On the road again: Austin, day 1

I hate getting up early most days, but I really hate doing it on Saturdays and Sundays. Nonetheless, work travel demanded that I do so today, so after five and a half very restless hours of sleep I left the comfort of the bed to shower and head to Austin.

The travel itself went as well as I could reasonably hope:  upgrades on both legs, the first flight on time, and the second only half an hour late.  The trainee trying to provide my rental car was on his fourth day and painfully aware of his slowness and his error rate, but he was trying, and he was polite, so I cut him a lot of slack. 

The middle of the evening went to my usual first-night-in-Austin ritual: barbecue dinner at The County Line by the Lake, and dessert at the Arboretum location of Amy's Ice Creams.  The parking lot at the County Line was far more full than usual on a Sunday night, but a sign explained the reason:  It was Susan and Zack's wedding reception. (No, I don't know Susan and Zack, but I like that they were willing to hold their reception at a barbecue joint.)  Even the main sign welcomed them.

Click on the image to see a larger version.

I don't know how the food was for the newlyweds, but my brisket, beef rib, and sausage--none of which I finished--tasted great. 

From there we headed over to Amy's and sampled a flavor I've never seen before: cocoa puddin'. When I asked for information on the concoction, the guy behind the counter said, "It's basically the most chocolate we can put into it and still make it ice cream." I'm here to testify that he was right and, wow, was it good. 

Tomorrow morning entirely too early, the work meetings begin.