My first-class bucketlist trip

[Justinf]

Landed in Austin full of hope and expectation. Don't get me wrong, Dallas was a good eye opener. But I have travelled extensively in the States and there are so many cities there that I love. Dallas wasn't one of them. Didn't have a bad time there, but was looking forward to better things from Austin and San Antonio.
$25 cab ride to the hotel. Extended Stay Downtown America. Booking accommodation in Austin was tough. Everything seemed so expensive, but I settled on this place and it didn't let me down. Was very decent.


Just far enough away from the mayhem of 6th St, but actually on 6th street.
By now it was mid arvo and jetlag was gone so I decided to wander around and look and see before finding a bar that I could enjoy a cold beer. Weather was really good. High 20s and sunshine. Plenty of people out and about. Big party town. Plenty of holidaymakers and interstate weekenders enjoyeing themselves.


Austin immediately struck me as a place I liked to be in. Good vibe.
Found a bar called the Navaca St bar and Casey, the bar dude, looked after me.
I'm not a big drinker these days. I do like a good wine and a cold beer, but with all the weight I've lost, I just can't have huge amounts these days.
Still I did have room for a Lone Star beer. When in Rome (Texas)...

Decided to call it a night around 9pm. My AFL team, Richmond, was playing in the morning and I wanted to get up at 4.45am and watch it, but I knew deep down that it wouldn't be worth it because we are such rubbish this year. Actually we have been rubbish for the best part of 35 years.
Short walk back to the room and to bed. Was looking forward to seeing the State Capitol building tomorrow.

 

[Justinf]

Woke at half time of the Richmond-Port game around 6am. Listened the last half on the AFL app radio and shouldn't have. Poor team. Bad mood. at least jetlag was gone.
Decided to don the running shoes and see what the riverfront was like. Man, it is fantastic. Jogged a good 45 minutes with hundreds of other runners and walkers.
Hotel had a grab-and-go breakfast of muffins, museli bars and oatmeal sachets so I grabbed a sachet, poured it into a cup with some hot water and grabbed a filtered coffee and back up to the room to watch the Weather Channell. Forecast of 83 degrees (which by my reckon is about 28) and sunny. Perfect for getting out and about.
I walked up to the Capitol Building, but realised there was a farmers market at a park nearby. So I stopped for a browse.

Then a walk to the Capitol Building which was absolutely spectacular.

Exquisite design in the architecture.

After a good day looking around town I saw a party bike, where a heap of people pedal (with a driver who steers the things) and while they pedal, they drink and eat. Looked like heaps of fun.

After a long day walking around and generally enjoying this laid back town, I headed back to the room. Lots of same-sex couples walking around holding hands which I found refreshing and it really put me in a good mood for the day. I really like Austin.
Out for a beer and a bit. How ironic I started with a Lone Star Lite beer in my Richmond stubby holder. Weak as piss. And the beer was too

 

[GarrettM]

This is an outstanding TR JustinF*. Please keep it up!


*Except for the Spurs references.

 

[Justinf]

A few more pics of my exploration of wonderful Austin and the Capitol Buidling, without me in them, which I realise is actually spoiling everything.





Austin had already grown on me. Loved it. But it was Saturday night. What's a bloke to do on a saturday night? Go bar hopping that's what.

 

[Justinf]

Saturday night in Austin.
Showered at my room and headed out into the night lights.
Made a BIG mistakes of going down Sixth St, which itself wasn't a mistake, but my choice of bar was. It was called Bikinis. I didn't even know what the name was. It looked ok from the street so I walked in only to find that was like a Hooters. Waitresses with bikini tops on. You get the drift. I'm a straight red blooded male, but those places are not my scene. I had one beer (as not to be rude), tipped generously and left to head to the bar I went to the night before, the Lavaca Street Bar, where my 'mate' Casey was there. Had a few beers there. I liked the place. Sports bar, but not too sporty if you know what I mean. Good mix of people.
Streets lively.


Left the Lavaca bar and headed around the corner to a bar called Ginger Men. They had 60 beers tap, but no actual 'liquor'. I tried to get through all 60, but I think I fell about 56 short.
the below pic is only half of the beers they had on tap. There were another 30 or so. I tried to get through them and take one for the team and, as I said, I got really close - falling 56 short.

Finished off at the obligatory Irish pub with a Smithwicks.

And some quesadillas, which I was basically living on, along with burgers.

