A hard day's night

After a long day of hard work - Bernie finishing up the windows and Mar meeting deadlines for her online classes - we dragged ourselves to Austin.

We were almost too tired to go but decided to push ourselves because we both needed a break.

First we went to check out the last act at the monthly Full Moon Barn Dance, which started at 2 pm but by the time we got there it was already after 9 pm. There were still a lot of people there and everyone was having fun, what a great event.

We met the hostess, Leeann Atherton, who is a local musician and was very happy to see us. We had been emailing back and forth and it was a pleasure to finally meet her in person. www.fullmoonbarndance.com

Then we went to downtown Austin for dinner at Casino El Camino, a place featured in the Diners, Drive-ins and Dives show on the Food Network.

Downtown Austin was very much alive, there were a lot of people everywhere, even for a Sunday night. There was a band playing in a garage-like space between two buildings. They sounded good and were so loud that you could hear them all around the block. Tonight was the last night of the South By Southwest festival. www.sxsw.com

We found parking across the street from Casino El Camino and went inside … after getting carded … that is always fun. www.casinoelcamino.net

We walked into a bar, full of young people, where everyone was drinking. After visiting the restroom (bad idea) we were beginning to wonder if we really wanted to eat here.

But then we saw the kitchen and walked past it, down a long hallway, all the way to the back, where we found a semi-covered patio with a funky fountain, cool murals, and more people. There was only one table available so we sat down, looked at the menu, and after a while figured out that no one was coming out to take our order.

So Bernie went back to the kitchen to place our order. We had the chili cheese fries, which were pretty good, and the chicken wings. You can order the wings mild, hot, or explosive. We ordered them mild but we’re pretty sure we got the explosive instead. Our mouths, lips, tongues, everything was burning! We got a glass of milk, which helped a bit. The kitchen gave us sliced tomatoes, they said that would help too.

After that, we were ready to go home. We went back to Dripping Springs, where our hostesses are now back from their trip. And tomorrow Bernie will start building the new bed that Mar needs in Bella.