Austin-tatious

Austin is one of those cities that you can fall in love with the moment you set foot on its soil.  We arrived around 10 pm on a Friday night and the airport was all but closed up, quiet and thoughtful, with pretty painted guitars flanking its baggage carousels in a bright and large, open room (rather than a stuffy, fluorescent basement-style warren like at most airports).  The street in front of the airport was wide open, too - no taxis trying to run us down, no shuttle buses pumping smoke into the air.  It was just us, Raf and me and the kids with Raf's younger brother Sky, all basking in the full moonlight of the Austin sky as we moseyed toward the parking garage.  I almost belted out "Deep in the Heart of Texas," but I refrained.  The quiet night sky was enough for all of us.

Our hotel was on the banks of Lady Bird Lake, just a block from the main parts of Austin.  Sky stayed a block south in a hipper area of Austin, near super-cool boutiques and bars and food truck parking lots.  We went to a UT game (versus Oklahoma State), passing blocks of tailgating parties to get to the stadium, and were bowled over by the Southern hospitality; despite a strong sense of school pride and an overwhelming turnout, the stands were civil and the crowds were kind.  The pre-game show was unlike anything I'd ever seen: an enormous marching band played "Deep in the Heart of Texas" (thank you kindly) while forming a giant UT, then a special club (dedicated strictly to this simple chore) unfurled the largest Texas state flag in the world, turning it round and round on the field to wild cheers from the stands.  The opposing team was also given an opportunity to play its fight song, respectfully.  The Jumbotron at the top of the stadium played an inspiring "Go Texas" video and then a cannon fired.  An honest-to-goodness cannon, plunked there on the corner of the field, intended solely for starting the game and for celebrating each touchdown.  Amazing.

I had hoped the visit would inspire my girls as students, seeing what a big ol' university town was like, but we saw so much more.  What a fantastic chunk of America.

A chicken-and-waffle truck - Emme's dream come true.

We took pedicabs to the stadium.

Stopped at the UT store to buy burnt orange gear.

Because we played OSU - whose colors are bright orange and white, the stadium was awash in orange - couldn't really tell who was supporting which team... until the "hook 'em horns" hands came out!

Threadgill's in Austin.

Wanted: Tooth Fairy with Frequent Flier Miles

Marlowe's first tooth was lost in the driveway of our new house.  Her second fell out during our first night in Paris.  And this one just fell out in Texas, the night after Serena lost a tooth at my parent's house during Christmas dinner.


I wonder where we'll be when the next one gets loose?

Mama's Lil' Sharp Shooters

These photos are the ones that I will treasure when I'm older, when my kids are grown up and my own Daddy may be too frail to still be shooting bull's-eyes with incredible accuracy. When I look at them, even right now, my heart feels all warm and fuzzy.  And I'm a Democrat from a blue state, so that's saying something big.


This is my youngest daughter, with her Grandpa, shooting a rifle for the first time.  She is so small, she had to stand up on a wooden box to reach.  (Like I said to my sister, "Only in Texas do they offer a booster for shooting...")


My dad, who wasn't born a Texan "but got here as soon as I could," gave the girls a safety lesson before we left the house -- he said they wouldn't focus as well on the range, and he wanted to be clear about what was expected from them so that everyone had a safe, fun time.  Not only did the girls keep their attenuators (the headphones that muffle high-pitched sounds) on, they didn't fuss about the yellow goggles we had to wear. And they started to realize that shooting guns isn't just about mean people or gangland drive-bys, but can also be a sport of skill and accuracy.

But best of all, they were AWESOME.  Emme shot 12 of 20 targets, still clicking the trigger with her finger after she'd run out of bullets.  On the first try. Nina shot her first bullet about 1/2" off the bull's-eye.  Marlowe stepped up onto her booster like a pro and listened to her Grandpa and gave it her best try.  The accuracy will come, but the courage to try something new is in her heart.  On the video I took, you can hear my dad turn to me and say, "You'd'a never done that at her age."  

And that's who I still am.  My dad loaded up a Civil War rifle for me, first adding the gun powder, then a piece of pillow ticking, then a huge 50 cal. bullet, then some real black powder onto the striking plate, which a piece of flint rock would strike to start the fire that would roar through the barrel to fire up the powder and send the bullet toward the target.  (Can you believe that we fought a war in which all of these things would have to take place before a gun could be fired?  No wonder so many died in the Civil War.)  There are two triggers: the first sort of takes the "safety" off and the second is the "real" one.  There's smoke and there's a loud boom.  When my dad did it, he turned to me and said, "You next?"


I said yeah, but when I stood there with this machine in my hands, I got really nervous and ended up letting my sister have a go at it.  See what I mean? My girls have Texas in their blood.  Guts and glory.  Mama's so proud.

Christmas, Lone Star Style

I love me some Texas, I do.  And, since my parents live in East Texas, I am lucky enough to be able to visit the Lone Star State more than most.


My parents live about an hour and a half east of Dallas, so it would be easy enough to fly from LA to Dallas, then drive a little to get to their place by dinnertime.  But, and maybe it's the residual memories of the "Dallas" soap opera ("Who shot J.R.??") or the historic proximity to the grassy knoll where JFK inhaled his final breaths, I have a soft spot for the denim-n-diamonds city of Dallas.  Our favorite hotel is the Fairmont, where the five of us can fit comfortably into a corner suite and decompress from a travel day before heading to Grandma and Grandpa's house. 


What is it about this ritual that I love so much?  Many years ago, I read a photojournalistic book called "the journey is the destination," and the phrase stuck with me.  I mean, are any of us really going anywhere? Or are we firmly stuck in the "here" and the "now," which is all that we really have control over?  In which case, we don't know if we will ever really reach "the destination," so we may as well relax and enjoy where we are, even if we are en route to a fabulous or far-flung or family place.


And so it is that Dallas has become my Texas "rest stop."  All the "work" has been done - for this trip, it means that the gifts have been wrapped and shipped from home and the kids' school is out, there is no work for Raf, no dishes or meals or laundry - and we can breathe and be together, watch a "still in theaters" movie on the hotel TV while snuggled up in the big fluffy bed, order room service that arrives with a side of the Southern charm and hospitality that we've come to know with the Fairmont staff. The kids take long baths and emerge, sparkly clean and fresh smelling, in white robes.  We love it so much that we rarely ever even leave the hotel room.


When we do leave, the streets remind me that we aren't in California anymore.  Shoe shine stands, BBQ joints with smoke curling up from the roof, the flagship Neiman Marcus department store, men strolling in cowboy hats and boots, lots of dusty pick-up trucks... as well as Starbucks and glitzy stores and well-turned-out ladies.  I wonder, sometimes, what it's like to live there, but that thought defeats the purpose.


Be here now.  How can I enjoy it as much as possible before moving on?  With a healthy dollop of spicy Texas BBQ sauce and a nod from the brim of my hat, that's how.

You know you're in Texas when...

My dad manages a self-storage center in a small city in northeast Texas, about an hour from Dallas. He sent me this email today:

"A few minutes ago a woman came in and asked if we rented the buildings behind the office. I told her yes. She asked if we had one that opened up big enough to accommodate a wedding reception."

New business idea: a storage/wedding facility. Why lug all those unusable wedding gifts back home when you can just shove 'em into a 10x10 right there??

Why I love Texas

Besides the big blue skies and wide open spaces, there are places that have huge billboards announcing their wares. Like this one, that my husband recently saw on a drive from Dallas to Texarkana:

Gun Range/Beef Jerky Depot

You just don't see that in Los Angeles.