Stumbled 'home' in a 'merry' mood.

 

[Justinf]

Not an early start due to the multitude of craft brews I sampled.
But still felt well enough to pop on the running shoes and go for a run along the river around 8.30am. A very enjoyable 45-minute run. I worked out that I was doing around 20,000 steps per day, which was good news as it would help keep all the burgers, Tex-Mex and beer at bay. This time I took my phone with me to grab some pics.



Not much planned for the day. Austin, like dallas, has a lack of shops in downtown. So i decided to get an Uber (about $8) out to the Barton Creek Square shopping mall to see if I could pick up some gifts for the family back home. Unfortunately with the exchange rate, the US is not the bargain it was the last time I was there when the dollar was at parity with the greenback. Also with the boom in online shopping, I found I could pick up things cheaper or at the same price back home.
I was pretty hungry by about 2pm so what do you do when you are in a shopping centre and want lunch? Go to the Cheesecake Factory that's what. Not just cheesecakes though. I had the most enormous quesadilla. It could have fed four people. Alas, I could only eat a third of it. Sorry, pic quality is poor considering it was darker in there than a Vegas casino.

I was off to San Antonio tomorrow, and I had a megabus ticket booked but wasn't keen on that at all.
Thankfully I met a really nice young woman that night who offered to drive me for $45. I told her if she was serious about it, I'd give her $60 and she promised to pick me up from my hotel at 11.30am.
Started off the night with a few beers at the Navaca St Bar where the bar manager Casey gave me a free cap, which I was going to buy anyway. He said it was a gift from him. Top bloke.

 

[Justinf]

So at around 6.30pm and then realised I faced a conundrum. Game of Thrones series 6 episode 3 was about to start in an hour and a half and the hotel I was staying at didn't have HBO channel.
I asked Casey if there was anywhere that I could watch it. Being a GoT enthusiast, I had to watch it. Casey phone around a few bars and finally found one, the Jackalope Bar on Sixth St, just a few blocks around the corner. He said they were showing episode 2 at 7pm and then would show episode 3 live at 8pm. Sorted. Casey was a really good host and it's the people like him you meet along the way, that I remember the most about these solo trips.
I found the Jackalope and got there at 7.30pm and already the outside area was pretty packed. They had about 8 screens who nobody would have contort themselves to watch it. Luckily I grabbed a spot right at the bar and settled in. The crowd a jovial and everyone was there for Game of Thrones.
The guy behind the bar asked where I was from and I said 'Melbourne' even though it's a 90-minute drive from where I actually live. He said "Oh, I played a gig in Geelong". Well, Geelong is only a 15-minute drive from where I live and he said he played at the Barwon Club Hotel and I know the place well. Small world, hey. Here he is.

Once 8pm hit and the credits started rolling, the place fell deathly silent. I was excited to be able to watch it, but also in a really happy place that I was watching at a bar in Austin with a beer in hand. My Mum and Dad would have been looking down happy as hell for me. Winter was coming.


After the show, I stayed for a few more brews.

By around 10pm I was tempted to stay on and hot some more bars, but this old body can't handle it like it used to and I didn't want to be too hungover for the drive to San Antonio. So I grabbed a couple of slices of pizza from a streetside hole-in-the-wall place and took it back to my room and went to sleep.

 

[Pushka]

Cant miss GOT.

 

[love_the_life]

Cant miss GOT.

We're cheapskates, don't have Foxtel so will wait to download it. (Not till after the season finishes though )

 

[ellen10]

Great trip report.
Really enjoying it!

 

[Justinf]

Up relatively early for another run along the riverfront. Really enjoyed running this route.
Negotiated an 11.30am checkout from the hotel and my driver, Mara, was now picking me up at noon. Lazed about for a few hours until it was time to leave.
Mara was on time and we commenced the hour-and-a-half drive down to San Antonio. Mara was great company. It wasn't an awkward trip at all. We talked the whole way and she was a very interesting person, a Florida native and the time passed quickly. $60 well spent to go from door-to-door rather than the Megabus. So glad I didn't have to do the Megabus. It meant I forfeited the bus fare, but it was only $8 anyway.
Arrived at my hotel, the O'Brien Historic Riverwalk Hotel at around 1.30pm. My room wasn't ready so I left my bags at the hotel and then went in search of a sports bar as Tottenham Hotspur (at this stage) was still in the title race and was playing Chelsea. game started at 2pm Texas time and I was frantic trying to find somewhere but everywherre I tried was closed. It was getting really close to game time now and eventually I stumbled across the Ticket sports bar. Being 2pm on a Monday there weren't many people in the bar so I donned my Spurs shirt and settled in for the game.

