On the road again: Austin, day 2

When I was preparing for this trip on Sunday, I commented that though I would have preferred not to have to travel just then, at least I was going somewhere warm. It was indeed warm yesterday--but that all vanished last night. Today, the high was in the 30s, a strong wind seemed to be blowing everywhere I was, and I experienced my first truly cold Austin day.

I can't talk about most of what I do each day on these trips, because it's business, but two bits deserve comment.

The first is my pillow overflow. I like a lot of pillows on my bed, with five being the ideal minimum. (It has to do with my notion of the sleep nest; don't ask.) My bed had only three, so I asked the hotel to bring some more. When they didn't do so, I asked again. When I returned from my meetings, they had indeed come with extra pillows--twice.


Yes, I now have nine pillows. Though some would say that is too many, I take it as a challenge to use them all wisely in the creation of a superbly enhanced nest. I am up to this challenge!

Dinner is also worth reporting. We ate at Congress Austin, a relatively new restaurant that features Chef David Bull, who had taken the food of the Driskill Grill (where I'm eating tomorrow night) up several notches. The tasting menu we tried was not adventurous, but it was interesting, used many local ingredients, and most importantly, was delicious. When Chef Bull came to talk to us and asked for my favorite dish, I had to name three--always an excellent sign. As is so frequently the case at otherwise very strong restaurants, however, the sweets could not keep up with the savories. Mind you, they were good, but they were definitely a notch below the rest of the meal.

Finally, courtesy of Gina turning me onto it, I watched today this touching video of street performers around the world doing versions of the King, Lieber, and Stoller classic, "Stand By Me." Enjoy.