Good Times

This past weekend was fantastic. Man and I left early Friday and took our time getting down south. We stopped in Hillsboro for coffee and then again in Waco for dinner (Cracker Barrel which wasn’t as good as I remembered and the waitress was annoying).

We had great conversation on the way down there. He can be very chatty. As the sun went down, and we got through Austin, we stopped for gas and more coffee. The man can spot a Starbucks miles away. I think he has an internal radar or something.

And, incidentally, my little car got excellent gas mileage this weekend. I only filled up once (in Austin and I had a 1/4 of a tank still) and made it all the way home on the same tank. Nice!

Anyway. We check into the hotel and got settled into our room. They had it all ready for us by turning the AC on 60. It was like a meat locker in there. Super cold. Even when it’s 100 degrees outside, I don’t know my AC on that low. I’m a 78 kind of girl.

So as he started to unpack (he brought his computer to check on work things), I opened the wardrobe to pull out the extra blanket. And there, lo and behold, was a half a bottle of vodka. Jackpot!

Of course, Man’s comment was, “Put that down! You don’t know who has been drinking out of it.”

So I shoved it away and washed. Needless to say, it stayed behind with the room.

We watched some Comedy Central and the guy on there cracked me up beyond words. I was weeping I laughed so hard. He did this entire skit about Hot Pockets that sent me over the edge. So all weekend, Man and I sang the “Hot Pockets” jingle (which really isn’t a jingle at all) and it would crack me up every time. Yes, I’m easily amused.

Saturday morning, we got up fairly early. Had breakfast downstairs and then headed out of the hotel for a full day. Our first stop was the Alamo. It’s been more than ten years since I’ve stepped foot in the place. The funny thing about the Alamo is, inside, no one talks. Or rarely. It’s a very hushed tone inside. People are in awe, I think, of all the things inside. Bowie’s knife. Crockett’s rifle and vest. Travis’ ring. Amazing stuff, really.

I think there’s something really special about being a Texan and walking on that hallowed ground. Knowing that’s your roots and you wouldn’t be there if it weren’t for those men who sacrificed their lives for our freedom today. How different our state would be if Santa Ana had won. It boggles the mind, actually. (Maybe I should write one of my string theory stories about that…)

Very cool place, the Alamo. And known internationally as we discovered when we walked through it. We hit the gift shop then. My kiddo specifically asked for postcards with pictures of the guns and a Republic of Texas flag. Yes, he’s a true Texan. I’m raising him right. 😉

After the Alamo, we walked and walked and walked the Riverwalk. Had a very light lunch at a crappy Mexican place (so disappointing!) and then by 2 pm, headed back to the hotel for some R&R. I napped and he watched the Texas Longhorn game.

We got ready and headed for dinner that evening at Morton’s. That’s some seriously good food there. I had: colassal shrimp cocktail; sliced beefsteak tomato salad with bleu cheese dressing (best salad I’ve ever had – thick slices of tomato with awesome bleu cheese on top); filet mignon with béarnaise sauce (melt in the mouth); steamed broccoli with hollandaise sauce; and for dessert the legendary hot chocolate cake. To.die.for.

It really looks like that picture, too. It comes with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

He had: lobster bisque; pepper-crusted tuna; asparagus with hollandaise sauce; and the chocolate mouse.

We had coffee with our chocolate. We walked out of there stuffed to the gills and very happy.

And since we were stuffed, we headed back to the hotel to change clothes and then hit the Riverwalk again. We had margarites at the Naked Iguana and were disappointed – they were so sour they were awful. I caught the score of the hockey game and he caught the store of his Big 12 college games. Then we headed out of there and down the river. We ended up at Jim Cullen’s Landing were we sat and listend to a life jazz band for a while.

It was midnight when we left there and headed back to the hotel. I crashed immediately.

Sunday we got up, checked out, and headed out of town. We stopped in Austin. We checked out the visitor’s center at the Capitol Building and then walked down to 6th Street for a couple of mean burgers and fries. More walking! After heading out of Austin, we stopped in Round Rock at the outlet mall. Man indulged me in my shopping fantasy. I had to go into the Coach store to see what they had and yes, I walked out with a new bag. But I saved about $150 and that’s just too hard to pass up.

Then we went into Michael Kors, White House Black Market, BCBG, Nine West… and walked some more.

FInally we headed home about 4 pm and I hit the door just after 7. What a weekend! It was great. We had a super good time together.

And so now it’s back to reality. Sadly. 🙂

BUT… the countdown has begun to NaNo. Only three more days!