My trip to Austin

18 years ago

I spent 5 days in sunny and swelteringly-scorching-hot Texas. Visiting a brother who moved there with his wife and little girl, and my mother who was visiting from Maryland.

Austin is a whole lot bigger than I was expecting. I loved the hilly areas and the lakes.

I managed to get away to have lunch with Brenda and May, and we took some pix, which I'll post tonight. I also got to see Aleksi.

Brenda, May, me and DH met at Trudy's near UT downtown, where one of May's boys is going to school. Great food. Brenda and I had met before when she came out to Cali, and I recognized May from pix here. After lunch and margaritas, DH drove us around the Lake Austin area.

I'll be back, so all-y'all sit tight....

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Comments (20)

woodie
18 years ago
Well, Gina, you do get around! I just the other day saw that funny guy on tv with the white spikey hair who goes to visit diners and so on and he was in Austin visiting a fantastic place with homemade tortillas and some fabulously great food. I don't know his name or the show or I would try to look it up for you, but its too late anyhoo. I just know that it made me put Austin on my to do list.
Gina_W
Original Author
18 years ago
Okay, here you go:

Lake Travis, taken from the Oasis tourist trap-I mean restaurant:
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Me and DH, after I just grabbed his love handle:
{{gwi:1450257}}

DSIL, DB2, me and Mom:
{{gwi:1450259}}

Another one of Lake Travis:
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Brenda, May (lowspark) and I at Trudy's:
{{gwi:1450264}}

Here we are in front of Lake Austin - DH takes terrible pix, next time I'll ask a stranger to take them! We had to stand in the shade, it was so bright and hot:
{{gwi:1450267}}

Cute one of Brenda with Aleksi, in her Jonas Brothers shirt:
{{gwi:1450270}}

Me and my niece, who has more clothes and a bigger bathroom than mine, and who looks just like I did at 3:
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I'll leave you with pix of Odo - {{gwi:1450251}} and {{gwi:1450252}}

And, just because I found this cute pic, here are the guys from {{gwi:1450253}}

Goodnight y'all!
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canarybird01
18 years ago
Great pics Gina! You look so young and pretty in them all....and that's the first one we've seen of you with your DH.

Nice to see other members too as well as your lovely family!
The scenery looks great....I can imagine what a nice holiday you had there in those surroundings.

I'm loving those pics of Odo.....makes me think maybe I'd like to have a little doggie like him too!

SharonCb
centralcacyclist
18 years ago
Wonderful photos! Even DH's! He just needs practice. Everyone looks fabulous! Your niece is a beauty!

Odo is a treasure. What a dog!
brenda55
18 years ago
It was wonderful seeing Gina again, meeting her DH and also meeting May. We enjoyed some Tex-Mex at Trudy's, a place May had scouted out when she was in Austin recently and then a nice tour of some of Austin's lakeshore, including some Texas lore and pretty detailed lessons on "y'all." LOL

Gina, great picture of your family. Your niece is just toooo cute. Didn't get to see Odo, did he stay home? I bet he was glad to see "y-a-w-l" if he did.

After our lunch and tour, I met Aleksi and her godparents as they were bringing Aleksi back after a few days with them.

Thanks for sharing your time, Gina, and May we should get a group together sometime soon.

Brenda
dedtired
18 years ago
So good looks run in the family from Mom all the way to Niece. Cute hubby, too. Oh yeah, and Odo!

What fun to see Brenda, May and Aleksi. What a nice trip.

Thanks for posting and your great comments.
User
18 years ago
Gina, how nice to see you again and a picture of DH and your family. You must have made a deal with the devil. You look so young and beautiful. Not a day over 30.

Nice to see May and Brenda again and little Aleksi.

Ann
lowspark
18 years ago
I had a lovely time meeting Brenda and Gina & Dave. The lunch was good and the company was terrific! I just luuuv meeting CFers (that's luuuv with a Texas drawl). Aleksi is a doll - a real sweetheart!

I'm pretty sure we could have talked for hours more, the four of us, but we eventually had to split up. Thanks, Dave for the tour of Lake Austin. My son just started at UT as Gina mentioned, and I have almost no familiarity with Austin.

woodie,
I'd love to know the name of the restaurant since I'm sure I'll be making lots of trips to Austin over the next few years.

