Category: Texas Roadtrip

Upon learning that I had to be in Austin on a Thursday and Friday, I hatched a plan to stay for a few extra days and enjoy a mini road trip. After a never-ending, cold Winter, I felt I owed it to myself. Besides, not doing so would have just been silly, right? I’d been to Austin twice before, but had never had time to see much of the area.

Plus, Austin is sorta close to the beach. All I could think about was SUN and WARMTH. And sand. I love the beach, but don’t get to go much since Hubby isn’t a beach type.

I had settled on a beach town in advance (Tracy had recommended Port Aransas) and knew there were some things in and around Austin I wanted to see, but I didn’t really have an itinerary. I was anxious to reach the beach, but the weather forecast was rather iffy. So I figured I’d look around Austin and visit The Salt Lick barbecue on Saturday morning and then head for the Gulf coast.

Before I started working for a company based in Texas, I didn’t know much about the state. For example, I didn’t know Texas BBQ was it’s own important food group. During one of my first trips there I ate at the airport location of The Salt Lick. It was fabulous. Tracy shipped a bottle to me, and Hubby became hooked, too. Of course, you can’t buy that sauce anywhere in or near Virginia — it’s even hard to find in Texas — so we have to have it shipped in regularly. That’s the reason behind wanting to visit the original location.

The Salt Lick BBQ started in Driftwood, Texas. With a name like that, I figured it should at least be interesting. But I’m getting ahead of myself…

As I mentioned in my last post, I went into downtown Austin on Friday night. After seeing a glimpse of the pinkish-looking capitol building, I decided I should get a closer look on Saturday. On the way, I passed through the South Congress (SoCo) shopping district. I HAD to stop there first to get a picture of Lucy the Zebra (found her in my RoadsideAmerica.com app).

There were several funky little shops in SoCo. I looked through a couple, but most opened later in the day (I was there around 10:00). And I didn’t feel like being indoors anyway. So I snapped some pics then headed deeper into the city. First, though, I detoured over to the river to see if there was a good waterfront view. There wasn’t. But I did see this cute dog. It made me laugh to see him quietly people-watching (the hike/bike path went right past his apartment).

Don’t you just love that expression on his face?

Before I go on, I have to say I culled through my pics and ended up with 60 to share with you. That’s far too many for a blog post, so you’ll have to visit my Flickr site if you want to see more. I’ll share that link later…

I was hoping to find a coffee shop in town. Most places were either closed on Saturdays (I was in the business district) or opened for lunch.

I hadn’t planned on going into the capitol building. However, I figured a potty break would be a good idea before driving out to Driftwood.

The capitol really is pink as it appears. It was made from a pink-hued granite. Long story. Feel free to Google it if you care.

After gawking at the building a bit and snapping some photos, I headed out to the country. I really am not a city girl. I much prefer wide-open spaces.

It didn’t take long at all to leave the hustle and bustle of the city behind. It was Saturday, remember. Had it been a weekday, I would have taken MUCH longer. Traffic around Austin can be a bit of a bear.

If you’re interested in seeing the map of my route for the day, it’s here.

Less than 30 minutes after leaving the capitol, I was in Driftwood.

I’d arrived at The Salt Lick BBQ as planned, just in time for lunch.

As expected, The Salt Lick was a bit of a tourist trap. The food was good. Very good, in fact. It just wasn’t the best I’d ever had. I thought Rudy’s brisket was better. And, if I’m being completely honest, my husband’s ribs are better. The ribs at The Salt Lick had a good flavor, but they were a little tough. And that Hubby of mine makes kick-ass ribs. So I was judging The Salt Lick against some very high standards. Their sauce, however, remains my favorite. There’s just nothing like Salt Lick BBQ sauce.

It would have been better with a beer, too. I still had a long way to drive, though. Oh, and I only ate about half of what you see there. I don’t like driving on a full stomach.

Speaking of driving, my buddy, Bob (of RidingTheWetCoast fame) requested lots of pics so he could see what Texas looks like. Bob lives up in British Columbia, Canada.

