hardly strictly texas

close encounters of the astronaut kind (or 18 hours in houston)

susyt73 — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:04:50 +0000

took about 4 hours to get there and 6 to get back. drove in in the dark and out in the dark so i got to see the bright lights of downtown twice from I-45. we stayed in a Super 8 motel 5 minutes drive from Space Center Houston, which is not the same as the Johnson Space Center which is right next to it. SCH is the public part and JSC is for the NASA peeps. but you do get to see the JSC if you take the tram tour which we did. most of it is incredibly dull until you get inside some of the big buildings. a little more on that in a mo because we did that after we had lunch with my cousin Andy “the astronaut” Thomas. Andy was great and super lovely with young Jet. He’s been on 4 missions , including the one right after Colombia. His longest mission was 4 and a half months. His wife Shannon Walker is preparing to go on her first expedition next May for 6 months! they orbit the earth 9 times a day travelling at 17,500 miles per hour. while we were looking at the photos of all the different crews a woman with an Australian accent asked Andy if he was in one of the pictures, which of course he was. turns out they were from Adelaide where Andy was born and raised. they were very excited to meet him and got their picture taken with him too.

we spent about 2 hours with Andy who then had to go back to work. he remains an active astronaut but says it’s unlikely he’ll be asked to go on another mission. he’s quite looking forward to spending some time at his property in the Texas Hill Country near San Antonio. after he left we jumped on the tram and did the tour of Johnson which is where they do a lot of astronaut training, R&D, and the monitoring of and communications with the International Space Station. this is the Apollo Mission Control Center (MOCR2) which is now a national historic landmark.

the curent mission control is below this one. Nicole Stott, who I met when working at MoRST, is “on station” right now. below is part of a mock up of the ISS that they use to make things so that they fit. below that are pics of a mock up of the shuttle which has the same deal.

last on the tour was the Saturn V rocket which carried Apollo 11. blows you away the size of the thing.

we were going to go into Houston and stay another night, this time with Lori’s friend from her flight attendant days, but Sylvia’s plane had a mechanical fault and was stuck in Philadelphia. so after having a look around Seabrook, which sits by Galveston Bay, we drove back to Austin. Somewhere along the way Lori missed the turn off so it took a lit tle longer to get home…

New Seabrook House

Old (Hurricane hit) Seabrook House

number of compliments about my boots: 12

susyt73 — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:35:23 +0000

what a treat. a high school homecoming football game. hah. this wasn’t like any high school event i’ve experienced. Westlake is obviously a wealthy school. they have a proper stadium. they sell merchandise. they have their own camera crew and a big screen for watching replays. the team have nice uniforms, as do the huge band, the drill team, and the cheerleaders. when we first got there i saw signs that said Go Chaps which i found a little confusing. it’s not cricket. Chaps is short for Chaparrals (aka the road runner bird)! anyway, overall i found the whole thing a little weird and a little boring. the crowd seemed similarly bored. maybe because the score was so convincingly in the Chaparrals’ favour. pictures

saturday we had loose plans to do all sorts of things but in the end we had breakfast (about 2pm) at South Congress Cafe (chocolate chip pancakes and 8 cups of coffee) and went shopping. well, Lori shopped. i did end up with a Stetson for myself and i mean this took about 10 minutes at the very end of this expedition. we ended up back at the Spoke so Lori could pay for all her purchases. had some more Chicken Fried Chicken and learnt that this is something you should only have once. Annetta White gave me a print of a pencil drawing of James outside the Spoke. Gotta get it signed before I leave.

sunday we went out to Smithville where Jet’s grandparents live. it’s about 45 minutes from Austin and is a lovely little town. last year when i was in Austin Brad Pitt and Sean Penn were there filming The Tree of Life which hasn’t been released yet but Lori showed me the tree. another film I’ve not seen, Hope Floats, had scenes shot in Smithville. we had lunch with Lori’s mom and step dad and took a look around town. they were selling pumpkins by the church so we stopped and got one which we might get around to carving this week. back to Austin and to Guero’s for some free music in the outdoor garden and a drink. that’s about all. pictures

the red white blues

susyt73 — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 03:12:21 +0000

last week. well that went fast even though i wouldn’t say it was action packed. the weather was mixed. started out cold and wet but fined up wednesday and got super hot.

