Road Warriors 2: August 2017

Again, we returned to Texas during the hottest time of the year, only because we can't go in the fall when the weather is beautiful, because that's the time we work with our clients in CT, with Medicare Open Enrollment. However, August in Texas is the time for catching catfish on Lake Fork - TZ and a new friend went out with Stan, our Guide, and limited out by 11 am with over 50 catfish. They're already separated and frozen, ready for a future meal. Thanks to Mikey B, we now use his suggestion of soaking the catfish in milk for a few hours before cooking. Also had some delicious red fish (snapper) from Louisiana at the Gulf of Mexico, and they came out great, courtesy of Stan & Carol.

The weather is in the high 90's but we planned a trip with the Motorhome to Austin for a week (....keeping Austin Weird...), with a 2 day side trip to Joshua Creek Ranch in Boerne, TX, about 2 hours west of Austin......many thanks to Campfire Club for sponsoring most of this trip for us. We'll meet up with Dave and Katherine for those two days and it should be fun.

Prior to going to Joshua Creek Ranch, we spent two days discovering Austin. In the past, we were here for only a couple of days, and we primarily only got to see The LBJ Museum in Austin, and LBJ Ranch in Johnson City, and the nearby Garrisson Distillery, and all were wonderful to see, but we chose to return to Austin because there's so much to do.

So this time, I thought we'd do a food truck crawl, which started with the Dock and Roll, a food truck in Midway Park in West Austin, where we indulged in Maine style Lobster Rolls, then Meyer's BBQ in Elgin, well worth the trip for their scrumptious Garlic Pork Sausages, and Pork Ribs......fingerlicking good ! The next mealtime found us at an outstanding Japanese Restaurant in South Austin, called Uchi, on So Lamar Blvd.

TZ drinking Sake from a cedar box

Yesterday went on a guided tour of the State Capitol Building, right in the heart of Austin, and because it was Sunday, the traffic was very light, compared to what we have previously dealt with. Loved the Capitol Building - all granite, and 1 million square feet, since the lower addition was complete. and yes, the largest Capitol Building in the country....of course....Everything's bigger in Texas !! The Senators and Representatives only work part-time, and all have other jobs! Thought that was very practical...Are you listening Washington ??

State Capitol at Austin

Looking up towards the dome,
where all paintings of Texas Governors are placed

Portraits of George W Bush and Rick Perry

Painting of the Surrender of Mexico's
General Santa Ana, and thus
the independence of Texas, which lasted about 9 years

Bronze sculptures honoring Texans
who fought in the Viet Nam War

Stopped at a Food Truck Park, ubiquitous in Austin,
"Dock & Roll" for Lobster Rolls

Famous place with some awesome
garlic sausage and pork ribs !

Another food truck, with the
BEST beef ribs....about a foot long !!

This was the SMALLER of the two ribs !!!
Melt in your mouth tender !!!

At night, around dusk, a MILLION bats fly out from under the Congress Street Bridge, to forage for food. They form a cloud in the sky - it's incredible! People line up along the bridge to see this spectacle.