Blogging Austin Texas

I'm in Austin for about 24 hours. It is fun to be back. I had dinner tonight at a steak house called III Forks. The food was great. The service was great. The sales pitches were probably more aggressive than what I've experienced in other restaurants. Our waiter pitched pretty hard. For the most part we said no and avoided the expensive items.

We drank Zinfendel and Pinot Noir wine. It reminded me of something I read this week that said diners never order the cheapest bottle or glass of wine on a menu. People just don't want to look that cheap. So, most people order the second most expensive wine on the menu. What this article said is that as a result, most restaurants take a cheaper bottle of wine and make it the second most expensive. The article recommended going for the cheap glass or bottle.

I'm staying at the hotel San Jose. It is a funky, hip fun hotel in the SoCo district. I picked it because it is right across the street from the Continental Club and I liked the idea of having a beer and seeing some live music before I go to bed and there are few spots better in the world for live music than the Continental Club.

Tomorrow it's breakfast with friends, a work meeting, a quick drive past the old house and then a short flight home to Lone Tree.

High Country

It is almost midnight Mountain time and I'm hanging out among the peaks in Colorado's Summit County. The windows are wide open as we expect a low temperature tonight in the 40s. We'll cuddle under blankets while we sleep. It is calm and a welcome break from travel schedules and suburban life.

We have no plans for this long weekend in the mountains. We simply want to be here. The five year old wants to hike. The three year old has a bum toe and wants to ride in a stroller. We'll have to find a happy medium.

On the drive up today, we stopped by the lake in Georgetown, Colorado and ate a sugar cookie. It was so simple. We didn't do anything elaborate. There were no picnic blankets or even any preparation. It was a family moment. We pulled off the highway, parked by the lake, got out of the mini-van and enjoyed being surrounded by mountains as we looked at the water and ate our sugar cookies. It was beautiful.

China vs. Mexico, Spain and a host of other countries

As I mentioned in my previous post we are beginning to look at elementary schools. Our local school district has decided that every elementary school student should have the opportunity to learn either Chinese or Spanish.

So here are my questions. Should my two kids learn Spanish or Chinese? Which will be more useful? Which provides the most interesting window into a different culture? 20 years from now, which will be more beneficial in the job market? Which one will open the door to better trips for me when I retire?

Avoid Cheap Tickets dot com

Cheap Tickets released their list of the top 10 places in America to enjoy bar-b-que on the Fourth of July. I've always liked bar-b-que but I learned a lot about it when I lived in Central Texas for eight years. If you are looking for red meat, then you've got to eat your bar-b-que in Texas, Missouri or the South.

One look at the Cheap Tickets list and even someone from Minnesota would realize that they haven't got a clue. Here it is according to the Memphis Business Journal.

10. Memphis
9. Little Rock
8. Charleston, SC
7. Cincinnati (Chili - not bar-b-que!)
6. Kansas City
5. Dallas
4. St. Louis
3. Washington, D.C. (Crabcakes - not bar-b-que!)
2. New Orleans (Really? I'm going for gumbo.)

and number one is almost too hard to type.








1. New York City

I want to write words that would upset my mother right now.

Here's how you do a top 10 bar-b-que list.

Fly to Austin. Sleep for as long as possible. Get up early, rent a car. Drive to every Central Texas town which has a name starting with the letter "L." Eat at each of the many bar-b-que joints in town. Make sure you get sausage if possible.

As you wind your way through Central Texas stop in Elgin, Gonzales and Marble Falls as well. Actually, just stop every time you see a bar-b-que joint. Finally, stop and pick up a six pack of beer and head for the Salt Lick in Driftwood. I know they've got one in the airport and one in Las Vegas but nothing beats the BYOB, Texas countryside feel of the original.


Finally, if you can't make it to Texas, I'd recommend Sonny's bar-b-que at locations throughout the South. Or you can stop in just about any city from Myrtle Beach to Kansas City and find much better bar-b-que than anything you'll ever find in NYC.

What a disappointment

I had never visited the University of South Dakota nor it's hometown of Vermillion. But one of the things I've come to realize as I've traveled around the country is that most cities that host "The University of ____________" are generally cool cities and most "University of ______________" are good looking campuses. Think about the Universities of

North Carolina
Florida
California
Montana
Washington
Texas
Virginia
Wisconsin
Colorado

just to name a few. So I expected the University of South Dakota to either have a beautiful campus or Vermillion to be a quaint University town.

Unfortunatley, neither is true. I was disappointed. I'd expected I might find an ice-cream shop and buy the kids a cone as we lounged in the shade on a grassy mall.

I'll be visiting the University of Wyoming in the next few months. Maybe that can help me rebound.

California Summer

The three year old and I enjoyed a long weekend with her uncle in Tiburon, California.

It was the good life. We flew in Thursday and Friday headed for Stinson Beach. It was great fun to show my daughter the ocean for the first time. She absolutely loved it. After seeing how many pictures we were taking of her, she decided to take a couple of us.


What a great weekend and what a great location. The daughter missed her brother a lot and missed her mother a bit. As a result she was pretty clingy with me and didn't want to be carried anywhere by her uncle. But she really enjoyed talking with him and telling him that she could "do anything I want to do!"