last monday i looked after Jet while Lori went out on a date. Jet, i mean Batman, and I went to an Asian eatery across the road from the motel. it’s called Zen. there was a very unzenlike moment when i got up to get a drink refill and turned to see Batman flying through the air and head first into the ground. fortunately he survived with just a nasty bruise. we went to Amy’s for ice cream which made both of us feel better. pumpkin ice cream with graham crackers and cream. mmmm.

tuesday i checked out of the motel and have since been camped out on the couch at Lori and Jet’s place. it’s a very comfortable couch.

wednesday i went out to the Hancock Golf Course. Hancock is the oldest course in Texas established in 1899. it’s just a little 9 hole and a little shabby though i don’t think the heavy rain the few days before helped conditions much. i hired some clubs and bought 2 balls. started off fine at the first apart from being attacked around one ankle by red ants. on the 2nd hole i lost one ball in the overgrown grass and the other in a creek. already i was getting hot as the cloud was clearing and i was carrying the clubs. decided i would buy 3 more balls and if i lost those i’d pack it in. the guy in the pro shop had been hitting practice balls at the first hole and said i could use what i found so i picked up about another 5. got through 1st again and 2nd and was resting on some rocks when a guy with a cart asked if i wanted to go around with him. so i played with Jesse, a Mexican guy who used to be a jockey then a horse exerciser and more recently a limo driver. i kept up with him just fine. originally i was going to play just 9 holes but in the end played 14 before i called it quits. by the time i met up with Lori and we got to the Shoal Creek Saloon for a refreshing margarita i realised i was fried.

some pictures here

thursday i stayed in. it hurt to even be in the shade.

friday i got use of the car and went and did laundry. chatted to a woman there who had recently moved to Austin from Dallas (or Houston) as her oldest daughter was starting college here and wasn’t ready for the dorms so the Dad said, let’s move! they’re originally from New Orleans but their home got destroyed by Katrina. they hadn’t got a washing machine yet. then i went to a mall for a few hours and bought socks (last of the big spenders i am) before i had to go get Jet from day care. we went down to the Spoke and hung out there for a bit talking to the staff including the owners James and Annetta White and long time waitress, the very sassy Jennifer. Jet’s grandparents came and picked him up for the night.

more later

those three days

susyt73 — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 18:36:29 +0000

so, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. it’s been wet and it’s been cold. for Texas. for my experience of Texas at any rate. the locals are loving it but i want to go swimming again! anyway, haven’t taken too many pictures these past few days so you will see the ones i have are included in this post.

going backwards… Lori’s boy Jet had been at his grandparents for the weekend so we went and picked him up. well we met them halfway between here and Bastrop. decided we’d go to Chicken Poop (4 year old kid version) Bingo at Ginny’s Little Longhorn Saloon. i’d been to this last year but missed out on a ticket. this time we had 2 so it was more fun waiting the approximately 20 minutes for the chicken to do its thing. here are Jet and Lori watching

here’s the chicken

Gary, the band’s main man, won which was cool. afterwards we went to Guero’s Taco Bar for dinner. i had a very nice fish taco and an especially tasty chicken especiale taco and a Cowboy Kazi (Tito’s vodka, Cointreau and fresh lime juice). Jet got given crayons and a picture to colour in but he turned the paper over and drew me this picture. how good is it for a not yet 4 year old?!

