It's All Happening

The past few months I've had a lot of visitors. I should have written after each visit, but alas, here they are all in one.

My first visit was from Lindsay in March. My big sis from Chicago came back to the Lone Star State. It was 33° in Chicago and 75° in Austin so she was pretty excited to spend her spring break here. She got in on Sunday night and we decided to grab some drinks at Red's Porch. We really only made it through one beer before we got tired. So we decided to save or energy for the next day. Monday, after a little sleeping in, we had lunch at the Torchy's Tacos in The Trailer Park Eatery. It was Lindsay's first time eating Torchy's and I think it's safe to say she enjoyed it thoroughly. I mean, who doesn't? Her good friend from high school, Kevin, met us there. Architect student at UT and all around nice guy. From there, the three of us went to Spider House. You really can never pass up Spider House on a day with such perfect weather. We sat outside and had a few drinks. Have you had the Sangria there? Well you should. It's fantastic. The next few hours were full of catching up and reminiscing. I like listening to Lindsay speak. She says things like "Yeehaw" and practices her southern draaaaawl, and has her own little mannerisms and phrases that crack me up. She really doesn't understand why I think she's so hilarious. Which I think is even more funny.

Next, it was off to visit her other friend Craig. First, I'm totally jealous of Craig's house. Second, Craig is pretty cool with an even cooler beard. We toured his house and then went to Vivos for Lindsay's Mexican food fix. More drinks and conversation followed. And then it was home, and then the next day she left. Short but definitely sweet.

May brought my next visitor, Jeramey. I've been trying to think of ways to describe him to you. There are too many but here goes: witty, intelligent, creative, talented, entertainer, superhero, soulmate. Eh, that doesn't really even do him justice. Have you ever had a friend that just knows you? Yeah, he's like that. So he came down to Austin to go to some weddings. The night he got in we kind of just went out for the sake of going out. We met some of my friends at Gibson Bar and then went across the street to The Highball. The Alamo Draft House's event planners The Action Pack was throwing another event, of course, and it couldn't have been more fitting for Jeramey. A Superhero Costume Dance Party. Let's just say there was a dance off between Mighty Mouse and Iron Man, and there was the best Dr. Strange costume the world has ever seen. It wasn't the best DJ to ever grace The Highball but we tried to dance nonetheless. We also got forced into a photo booth. Below is the most appropriate photo.

The next day, we drove to Houston for the wedding of our college friends' Jeff and Aly. Of course it wouldn't be a Jeramey and Ashley road trip without Sonic, a good mix cd, and yelling "Wooooo! Watch out Tuscon, here we come!" We made it to the hotel just in time to shower and go straight to the wedding. A very sweet wedding at a nice venue with a great bar and buffet. Who could ask for more? It was really nice to see some of our other friends from college too, like Kyle and Rachel. I think they are the next wedding date in the books, and I'm looking forward to it. A little catching up, a fair amount of dancing, a good amount of drinking. Oh, and another photo booth. Good times had by all. The next day Jeramey and I slept in. Probably the best sleep I've had in months. I think it was knowing that I didn't have any obligations that day for the first time in a long time. Just a leisurely drive back to Austin. On the way back we stopped in Bastrop to get some BBQ. It was delicious. We were back before we knew it, and then Jeramey was gone. I'm already planning a trip up to Fort Worth.

Just a few days ago, my Dad and his wife Chris came to visit me. I hadn't seen them since I went up to Pittsburgh in September. (See blog post "da 'Burgh") Unfortunately, the couldn't stay very long but we jam packed a lot into a little bit of time. I picked them up from the airport on Friday night and drove them to their hotel in The Arboretum. Dad and I went for a drink at a Mexican restaurant nearby. I had a mango margarita, and Dad was reminded that an extremely dry, very little Vermouth, Bombay Sapphire martini, straight up with blue cheese stuffed olives, isn't exactly a Mexican food chain's forte. There's a reason they call him Dr. Bombay.

On Saturday we got up early and I picked them up to go to Kerby Lane Cafe. There we caught up and they met my boyfriend, Josh. Dad and Chris, having been deprived of good Mexican food, really enjoyed their migas. Everything else was great too. After filling our bellies, we went to the mall so they can see one of the places I work. There, my dad unexpectedly bought a certain, really cool, electronic device. Then we drove past my other place of work and drove around downtown Austin. We ended up on South Congress where we walked and ducked into a few of the shops there. Since we were still full from breakfast, the four of us went to Chuy's just for some drinks and chips and salsa. Then it was back for a tour of my apartment and some setting up, learning, and playing with my dad's new purchase. A little while later we drove back up to the hotel and got ready for dinner. We decided to go to The Oasis on Lake Travis. The sunset capital of Texas. What a good choice. Although it was a little warm we opted for sitting outside on the balcony so we could get the full experience. The food and environment was great, and of course the sunset was too. It was back to the hotel where we decided we were too tired to do anything else. We said goodbye, and they were gone by 7 the next morning on Sunday. Again, short but sweet. See you guys at Christmas?

So lots of visits here lately. But hey, you can't have too much of a good thing. This has been Ashley, and it's all happening with friends and family.