Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures

Alex and I were able to enjoy two more beautiful days in Austin and then the weather turned on us once again.....temperatures below freezing! During the beautiful days we enjoyed walking by the river and hiking through a wilderness park. While walking by the river I had a once in a lifetime experience of seeing a black swan. Actually, I don't really know how rare it is to come across a black swan, but it was a pretty exciting experience for me; and in the 25 years I've been alive, it was the first time I'd ever seen one. Who knows, it may have very well been the last, as well.

Austin has an awesome wilderness park right in town, which adds to the awesomeness of Austin in my book. The park has miles and miles of hiking trails. We went hiking through it and it was a pretty crazy hike. We had to cross through a river three times just to stay on the trail.....don't worry, we didn't get wet because the river was all dried up:) We probably would have gotten lost if it hadn't been for google maps on our cell phones. That's the great thing about technology these days:) As long as you have cell/internet reception, then it's hard to get lost. The hike was beautiful.

Rock climbers along the hike

Alex doing some rock climbing as well

Hiking

Another interesting thing we did in Austin was going to the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. I've never been to such a unique and innovative theater. It's a combination of a higher-end restaurant and cinema rolled into one. The theater seats are pretty standard, you know, like what you would normally see at any modern theater and then there is a ledge/counter in front of you that acts like a table. There is just enough room between the counter and the next row of seats in front of you for the waiter to walk through to take your order. It's recommended to arrive at the theater at least 30 to 40 minutes before the movie starts so you can be seated and order your food before the beginning of the movie, which makes less interruption once the movie begins, but if you want to order something in the middle of the movie you can do so by writing it on a piece of paper and putting it in a slot attached to the counter and the waiter will come by and pick it up. The food we ordered was phenomenal and there was a very wide selection of beers, ciders and wines on the menu, as well. Seriously, someone needs to bring this idea to Sacramento! It definitely beats the over-priced popcorn, candy and soda that you would normally find at a theater. Oh yeah, and the movie we saw was "The King's Speech," which was excellent and that made our experience at the Drafthouse Cinema that much better.

Okay now onto the freezing temps.....After two glorious days it turned on us for the worse. Why does the weather always get so bad for us when we are in Austin? We were parked in a Walmart parking lot overnight and by the morning we were completely iced-in our van, meaning there was a layer of ice on our car. By mid-morning the ice moved into our van. The inside of the windows had a frosty layer of ice and other parts of the inside were frosted. Alex and I were able to stay warm as long as we stayed under our blankets, but we had to get up sometime and start the day, right? We did eventually get out of the van at around 11am, it was hard, but we did. The van had a terrible time starting due to the cold weather, but after awhile it pulled through and started.

We had one more night of freezing temps in the small town of Giddings, Tx, which was a stopping point from Austin to Houston. It was such a small town that the Walmart store hours closed at midnight. I usually don't have to go pee in the middle of the night, but the one time I had to and really couldn't hold it until morning was the night in Giddings. Oh man, I had to pee sooooooo bad and sorry if this is TMI, but this is one of those experiences I want to remember. I broke down and peed in a cup......There, I said it, and that's what I did. I seriously never thought I would do that, because I think that is so incredible disgusting. The worst part about peeing in the cup was that I filled it to the brim and spilled some of it. Ohhhhh soooooo grosssss! Maybe I should delete this story......I'm seriously cringing as I'm writing this. I never want to relive that situation. I guess the best way of preventing that is no drinking any liquids past 6pm and then using the bathroom at least two hours after my last drink.

On a lighter note. We made it to Houston today and it was cold, but it was bearable. I had the wonderful opportunity of eating a delicious Cuban Style chicken taco. It had the perfect combination of spicy, salty, sweet and sour. The flavors were unforgettable. The chicken was spiced to perfection and was accompanied by plantains, black beans and a touch of sour cream. I added cheese and guacamole, which made it even better!

We are staying with Alex's uncle for the next two days and then heading to Louisiana. I need to be in a warmer climate. I'm sick of all this cold weather. I guess that's expected when traveling the US in the winter, right?