San Antonio & Austin

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In January of 1998 Reg, who had just started at the University of Waterloo, had a job related Usenix Security conference January 26-29 at the Marriot Conference Center in San Antonio Texas. This was one of those trips for his work where Kate tagged along to carry the luggage. We made the most of our time spending a few days in Austin at either end of the conference and seeing a bit of San Antonio during off times at the conference. 

Saturday, January 24.  

Our flight was from London, through Pittsburg, Dallas and Austin. That night we saw Michael Fracasso at the Waterloo Ice House —  the club was next door to Waterloo Records on Lamar. Michael is an Austin based Dylan/Woody Guthrie styled folk singer with guitar who Pat had introduced us to. We enjoyed seeing him and bought some of his music. He has quite a high voice and does a great version of Woody's "1913 Massacre" which we play every Christmas ... just for the bummer.

Sunday, January 25.

We went to La Zona Rosa in the Warehouse District of Austin to see the Asylum Street Spankers and have a buffet a brunch. The lunch was a huge spread with lots to chose from. The large band (there must be about 10 of them!) is very accomplished and play without amplification — they are loud enough without modern technologies. They're a real treat to see and have a standing "Sunday Brunch" residency here. Guy Forsythe is one of the players in the group and we discover him some 15 years later when we had long winter stays in Austin. He has quite a catalogue of music and does a song "The Things that Matter" which we really love.

That afternoon we went to a local winery in the nearby hill country — Slaughter Leftwich makes some passable Texas wines and claims to have the first chardonnay grapes planted in Texas. It has a lovely location that looks out over Lake Travis in the distance. We stopped briefly for some photos of the scenic "Arch Bridge" on the North Capital of Texas Highway (360) where it crosses over Lake Austin (i.e., the Colorado River). We visited the village of Gruene (of Dance Hall and Old Mill fame) where there's a Texas wine tasting we tried (they have wines from all over Texas) on our way into San Antonio. 

Dinner that night was on the Riverwalk near out hotel. The picture above is Kate at Dicks — aka "The Rowdy on the River" (another slogan is "I got Crabs at Dicks"). It is a popular crazy/fun filled spot on the Riverwalk where the wait staff seem to be paid to abuse you — we had been before with Kate's parents. You might note that the waiter has a couple of balloons on his belt fashioned to resemble his "Dick!"  I should note that the food is not too bad either. We stay at the nearby Crockett Hotel rather than the Marriott conference hotel (it was much cheaper than the conference rate).

Monday, January 26. 

Reg was busy most of the day at conference workshops. But we did get to spend some time together at our hotel pool, and that evening we were back on the Riverwalk. Kate spent her day exploring the city. She's interested in architecture and the history of the Riverwalk area. Apparently, at one time the city wanted to fill in the loop of the Riverwalk but civic minded protests led by the women of San Antonio have saved what has become an iconic part of the city. The Alamo you might visit once or twice, the Riverwalk you come back to again and again.

Tuesday, January 27. 

Again Reg is busy most of the day with conference workshops. Kate has discovered that the hotel has rooftop sauna/lounge area which we enjoy. It has great views of the city including the grounds of the Alamo. The Crockett Hotel is right behind the Alamo. At the lunch break, Kate takes Reg to a local Tex/Mex restaurant called "Pico de Gallo" which is very near the El Mercado (i.e. the old Spanish Market area).

Wednesday, January 28. 

Reg is busy most of the day at conference sessions, but there is some time to explore the Alamo and Riverwalk.

Thursday, January 29. 

This is the last day of the conference sessions and we head back to Austin that night. We had a nice dinner at Artz Rib House on Lamar (it had been recommended by a cop we met when on vacation in Key West, Florida). We then saw the Cornell Hurd Band at a Tex/Mex restaurant called Jovita's on South 1st (in years to come we visited again, it had expanded and then later got shut down over some crazy drug dealing!). Don Walser plays here every Tuesday, Cornell Hurd every Thursday. The Cornell Hurd band is a lively very large group performing on a very small stage in a room behind the main restaurant seating area. They did a fusion of many musical styles. One member had a washboard as they do for Canjun/Zydeco. They had a number of guests who got up to sing or play including Justin Trevino, a blind bass player. We bought some of their music including the Justin Trevino CD. 

During a break we got talking with some of the players and, when told that we are from Canada, this young Australian girl (from the band) asked about the recent ice storm which knocked down power lines, etc. in eastern Ontario and Quebec. We in London had fortunately missed out on that catastrophe but it's interesting that they knew about it here. Often times Canada just isn't "on the map" in the US.

Friday, January 30. 

We walk for a bit around Town Lake where you can find this larger than life sized bronze statue of Stevie Ray Vaughan. He's a famous Austin blues musician who died young in a 1990 helicopter crash. Those who like searing guitar (c.f. Jimi Hendrix) really liked Stevie Ray Vaughan. As they say, "Nashville is hard on the living, but they surely speak well of the dead." We're at the Magnolia Café for lunch and tour the Celis Brewery a little north of the city. The evening we catch the 8pm show at Esther's Follies on Pecan in the "entertainment" district. Again, it's really funny and has us laughing so hard.

Saturday, January 31. 

It's a cool rainy day. We have lunch at Threadgills (South). The original Threadgills, where Janis Joplin played and famously got her start, is on North Lamar on what used to ge the "edge of town" (it's still quite a distance north but the town has grown). This "South Austin Threadgills" is on Barton Springs Rd, on the site of the former Armadillo World Headquarters, very near Town Lake and South Congress. There is a stage here and they serve the same "home style cooking". That evening we catch Don Walser (ward-winning yodeling "Texas country music legend" who Pat has introduced to us) in Pflugerville which is just a little north of the city. On our return into town, we also catch a bit of Anna Egge who is playing at Flipnotics on Barton Springs Rd.

Sunday, February 1.

Today is our return home to London flying US Air.

Slides scanned and these notes collected during the OMIGOD COVID-19 surge of February 2022.