Austin and All Points Beyond, Part Two

While I was partying it up in Austin, I spent my time in Killeen, TX...about a good hour and some change north on I-35 and U.S. 190 or off of State Road 195--the faster way, even though there is one obvious speed trap somewhere in some town called Florence (population around 1,200...seriously). At the good old Residence Inn.

The room was actually nice, and the food served in the evenings was edible. Just sayin'.

I worked at Fort Hood during the week, and spent my evenings trying to figure out what the channel lineup was. And eating a lot of Ferro Rocher chocolates in my hotel room.

Best chocolates on the planet. Bar none.

Fortunately, the week wasn't that long, even though the work was tough in places. We were at another weekend, and I convinced some of my coworkers to join in the fun. Only they were going to pop in on Saturday, leaving me to head off to Austin and get my dance on at Barbarella. It was, as usual, an epic night.

I'm not even sure how the pedicab dude found my hotel, this time I was staying at the Extended Stay in downtown. It was cheaper than the Super 8 that I spent last weekend at, however the walking distance situation left a lot to be desired. A lot of the places that I wanted to head to were on Red River. But I survived the night and the walk back, thanks to some helpful folks.

Saturday morning came around and I was basically in recovery mode for much of the day, and spent a lot of it watching television, and walking around downtown. My coworkers eventually showed up and it was time to play tour guide.

We ended up having a late lunch at tenOak, where I had another steak (just because), and where we ran into a colorful group of characters. One of them totally ate it at the bar, bumped her head on a table, and got right back up. Sort of. The fact that she was pretty drunk made her practically invulnerable. Sure she'd have a nice bump on the noggin, but at the moment it was nothing.

They were serving some pretty cool drinks, which we tried out. And I totally got hit on by one of the guys in their group. Found that to be amusing. 

This was whiskey, lemonade, with blueberries in it. And it was awesome.

Suffice to say, we had a blast there, and hit up Starbucks on Congress & Fifth. Cappuccino for the win, that's all I'm saying. We split up and opted to get dolled up for a good old Saturday night in Austin. Because that's how we roll.

What was on television while I was ironing a shirt (read: trying not to burn my shirt with the iron).

Getting ready for Saturday night was easy. Find a shirt, find my jeans, find a sports coat, find my new Chucks. Easy peasy. I met up with half of the crew at a place called Fado Irish Pub & Restaurant. Excellent place, really. But the drinks were much more excellent.

Excellence in a pint glass.

Next part of the plan was to meet up with another coworker of ours Paula, who was hanging out with her runner friend at the Cedar Street Courtyard to catch an 80's hair metal tribute band called Metal Shop.

Metal Shop onstage and hamming it up.

They were rocking the tight pants, big hair, headbands, belt buckles, and wildly colored outfits. It was an excellent show, and we had a blast. Some of the ladies in our group even went onstage and danced it up a bit--but I'm not asking for the pics to post here. They sang everything from Bon Jovi to Warrant. It was a good mix of stuff that I honestly hadn't heard in a long while along with some old classic favorites. And they had a really great sound, to boot. Worth the $10 we spent.

Paula and I during the blur.

Somewhere along the line, shots happened. And lots of running around. Trying to find out which club was next on the list. Yes, it was a blur, that time of the evening where you're not even sure what time it is anymore, only that it's time to get to the next place on the list before last call. You always want to be in front of last call. It's like an unwritten rule out there.

Shots that I'm pretty sure occurred during the blur. In retrospect, not a good idea--but it was Saturday night...and who was I to argue?

Blurs can be fun. We all ended up on a pedicab ride to Barbarella. That much I can remember. Then there was something about going to the place next door, and then there was dancing, and we all went our separate ways before I ended up escorting a group of women back to their hotel and heading back to my own hotel in the end. And that was Saturday night. Great night.

Next: The Sunday Morning after...which means brekky and food trucks! And the trip winds down as I find out about the PBR of Austin. Allons-y!

Also, too! A big ups to Paula for the pics in Part Two and the upcoming Part Three. She learned that I can't take pics and walk at the same time. Check out her blog! It's called Eat: Watch: Run. It's a great read. Cheers!