Saturday night, a Texas moon smiling down on me and Tom by my side, I had one of those Aha! moments.
I realized I was finally experiencing Austin with all five senses in a way I hadn't yet in the nearly sixteen years we've lived here.
I could feel it in the just-cool-enough breeze blowing through the courtyard of Stubb's Bar-B-Q, taste it in my jalapeno brisket taco, hear it in the music of Willie Nelson's son, Lukas, and his band, Promise of the Real and then even more in Los Lonely Boys, those sons of San Angelo, see it in trees and old stone buildings bordering the courtyard and in the diversity of the other fans ... young, old, straight, gay, preppy, hippie, Austin Weird, every race and color imaginable ... and even smell it in the air, an intermittent wafting of barbecue with a hint of... is that marijuana?
Yeah, that's Austin.
Stubb's doesn't allow detachable lenses (discrimination!) and I don't own a point-and-shoot or an iPhone, so I don't have any photos from Saturday night, just these images impressed on my mind.
But here are some photos from the rest of the birthday boy's weekend...
A happy breakfast a la me and Daniel for the birthday boy
Walking with the boys, Kirby and...
...the goofy dogs.
The boys spotted this beetle (just like old times!) Anyone know what it is?
Ping-pong!!
Cheesecake!
A birthday wish...
...and a nap.
Not bad for #54.
