" (Texas)

6/6 Saturday

We got to New Orleans where we had planned to stay at our friend from Nativ, Aaron’s, house.  He was not home at night but left us a key and told us about the place.  He was living in the Avodah house with 9 people so it was a huge house.  After bumpy roads and lots of construction, we got our bags in the house (after LeeAnn’s high school friend, Leah, who used to live there, helped us figure out which one it was), LeeAnn caught up a bit with Leah, we fixed up a really nice Shabbat meal, and ate.  We all fell asleep in the basement pretty easily as we were very tired although the large flying bugs added some extra excitement (they have flying cockroaches around the house… dishes became a job for the morning cuz there was one in the kitchen when we went to clean up). 

We woke up on Shabbat morning and Meir and LeeAnn planned to go to the near-bye Chabbad house for Shul and lunch.  We got dressed and began our mile walk in the hot and humid air. With sweat down our backs and little hope of finding the Chabbad house we finally found it and walked in.  There were maybe a total of 15 adults in their fairly large Shul.  We showed up fashionably late and were clearly from out of town as most people came up to talk to us and find out who we were.  Towards the end of Shul Aaron came to spend some time with us.  We got to chat a little at kiddish lunch that was sponsored by a couple in honor of their daughter creating a program for adults with special needs on the east coast.  It was very nice to see Aaron and catch up on what we are all doing in life and the fried chicken was not bad either (LeeAnn thinks it was her first).

After lunch Meir, LeeAnn, and Aaron walked back to Aaron’s house where we hung out some more before Aaron left.  LeeAnn and Meir decided it was nap time and conked out for a few hours.  The heat and lunch got the best of us!

Becca had a slightly different morning, and walked around the city on her own.

After we all reconnected, we packed up some crackers and cheese, with water, and headed out to The Fly.  We walked through residential areas, through a giant park, around the zoo, over some train tracks, (over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house we go) and finally got to the Mississippi river where we had a little picnic as Shabbat was ending.  We happened to get there in perfect time to enjoy the sunset and watch boats go by.   

The walk through the park was gorgeous with trees and large patches of grass and a nice path by a stream (with ducks that Meir and Becca tried befriending… it worked for a while with the ducks following us and LeeAnn running ahead, not a huge bird fan). 

We walked back to Aaron’s house as it got dark and late.  We learned that Becca has a knack for walking and tripping.  When we got back we had too much planned for one night and decided it would be better off if we stayed in New Orleans until Monday morning instead of Sunday morning.  We began our journey out to Bourbon Street.

Shops, bars, lights, drunk people, people throwing beads for showing breasts, and more…  So much was going on and it seemed so grimy.  

It was strange for Meir going from a classy, live music atmosphere in Tennessee to a dirty “you can only have fun if you are plastered” atmosphere.  LeeAnn’s mother Pam had decided that she wanted to get us Hurricanes so we went to get those at Pat O’briens (Patty O’s), where some of the Avodah girls told us had the best.  

Walking in the street with alcohol is legal there so we continued on our way.  LeeAnn and Becca got beads from people on balcony’s waiting for girls to flash them.  Becca and LeeAnn just asked nicely and some people just threw them down (others weren’t so nice and refused).  After getting more drinks we walked into a Latin bar where everyone was dancing but decided to leave after a few minutes of being near a few creepy people.  The night went on and Becca wanted food so we stopped in a fast food place.  

Then we continued to Frenchman where LeeAnn spoke to an artist on the street that began saying questionable things really quickly.  We went looking for live music and eventually found some where we sat and danced for a little.  

After that most of the places were closed or closing so we went to Café Du Monde for Beignets (fried dough covered in powdered sugar).  

We got a little slap happy at this time of the night and decided to have some fun with the sugar.  The night was coming to a close so we went back to Aaron’s house at 4 am where we fell asleep.

We woke up on Sunday morning a little late and were going to leave in the morning for Houston but decided there was a few things in New Orleans that we wanted to do so we would stay another day.  We began the day in the late morning when we were going to get bagels but they closed right before we could get any.

We went to a swamp area where we wanted to go hiking but due to time constraints we were only going to drive and do a small hike or two.  

