Austin, Texas= wonderful.

San Antonio, Texas= kind of a dump.

No offense, San Antonio, but our day trip to your fair city was not the highlight of our vacation. Sure, the River Walk was kind of cool, but seeing as Chris and I were exhausted from our partying on Austin's Sixth Street the night before, the River Walk for us was more a of a River Trudge. We went from bench to bench like a couple of old folks, sitting in silence and watching the younger kids dash by from exciting place (been there) to exciting place (done that). We did have some County Line BBQ on the River Walk, however, which was something I had wanted to do. When my big plate of sloppy ribs arrived, however, I began to wonder if the whole vacation, or possibly my whole life, was one big mistake after another.

The definite low-light of San Antonio was the Alamo. It sucked. The only reason that I'm glad we went to the Alamo was because Chris and I both took poops there in the Alamo restrooms (vacations always mess up my "schedule") and now we can say, with pride, "The Alamo? Yeah, I've been there! I took a dump there." And that's just plain funny. Other than that, lame. The Alamo is a gift shop and a building with nothing in it except for a couple of flags and a guest book. Whatever.

The highlight of San Antonio was probably the McNay art museum. Art was a big part of our trip- in Austin, we went to both Austin Museums of Art and also the Blanton Museum of Art on the UT campus. At the downtown Austin Museum of Art, we saw an exhibit that we won't soon forget: Lordy Rodriguez's States of America.*

There was a lot of bar-hopping and live music in Austin. We stayed at Texas' most famous hotel (according to one website), the Driskill. Our room would have normally cost $550 per night, but due to the state of the economy(?) we got it for a low, low $240. Probably the nicest hotel we will ever stay in. Did you know that's where President Lyndon Baines Johnson met his wife, Lady Bird? In the Driskill? Well, you do now.

Austin is just a wonderful place. It's compact and hip and full of independent shops and restaurants and bars and art galleries. It's clean and warm (!) and although I think they might have a small homeless problem, I'd go back in a heartbeat. I would love to live there, I think, and would move in a heartbeat if I was the kind of person who actually moved to places outside the Chicago area. As history has shown, I'm not.

I did get homesick thoughout our trip. I always get homesick. I missed my bed, my TV, cooking my own food, reading on my couch, showering in my own bathroom. I don't travel particularly well. I don't do a lot of things particularly well, including putting on a bright face when inside parts of me just want to lie down and give up.

Now we're back, and work has been nuts. I feel like I've been working four times as hard to make up for my vacation, which is always the rub. But today will be a good, relaxing Saturday afternoon. Leaving soon to meet Bethie for some Noodles and Company and some He's Just Not That Into You. At the end of the day, that's the kind of vacation I'm equipped to handle: a cinematic vacation.

Although we will go back to Austin. How could we not?

* http://www.stretcher.org/archives/r4_a/2004_07_01_r4_archive.php

* http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=28289