http://mapvivo.com/journey/17955
It contains links to blog entries on selected stops. According to the tracker, we have traveled over 59000km!!! You can zoom in on this map and see exactly where we went.
This bit of the blog is about the time we spent in Texas after the Dallas stay. After checking out of the hotel and saying goodbye to Nicole (who made her way to the airport to fly back to Singapore) we arranged our car rental for the next three months. After much research and comparing a heap of prices we did what is called a mini lease with Budget. It works out to around $66 per day, including vehicle and liability insurance, the latter of which we had never taken out before. But I found out that this is actually more important than vehicle insurance. It protects you from claims that can essentially ruin your life. So for a three month period, we needed this.
The guys at Budget were actually really helpful in finding out a way of doing this long term rental, as usually the maximum time is one month. And we could pick whatever car we wanted that they had there. In the end we went with a brand new 2013 Ford Escape with only 1000 miles on the clock.
It's a nice ride, with good fuel economy and nice gadgets inside, like Sirius Digital Radio, USB ports etc.
Our first stop after Dallas was Austin. The main draw card for Austin was its reputation for having the best Texas BBQ. So on the first evening we went to a place called Salt Lick. They actually don't do the traditional BBQ that is slow smoked for 18 hours. Instead they do a more European BBQ where they have a giant pit with wood/coal and a big grill over it. So some people say it's not BBQ, it's grilled meat. Either way, we tasted their offerings and it was yummy. I had the family style BBQ and Simone had a plate with two types of meat.
The brisket with their own BBQ sauce. The sauce was very nice...we bought a bottle.
The pit.
On the second day we took some time to explore the city a little and we planned on seeing the bats take off after sunset. Austin is home to the largest urban bat colony in the world, roughly up to 1.5 million bats!
We had afternoon drinks at the Four Seasons, and I just had to take some photos of the bathroom there. Moisturizers, towels, combs, razors, all provided. I like!!!
People starting to congregate on the bridge to watch the bats. There are no photos of the bats taking off because the bats took off after sunset. There are videos on youtube of the streams of bats flying out. They look like streams of smoke, it's unreal. And there seems to be a neverending supply of bats to feed those streams! Amazing spectacle.
The next morning we went to the place for the best BBQ, according to several sources, including Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations show. Franklin BBQ. It started out as a food truck and in just two years grew to the most popular BBQ place in town. People start queuing several hours before it opens at 11am and by the time it opens the queue is around the block. It's open until it sells out of meat, which is usually by 2pm.
Today we went there at 9.30am and were about 20th or so in the queue. Whilst waiting, we saw several people pull up to pick up their catering/takeout orders. By the box full. Including actor Andy Buckley (David Wallace from the US version of The Office).
About half an hour before opening.
Once open, the owner himself is the one cutting the meat and serving.
Our order. A pound of brisket, 2 sausages, 3 ribs, a plate of 2 meats and some drinks. The meat was amazing. Absolutely killer. The brisket was so tender and flavourful it's hard to believe that all that is on it is salt and pepper. THAT'S IT. And hours of smoking and tending to the meat of course.
In the battle of the BBQ, Franklin wins hands down.
After lunch we drove on the San Antonio, only about an hour away. Here we checked out the River Walk. Basically you can go down a level to the small river and walk alongside it or catch one of the river taxis for a ride along. Alongside in certain sections are shops and restaurants.
In one of the Ben & Jerry stores we got some icecream and saw this banner. Pretty ballsy I thought. Go Ben & Jerry!!
The next morning we went and checked out The Alamo.
After getting lunch at Fuddruckers, we drove on to Houston where we met up with Missy, whom we had met at the Dallas con and who has kindly offered to let us stay at her house whilst we are in Houston. We went to Jax Grill in the evening to grab a bite to eat. I had crab stuffed catfish.
Nachos as appetizers.
Simone had the quesadilla.
My desert, which was so rich I had to take it home. I would describe it as a cheesecake brownie.
Cheesecake!
More cheesecake!
On the second day we checked out Houston, got to the Hard Rock and the huge Galleria mall, where Simone finally found a replacement hairbrush :)
In the evening we met up with Branda and her daughter Katie at a local joint called Mel's Country Cafe. They server a burger called the Mega Mel. No I did not try it.
Instead I had the fried catfish and tater tots. Very yummy stuff, I forgot to take pics though! Afterwards we went to Brenda's house to meet her husband Randy and their dog Mollie. After chatting and some impromptu dog training advice we drove back to our temporary home.
The next day was chill and planning day where we did research, booked our accommodation and tickets for Disney World, Universal Studios and Key West. It was also nice to just hang out with Missy and her dogs Travis and Teddy, who were absolutely adorable :) Teddy would make a great agility dog we concluded, great drive and jumping ability. In the evening we went to a Mexican place called Escalante's.
Appetizers were some beef empanaditas, which were incredibly tasty.
and I wanted to try some tamales.
Missy had the bacon wrapped shrimp.
I had the Pechuga, marinated grilled chicken breast with sautéed mushrooms and melted Chihuahua cheese.
Simone had the a beef and a chicken enchilada.
We met incredibly friendly folks in Texas, thanks to everyone who took the time to meet us and special thanks to Missy for putting us up for the Houston leg of our tour. One thing we will definitely not miss though are the drivers. Indicating is apparently optional, so is having your hands on the steering wheel. Texting and talking on the phone while driving is common and is actually not illegal! We almost got taken out by a car which had its right side windows blocked by a sunvisor and swerved right into our lane. We had a truck on our right and were doing about 60mph, so Simone had to slam on the brakes and the horn to make this person realise you really should look before changing lanes, and not have your view blocked.
After a 5 hour drive we arrived in New Orleans and have taken a walk down Bourbon St. More in the next update!