As we were driving right outside the swamp the rain began coming down hard.  This was going to put a damper on things but after 20 minutes or so of driving around the area (we were not exactly sure where the swamps were) the rain slowed down and we stopped at the visitor’s center.  We chatted a little with the ranger and she told us a few spots we could go to see alligators.  There seemed to be some cool hikes, but we knew we didn’t have enough time for those.  In addition, Becca played with a hands on interactive animal noise toy and discovered that the noise we heard while camping in Memphis was actually a Barred Owl.

We continued towards the area with the alligators and we were fortunate enough to spot a few including two baby alligators.  

We also saw a frog which we were unsure if he was going to be lunch that day for the alligator.  

LeeAnn went and looked over the other side too, which looked like a small field, and realized it was actually a shallower part of the swamp.  Before heading out of the area we learned that a bayou is the same thing as a swamp and a swamp is defined as a still body of water.

We headed out of the swamp area for a gospel choir performance at the healing center.  We had wanted to go to church in the south because it seemed like a really exciting opportunity but LeeAnn’s friend Leah (from high school) invited us to the performance which her friend was in.  We had such a great time and the music was so catchy.  LeeAnn thought that Meir could wear his Kippah because the first few songs were from Song of Songs but Meir was sure otherwise.  The rest of the performance was about Jesus.  Even so, the music was really great and it was obvious how dedicated and energetic the singers were about gospel music.

We headed out and went to the French quarter where we had wanted to get a bite to eat.  Becca kept talking about hot sauce bars, so we stopped in one.  They let you try EVERYTHING, hot sauce, salsas, all different colors and spice and flavors.  LeeAnn's mouth was on fire, but Becca and Meir just laughed.

LeeAnn had been talking about Mac and Cheese for a while so we ate some of that before going to a wine and cheese place called Bacchanel that was recommended to us by Aaron.  

After all that Mac and Cheese we could not take any more cheeses.   We went in and bought a bottle of wine and brought it outside where there was live music and tables to sit at.  After meeting up with Leah and her boy friend there and spending a while with them, listening to the music, they headed out and we moved inside to the bar to watch the NBA finals game.  

The place was pretty old, so on the wall behind the tv, we got to watch a small lizard and large cockroach cross paths (must have been rough for the lizard, who generally eats bugs, since the cockroach was too big).  We headed back to Aaron’s house where we were going to sleep before heading out to Texas the next morning.

We woke up Monday morning packed our stuff and began heading out.  We took the 10 west all the way to Houston, with a quick stop for lunch.  

Scariest lunch break yet

When we got into Texas we stopped at the visitor’s center to chat and figure out some things to do in Texas.  We also took some pictures.

We drove all the way to Becca’s friend from Clark, Anna’s house and brought in our stuff.  Before going out to dinner Becca made a lot of guacamole and Meir cut up watermelon that we had shlepped all the way from Louisiana.  We all showered, ate watermelon, and watermelon guacamole (delicious!!), and then went out to dinner (everyone left LeeAnn alone with the guacamole for too long… big mistake since she pretty much finished the bowl on her own).  

We went to a tappa’s restaurant where we got many little appetizers and split them.  

Incidentally, Becca’s friend Anna and LeeAnn’s friend Michal (from high school) know each other so when LeeAnn invited Michal she was shocked to see Anna at the restaurant.  After dinner we decided to go for drinks for half an hour before going home.  

Becca and Anna

LeeAnn and Michal

It turned into pool and darts for an hour instead, but it was a lot of fun for all of us.  When we were leaving, Michal noticed that a tow truck was starting to pick up cars, so we ran to the cars, left, and went right to bed!

On Tuesday morning we had another slow morning, 

LeeAnn, Becca, and Rotem

then Michal came to join us again and we all went to The Galleria, which had a waterwall outside.  It was so cool and a fun place for photos and to cool off a bit from the hot day.  

Meir

Michal, LeeAnn, Anna, Becca

From there we went to Herman park and walked around a lake that looked similar to the lawn in D.C. including the Washington Monument.  On our way around, Meir found a fountain and, as is typical, cooled off in it.  We also went through this cool little stick house thing.

By then we were all hungry, so we went to Torchys, a well known taco chain.  

LeeAnn’s BU friend, Avi, stopped by to say hi and catch up for a bit, and after he left we went across the street to a create your own ice cream sandwich truck.  LeeAnn and Meir opted out after filling up on the delicious tacos, but helped finish everyone else’s.  When we finished licking off our fingers, we went back, took a cat nap, and packed up the house.

