Keep Austin Weird (Oct. 4th)

After a cool night out with Mark and Mim’s, Mark and I were going to check out Austin and what it has to offer. With ACL a huge live music festival going on this weekend attendance in Austin was sky high, but the people seemed really nice. First stop was lunch and Mark was taking me to the world famous Rudy’s BBQ.

Rudy’s was quite the experience. The line was out the door and for some reason they kept yelling out states. When I finally got to the front of the line, they asked me where I was from and if it was my first time at Rudy’s then. “WE GOT A ROOKIE FROM NEW YORK.” They let you taste all kinds of the meets and the sides and then you make your decision. It’s hard but after tasting the food they have I realized that I couldn’t go wrong. I got the softest meat the beans and cream corn. OUT OF CONTROL. My dad is “Kind of a big deal” for his BBQ at home and I will say he puts in work on the grill. But Rudy’s was the best. So tender so flavorful I would have def liked to try it with my dad’s sauce on it. That might be too good to be honest.

After this awesome lunch we drove around Austin and Mark showed me some cool sites. It rained so we didn’t get out to much but driving through I realized something. There wasn’t many McDonalds, Taco Bell, Subway I asked Marc about it and he told me about this program that they have out in Austin called Keep Austin Weird. It’s a local campaign to help the independent business owners in Austin. And they do a great job of it, the difference between Taco Bell and Taco Cabana is insane. Both Mexican fast food but Taco Cabana is actually fresh. They have independent movies theaters and book stores and the people of Austin support this movement tenfold.

So far Austin is definitely one of the places that I would want to move to. The weather is gorgeous, the people like to have a good time, and the Tex Mex and BBQ is to die for. Only rivaled by North Carolina BBQ I hear I’ll have to put that to the test. I have to give a shout out to Mark and his Roommate Jarrod. You guys really helped me out by giving me a place to crash and showed me a good time. Thanks guys.

One Mile at a Time.

Act Like You're Falling...Oh Wait! (Oct. 3rd)

Fort Worth was a great time, but it’s on to the next adventure. Austin Texas. Fort Worth and Austin aren’t really that far apart but with the rain settling I knew it was going to be an interesting ride. The three hour ride turned to four with the rain but it was unbearable. The problem was when I got into Austin I couldn’t get in touch with Mark the guy I was staying with. I thought I was suppose to meet him at the ACL concert that was going on but when I hadn’t heard from him I decided the best place to camp out was at his place. I passed it the first time so while turning at an intersection I….CRASH slide on the wet paint of the turn signal on the ground. Issy and I went down and almost got crushed by the car behind us. Good thing they were paying attention or I might not be able to write this blog post. After looking at everything Issy lost a rear view mirror and I tweaked my knee a little. But considering all that happened we were fine.

I finally made it back to Mark’s place and he wasn’t around. After researching how to pick locks checking windows I realized it was pointless and I should just wait for him to come back. I started reading my book when someone asked me if I was busy?! It was one of Mark’s neighbors, the one who I had asked for lock picking supplies that politely declined to help me break into someone’s apartment. He asked if I wanted to go check out a comedy show. Well seeing that I had nothing else to do and it was cold from all the rain I decided that it might be a good idea to check it out with him. He explained to me that he used to work with an Improv troop and now he does the voice of the announcer for one in Austin. I had never been to an Improv show live so he definitely got my spirits up. After getting to the Café they explained the rules. It was pretty much like “Whose line is it anyway?” except they work in teams. The Red and the Blue compete in events and get all kinds of points. They even involve the crowed, I got to go up and act as a customer at a restaurant. It worked out perfectly. As soon as the show was over Mark called and he was back at his place. It was interesting it all aligned into place seemed like nothing could go right and then things started to come together. A bad situation can always get better just think positive.

When I got back to Mark’s place he explained to me how AT&T was down with all of the Music that was going on. He introduced me to Katy his friend from college who had come down for that weekend and the music festival. She was pretty cool a true champ. She fell after we got dinner and she was still going to wear her slippery Cowgirl boots. She definitely went hard and never went home. We went out and Mark and Katy are telling me how great 6^th street is. My buddy Shawn told me about it to, and how it was second only to Bourbon street. I must say they weren’t lying. They blocked off the street where the bars were and I’ve never really seen that many people just walking the streets. It was much different from what I’m used to, because the weather is usually nice there is mostly roof top bars and lounges. And Austin is the LIVE MUSIC CAPITOL of the USA. Every place had a DJ and a live band, and dancing all over the place. So you know I was ready to go. We listened to a cool bands, met lots of interesting people, and danced our hearts away. I was never really fortunate to spend much time with Mark in high school but he’s a good kid. Opened up his house to me and is showing me a great time. I have one more day in Austin and I’ll get to check out the city and all the cool things it has to offer.

One Mile at a Time.