Dave,
It's Austinites. Dallasites. Houstonians! :)
User
18 years ago
Great pics Gina! Your niece is so cute! Can you ever see the family resemblance between you, your brother and Mother!

Hi Brenda, Hi May, Hi Aleksi, who is also so darn cute!!
Gina_W
Original Author
18 years ago
Odo did not go with us, no. Poor guy had to stay home, although since I found his latest pet-sitter he hardly misses us - she's adorable and loves Odo. She even takes him in her car to local parks.

Sharon, weiner dogs are delightful little hobbitses. And they're small enough not to frighten cats!

Thanks for the clarification May. I'll let Dave know, LOL.

Ann you slay me - not a day over 30, nyuk, nyuk. I'll thank L'Oreal dark brown for that, LOL.

My niece is a real firecracker. She's a born manager, telling everyone what to do. And her verbal skills are tremendous (scary!)

Brenda and May, y'all will have to start a South Texas CF group now, y'hear? (Hmmm, I notice the spellchecker accepts y'all as correct!)
annie1992
18 years ago
Gina, what great pictures. Elery and I were just discussing the places we'd still like to go and Austin was one of them, so maybe I'll get there sometime too!

I'm still going to meet Odo in person, someday, even if I have to go back to California to do it.

Your niece is beautiful and does look like a little firecracker indeed. Your Mom is beautiful too. Keep that DH in line, LOL.

Sharon, I agree with Gina, dachshunds are wonderful little creatures with more personality than half a dozen dogs should be blessed with. They are loyal little warriors if they think they need to be, but they're at their best right next to their people, like that picture of Odo next to Dad.

Annie
lpinkmountain
18 years ago
Such lovely pictures, oh the sun!!
Thank you folks for sharing your visit with me. It was great to see Brenda and May and Aleksi and Gina's DH and the rest of the family. Your niece has a visible spark, that's for sure, watch out world!!
It was so nice to share in what seemed like a very fun visit. Austin is on my list too, I really hope someday to be able to go there. I have a very good friend who lives an hour from there, so I'd like to see him and his family and then check out the surrounding countryside.
spacific
18 years ago
Gina,
Sounds like great visits. My brother lives in Austin. I like to visit, but not in July!

Ann
compumom
18 years ago
Great photos! Who knew that Austin had a lake? Certainly not me! The daughter of some friends just relocated to Austin, they love it.
It's great to see Brenda, Alexsi and May, and nice to "meet" your family too! You all share some great genes!
Hi to DH, but him I've seen in person. His playful personality is showing too!
lowspark
18 years ago
If ANY of you do come to Austin, please let me know. I am just a three hour drive away and would jump in the car and rush on over!
shaun
18 years ago
Great pictures! Looks like a good time. Beautiful lake. Glad to "see" you all!
Tracey_OH
18 years ago
Looks like a fun time! From what I hear, Austin is a pretty funky town. Thanks for posting these. Love seeing CF pics!

Tracey
lakeguy35
18 years ago
I take it you didn't like the heat and humidity in this part of the country...lol! I'm still bummed out that I couldn't make it down there to see all y'all.

Great pics! Great to finally meet/see your DH. Both the little girls are too cute and it's great seeing May and Brenda too. Lake Travis is great area for sure. Did you get down to Sixth Street while you were there. They have many venues of great music there....eating too.

David
Gina_W
Original Author
18 years ago
We missed you too David! Next time.

It wasn't as humid as I expected - that was a relief. I guess you could get used to the heat. I did live in Taiwan as a kid and I don't recall the weather - you don't think of that when you're a kid.

Weather in coastal California spoils me. Florida in the winter is still fairly humid but a nice change. The Virgin Islands are unbearable to me - ugh. Hawaii is close to perfect. I can't handle cold weather. Or gloomy climes. At. All.

See, being able to get up day after day and not wear socks or a jacket and have the sun shining - it's tough. But someone's gotta do it! Texas is a wee bit on the hot side. But I like the people. I must've been a Texan in a former life. Um, a Texan princess, yeah!
lowspark
18 years ago
We definitely missed you David, and Karen as well!

Heat? Humidity? In Texas??? No idea what y'all are talkin about!

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