In the early afternoon we headed towards San Antonio on route 10 West again, where Meir had called up Bob (his stepdad)’s sister Eileen to see if we could spend the night.  We got there at night but still had some time to chat, catch up, and watch some NBA finals basketball (can’t miss a game).  They had a beautiful house, and we also got some recommendations for the next day!

Wednesday morning we went to yet another taco place (catch the repetition!).  

LeeAnn and Meir were a bit nervous because when they got there they found out the beans were not vegetarian.  They figured it out by getting substitutions for the beans.  The flour tortillas there were amazing, and as usual we left satisfied.

Again we wanted to check out a Roadside America attraction which LeeAnn had been excited about from day one.  The toilet seat museum (the other one she’d really wanted to go to was the salt and pepper shaker museum, but we didn’t end up near that, it was in an area of Tennessee that we missed).  There is a man who started decorating toilet seats and displays them in his garage.  As we got closer, we realized we weren’t sure how to go in, so LeeAnn double checked the website and learned that he prefers that you call before going, so we called and he wanted us to come in 2 hours…. Oops.  So we didn’t tell him we were right outside and went into the city (not too far away) to check out the Alamo. 

After spending some time looking for parking in the Alamo area we went in.  LeeAnn needed the restroom, so she stopped across the street, which turned out to be a Ripley’s Believe It Or Not, and had the world’s biggest Hawaiian t-shirt, the biggest useable guitar, and a few other fun things.

 After pictures (as usual), we headed across the street to our real destination, and got in the long but quick line for the Alamo.  It was pretty cool but we didn’t have much time so we just walked through pretty quickly. 

It was harder to find the exit than you’d expect, but after many wrong turns, we got out and back to the car before the meter was up.

Back at the toilet seat museum this time the garage was open and there were people around.

 It was as cool as expected (no, that does not mean it wasn’t cool).  Aside from being extremely hot, the guy’s work was pretty amazing.  He had toilet seat covers decorated for everything.  He has one for each country people have visited from, most states, Pez, dogs, his anniversaries and birthdays, TV shows, and more.  Some were painted, some had things glued on.

 He is quite creative.  He even showed us his favorite, one with a poem he had to memorize in grade school.  In one corner was a tv, which was showing him being interviewed on different talk shows.

It was fun wandering through, but we were overheating and decided to head out.

We drove to the riverwalk, which turned out to be pretty much around the corner from the Alamo (that’s what happens when you don’t really plan the day…)  It was cool walking around the river with so many restaurants right there.  There were boat tours, ducks, ducklings, and waterfalls.  What more could you ask for?

We needed to be in Austin by around 6 to pick up Becky, another friend of ours from Nativ who joined us, so we headed up the 35 north.  For once we were running early, so we stopped by Buc-ees, which is a chain, but this one happened to be the largest convenience store in the world.

 It was huge.  We picked up some propane there and Becca got a hat.  Everything else was too expensive, but it was fun to wander through.

Farther along the highway, we stopped at an arcade that was supposed to have the world’s largest pinball game.

 It wasn’t so big… unclear how it counts other than the fact that it uses a pool ball as the ball… maybe it’s supposed to be the pinball game with the biggest ball?

 We were feeling too cheap to play anything, but we got photobooth pictures (the machine confused us so we somehow got an extra photo out of it) before going to the airport close by.

At the airport we knew Becky had landed, but it was taking her a while to come out.  We pulled over and got stuck behind some cars, and the police started yelling at us and trying to take down our license.  It was so confusing.  We kept telling them we were trying to get out but stuck, but for some reason they didn’t believe us.  By the time we settled it and got moving, Becky was out, but we were scared that if we pulled over again we’d get a ticket.  Without saying a real hello, we barely came to a stop while Becky jumped in and we got out as quickly as possible.

We headed for downtown Austin, picked up gas, thought we lost Meir’s camera (it’s easy losing things with such a full car), and pushed the gas instead of the breaks.  All of it was confusing and stressful.  By the time we figured out we had the camera, Shira, LeeAnn’s friend from home and the sister of someone who had been on Nativ with us, was ready to meet us, so we left the parking lot we’d found and went to her apartment.  We took the wrong entrance to the parking lot, which was too steep with all of our passengers and luggage, but finally found where we should be.

