The Eyes of Texas Were Upon Us

We are now the proud parents of a Texas Ex, a Master of Education, Higher Ed Administration.

We didn't quite get enough Austin in March, so we flew back down for Keara's graduation. To her great relief, we did not camp in the driveway this time, rather, we arranged a stay via Airbnb with a wonderful couple about 4 miles across town. We had comfy beds, and were able to come and go with use of the Kia.

In our 5 days there we managed to

• dine very well, with great eats at El Chile, Magnolia Cafe, Buenos Aires Cafe (sangria below), The White Horse (ahhh, brews), Kirby Lane, Eastside Cafe, Red's Roof, Amy's Ice Cream, Uchiko, and Flat Top Burger Shop.

• walk from our bnb to the trail around Lady Bird Lake, to Barton Springs and back

•  See some lovely blooming cacti (that I didn't see in Death Valley!), and other wildflowers

• enjoy meeting the people in Keara's department, her partner in crime, Bianca, and the lovely Dean Lilly, in whose Dean of Students office they both worked the last 2 years

• survive both the early morning Masters Convocation in the concert hall, and the main graduation event at the Tower that night. Not having my morning coffee for the former was almost a disaster. But seeing Keara dance happily across the stage was worth it. 

• get plenty of exercise walking back and forth to Campus from Keara's house, and along S. Congress Street, including this fabulous candy store...when was the last time you saw Turkish Taffy????

• get in a nice hike at Hamilton Pool before going to the airport. This time we got to take the trail to the Pedernales River (it was closed last time Keara took me there).

Letting the credit card cool off for a bit...but not too long...the next adventure is coming up the end of the week, when I head to Seattle to meet Karen for our adventure to ALASKA! Stay tuned.

UPDATE: I forgot one BIG thing:

• seeing the new Star Trek movie at the IMAX in stunning 3D. Don't miss it!