Birthday Shenanigans in the Great ATX ~ Day Two

6:15 AM ~ Sunday morning ~ 18 May 2025

It was early morning. The birds were singing. And already it was fixing to be a scorcher. Humidity, at that moment, was up to 90%. Not even Houston was that humid at that time.

The morning's brekkie was the BBQ brisket sandwich that I picked up in the Buc-ee's in Bastrop the day before. I thought I had packed my teabags for me morning cuppa, but there were none to be found. (Apparently I had packed them in my work lunch bag, as I had discovered after I returned home.) So, I made a strong pot of joe instead ~ and that was after having to look up online to see how much ground coffee I would need per eight ounces of water.

I did step outside to the backyard, to check it out some. It was nothing much impressive. (Though in retrospect, I think I should have taken some time to examine the rock-covered grounds more carefully, as the reason for this will become apparent in a future post.) What I did find interesting were these cool fungal growths on the lone tree in the backyard. 

 

Looks like the species could possibly be Subantrodia juniperina, a mushroom that grows primarily on juniper and cypress trees. 

It's main "job" is that of a wood decayer, breaking down the tough cellulose an lignin in dead and dying tree trunks.

Shortly afterwards, I got a text from Chris, who was starvin' like Marvin, and asked if I wanted to get breakfast. Of course, I was still stuffed to the gills from my BBQ brisket sandwich, but I was still game in tagging along. So, after Chris picked me up, we made our way to the Counter Cafe on 6th Street.

And here we are: Derpy and Dorky!

Because I was not hungry, I ordered something light, like this bottle of Topo Chico and a single breakfast taco.

As we were leaving, I saw this interesting sign. Apparently this "Lazarus" was the bar next door; it was not the biblical character who got raised from the dead, and it was not Austin slang for whatever undesirable demographic that folks did not want cluttering up their precious parking spaces.

After breakfast, we our way to The Contemporary Austin - Laguna Gloria, an art museum, sculpture garden, and nature preserve near Lake Austin.

When we arrived and were making our way down to the sculpture garden, I noticed that some trees were sporting tags.

I would soon find out that this area had quite a few penhens and peacocks roaming around.

Finally there is someone much taller than Chris! (For the record, Chris is 6' 8".)

(BTW, Instagram removed this photo from one of my posts, citing "violation of community standards," yet found no issue with the topless mermaid. Go figure.)

Inside this tall glass sculpture was lighting. (Chris was tall enough to take a peek and report what he saw.) I bet it looks stunning when it is dark outside.

This is was the pathway that leads to the various sculpture looks like. Though it's a bit hard to see, there is a string of lights running along the path from above. Maybe someday I'll get to see how lovely this looks at night.

Lots of lily pads!

Eye C U!

It was a busy day for the pollinators.

Having had our fill of art in the bright sunlight, it was time to head back. Ariana was already up, and it was time to meet our next adventure.

On the way back to the apartment, we passed by this interesting house that was just a tad bit northwest of downtown. Danny told us that the house is haunted.

 

There is nothing deathly about this water. Liquid Death is 100% pure mountain water, not the typical processed municipal tap water that's found in most commercial bottled water. Also, a lot of plastic bottles do not make it to recycling, even when they are placed in recycling bins. But aluminum is always being recycled. Part of this company's mission is to fight plastic pollution...and with a sense of humor.

This is outside Ariana's and Chris's apartment. I think their apartment is the only one with a small potted garden.

Here's Chris looking out of the open slider.

Ariana and I ran a brief errand to the little market - Royal Blue Grocery - to pick up some ice for our next adventure.

And we also picked up something decadent, too.

Nothing screams "Texas" more than piling into an old beat-up Chevy pickup truck.

The Austin skyline looms ahead of us.

Our next activity was a pig roast in the Hyde Park area. But because we got there well before the pig roast was ready to start, we did the Texas thing and tailgated and swilled Modelos.

Here in the tailgate with me was Ariana, Chris, Gerard, and Danny. 

