Austin, Texas

This is one of the places that I was really looking forward to going to, and it didn't disappoint - although it was obvious that we hadn't given ourselves enough time to really explore the place and get the most of it.

After having driven for the majority of 2 days, from Tombstone to Roswell and then Roswell to Dallas, both of us were more than ready to settle in one place for a couple of days. Plus our one attempt to drive in Austin proved way too confusing and difficult so we decided to give it a bit of a rest and rely on taxis for a little while.

We arrived in Austin later on Thursday 21st June. Feeling a bit peckish we decided on some proper Texas BBQ. We went to a place called Iron Works and I had my first ever order of ribs - and it was freakin' good. The place was set up so you got your order on plastic plates with a side order of bread, potato salad and beans. It was completely no frills - just like the kind of thing you would get if you went to someone's house for a BBQ. And that I think is the main reason why I liked it so much.

The next day was Friday so we went out during the day to Sixth Street, which is the main place for bars and clubs and live music. During the day its pretty dead, but there is one place on the street that is open: The Museum of the Weird. For a small fee you get to go out the back of shop and see there exhibits. For a little bit more you even get a bit of a show. We decided to go for the whole enchilada.

First up were the exhibits. A lot of it was reminiscent of a lot of old freak shows. There was even a Fiji Mermaid

As we went on there was more in this vein - stuff on Bigfoot, mutated animal specimens, shrunken heads, dummies from old horror movies, and even a real human skeleton which we were told was responsible for some spooky occurrences in the shop.

Then we were shown their collection of live lizards.

Then we entered another room full of suitably 'weird' stuff.

We were then entertained with a quick show. And when I say "we", I mean just Liam and I. It was certainly "weird" to have someone perform to just the two of us. Especially considering it involved him putting his hand in a raccoon trap...

... and hammering a nail into his nostril and getting Liam to pull the nail out...

And then attaching fish hooks onto his eyes and hanging dead fish off them...

But it was all in fun.

Later that night we were lucky enough to be in town the same night as Jonathan Richman. However, given that there are so many live music venues there was a problem when he first came out as he and his drummer, Tommy Larkins, play pretty much unplugged and they were getting drowned out by the music next door.

After a half hour or so a compromise was reached and he came out and did a pretty terrific set. He didn't perform any of his songs from his time with the Modern Lovers, but it didn't matter. I particularly liked his dances.

(Sorry about the bad quality photos here, it was pretty dark and I didn't want to use the flash).

The next day was Saturday and it was all about the main reason we decided to come to Austin: The Alamo Drafthouse. We had bought tickets to see The Thing, which is part of their "Summer of '82" series. As well as showing recent cinema releases, the Alamo also have a lot of special screenings of older films, and often have marathons (they even showed a preview for an upcoming marathon screening of all 15 episodes of The Story of Film).

The Alamo Drafthouse really is a dream cinema experience. For one thing, it also operates like a restaurant. There is a menu of food and and you can order throughout the film. In front of the cinema seat is a long table with pieces of paper and pens, with a little light under the table for you to write your order on. Then you stick up the paper (they call them "flags) on a little ridge and after a sort time one of the waiters comes and picks it up and then serves it to you a bit later. The servers walk back and forth between the rows, but its low down so they don't get in the way of the screen. Oh, and you can also get alcohol.

But what really stole my heart is their strict no talking and no cell phones policy. There is an ad that plays before the film stating this, and even a manager came out before the film and said it again. Being an unrepentant "shusher" myself (and becoming increasingly frustrated recently with the amount of douchebags that I've come across in cinemas) you have no idea how much joy this gave me. Probably too much.

The film of course was great and before we left the cinema we both had to get ourselves an Alamo Drafthouse Tshirt. Then we went to a nearby bar called Chupacabra and had some Tex-Mex. It was a good day.

And a pretty damn good stopover, but we definitely have to go back again for a longer stay.

Back and to the left.

Me, with the Book Depository in background.

We only had one night in Dallas before our drive to Austin, but before we left, we paid a visit to the Sixth Floor Museum in the Book Depository over looking Dealey Plaza. The museum covers the presidency and assassination of John F. Kennedy.It was interesting (especially to see where Oswald (supposedly?) sat with his rifle trained on the motorcade as it passed. Other than that, there wasn't anything new for me to learn. Photos were forbidden inside the museum, so the only photos I have are of the the outside in Dealey Plaza.

The Grassy Knoll, 2012 style.

The top floor of the Book Depository.

THE window. Bill Hicks was right, they don't let you anywhere near the actual window.

 This is where the motorcade turned onto Elm Street and JFK was shot with the first bullet.

After Dealey Plaza it was time to drive to Austin.

On the way, we passed through Waco, Texas.

I wanted to go to the old Branch Davidian compound, because I heard there was a memorial to all of those who died in the FBI/ATF raid April 19, 1993. I feel especially connected to this event as it occurred on my eleventh birthday.

As Lindsay and I drove out to the farmlands outside of Waco, an overbearing sense of dread washed over us. I don't know if it was the thought of driving out into the middle of nowhere in a country we were unfamiliar with, or just the thought that so many people (a lot of them children) died out here. All I can say is the feeling was palpable.

We drove out to the address I got from the Internet, but could not find the memorial (if it still exists).

\

But we're pretty sure this is the area where the compound stood. 

We came to an unsealed road, and with the depressing fog pressing down on us and the area around us, we decided to turn around and continue on to Austin and once we hit the highway, the pressure lifted and we could breathe once more. Just the thought of what went on was enough to put the fear in us. There was nothing there, but it was a very intense experience none the less.

If you would like to know more, or do not know at all about the Branch Davidians and what happened to them in 1993, Google it, or check out the film Waco: The Rules of Engagement.
Chilling stuff.

Well, we have arrived safely in Austin, so we'll update you once we have the lay of the land.

Roswell That Doesn't Quite End Well.

Our drive from Tombstone, Arizona to Roswell, New Mexico was a long one, so I won't bore you with the details.

Once we arrived in Roswell, we settled into our hotel room for the night. The next morning, before embarking on an even longer journey to Texas, we stopped in to the UFO Museum and Research Centre.

Really, it is the only reason to go, and that reason isn't good enough.

As you can see, everything is ridiculously alien themed. 

This is the museum. In Tombstone, the entire town was a living museum. This...not so much.

Ummm, yeah, so this is a thing.

In all fairness they do cover the event that made them famous and attempt to cover all bases of UFO and extraterrestrial lore...

...but then there is also this...

I kind of dug it, just because I was in Roswell, but it was disappointing. But after Area 51 and Tombstone, it had a lot to live up to.

We couldn't linger long so after a quick look see at the museum, we were off to Dallas, Texas. A drive that took us almost 12 hours!

Next post: Dealey Plaza!