Most motorcyclists like back roads. Even when traveling in a car. Secondary roads are called either “farm to market” or “ranch to market” roads in Texas. I took FM-150 from Driftwood over to I-35. The first half of the route would be lots of fun on a motorcycle. It was a sorta curvy, undulating road with relatively smooth pavement. I wouldn’t want to be on it in the rain, however, as there were several low creek crossings with water depth markers, which makes me believe it floods a lot when there’s rain.

The cool thing about traveling solo is that you can stop whenever you want to for whatever reason. And you don’t have to feel even a little guilty stopping quickly and often when there’s something you simply MUST capture with the camera.

I don’t think I mentioned that the wildflowers were in bloom. Bluebonnets (the Texas state flowers) were in bloom everywhere, along with Texas Paintbrush (red), Indian Blanket (red with yellow), Greenthreads (yellow), Winecups (pinks), and Primrose (yellow) seemed to be the predominate flowers. But practically everywhere you looked there was color. The trees were freshly green, too.

 

 

I took quite a few shots of that cute cow until this rude heifer came along. She made me giggle…

I did say I took lots of pictures, right? LOL. Here are a few stand-outs/oddities…

Those are also called Pump Jacks (among other things). Yes, I had to Google it.

I assume those are oil-related. Why there needs to be a giant, burning blow torch in the middle of a field is beyond me.

I saw lots of pick-up trucks, too. And cows. A lot of cows. But who’s complaining?

One thing that struck me, particularly as I got closer to the coast, was the rich, dark-brown color of the earth.

I can’t help it, I like cows.

When I passed this next field of cows at about 75 MPH (speed limits are high in Texas), I HAD to do a U-turn. Despite the rain, even.

 

Those are Egrets hanging out with the cows. Cattle Egrets to be exact. (Thank you, again, dear Google.)

Cattle Egrets hang out with the cows and eat the bugs stirred up as the cows graze.

Another plus of lesser-traveled farm-to-market roads is being able to hit the brakes when you zoom past stuff like that.

I just love the sweet smell of salt air as you approach the coast.

I think it was around 6:30 when I reached Port Aransas. Just five hours, give or take, after leaving The Salt Lick.

I was quite tickled to discover that Port Aransas Beach Road is actually ON the beach. I didn’t know I could drive on the sand.

After greeting the Gulf, I broke out the phone, started the Booking.com app, and found myself a hotel for the next two nights. Yes, I used the phone to pay for it, too. Gotta love technology.

After checking into said hotel, I needed dinner.

Oh, wait. I NEEDED a margarita. Dinner was just a bonus.

That was Saturday.

Next up? Why, Sunday, of course.

I crack myself up…

If you’re interested, all of Saturday’s pics are on Flickr for your viewing pleasure.

Friday started off like any other day. With a sunrise…

The sunrise shot above was taken moments after I realized the sun was coming up. I didn’t have the camera settings right, but still like the result. I sat drinking my coffee, waking up slowly as I watched the light painting the sky. It was quite peaceful.

And the rest of the day was all uphill from there. Literally. My office is in a building in the hill country northwest of Austin. Did you see the pics I posted last week? (There was a sunset shot there, too, captured a bit later than this.)

Most of my day was spent in the office on Friday. Except for lunchtime, which is when my boss, Tracy, surprised me with a visit to Rudy’s Country Store and BBQ.

It was fabulous. Seriously.

I usually stay away from chain restaurants, but Rudy’s is a smallish chain that started in the hill country outside of San Antonio. If all of the locations are as good as the one where I ate, you can’t go wrong. Trust me.

The decor mimics that of the original country store.  Notice all the folks behind the counter working at the cutting station.

You don’t order sandwiches at Rudy’s. You order your meat by the pound. You can get as much, or as little, as you like.

The cashier greeted Tracy and I warmly, then asked if we’d both been there before. Tracy replied by saying one of us had and, nodding toward me, one of us hadn’t. So the cashier asked where I was from. After I’d replied with “Virginia,” things got interesting.

