Austin, Texas

Wellllllp, Jayna and I woke up in Austin, Texas, this morning, and let me tell you: while Austin is a neat little place on it's own, it definitely got the short end of the stick having to follow up an act from New Orleans. WHAT. A. FABULOUS. PLACE. It was everything that I dreamed it would be, and more. Jayna and I were constantly amazed at how adorable that place was.

We checked out of the hotel and walked around for a good four hours. We visited Louis Armstrong park, walked around the French Quarter, went to the waterfront of the Mississippi River, had coffee and beignets at Cafe du Monde, visited the French Market and had gumbo and jambalaya at an outdoor cafe with a live band. Every single corner of the city seemed so photogenic, and it was so hard to leave! We both wanted to stay another day or two. Leaving was pretty interesting though, because the marshes and swampland was immediately outside the city and really crazy to see!

Hoursssss later we entered into Texas and boy howdy it was prettyyyyy obvious. We pulled into a gas station just across the Louisiana / Texas border and inside was a bunch of men smoking and talking about their guns. I knew I was a looooong way from New York City! Next was a quick stop in Houston to visit the massive Waterwall (pretty impressive!) and dinner, before spending a long time on a very deserted highway into Austin!

We parked, checked into the hotel, then immediately walked around the corner from the Driskill onto Sixth Street and got time to not only take in a few round of drinks ($5 for TWO Uncle Carls!!) but even get a party on the dance floor! Sixth Street was pretty lively and reminded me a lotttttt of San Diego's Gaslamp, although very collegey considering UT Austin is right down the road, and apparently they stick around for the summer!

Inside Louis Armstrong Park. A lot of it was even underwater, but it was very pleasant!

Jayna and Louis Armstrong

We had seen this from a distance at night, it looks much better lit up!

Just another beautiful front in the French Quarter

A parked bike still covered in Mardi Gras beads in French Quarter

Riverwalk along the Mississippi

A view of the Mississippi

Tiles in front of City Hall (I think?) that talk about the names of these places while under Spanish rule

Beignets and coffee!

Live music in the French Market over lunch

Swamps!

Jayna fits right into Texas!

Everything's bigger in Texas!

Houston skyline!

The Waterwall in Houston! Probably would have been better during the day, but still cool to see

The view from our hostel in Austin

Sixth Street in Austin

Inside our first bar with Uncle Carl's

Along Sixth Street after most bars closed and we heading back

Every morning I seem to wake with a little less base energy than the day before, and even though I've been sleeping very well on this whole trip, it sure is starting to catch up with me. Still, looking forward to the rest of the adventure!