San Antonio, Austin, Jackson

Now I'm going by threes since we're so far behind...

From Marfa, we headed to San Antonio. This was more of a family stop than an adventure stop. I have a cousin there and S had an old family friend, and we were thrilled to be able to catch up with them both. The highlight (outside of people) was a little drinking hole called The Friendly Spot in the King William district. It was a great neighborhood for a walk, and the beers on tap were delicious. We also, in error, decided to go out for a fancy dinner. Please avoid fancy dinner in this place. Texas loves beef and beef loves Texas. Get a burger, or a hamburger steak, or meatloaf. Plenty of options. If you fail to follow this advice, you will be like us and receive lavender hush puppies with beet tzatziki sauce and melon cubes.

Austin was another hotel stay for us. It was graduation weekend for UT and the hotels and venues were wildly busy which may have been why 6th street exceeded my expectations. I've never seen so many musicians raging in windows with beer-swilling 20-somethings cheering them on. I really appreciated the energy even though I tend towards shoe-gazing music myself. We also had a great dinner at this little pizza place, http://thebackspace-austin.com/. Another place worth mention is Wink where we celebrated S's birthday. We had a decent meal there but quickly realized we were not in SF anymore. Cheese made from cows that eat sagebrush in 100 degree heat is perhaps not the best. The duck was great though, and so was the service.

Austin to Jackson was a long haul. On the way out of Austin we stopped at the flagship Whole Foods and lost each other twice. It's really that big. They have a taco bar where you can order tacos without the taco part and have it put in a bowl instead. for $2 you get a pint container layered with potato, egg, black beans, guac, cilantro & salsa. It is the best meal for the price that I have had on this trip.

After nine hours of driving, we settled in at "Mississippi's Best Kept Secret" http://www.askewslanding.com/, which should explain why we only stayed in Mississippi long enough to sleep. It's on a pretty lake. Bring flip flops if you want to shower.

--H