Girl’s Weekend 1
05.17.10
Back from Austin and the Renegade Craft Fair. It was a really good trip. Had me some quality “Chick-Time”, got to view some interesting crafts and indulged in some Awesome food! Totally successful trip and I can’t wait to go again.
Linda and I had a nice, uneventful drive to Austin. Linda and I don’t see each other much throughout the year (something I hope to remedy) so we spent the time catching up. So much so, that we were 2 1/2 hours into our trip and just outside of Austin before we knew it. “How time flies” comes into play here. I was teasing Clay the night before we left by saying “So, you are okay with me and Linda painting the town in Austin”…Well, Clay laughed at that, saying that Linda was the “safest” friend that I had and he wasn’t worried one bit. I came back with “So you don’t think Linda has any “Bad Girl” in her?” Again he just laughed. Well, I shared that comment with Linda…Wow, she told me stories of her college years that makes Clay’s college years seem tame…”It’s always the quiet ones”
Linda had made a list of Austin local eateries that had been visited by the likes of Guy Fieri and Rachael Ray . The first one that we visited was Shady Grove. We got there just before the lunch rush, which was nice. Walking up, it hardly looks like a restaurant, until you see the huge patio. The entire place is surrounded with big, beautiful trees, so the whole patio is shaded by the trees. We chose to eat inside which was just as nice. Kinda rustic meets diner. I was tempted by many things on the menu but settled on the Bad Chili Dog (sans onions and mustard) It was delicious as well as massive (I was only able to eat half). Linda had the “Hippie Sandwich” which was grilled eggplant, roasted red peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, arugula, tomatao and mozzarella cheese on Hippie bread. It looked really good and must have been, cause Linda finished the whole thing. By the time we left, the place was packed!
With our tummies full, we headed to the Renegade Craft Fair . It was held at the Palmers Event Center. I was so excited as Linda and I entered the huge vendor room. “Stuff” as far as the eye could see! We decided to start on the right and work our way around. Up and down the aisles we walked. Almost four hours later, we had seen it all. My opinion? Truthfully, I was kind of disappointed. Linda had told me that the Renegade Craft Fair was very particular as to the vendor’s they “allowed” in. I guess they wanted to keep it “artsy”. Well, that was evident. It turned out that probably 75% of the merchandise was a lot alike. Lots of t-shirts with silk screening, poster art and jewelry with some pottery, candles and purses/bags scattered about. I came armed with a big purse and an extra bag, just knowing that I would leave with both packed full…Not the case. I walked out with two greeting cards. I was really expecting something more like the Etsy website, which totally rocks. Ah, you live and learn. Man, with the amount of mom’s with their little ones, they really could have made a killing. I’m thinking that maybe next year they open it up a bit. I bet there was not a lot of return visitor’s on Sunday. (Linda and I skipped it)
With our “Dogs-a-Barkin’”, we headed to the Omni Hotel to check in and rest up a bit before heading out for dinner. The Omni just never disappoints. We had a really nice room on the 6th floor overlooking the pool. I had warned Linda that unless she brought her footie PJ’s, I might just freeze her out, as the first thing I do when I walk into the room is turn the thermostat way down….Well, we settled in and decided to take on the Hula Hut for dinner.
Continued in my next post…
Tags: Austin Texas, Linda, loli, lori, Omni Hotel, Renegade Craft Fair, Shady Grove