Meet cha at the swimmin' hole

Second day in Austin. Work went by quickly and smoothly, to which: booyah. Right after work Matt and I rushed to our rooms to change, grab some towels and then off we were to Barton Creek.

We had the inside information and knew we had to keep up walking upstream to find the spot where the locals hang. And when they say "walk upstream" they mean hike for about 20 minutes.

But the hike was well worth it. There were plenty of people there but it still was empty enough to have a good swim and to sun dry with space.

People were very chill, some women even sunbathed with their tops off and the water felt great after laying in the sun for a bit. I tried my hardest, but I did not tan.

After all that "resting" food was required. We picked up Natalia and stopped by the twin liquors store to buy a six pack - the place we were going was BYOB. We chose Indian for dinner and so we headed to the G'raj Mahal. Yes. I do get a kick out of that name.

The G'Raj Mahal, as the name suggests, was in someone's Garage. It was perfect - they cooked out of this Huge Truck, tables out with awesome decoration.

I forced myself to try something different so I went with the Chana Masala. Tomato ginger stewed chickpeas, SPICY! Natalia went for the fish vindaloo and I don't remember Matt's dish, but I enjoyed it, too. Add some garlic Naan and brown ale - perfect!

Quick, quick, slow

So, here we are, back in Texas! This time in Austin, and we're off to an auspicious beginning. I was a bit nervous since I had to pick up the rental car and drive from the airport, but thanks to God, to Steph's refresher lesson last Saturday, and to the light traffic, I managed to NOT crash. I drove slower than I should've, I'm sure, and I kept missing my turns, but I kept my cool and made it to the hotel in one piece and a bit less shaken than I expected to be.

Right away I stopped by Matt's room to see what the plans were. Matt, his friend Ben and I head first to this frozen yogurt shop, Yummy Yo Frozen Yogurt, in Downtown Austin, and after tasting all the awesome flavors I made an unholy mixture of Watermelon, peanut butter and cupcake, and topped it with blackberries, oreo bits, nuts, pineapple, and Lord knows what else. I was too busy enjoying that to take a picture but trust me when I say that although it sounds gross it made me rethink my stance on frozen yogurt.

After some grocery shopping we head out to dinner - tonight's choice? Polvos.

Polvos is pretty festive with Christmas lights everywhere. When you walk inside, there's a "Salsa Bar."

I went for the Puntas de Filetes, which was beef tips sauteed with mushrooms, monterey jack cheese and awesome spices, served with rice and beans and a smidgen of salad.

Polvos was great. its only downside was that it's very popular and thus very busy.

Afterwards we drove to The Continental Club where Dale Watson was having a show. He was amazing, with an old classic country singer/christian singer voice, charismatic and interesting, with a pompadour the size of my house. The Continental had walls painted deep red and there was a dance area right in front of the stage. At first I thought there was no wrong way to dance country, seeing as how everyone in the dance floor danced differently. Some people could twirl! Ben asked me to dance and we did the two step a bit awkwardly at first but eventually I caught on to the quick, quick, slow rhythm. Unfortunately the song finished rather quickly and then it was time to go home. It's hot as hell here. A good first day.