L-R: The Flash, The Green Lantern, Superman, Batman, not sure… after dinner we went to Target to get Jet his Batman costume for Halloween. that was fun but the place smelt like a urinal. here’s a store next to Target

Saturday slept in till nearly 1 as we’d been out till 2am. Lori came by the motel around 3 and we hung out at Jo’s for awhile then went over the road to the Continental Club as they had a matinee show. watched some of a band called The Stone River Boys whose lead singer did some, err, interesting, miming moves. dinner time rolled around pretty quick and we went a few doors up to an Italian place called Boticelli’s where I had the most divine mushroom pansotti and helped Lori out with her stuffed Botticelli bread . we then went out to what we thought was going to be a happening house party. it wasn’t. singer-songwriter Will T Massey was filming a set for some online thing. we caught the end of it which was cool but there were maybe 10 people there so we left after.

flaked out a bit after that and went to Whole Foods for gelato and inspected the wine selection. no NZ pinot gris. some cheaper pinot noirs. a few Spy Valley…

Friday I met a girl while waiting for a bus. she’d been for a job interview which by all accounts (well, hers) went well. she lives a little way out of town is of Mexican origin and is now one of my Facebook friends! I went off to the Jo’s in town for some food while she went to meet her brother. i wandered around some shops. got a free beer at a design store from the woman working there. i then made the decision to buy a ticket to hear author Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat Pray Love) speak at the 96 year old Paramount Theatre that evening. i liked that book. i didn’t love it but i really enjoyed her talk. couldn’t really see her till afterward as i was way up in the upper balcony but that didn’t matter. met Lori after that at the Driskill Hotel bar which is not somewhere I would hang out regularly if i lived here but for one drink it was ok. from the drinks menu…

we went out to the Scoot Inn next which was more our thing. inside was young Austin (heavy metal band) and outside was older South Austin (blues rock band). stayed till the outdoors band had to stop at midnight (this place is smack bang in a residential area) and then went to the Continental Club to finish off the night watching T Bird and the Breaks a really cool soul band I’d never heard of but i’d see again if i got the opportunity. somewhere along the way i lost my room key which cost me $25.

i gotta get out of this motel room and go do something. looks like it’s going to heat up again tomorrow.

whip it pretty good

susyt73 — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 05:24:18 +0000

have you ever been watching a movie at a cinema and there’s a bit in the movie where the characters are watching a movie in the exact same cinema? that’s what happened last night when I went to see the Drew Barrymore directed Whip It at the Alamo Drafthouse Ritz. the movie’s about a teenage girl (Ellen Page from Juno) who joins a roller derby league in Austin. i went to a different Alamo cinema last year and it’s a delightful movie going experience. you write your food and drink order on a piece of paper and they come by and pick it up and bring the food to you. you have no idea what you’re really eating and when the lights go up you find you have black beans on your boots.

tuesday was mostly spent taking off and landing and taking off and landing. stopped in Phoenix, Arizona along the way. looks like a fate worse than Palmerston North. as usual i start talking to the person next to me 10 minutes before landing at my destination. i was watching tv on my Mac with headphones so wasn’t exactly open to conversation. anyway it only takes 10 minutes to get free steaks. he was going on to Dallas where he works as regional manager for Texas for one of those Whole Foods/Trader Joe’s type stores. if i go to one of their stores and tell them Kevin sent me i can get 3 free steaks. hmmm, maybe Lori and Jet will be keen…

have already spent quite a bit of time doing nothing but sitting at my favourite coffee shop Jo’s on South Congress. didn’t get there till nearly 1 yesterday as I slept in till noon. went for a bit of a stroll to see what was new down the street (mostly food places) then came back to the motel, did laundry and went for a dip in the pool.

today, Thursday, i hung out at Jo’s some more then took 2 buses to South Lamar to visit Lori at her job at the Broken Spoke and have some lunch. it was pretty much just us and the cooks until 2 young couples and a baby turned up. was good because it meant we could have lunch together and catch up. she told me an ITV crew had been in filming last week and Amanda Holden (Britain’s Got Talent) was doing the presenting. Lori’s son came in one day and played with Amanda’s kid. lunch was Chicken Fried Chicken! it was pretty darn good so if i come back looking like a beached whale you’ll know why. stayed there all afternoon until Lori knocked off around 5 then she dropped me off at Waterloo Records. picked up a couple of CDs (cheap) and made my way back to the motel via Whole Foods.

