Dancin' down them dirty, dusty trails...: Jaunt Around Austin, Texas

Austin is the capital of the state of Texas. The population size is just over 900,000 people. It's got a bustling young people scene which comes with all sorts of hip restaurants, great music and music venues, and sweet shops. The people are incredibly friendly, nice, and easy to talk with. You can eat tacos anywhere and everywhere, and they seem to always be delicious. Texas used to be part of a huge Mexican state called Tejano until a tough war in 1835 through which Texas won independence from Mexico and became it's own country called the Republic of Texas. They were not a country for long due to poor planning, continued tension and fighting with the Mexicans, and a desperate financial situation. The Republic of Texas asked the United States to annex them a couple of times and in 1845 the U.S. finally did. This is the very abridged version of course, the Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin provided me a good history of a part of this country that I know very little about. I highly recommend you visit Austin and that museum!

Oh, my friend Anna has been living in Austin for almost two years, kicking butt with her M.P.H. I went to visit her! It was a lovely trip but cut short due to me missing my flight on 9/11, the day I was supposed to fly out of Newark to Austin. It's a story I won't get into because I firmly believe everything happens for a reason, and ultimately it all worked out. Anna showed me a good time and then skedaddled off to Houston for work, while I naturally walked for 12 hours, went to the Bullock Museum, walked to the lake/river, ate tacos, ate other things, went to the Beacon's Closet I visited in Austin 4 years ago on a one day stop over during a 6 week road trip, and then went home.