{home in Austin}

Hi! Hi! I've missed you! How are you?

Confession: last weekend I made a secret trip to Austin! About a month ago I was suddenly missing Austin, my parents, and two of my closest girl friends. I was emailing a lot with my friend one week and wanted to much to just hang out and have a good catch up. So I thought, why not?!

The secret part of the trip is because only four people knew I'd be in town. Since I've been in Arizona there have been bachelorette parties, weddings, holidays, and a music festival to bring me back to Austin and I always love being able to also see my parents, family, and friends while I'm there. But sometimes I'm left feeling that I didn't get as much quality time with everyone or take time to just relax in my favorite city. So for this trip I decided to keep my schedule really simple and only see my parents and two best girl friends,. Enter: Secret Trip to Austin.

I flew in Thursday night after work and out Sunday evening and even though it was a short trip I fit in everything I wanted. My mom doesn't work on Fridays this summer so while my dad was at the office we did what's become our usual routine when I visit: drink coffee and chat at the house in the morning, go for a walk on the hike and bike trail, hit my local favorites like BookPeople and Whole Earth, eat a yummy lunch (favorite lately is Bouldin Creek Cafe), and then head home to regroup before happy hour with my dad. We spent the evening in the Rainey Street area and drank frosty, local beer (Fireman's #4 for me, please) at Icenhauer's and Bar 96 and played cards (Casino is the game of choice lately).

On Saturday I met up with my two oldest friends, Laura and Carrie: I met them in kindergarten and second grade! The comfort and fun of being with friends I've known for so long cannot be replicated; I feel so grateful that we've maintained our friendship through the years. No matter the time that goes by between visits we always pick up as if we saw each other the week before.

We had breakfast, got pedicures, and then braved a Babies R Us together. This was at my request because (I'm not pregnant!) a few weeks ago I accompanied my mother-in-law to one when she was buying something for family that would be in town. I was so overwhelmed by all the stuff...the plastic, excessive stuff...that I *might* have called my mom afterwards saying, "But I don't want to have all that plastic stuff in my house!" I'm laughing about it now but at the time it made me so anxious! 

Going back with my friends was a more fun, less overwhelming experience (thank goodness). We cracked up/cringed over all the contraptions that your suppose to hook up to your boobs to pump breastmilk and marveled at the number of stroller/carseat/bouncy seat/crib/pack-n-play options. Really?

After some more shopping and coffee we went to Alamo Drafthouse, perhaps the opposite of a Babies R Us, where we saw a Master Pancake show of Eclipse. There was a dance troupe of blow-up dolls mimicking the "newborn army"! And a drinking game that involved yelling "titty sprinkles!" Oh, Austin. It was one of my favorite Alamo experiences, right up there with the Braveheart Master Pancake that we saw the day after our wedding with friends. We were dying laughing and I'm convinced that the only way to see the Twilight-saga movies is with a beer and comedians making fun of the actors the whole time. Such a perfect way to end our day.

I was sad to hug my friends goodbye at the end of such a fun day but what a treat to see them.

I had all day Sunday to spend with my parents. We went to the hike and bike trail again where I went for a run with my dad, we've been running together since I was in 6th grade! Plus, I don't consider a pair of running shoes officially broken in until they've acquired some reddish h/b trail dirt so it was good to break in my latest pair. After a refreshing swim at a nearby pool we had a delicious and filling brunch at East Side Cafe and said hi to their happy hens in the back. And then it was about time to pack up and head to the airport...whew!

The trip felt short and long all at the same time. I was sad at the airport to be leaving so soon but it couldn't have been a better three days. I hardly spent any time online, which was not planned and resulted in few trip photos, but that was a nice break too and I felt really present during my visit.

As much as I miss home in Austin I do love home in Arizona too. Depsite missing Austin when I'm in Arizona I realized how fortunate I am to be able to call two places home and to love so much and so many people in each one. So for the times when I miss Austin I resolve to remember how (relatively) easy it is to take a day off of work and just go. It doesn't have to seem so far away.