Austin, Again

Week of November 18, 2013:

Monday: Evening run.  26 minutes total, 15 minutes running

Tuesday: Off

Wednesday: Bike commute to work

Thursday: DIY yoga

Friday: Treadmill run.  33 minutes total, 22 minutes running

Saturday: Off to Austin!

Sunday: Hanging out in Austin

Estimated mileage: 5.2 miles.  Total minutes run/walked: 59.

I’m taking advantage of the holiday weekend to catch up here!  Last weekend, Paul and I were in Austin on a variety of missions.  We visited Agua Dulce Farm again to meet with its proprietor.  We were able to see the greenhouses and the fish tanks, and we got a bit of a tour of the innerworkings of the nutrient cycle between plants and fish.  The goats, unfortunately, were huddled up in their shed, trying to stay warm on a cold morning.  The whole weekend was freakishly cold and wet, which put a damper on things.

After visiting the farm, we met up with Paul’s best friend Tim, Tim’s girlfriend Mary, and another friend, Joel.  We warmed up with big bowls of ramen for lunch at Michi Ramen, which is amaaaazing.  I wanted to take photos at Michi Ramen, but Paul is embarrassed by that sort of behavior, so I kept my camera tucked away.  The cutest thing at Michi Ramen are the signs on the table showing a sad bowl of broth that reads, “Lonely broth?”  You can order a kaedame, or refill of noodles for your lonely broth.  When he finished his noodles, Paul announced, “I declare kaedame!” and we all laughed.  The ramen was so good and warming that we all felt positively euphoric.  We think their homemade chili oil may have psychotropic effects…

After Michi Ramen, Paul and I went back to Tim’s apartment, changed, and headed out to a wedding at North by Northwest Restaurant and Brewery for a wedding!  Yes, a wedding at a brewery.  It was awesome.  The wedding ceremony quoted Carl Sagan, we all stayed bundled up in coats because it was chilly inside the wedding tent, and we debated whether the key lime pie was indeed too limey.  (I was on the side of deliciously limey.  I was in the minority, which meant more key lime pie for me!)

The next day was my birthday!  I’m 2^5, or 32 years old.  Paul had asked me what I wanted for my birthday, and I had two wishes.  One was a really great breakfast, and the other was a birthday hike in a beautiful place.  Since we were in Austin, we went to Kerbey Lane for breakfast and ate pancakes and eggs.  (Gah, their pancakes are irresistible.  This time we had cinnamon roll pancakes and apple whole wheat pancakes, and we completely stuffed ourselves on them.)  After breakfast, we wanted to go for a hike, but it was cold and rainy—miserable weather for a hike.  So I took a raincheck on my hike, and we went to the movies!  We watched 12 Years a Slave, which broke my heart.  I was on the verge of tears during the whole movie.  It was powerful.  After the movie, we packed up our things, loaded the car, and grabbed a late lunch at a vegetarian food truck, Conscious Cravings.  Like everything we ate in Austin, it was delicious.  Finally, we hit the road back to College Station, the grey dusky light fading to black as our weekend ended.

It was a good one.