AUSTIN: Part 1

The prospect of going to Austin for a week was both joyous and worrisome.  Being that it's one of my most favorite places to be, it would be very difficult to get my fill in 7 days.
Also, I was bring my friend Jerimiah who had never been to, nor even liked Texas.  He was born and raised in Estes Park, and had a certain view of Texans as a tourist colony.

Since Jerimiah and I have the common bond of our love for film, one of the main focuses on this trip was a "Alamo Drafthouse Field Trip", as well as introducing him to a few of my film maker friends who seem to be moving right along in their goals.

The other focus of this trip was to see The Residents play live at the Mohawk.
I can't even get into details of The Alamo, or The Residents without needing a few pages for information, so I'll just leave it at that.

We packed up the Honda Element with very little camping gear, a 50cc Yamaha Vino Scooter, and a 125cc Yamaha Vino, camera gear, and a bag of clothing each.  Packing light, and having the scooters was mandatory.

We left Estes Park exactly at 5am on Tuesday.  It was to be a 16 hour drive straight to Pace Bend Campgrounds.

The farther we went, the warmer it got.
I'm always happy to see the changing terrain on that trip.  I don't mind the flat texas landscapes of the N.W. areas.  I don't mind cruising thru Texline, Dalhart, Dumas, Amarillo, Lubbock, Lamesa, San Angelo, Brady, and Llano.  It's better than Nebraska and Kansas, that's for sure.

Along the way, we stopped in Lamesa when we saw an old Drive In Theater coming up.  Had to.  It's our job. 
That Theater was our only major stop along the route other than gas and toilet stops.  Once we got to the Hill Country, I stepped on the gas and made my way to Pace Bend at 90mph in the dark sure that I would take out many deer that night.  We got to the lake, set up camp, but were too amped up from the ride to just hit the hay.  Took a stroll around the lake, and managed to pick up some chiggers.  Oh yes.. the thing I hate as much as Guns and Roses...  Chiggers.  The little biting bastards got me good.  I wouldn't know how good until I got up the next morning.
The next morning...  I woke up to a NASTY itchy madness, but it was overshadowed by the complete JOY of being at my favorite spot, in my favorite town.  Things were going to be good.
The next move: Head into town, and set up base camp at the good Dr's place on the 7th floor downtown.. right were we needed to be.. right next to everything.