The cashier hollered something like, “There’s a lady from Virginia in the house and she needs a sample board prepared!” All the workers stopped what there were doing, chanted something loudly together, then commenced to preparing small portions of the meats for me to try.

Some folks would be appalled by the attention. I thought it was fun. Not only did I get to try the various meats, I had an opportunity to sample some of the sides, too.

 

 

 

 

It was all delicious. I opted for a bit of both briskets and some spicy chopped. I also got some creamed corn, which is more like corn swimming in a very thick, tasty cream. YUM. The cole slaw was delicious, too.

The meat is served on thick, waxed paper. The sides are in Styrofoam bowls. Sauce is on the table.

The not-so-lean brisket was my favorite. It was melt-in-your mouth tender, had a delicate smoky flavor, with a dark, peppery bark.

Oh. Em. Gee.  I was in meat-eaters heaven.

I don’t usually consume that much food for lunch. I didn’t finish everything (left a few bits of spicy chopped, corn, and pickles behind), but I polished off quite a bit of it.

Tracy was either impressed or appalled at the amount I managed to put away.

We’d ended up sitting next to the oven access door. It wasn’t as hot as you’d think. And while we were eating, we got to see a worker feeding the fire with some hill country oak.

After lunch, Tracy took me to her house to meet her beautiful dogs, chocolate labs, Boca and Bella. I got a tour of her house, which is situated at the end of a cul-de-sac on one of Austin’s greenbelts, and backs up to trees. It’s a very peaceful, natural oasis. Lovely place. I was able to see the girls playing in their pool, too. Tracy says the dogs let people use it sometimes.

Then it was back to the office.

Tracy was driving, so I was able to capture this shot of the cliffs lining the highway near the office park.

It’s really a great office location. The lease is almost up, so next time I visit, I won’t get to see this.

Surprisingly, I managed to stay awake all afternoon. And, on the way out, I grabbed another shot of the view, this time from the parking lot.

Thanks to Google maps, I found the back way out of the building complex to my hotel, avoiding a big slug of traffic. Essentially, I had to climb the hill behind the office and then follow some side streets for a bit.

It was while climbing that hill that I captured the next “million dollar view” (thus named because the houses up there are big and expensive). I actually parked and got out of the car, in case you were wondering.

After that, it was back to the hotel to change into something a bit nicer and then into downtown Austin for the corporate event I’d traveled to Texas to attend.

It was a fun evening, a murder mystery dinner at the Courtyard Marriott. I had my camera along, but would have felt overly conspicuous taking flash pics during dinner. So I sat back and enjoyed my co-workers’ company instead. Many had significant others along, too. It was lots of fun.

I really enjoyed seeing folks again. And meeting those I hadn’t seen before. January 2012 was the last time I’d been in the Austin office. Reconnecting with everyone was well worth the trip.

The leisure part of the vacation will be discussed in future posts. So y’all come back now, ya hear?

But wait, there’s more…

I discovered this video on Rudy’s website. You can get their meat shipped to your house. The video tells you all about that and explains how to prepare the food once it arrives. Watch at your own risk; it’ll probably make you hungry (if I haven’t already).

I made it home safely last night.

Sorry I didn’t do any posts while away. I guess I was just having too much fun.

Truth be told, I spent as little time in my hotel as possible. I was on my own schedule, doing what I wanted to do, seeing what I wanted to see. It was awesome.

Solo road trips can be so relaxing.

The first two days were focused on work.

Saturday was LONG. By the time I made it to my hotel Saturday night, I was beat. But it was a good day. I ate well, drove through some interesting terrain, saw a bunch of flowers, cows, and other interesting stuff then ended up at the beach.

Sunday was foggy and overcast, but still very relaxing.

Monday, yesterday, was another long day as I made my way back to Austin via the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge and LOTS of back roads. The flight home was uneventful. The girls and Hubby were happy to see me. I was happy to see them, too.

Now I just need to sort through my pics. I’m anxious to share my experiences with y’all and will try to get a trip post up soon. Honest.

I’ll just warn you in advance… there are a whole lot of critter pics, real and otherwise. LOL.