Tuesday September 23
An early start today, leaving the Redwood Inn on Lombard at 6.55am, dropping the car back at the airport, then taking the train to Terminal 3 to fly to Austin via Los Angeles (which saved $300 but took most of the day). I wouldn’t have wanted to leave the drive out any later.
We made it to Austin late Tuesday afternoon and it feels like home being here. I did make the mistake when picking up the car of being talked into paying $5 a day extra for roadside care and then realised that this was probably included anyway. What are they going to do, leave you there? In San Francisco I got talked into upgrading to a mid-size car but I now realise that this was folly too. I fell for the old bait and switch again, after telling Karen not to let me upgrade or pay for any extras under any circumstances. They hardly have any economy cars and in Austin we got a mid-size anyway (and could have got an SUV) at no extra cost. Hint: always book the smallest car, it’s unlikely they’ll have it.
The first chore after checking into the Austin Motel was to go across the road to Jo’s cafe for coffee. Then it was a short walk up South Congress to Guero’s Mexican Restaurant where I had the Tex-Mex plater Tuesday special – taco, enchilada and tamale – for $9.95, which left me quite full enough.
Wednesday September 24
Wednesday was a relaxing day which was mainky taken up with shopping at Waterloo Records and The Book People. I pretty much blew the money I was going to spend on an iPod Touch on CDs and books. Waterloo always has some unexpected treats and is one of my favourite music stores anywhere.
At the moment I am reading Zen And Now: On The Trail Of Robert Pirsig and Zen & The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance (which I bought in Santa Cruz). Great read. So I bought the original Zen etc which I read when it first came out in 1974 and carried with me for many years. I also got Pirsig’s novel, Lila, and assorted magazines.
We had lunch at the Whole Foods Market which is a remarkably healthy store just opposite Waterloo. This is like some kind of oasis in the midst of Texas BBQ and not something that I would not necessarily encourage but Karen loved it and bought much fruit, juice and other goodies. And to tell the truth, I did have a delicious turkey and lettuce roll. We spent an hour or so in the motel pool after this but it was hardly hot as dark clouds obscured the sun and some rain fell.
In the evening we decided to offset this by driving about 20 miles out of town to Driftwood and the Salt Lick BBQ restaurant but when we got there, after a drive through the inner Hill Country region, it was packed and there was a wait of more than 30 minutes. So we decided to come back for lunch tomorrow.
On the way back down South Lamar, we stopped at Artz Rib House and enjoyed a snack. Karen had what she described as the best hamburger she has ever had in her life and I had the small serve of baby back ribs, which were delicious (for $8.99). I hate to imagine how big the large serve is because I struggled to finish them!
Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi are not places to start a diet and while we were going brilliantly in cutting back the calories, walking and not drinking too much in California this sort of thing is pretty much seen as a Communist activity out here.
After we returned from dinner I strolled across to The Continental Club where I was to enjoy three hours or so of Jon Dee Graham and then James McMurty (who started sometime after midnight). It was a contrast in styles but both sets were heavily guitar-laden with McMurtry perhaps finding more riffs and rhythm. Graham is recovering from a bad car accident and made several references to this.
A note on the location. If you get the chance to visit Austin, stay at the Austin Motel or the Hotel San Jose (where we are ensconsed for our third night). The former is cheaper, down to earth, has big rooms, a laundry and has a great pool. The San Jose is more up market, has classy rooms and is much more a boutique hotel But both are next to Jo’s and opposite the Continental, making them the best located in town. If you can book for ACL or SXSW good luck, because I have never managed to get through in time. This is why tomorrow we leave for the Homestead suites down the hill.
Thursday September 25
After checking out of the Austin Motel we scooted out to Driftwood for a relaxing lunch at the Salt Lick. Determined not to overdo it we both had small plates but in my case this meant sausage, a large rib and beef brisket. After a while, i started to feel guilty. ‘Three different animals had to die for my lunch,’ I remarked as I hoed into it.
Afterwards we sat out at a table in the beer garden under a shady tree and relaxed for a while before heading back to town. We went to Jo’s where I met Will Courtney from Brothers & Sisters and had a chat to him. I love their new album, Fortunately, and he freely admits to its 70’s influence. You can detect everything from Jackson Browne, The Byrds and even Fleetwood Mac. They are playing tomorrow night at Club DeVille, after the festival about 1.00am.
We checked into the San Jose and wandered up Congress to look at the shops. Much of the street seems to have been ‘yuppified’ with some upscale restaurants, cafes and shops. Even some of teh second hand stores look a bit too up market. We passed Allen’s Boots and I nearly convinced Karen to get a cowboy shirt until she noted that they were made in Vietnam which detracted from the appeal.
Later we strolled up to Guero’s but baulked at the hour and a quarter wait and so went further back up Congress to the good old Magnolia Cafe where we managed to get a table for the first time in memory without having to queue up and wait. The food here is old fashioned, good value and because we only needed a light meal, was cheap.
We headed back to Guero’s beer garden where I thought the great Johnny Gimble, who had played with Bob Wills, was appearing but I had mucked up the times. I thought he started at 9.30pm but this is when he finished.
My evening finished over at The Continental, as usual, with a set from Sarah Borges and The Broken Singles who were impressive, entertaining and energetic. Would be a hit in Australia I reckon.
So now I think I have the blog up to date. Tomorrow is the first day of ACL Fest and we check into the Homestead Suites, near Threadgills, at some stage. The fact that the festival has been puched back two weekends means that the weather is marginally cooler – 91F instead of 100F.
I was going to do a voice report for the radio show but it is hard enough filling this in. Tracee Hutchison is filling in this week.
Talk to you tomorrow night on the blog.
