From BBQ to Danish Dinners in Austin

You know you are in Texas when half the radio stations are playing religious rock music and there are trucks driving down the highway boasting ‘Jingle Jugs – the Trophy Rack You’ve Always Wanted’.

We visited our friend Elva and Blake and the contingent of Groves including: Nolan, Valerie, Christine and Bryan, and their furry friends Shiner and Dixie (as in beer). BBQ has always been a thing with Blake and Mark, so much investigation intoBBQ was required while we were in Austin. We managed to include BBQ brisket, chicken, ribs in our breakfast, lunch and dinner this weekend.

It is still really warm in Austin, so we decided to cool down at the river. This river goes through Austin, so we actually went into the city to reach it. We parked at an office park, then hiked the trailhead down to the water. It was cool and clear, complete with little waterfalls and rocks to climb. A real Texas waterhole! We didn’t have long to play though. With four kids, you can imagine the schedules of soccer and baseball games, along with scouts (girl and boy), birthday parties, etc. So, we got to participate in all of these. Mark’s favorite was soccer. He had fun kicking the ball around with the kids.

Another highlight was watching the bats come out at sunset from under an overpass bridge. It seems Austin has a huge urban bat population, in the millions. We brought our blankets and beer to watch them emerge from the overpass on their evening excursions for insects. The bats fly en masse, looking like smoke pouring out of various spots of the bridge. Though it was getting dark, we could see endless clouds of these small creatures (Mark calls them ‘night birds’), all flying together for their evening hunt. They return at dawn to hang upside down until the next evening. This happens in the summer and early fall – then they fly to Mexico for the winter (I think they have a beach place down in Cabo). Very cool to see!

Austin is a hub of high tech, so it isn’t surprising that we know other folks in this area. We caught up with our friend Michael at his new home, and were joined by another former colleague who I haven’t seen in about 10 years, Lief and his family. Michael’s parents were visiting from Denmark, so his mom made us all a delicious Danish meal of potatoes, peas and a type of hamburger with grilled onions and gravy. All of these Danes love Austin which I find curious. Maybe Austin will start to take on a Danish flavor!

Food and Drink: Rudy’s BBQ is famous, rightly so. But I have to admit, the creamed corn made an impact on me. Think about the last time you ate creamed corn. Maybe it was when you were 10, when cream did not carry any negative images. Rudy’s creamed corn is just as delicious, maybe even better, than then. Their creamed corn has slightly crunchy corn kernels with just enough cream sauce to keep them moist. Delicious and, since I was now 10 again, emotionally soothing!