Austin

On Friday night we loaded up the car and headed to Austin.

Not for fun, mind you.  For a wrestling tournament.

Four hours is not too far to go for one of those.

We arrived late Friday night.  Brad and Ben got up early to go to weigh-ins, while Susanna and  I spent a more leisurely morning, first in the hotel room and then walking around the city.  As it turned out, our 9 a.m. start time was a bit early as the only people out that early on a  Saturday are the homeless people.  Of course we had to walk through the bar area in order to get anywhere.  We walked and walked, trying to find a coffee shop that didn't have "star" in the name.  We almost gave up but finally found one.

Then we visited the Austin Museum of Art (very small but good kids area), the capitol building visitors' center (where we learned that the state snack is tortilla chips and salsa), and then the children's museum, which may have been the best we've seen yet, but I was a bit sad that Ben wasn't with us to make it more fun (always better with a friend, or at least a little brother.)  Along the way we stopped for some treats.  Susanna was a great walking companion all day long.

Brad and Ben didn't finish at the tournament until about 3:00, so by the time they went back to the hotel for a shower and a quick rest there wasn't time to do much else.  We had a quick dinner and then headed north.

Hopefully we can go back to Austin soon for a more leisurely visit.  But I am glad to have finally seen the Texas capital after living in this state for a year and a half.