Hawks Are Circling (Sept 29th)

I’m all rested up and after the hot African food woke me up I was ready to go. The guys were taking me around Fort Worth and Dallas; we were getting fresh for the night to come; then out on the town for some cape crusading. At least that’s what we thought was going to be how it went.

Dallas is huge; most things really are bigger in Texas. The new Cowboys’ stadium is serious too bad that without TO they aren’t going to make it very far. The site seeing was cool but now it was time to get down to business. First up we have to go to the mall to get fresh cuts. This wasn’t just like any other mall, there were all private vendors in a big complex anything you wanted you could get it here and get it for cheap.

Now I have been growing my hair out because it’s simple to take care of and doesn’t cost anything to let it grow. But it was time for a change so I could either cut it short like I usually do OR I could try something different. I promised my boys Hans and Jesse on the east coast that I would rock the FroHawk and now it was perfect length to show off the tail feathers. The barber hooked me up, and I was definitely looking fly. My buddy Mo got one too and we were ready to take Dallas by storm. Mo wanted to get some clothes to go out in and his cousins were all over this mall.

LET THE CAPE CRUSADING begin. We started by pre-gaming at the house. More sangria, this stuff is delicious, and some other drinks. After getting super fly, which meant putting on the one sweater that I had, we went out to the club. This place was hot and it was HOT. So many people and everyone was dancing. We were all over the place VIP lounge, dance floor, the couple different bars they had. We acted like we knew everyone, and the ladies were definitely digging the FroHawk. I think maybe I will turn into a super Hero; bike rider by day dancing cape crusader by night (maybe not). This was a really good time it was fun just letting loose with the guys. The night seemed to end too soon. But we heard about a cool after hours spot so that was the next adventure. On our way out there was this fight with a man and a “women” outside the club. This guy was drunk and was upset. He had been making out and dancing with this “women” for most of the night. One his way out he found out that the she was a he and was very upset about it. The officers who showed up thought it was hilarious and so did most of the people watching. There was too much bonding here for us so we were on to the next spot.

(The "Woman")

The bars close around 2am (which is a little weak) but they have some cool after parties. Someone rents out a hotel conference room or hall throws a DJ in and charges for people to come to the “after party.” It was a good time and we picked up right where we left off. Dancing, partying had a few drinks; it was out of control. It was burning up in this place so we went outside to get some fresh air. For some reason people were arguing and carrying on. Apparently that’s what they do out here in Texas drink, yell, fight. This girl was going off on this guy and he was not very happy about it after a few more minutes….BAM this dude hauls off and plants one on this girl. She was one of Mo’s friends so he jumped in and I went in after him to pull him away. Everyone was going nuts Mo ended up getting in between two dudes and I went to help him out. Of course the guy Mo was fighting was the smaller one so I ended up with Tyson. We went at it for a few minutes and then suddenly….the cops came from all over. I have never seen so many people scatter so quickly.

Mo and I hid in the car and laughed about how stupid and crazy this night was. It was about 4am and I had to get up and be out around 8 but the night was insane. Minus the fighting we had a blast. Austin is next and I can’t wait to check out 6^th street. Here I come!

(This is what For Worth did to me)

One Mile at a Time.

Mexican Flying Beans (Sept 26th, 2009)

After two days on the bike through New Mexico I’ve finally made it to TEXAS. My boy Mo lives here and I haven’t seen him since my freshman year in college. Before arriving in Fort Worth in New Mexico I ran into some cool kids in the Air Force. They were on their way to flight school, because they were in training to be pilots. Insane not only are they getting the freedom to fly they also could possibly be fighting for their country, loved ones, and themselves.

I talked, for about 45 mins, to these guys about my trip and about what they were going through and suddenly falling a few times didn’t seem so epic. Just speaking with them you could tell they enjoyed life through the excitement they had when talking about their “job.” The only other time I had seen someone so elated about their situation was in North Dakota with my buddies also in the Air Force. Maybe there is something to this. I’ve done a little research and with a degree the Air Force has some great opportunities available. Even without one and the right motivation there is so much that you can do. Flying would be cool; it’s one of the items on my bucket list maybe not necessarily through enemy territory like Maverick from Top Gun but to be in the air in control that would be a serious experience.

Over a thousand miles in two days tired me out almost completely. The ride along with the lack of scenery takes it out of guy. I did along the way stop in a school for directions that looked like it could have been ripped straight from High school Musical. I spent most of the day catching up with Mo. He’s had a few changes in his life. He tried the school thing, it wasn’t really his bag and recently he enlisted in the Marines. Guys like Mo and I could use the structure of the armed forces and I know he’ll enjoy it. It’s a month away and he’s excited. I met his cousins BK and Smalls and tomorrow we’ll be going out and partying Dallas style. I hear they get pretty crazy out here so tonight is just mellow Sangria, movies, and some rest See you all tomorrow.

One Mile at a time.