llcoolvad | Austin Trip, Day 1

After the ridiculously early start to the day (4:45am! which I have only seen from the other side in recent memory), I was feeling a little frazzled as I got off the plane. Nice plane ride, but now I had to deal with a new airport and the checked baggage area and everything and it was hot and I was wearing a turtleneck and...there's

slipdragon, waiting to escort me around. Whew! Saved!

We get my luggage, get to the car rental place, and get my car. It's nice, but it's an automatic, so suddenly I feel like a new driver all over again!

slipdragon's an excellent navigator, though, so everything is good. We head out for lunch, which of course has to be Texas-style BBQ, at Rudy's.

Yum! Brisket is awesome. So after lunch, it was off to find my hotel, dump all my luggage, unpack, change. Bliss!

After some very welcome A/C, it was off to drive around a bit and then explore S. Congress Street. Everything is funky and kitschy and cool, and despite the heat and humidity and my poor pale flesh, I had a lot of fun wandering around with my host.