Trish in Austin

So we finally arrived at our home-sweet-home and learned about even more amenities (including a furnished guest house that will fit six comfortably for $99/night *hint hint*wink wink* and a pet sitter that has a relationship with the complex) and I got to see it for the first time. It's perhaps even better than I thought it would be. Eventually, I'll post pictures, but after six weeks (I guess it's a little weird that I'm writing in the past tense about the move but back-dating the posts, sorry 'bout that) we still aren't done moving in. Once classes started, it just dropped way down on the priority list, which has been hard to deal with. I'm the kind of person who unpacks for a trip as soon as she walks through the door. I do not like for things to be in boxes. But, I digress. Back to Trish's time here with us!

That night we ate a BBQ place picked by Trish: Artz Rib House. She picked it because the review said it had vegetarian fare. My grilled veggies were absolutely delicious, but even better was the pecan sweet potato pie we had for dessert. Hot damn.

On Tuesday, we squeezed in as much Austin goodness and touristy times as we could because Trish was leaving Wednesday while I was at Orientation. We went on a Duck Tour (I highly recommend them), ate at the Iron Cactus (where they make the guac right in front of you!), toured a little of UT's campus, and hit up the pool at our apartment complex. Then, we hit the town. Sixth Street is the bar/club/music scene in downtown Austin. We went to a bar called The Library that I actually really liked. Then we hit up B.D. Riley's and Daddy's. It was an excellent night.

Road Trip!

So, most of you have probably heard about our road trip from Boston to Austin, but here's a recap with pictures. It's been so long now, I can't even remember our exact route, but I think we did 12 states in four days (about 2,000 miles): Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Texas.

Day 1 was rough. We were hungover, we got a late start, there was rain, there was traffic...and there was no food in New Jersey (kind of like how there's no gas in Maryland). And we really needed it. We stayed overnight in Martinsburg, West Virginia. Honestly, it could've been anywhere. We were just so happy to get out of the cars. And, they served hard-boiled eggs at breakfast.

Day 2 was much better. It was pretty...um...interesting to drive through the Bible Belt and see the gigantic crosses stuck in the ground beside the highway. We stayed in Nashville and somehow I seem to have no pictures, but it was awesome. I thought Nashville would be kind of cheesy and hokey, but it was actually really cool. I had blast there at the Opryland Hotel and walking around the Grand Ole Opry. Plus, our hotel was wicked close to the Opry and it was the cheapest place we stayed, so if you're looking to vacation in Nashville, it can actually be done pretty cheaply. Also, thanks to the Opryland Hotel, I'm now obsessed with artisan cheeses (especially Gouda). I definitely intend to make it back there someday.

Day 3 we arrived in Texas, after driving through surprisingly scenic and beautiful Arkansas. We stayed overnight in New Boston and it was totally lame. It's in a dry county and the only things for miles are a Dominos and a Wal-Mart. Sad face.

Day 4 we arrived in Austin! I'll do a separate post about Trish's time in Texas (okay, we'd been in Texas all of Day 4, but I liked the alliteration).