Happy days at half time. Harry Kane, he's one of our own.

Unfortunately after being 2-nil up, Chelsea came back to draw the game and although technically the title race was still open, Leicester were pretty much assured of winning. I guess if you have to lose the title to someone, then Leicester would up there.
Went and checked in to my room.


Had a nice view from my balcony.

My intial impression of San Antonio was positive. While running around trying to find a bar to watch the football, the riverwalk looked amazing. General vibe was OK. Pretty much smack in the middle of the vibes I got from Dallas and Austin.

 

[kermatu]

Good on you! I went to a Tottenham Hotspurs supporters bar in NYC one Sunday morning in late 2014. Great pub - cheap bloody marys for breakfast - Spurs won that game.

The Chelsea game was horrible - not just for the result but also the way we played and the poor spirit. Not the Spurs we know!

 

[Justinf]

Decided to get up early and go for a run. Jogged south along the Riverwalk as the actual horseshoe in downtown in way too pedestrianised and too busy. Great run. Went past the Lone Star brewery and back. Around 45 minutes in total. Set the scene for a good day.
Was really looking forward to seeing the Alamo. It's small, but interesting and moving. No pics allowed inside the shrine. Men had to remove their hats but women allowed to keep theirs on.
Weather was gorgeous. About 28 and sunny with a nice light cooling breeze.



Not sure what old mate here wants to do with the gun.


In all, the Alamo is obviously a must-do and the history behind it is moving. Saw Davy Crockett's wallet from the early 1800s. Pretty cool.
But the whole thing really only takes half an hour or so. Glad I went.

 

[Justinf]

Was looking forward now to an afternoon just wandering around looking at the stunning architecture. Decided to save the Riverwalk to the following day.
Walked over to the San Fernando church. Beautiful.



San Antonio was really growing on me.
Just beautiful.


Back to the room by about 5pm. Game two of the NBA finals were on tonight. Decided not to try and get a ticket to the game, but to watch at a bar instead.

 

[Justinf]

Out for a burger and a beer around 6.30pm and the sports bar a few blocks from where I was staying seemed like a safe bet, but they only did bar snacks and I wanted something more substantial so I found another bar that did 'proper' food.

After a feed I reverted back to the bar called 'Drink' to watch the game.
I really enjoyed the Alamo beer, which was a light wheat-beer style.

Game started and it was a see-sawing tussle, but the Spurs got beaten by a point and would go on to lose the series 4-2.



Got back to my room and decided that I would put in a points upgrade bid for my flight home. 50,000 points to upgrade from J to F seemed worth it to me. If I didn't get it, no harm done as J would suit me just fine, but if I did get it, then all good.

 

[njba]

I've never really stood why Americans like to serve their burgers in two separate piles. It's an odd semi-DIY setup. The best burgers are sort of smooshed together, right?

 

[clazman]

Stayed up late last night with the hope of watching Spurs having a win or draw to beat the goons into 2nd place.

Should have gone to bed ..... the cough they served up in the past 2 games is disappointing

With CL next season they better buy some decent midfielders .. Carroll and Mason arn't good enough and sell Lamela take the loss

 

[GarrettM]

I've never really stood why Americans like to serve their burgers in two separate piles. It's an odd semi-DIY setup. The best burgers are sort of smooshed together, right?

.

My only experience with this is watching them eat burgers on tv, where they always seem to pour or squeeze lots of sauce into them.

Maybe that's the reason?

 

[TomVexille]

.

My only experience with this is watching them eat burgers on tv, where they always seem to pour or squeeze lots of sauce into them.

Maybe that's the reason?

Probably part of the reason. I'm guessing that it allows the person eating it to decide what they want the final composition to be.

 

[Justinf]

Stayed up late last night with the hope of watching Spurs having a win or draw to beat the goons into 2nd place.

Should have gone to bed ..... the cough they served up in the past 2 games is disappointing

With CL next season they better buy some decent midfielders .. Carroll and Mason arn't good enough and sell Lamela take the loss

I stayed up too, Putrid. Will take CL spot though but really wanted to finish above the cough