Texas, real quick

Two weeks ago I went to Texas real quick. It was actually not my idea, but rather something conjured up by my co-worker Rachel (Girl in an Apron) who was thinking outside the box. I, myself, was not thinking outside the box, and it took her half the day to convince me that it was indeed possible for me to take a quick spontaneous road trip to Austin. I caught a ride with a most handsome mustached ornithologist, who was on his way to Arizona via Texas to do some serious birding and bird related studies. (Here is him acting like a bird watching geek. Notice the shorts hiked up and the casual hawaii shirt tucked in...)


The idea was that I could hang out with the ornithologist for a hefty chunk of time on the road and then hang out with my bff Meg and her family in Austin for a couple of days. I was at her youngest son's birth 4 years ago and shamefully had not seen him since.
The drive out was fun, once it finally started. (You see, it got off to a rather late start.) Steve (the ornithologist) and I took turns driving (well I think he drove a little more) and we did things such as talk, laugh, not talk, listen to rock music, listen to country music, listen to bird cds, stop and pick wild flowers, stop and look at birds, go to the Loretta Lynn Gift Shop, eat snacks and so forth. I didn't even fall asleep other than once the second day in Texas when Steve spotted his first scissor-tailed flycatcher. I woke up when he pulled off the interstate to get a close-up look at it, and boy am I glad I did. Those birds (there were 2 or 3 of them) were very cool. (Steve ended up seeing a shit ton of them on his birding adventures in eastern and southern Texas, but it is still a novelty for me.)

Along the way we picked a beautiful array of Texas wildflowers including: pink evening primrose (Oenothera speciosa), Indian paintbrush (Castilleja spp), Phacelia, Texas bluebonnets (Lupinus texensis), and wild gaura.



Seeing Meg and her husband and kids was a quick blast. She is sooooooooo fun and great and I am eternally grateful to still have her as a bff. We have known each other since we were 6, and miraculously we can still really relate as adults. We talk all the time on the cellular and visit when we can. Being able to spend a quick moment in time with her in her home with her lovely and awesome family was priceless. I was so happy to hang out with her kids, and especially happy when the youngest, whose birth I witnessed, let me hold him and snuggle with him.



Meg and I talked serious and talked whacky jacky and laughed like happy little spastic piggies. She got all ready for me to come (on a short notice) and arranged some things to maximize our time. Hell, she even rented a Tupac documentary for my entertainment while I was there. (Too bad I fell asleep 5 minutes after it started. Actually, I think Steve was the only person who stayed awake for the whole thing, so ask him what really happened with Tupac and Biggy Smalls...) Also, Meg arranged me to meet with some of her closest friends in Austin, and I got to meet her good friend "K," who is my birth twin; not only do we share the same birthday on the same year, but we both have an affinity for blue roses. We got on wonderfully. She is a romance novel writer and a truly lovely lady.
Before I knew it, it was time to rush to the airport and fly home. I wanted to stay longer and visit with Meg and Steve more. I really didn't want to come home yet, but alas the ole J.O.B. was waiting for me, and so was my work on the land and such. I accidentally left my phone in Texas, but Meg mailed it back to me and I got it on my birthday.

I'm sure glad I have people in my life who can envision things for me such as road trips to Texas. Stuff like that. Thank goodness. Otherwise I would have stayed home.