I-35

Once we reach the city of Austin, Interstate 35 (I35) becomes a key feature of our lives for the next ten days. We arrive at our destination on it. Some of us walk a mile past the Harley Davidson shop to get to the mall on it early Sunday morning (Texans don't walk - for one thing its too darned hot - but we don't have a car).


All of us, thanks to our gracious host, drive up and down it to reach, then escape from the city back to our 5 mile south suburban base.


Some days we avoid it so as not to spend hours stuck in backed up traffic. Finally I leave on it with TandS driving north through Waco towards Dallas, then veering off east towards the small northern town of Archer City (population 1848). But there is a lot more Austin than the long straight four-aside lanes of I35

The rest of the kiwis flew in from Flagstaff Arizona earlier on the day we arrive and are already installed in the fabulous Onion Creek residence that is to be our home for the next week or so.

Our host Kristine is a friend of a friend met only on email til now. The 'in person' version and the extreme hospitality are unforgettable. We get to meet most of the fifteen rescued cats and have many cooling off sessions in the pool, its over 100F most days.

But the purpose of this stop is to catch live music and to work off the shopping lists we all brought along in our US$ loaded pockets. The exchange rate is favorable for once, so no holds are barred. Baggage allowances back to NZ are twice the usual 23 kgs in one bag, and will be packed with $8 jeans from Walmart, $60 cowboy boots from second hand stores and various other acquisitions from local op shops.

This is, by reputation, the music capital of the US and we are here to enjoy that status. Turns out we couldn't have planned our dates better if we had tried. There is a benefit concert for a Californian woman singer Candye Kane at the famous venue Antones.


This is the third or fourth venue that has hosted the club since Stevie Ray Vaughan and other blues musicians made it famous in the 1970s / 80s. Antone died over a year ago after a somewhat checkered career, but the name and the tradition live on.



The line up from last to first; The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Billy Joe Shaver, Carolyn Wonderland, Rosie Flores and Paula Nelson. For those who don't know, as mostly I did not, these are all either totally famous already, up and coming or latterly, the daughter (or maybe grand daughter) of the famous Willie Nelson. All this for $12 and the price of a few beers and Margaritas, the signature drink of the trip.

One day we caught a happy hour session at another famous venue - the Continental Club - a dark, slightly shabby and therefore suitably atmospheric venue where live blues (or country - this IS Texas after all) is always on the menu (though we didn't care to sample any of that).


Another musical highlight was our host's third annual 54th birthday party for which she had Spencer Thomas with a jam session band and Jimmy La Fave with his own. Jimmy instantly gained another fan and got added to my iPod collection. Kristine does not mess about with things that she likes, and a good time was had by all as they say.



This next shot is just to prove that I was actually there.


A list of other things - fun and otherwise - will be added to the story of our stay in Austin; feeding frenzies in op shops and various restaurants, social invitations that exposed us guests to some of the 'done things' in 'nice' and 'old fashioned' Texas society and interesting slants on life through the local press. Fabulous food in large-ish quantities has to feature somewhere in the story too. Just for starters, this is a shot of the best plate of beans encountered in southern Texas - served up at the Green Mesquite cafe.