Shira took us to a cute outdoor bar called Spider House.  It was extra interesting because it has a few food trucks that park there, so you can order food to your table either from the bar or from the trucks.  We all ended up getting from the Asian food truck and the bar.  It was great.

Becca, Meir, Becky, Shira, LeeAnn

After a quick trip back to Shira’s, LeeAnn, Becky, and Becca took an Uber to 6^th Street, the Beale/Bourbon of Austin.  The driver decided we must be classy, and dropped us by the classier part of the street, and somehow the ride ended up free.

Girls' Night Out!

We started the night at a place called Key Bar, which was mostly outdoors with live music.  From there we walked up the street, stopped for a taco (Becky needed her fix, since she hadn’t been with us for all the tacos we’d already had), and continued into the more populated area of 6^th.  On the walk crossing one of the streets, we got a great view of the capital building all lit up.

We stopped in at a place called Bat Bar but decided it was a mostly older crowd.

 The music was pretty good though.  Then we ended up at Trophy Club where we had a fun time watching people ride a mechanical bull and cheering for them.
 Meir met up with us there, after having gone to meet his friend Carly from Wisconsin who was bowling with her camp staff in downtown Austin.  It was very nice for Meir to see her for an hour or so catching up and doing a little bowling.

Meir and Carly

Once reunited, we thought we'd try out Austin’s Coyote Ugly, which though we danced was another disappointment, and then decided to head back.

 On our way back to the car, we passed some street musicians, which was LeeAnn’s favorite band of the night.

A quick stop for a Jackelope picture

Thursday morning we got up, ready for a full day in Austin.  Again we didn’t plan it very well, and ended up sort of in circles, but it was a great day.

We began at Bouldin Creek Café where we had brunch and the waiter was Meir’s long lost cousin (same last name).  The waiter said it was his first time meeting someone with the same last name as him and was interested in checking his family lineage to see if he was actually related to Meir. 

We moved on to where the Flagship Whole Foods was established (not sure what that means…) where Becky thought she saw Mark Cuban.  We spent some time there walking around and bought some wine for Shabbat (still unsure where we were spending Shabbat). Their $3 bottles really aren't too shabby...

We left still confused about what a flagship store is as opposed to the original, and we headed to the capital building.

We opted out of the tour, but got a guide brochure and LeeAnn took on the tour guide role.  It was pretty, but this brochure had fewer fun facts than the previous one in Nashville.

The grounds at this capital were also beautiful, and Becky (despite an allergy to grass), Becca, and Meir decided to roll down a small grass hill before we left.

Becky, Becca, Meir.  Ready, set....

ROLLLLLLLLL

From there we went to Barton Springs where it turned out the actual springs part was closed for renovation (also, it's man made... kinda disappointing).  But the river was open, so we hung out by the water and Meir and LeeAnn went swimming.

 We saw turtles and fish in the water.  LeeAnn and Meir tried to swim upstream but struggled so they came back downstream and floated more around the waters that were steadier.  After eating some lunch and meeting a less than month old puppy we continued on our way.

We had wanted to go to Lady Bird Lake so we drove over there.  We finally got to the lake when we realized we were hungry.  We turned the car back on to begin driving looking for a food truck.   We ended up not finding any food we liked but wanted to go to the top of Mt. Bonnell which has a very nice view of Austin.  We drove most of the way up the mountain and took a lot of stairs the rest of the way to the top.

 It was gorgeous and Meir realized that in many places there are Israelis speaking Hebrew, you just have to listen carefully to notice.  It overlooks the city and the Colorado River, though if you look at a map, it doesn’t seem to be the same as the famous Colorado River.

LeeAnn, Becca

Meir, Becky, Becca

We remembered we were hungry, and went to a place called The Picnic, which has picnic tables surrounded by a bunch of food trucks (our favorite).

 Shira came to meet us and we all got whatever we were in the mood for.  We also realized it was a great place to play Hipster Bingo, looking for people with environmental tattoos, colorful pants, different patterned top and bottom, and others.

Then we went back to Shira’s for an early night in, knowing that we had a long drive coming up.

We had decided to spend Shabbat in Big Bend National Park, so (as has become usual for a Friday), we had a long drive ahead of us.