For the first time ever I had the resources to take off for Spring Break. It wasn't too hard to decide where to go. My criteria were simple. I wanted to go someplace I had never been, and I wanted to stay away from the rabid college spring break scene. I've never seen the Southwest, and as luck would have it my friends, Dave and Mindy, live in Austin, Texas.
I flew to Austin and rented a car. Being able to rent a car gave me lots of freedom to see the country and immerse myself into the area. My first stop was San Antonio to expose myself to the tourism scene. I saw the art museum, the Alamo, and the ultra-touristy River Walk. This quickly bored me because that is not my idea of a good vacation. I wandered off the beaten path and found a local bar to spend my time in. The particular bar I chose was a hispanic bar. I was the only Anglo around and this became painfully obvious as everyone stared me down when I entered. When I sat at an empty stool both people to my left and right got up and left. I knew right then that I was in for a real experience. It wasn't until waiting in line for the restroom that some of the drunken guys started to talk to me. Finally some of them warmed up to me and we got along pretty well. Maybe they thought I was a cop, who knows? Regardless, to cut this down a little bit, I met up with an interesting local hispanic guy whose name was "Chronic", so named for his chronic herb habit. He offered to show me around town. I was feeling brave and up to the task, especially after a few beers. We spent the afternoon and evening hoping around back-alley neighborhood bars. Everytime we went into a new bar my new found friend would let the locals know I was "ok". We had a great time and I learned a little about Mexican-American culture. If I were to do it again I would set up a room in a nearby motel before going out. Staying overnight in a flop house is something I won't do again unless I'm better prepared.
The next day I drove down to Corpus Christie, Texas. It was about a 4 hour drive straight through, but I stopped at several places along the way to see the small towns. I drove a little out of my way to see a lake, even though I was told Texas didn't have lakes. It was a wonderful land preserve next to a Boy Scout camp on a decent sized lake. After seeing the lake I drove on to Corpus Christie. I went straight for the coast. I got to see Columbus's fleet, the USS Lexington, and other maritime novelties. After taking a few pictures I headed back to Austin. At this point Dave and Mindy had returned from their vacation to Michigan. I returned my rental car and decided to spend the rest of the week visiting with Dave and Mindy, and checking out Austin. There is more than enough in Austin to keep a person busy for a week. I was really impressed with this town. As Marcello, one of Dave and Mindy's friends, put it, it's a real progressive town. The weather is great, they have a large university there, and it houses the State Capital. If you ever plan to visit Austin, you must check out 6th street. You can find a ton of things to do there. There are lots of things to do all over the city, but 6th street is the most concentrated. It will be a long time before I forget this trip.
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