I love a good tradition, especially one that involves getting together with friends. One of my favorite new ones is the bi-annual Tully/Brad weekend... two sports-addicted longtime friends from high school who take time in the fall (football) and the spring (March Madness) to catch up on each other's lives while devoting several days to watching the previously-mentioned games.
They're gracious enough to invite a bunch of us to tag along for bits of it... mostly the ones involving food... and so finally, finally, this weekend I got to experience Austin's 6th Street...
I'll vouch that it's still fun at 51! At least for me it was... lots of music, people dancing, glimpses of drummers in windows, neon signs, historical brick buildings, and of course, colorful characters everywhere.
Thank you, Tully and Brad!
First, a gathering in the loft overlooking 6th street... Class of '77 reps me, Tully, Gina, Ann, Brad...
...on to dinner outside on a gorgeous night at the Chupacabra Cantina, joined by Darla, Roy, Leslie and Clive...
...and then a move inside to watch the Texas Rangers game...
...or to just yak and take more photos...
Oops, how did this one get in here??
The whole gang... oh, yeah, Darla's gorgeous daughter Kassi joined us...
Later, a stroll down 6th Street to the Driskill Hotel. (Did you know the restroom near the bar is haunted? I took the women in there to tell them the story... we got a little carried away with taking photos, even recruiting a stranger to help us out... or was she really a ghost?? These are just a few!)
...and one with our guest photographer - if she was a ghost, she was a very friendly one...
We finally rejoined the guys...
...and eventually said good-night... but within 24 hours most of us were back together again for pizza... my first taste of Home Slice (yum!)
...and then Tully and Brad offered to escort me and my camera up and down 6th Street a little while longer. Most of the photos will be posted on Confessions, but I'll end this post with two of my favorites, taken in The Jackalope.
Those two wild and crazy guys with a new friend...
...and look at me! I'm riding a jackalope! I bet you thought they weren't real...
Thanks again for such a wonderful weekend, Tully, Brad and company!
Count your age by friends. Count your life by smiles.
~author unknown