She's enjoyed talking about her uncle quite a bit this week.

Obesity, saving money and flying

There was an interesting article about Frontier Airlines in the Denver Post today. The headline read,

Frontier finds its fliers lighter than average

The sub-head read,

The Denver-based airline saves about $3.5 million a year in fuel because of a difference of 17 pounds per passenger.

Evidently, the Federal Aviation Administration tracks the average weight of airline passengers and that data is able to be broken out by airline. Frontier Airline passengers are, according to the FAA, about 20 pounds lighter than average. Frontier was intrigued by the data so they went out and did their own study and narrowed the number down to a more precise 17 pounds per passenger.

And that works out to $3.5 million per year in savings. That's not bad.

Google Maps and directions from Denver to London

Those Googleheads are pretty funny. Check out step number 23 in the itenerary below.

Drive:
5,705 mi (about 30 days 11 hours)

1.
Head west on W Colfax Ave/I-70-BL toward Delaware St 0.9 mi
3 mins

2.
Merge onto I-25 N via the ramp to Fort Collins 5.9 mi
7 mins

3.
Take the I-76 W/I-76 E exit toward Grand Jct/Fort Morgan/70th Ave 0.1 mi

4.
Take exit 216A to merge onto I-76 E toward Ft Morgan
Entering Nebraska 182 mi
2 hours 27 mins

5.
Merge onto I-80 E
Entering Iowa 473 mi
6 hours 34 mins

6.
Take exit 123B to merge onto I-35 N/I-80 E toward Chicago/Minneapolis
Continue to follow I-80 E 166 mi
2 hours 28 mins

7.
Take exit 290 for I-280 E/US-6 E toward Rock Island/Moline 0.7 mi

8.
Merge onto I-280 E
Entering Illinois 26.7 mi
26 mins

9.
Continue on I-80 E
Partial toll road
Entering Indiana 168 mi
2 hours 44 mins

10.
Take exit 16 to merge onto I-80 E/I-90 E
Partial toll road
Entering Ohio 278 mi
4 hours 14 mins

11.
Take exit 142 to merge onto I-90 E toward OH-2 E
Partial toll road 28.3 mi
29 mins

12.
Take exit 170B for I-90 E/I-71 S/OH-176 S toward Cleveland/Columbus 0.7 mi
1 min

13.
Merge onto I-90 E 17.2 mi
19 mins

14.
Take the exit onto I-90 E toward Erie PA
Partial toll road
Passing through Pennsylvania
Entering New York 448 mi
7 hours 0 mins

15.
Continue on I-87 S/New York State Thruway S (signs for New York Thruway S/I-87 S/New York/Boston/Mass Pike)
Toll road 14.6 mi
14 mins

16.
Take exit 21A toward I-90 E/Mass Turnpike/Boston
Toll road 0.9 mi
1 min

17.
Merge onto New York State Thruway E
Toll road
Entering Massachusetts 24.1 mi
22 mins

18.
Continue on I-90 E/Massachusetts Turnpike/Mass Pike
Partial toll road 134 mi
2 hours 9 mins

19.
Take exit 24 A-B-C on the left toward I-93 N/Concord NH/S Station/I-93 S/Quincy 0.4 mi
1 min

20.
Merge onto Atlantic Ave 0.8 mi
3 mins

21.
Turn right at Central St 0.1 mi

22.
Turn right at Long Wharf 0.1 mi

23.
Swim across the Atlantic Ocean
Entering France 3,462 mi
29 days 0 hours

24.
Slight right at E05 0.5 mi
2 mins

25.
At the traffic circle, take the 2nd exit onto E05/Pont Vauban 0.1 mi

26.
Turn right at E05/Quai Colbert
Continue to follow E05 5.7 mi
10 mins

27.
Take the exit onto A29/E44 toward Amiens
Partial toll road 27.8 mi
23 mins

28.
Take the exit toward Dieppe/Amiens/Calais/A151/Rouen
Toll road 1.1 mi
1 min

29.
Merge onto A29
Toll road 22.6 mi
19 mins

30.
Take the exit onto A28
Partial toll road 45.6 mi
37 mins

31.
Take the exit onto A16 toward Boulogne/Calais
Partial toll road 63.7 mi
54 mins

32.
Take exit 42 0.6 mi
1 min

33.
Slight right 1.0 mi
2 mins

34.
Turn right 0.4 mi
1 min

35.
Turn right 0.2 mi
4 mins

36.
Take the Dover Folkestone - Calais Frethun train to Folkstone
Entering United Kingdom (England) 34.2 mi
1 hour 2 mins

37.
Continue straight 0.3 mi
2 mins

38.
Slight right toward M20 1.6 mi
4 mins

39.
Merge onto M20 via the ramp to London/Ashford 47.2 mi
45 mins

40.
Continue on A20 (signs for London (SE)/Lewisham) 9.7 mi
15 mins

41.
At Clifton's Roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto A20/Sidcup Rd
Continue to follow A20 2.2 mi
6 mins