We broke into the Dubai Chocolate bar.

I pronounce it "delicious!"

And here it is! The pig roast action at Foreign & Domestic is ready to roll!

Here's the roasted pig!

Foam!

The foam got pretty wild at times, especially when the wind gusts kicked up.

(I had two more videos, and I would have loved to have included them in this blog. But unfortunately their file sizes were too big.)

We made a new friend at the pig roast. Debbie (the gal in the orange Longhorns t-shirt) lives in the neighborhood. She is a biologist who has lived a very interesting life that's been filled with all sorts of wild experiences. It was too bad that she was not on social media, as I would have loved to have connected with her. But at least she and Ariana exchanged numbers. So hopefully I'll get to see her on my next Austin trip.

(In the photo we have: Debbie, Gerard, Danny, Chris, and Ariana)

One of the coolest things, besides the very tasty pig, was the geeky and nerdy nature of this group. There was lots of cool science talk -- from bird migrations to ice formations on wind turbine blades. (Both Debbie and Gerard have had extensive experiences with wind turbines.) 

Everyone participated in the science talk, and everyone had something to contribute. It was wonderful! It's not often I get an opportunity to engage in science talk.

(In the photo we have: Debbie, Gerard, Danny, Chris, Ariana, and moi.)

After the pig roast, we made our way to Heartening, a really cool thrift store warehouse that is very big on helping out the community.

There are three areas to this thrift warehouse. The first area is an outside sorting area where there are stalls and bins of free stuff. (We did not bother with this area. A lot of the stuff was picked over and rummaged through. And there did not like there was anything there that would appeal to us.) The first area, when you walk into the store, is the "boutique" section. Then the next area, which is the largest area, is the $3 warehouse that is jam packed with clothing, shoes, and accessories.

The guys were not really interested in exploring this place (though Gerard did venture in briefly and even managed to find a pair of Lululemon shorts).

In the fancy boutique this exquisitely embroidered serape poncho was the first thing that I laid my eyes on. It was hanging up high on the wall, to my left, as soon as I walked in. Ariana strongly suggested that I have the lady working the cash register get it down for me, as there were already people eyeing this fine garment. And so I got it, for the sinful price of $25. 

Also found in the boutique area was this quilted coat. The tailoring was impeccable. I got that coat for $15.

In the free-for-all $3 jungle, I found these pristine Chaco hiking sandals buried deep underneath a mountain of clothing in a large bin. Not only were these sandals in almost new condition, they fit me perfectly. (This style of Chaco hiking sandals normally retails anywhere from $90 to $105.)

Gerard had to bail, and Danny met up with us at Ariana and Chris's apartment. We were going to walk to a nearby watering hole. But first, Ariana wanted to show me the ladies' room in the High Noon bar.

The walls and ceiling of the ladies' room is covered with mirror tiles. Even the separate stalls (that have walls extending to the ceiling, so that the ladies' privacy is protected) mirrors going up the walls and covering the ceiling.

 

As interesting the ladies' room at High Noon was, it was not a place that Ariana recommended for food and refreshments. So, having gotten our steps in, we made our way back and stopped at the Yellow Jacket Social Club, which is also a very super short walk from the apartment, to get something tasty to nosh on and some fine beverages to slake our thirst.

(In the photo we have: Ariana, Chris, Danny, and moi.)

This goat cheese charcuterie board that Danny ordered was mighty tasty. Thanks, Danny!

After getting a drink and something to nibble on, we made it back to the apartment, where we spent the rest of the night shooting the breeze and watching a well done documentary on the murder of Jason Corbett. (I think we may have watched the Netflix documentary.)

Anyhow, what's the deal with this little green space alien that's mingling among the potted cacti? Danny often likes to leave little surprises at their friends' homes, and this little creature was left in one of the plant pots of Ariana's window garden. Now the creature lives in the cactus dish inside the apartment, on top of the bar.

Life is more fun when surrounded by quirk and quirky friends.