42.
At the traffic circle, take the 2nd exit onto A20/Loampit Vale
Continue to follow A20 1.3 mi
4 mins

43.
Continue on A2/Lewisham Way
Continue to follow A2 0.7 mi
2 mins

44.
Slight right at A2/Kender St 72 ft

45.
Turn right to stay on A2/Kender St
Continue to follow Kender St 0.3 mi
1 min

46.
Turn left at A2/New Cross Rd
Continue to follow A2 1.9 mi
5 mins

47.
At Brick Layers Arms, take the 1st exit onto A201/New Kent Rd 0.6 mi
2 mins

48.
At the traffic circle, take the 2nd exit onto A302/St George's Rd 0.4 mi
1 min

49.
Turn left at A3203/Lambeth Rd 0.6 mi
3 mins

50.
At the traffic circle, take the 2nd exit and stay on A3203/Lambeth Rd
Continue to follow A3203 0.2 mi
1 min

51.
At Horseferry Rd, take the 3rd exit onto A3212/Millbank
Continue to follow A3212 0.4 mi
1 min

Memorial Day in the Mountains

Our friend Molly has a condo in Summit County, Colorado. She is very kind to us and called us on Thursday wondering if we would like to use her condo for the weekend. It is a great place that sits about 1800 feet above the town of Silverthorne.

We said yes and as a result I'm sitting in an easy chair in the Rocky Mountains as I write this post. It is a wonderful and relaxing place to be.

Life is good.

Family Values and Iran

One of my concerns when we chose our house in the Denver suburbs was that we'd be moving into an all white neighborhood and that my kids only exposure to people of color would be when we hired someone to do work on our house, mow our lawn or clean our house. That's the way it was in Texas.

Thankfully that hasn't been the case in Colorado.

Our neighborhood is remarkably diverse. One family includes both a mom and dad who grew up in Iran, met here in the United States, got married and started a family. They now have a high school age daughter and an elementary school age son. Every couple of years they try to go back to Iran for an extended trip to visit the (now) grandparents and other relatives.

Today was the day one of those trips began. Mom, daughter and son boarded a plane at noon mountain time to fly to Frankfurt and then on to Tehran. They plan on being gone for nine weeks. Their Dad had to stay home to work.

I'm not entirely sure how they are feeling about the trip but I am nervous for them.

Have you heard what the Iranian government is up to? They are holding some Iranian-Americans against their will. The Associated Press reported this way.

An Iranian-American academic who works at a Washington-based institute is being held in a notorious prison after being prohibited from leaving Iran for more than four months, the institute and her husband said Wednesday.
Haleh Esfandiari, the director of the Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars, was sent Tuesday to Evin prison after she arrived at Iran's Intelligence Ministry for questioning, the center said.

The article went on to say,

Other Iranian-Americans have also been prohibited from leaving Iran in recent months including journalist Parnaz Azima, who works for the U.S.-funded Radio Farda. Another American, former FBI agent Robert Levinson, disappeared in March after going to Iran's resort island of Kish, and his whereabouts are unknown. Tehran says it's continuing to investigate.

More details were provided about what has happened to Haleh Esfandiari,

The Wilson Center said three masked men holding knives threatened to kill Esfandiari, who was in Tehran visiting her 93-year-old mother, on Dec. 30 as she was on her way to the airport. They took her baggage, including her U.S. and Iranian passports, the center said. For several weeks, she was interrogated by authorities for up to eight hours a day, according to the center. Most of the questioning focused on the activities of the Middle East Program at the Wilson Center. "Although Dr. Esfandiari went home every evening, the some 50 hours of questioning were unpleasant — to put it mildly — and not free from intimidation and threat," the center said.

Now it is very easy for me to sit here in Colorado and wonder if my neighbors should have simply stayed home. But they are going to see family and there really isn't much in the world that would keep me from wanting to see my family. What would you do? Your parents are getting older, so visits seem to be more valuable, you live 7,000 miles apart so visits don't happen all that often and you want your children to know and understand something of their heritage, you want them to understand something of the place where you grew up. What would you do?

I'd be nervous but I'd probably go.

And so, for the next nine weeks, I'll say a prayer for the safety of my neighbors, a prayer for those Americans already being held and a prayer for a more sane relationship between the United States and Iran.

Identifying with where you are from

I'm in Austin, Texas, a place I called home for eight years. Last May we moved from Austin to Lone Tree, Colorado.

What is interesting to me -- and something I hadn't thought about before -- is that I am still more of a Texan than a Coloradoan. I am completely comfortable in Colorado and I love living there. But being back in Texas reminded me that I am still much more at home in Texas and have a much better sense of who Texans are and how they are shaped by their state.

I'll become a Coloradoan in time but I'm not there yet.

The other interesting item is something I wrote about on this blog shortly after we moved. That is that I love the strong sense of identity Texans have as Texans and Austinites have as Austinites. It is fun for me to be back in the middle of that bravado.

Defining your home

I had a conversation this afternoon with a woman from Crane, Texas. Crane is a West Texas town of about 3,500 people. This is how the woman described her home.

It is a place where, "it don't rain and if it does, it scares us!"

The 10 day forcast for Crane calls for sunny skies and high temps ranging from 70 to 84.