looks like a storm’s brewin’

look it

melting pot

susyt73 — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:32:26 +0000

woke late and feeling a little seedy. only had 2 pints of Anchor Steam… missed out on bagels . had to run an errand down in the Castro district so took a tram which went right there. stopped to chat to a young guy sitting outside the historic Castro theatre. look at the photo to see what he was doing there. said he was half Japanese and half Russian and had been living in the US since he was 3 and smoking since he was 6. he told me the fair i thought was on was yesterday so no Carribean Sunset for Dad . i wandered around the area a bit but as far as clothes and shoes go it didn’t really cater to me. so i took the tram back downtown to the SFMOMA to check out the Richard Avedon exhibition that is on there. i didn’t know much about him but had seen posters around and it looked interesting, which it was. he photographed for Harpers Bazaar but seems to be best know for his portraiture, taking pictures of US political figures (numerous pre 2004), movie stars (Marilyn Monroe), musicians (The Beatles, Bjork) and complete unknowns. had a look around the other exhibitions as well, one showing a sample of what the museum has in their collection – Matisse, Kahlo, Picasso, Johns…

kinda lost focus a bit after that. went up to the ferry building which inside is a bit like a very upmarket farmers market with stores selling locally produced meats, chocolate (free tasting!), olive oil, breads etc. wandered back over to the embacadero centre which was as hideous as an 80s arcade. got tempted by a pumpkin spice latte at Peet’s Coffee and Tea. it was tasty for the first 3rd but then i remembered i don’t like sweet coffee… wandered around Union Square area some more then went back to the hostel to pack.

Fotos

another day in the park… and an evening at Annie’s Social Club

susyt73 — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 06:26:07 +0000

yep, more about bands you haven’t heard of. another stunning autumn day in this amazing city. still a little chilly but i was prepared this time. i made it in time to hear, then see, the Drive-By Truckers performing their song Zip City. i think this was their last gig with Booker T. i am lucky to have had the pleasure of seeing them play with him twice. they played a few songs off Booker T’s Potato Hole album and a couple more of their own. the encore consisted of the most rocking version I’ve heard of ‘Dock of the Bay’, and the DBT’s own ‘Angels and Fuselage’. next i saw a little Billy Bragg then went and got another one of those dogs. got it with their own devil sauce which made my nose run something chronic. attractive. back to the Arrow stage for Rodney Crowell. i started to get really sleepy while waiting for the gorgeous Aimee Mann so lay down on a tarpaulin amongst this sea of people for a bit of a rest. i last saw Aimee Mann in 2002 at the Astoria in London. then she was super shy and modest. she seems to have gained some self-assurance which is great. she played quite a few songs off the Magnolia soundtrack which the huge crowd appreciated. Todd Snider followed on the same stage. i really wish i could’ve stayed and seen more of him because he sounded fantastic with the band but i had to get to the Star stage for, the main attraction for me, Neko Case. there were tens of thousands of people waiting even 20 minutes beforehand. i climbed over most of them to get up front which at no stage seemed to bother people. if it did i didn’t notice. or care. i flew 12 hours for this! and i’m glad i did. i loved every minute of it. Neko’s voice sounded incredible. being an animal lover she repeatedly commented on how great it was that people could bring their dogs. she, and her ever present side-singer Kelly Hogan, finished up the set with the Shangri La’s Train from Kansas City. an awesome end to an awesome set and pretty much the festival for me. saw a bit of Old Crow Medicine Show and Emmylou Harris while eating a burrito before i left to catch a bus on into town…..

eventually it came and a half hour or so later i was at 5th and Folsom at a little club called Annie’s Social Club to see John Doe & The Sadies. I only discovered the day before that this gig was on and was thrilled, especially as I missed all of these guys at the festival. support was The Brothers Comatose who did a great honky tonk version of Dead Flowers. then John Doe & The Sadies (from Canada) came out and played just about everything off their album Country Club. during the encore an old guy next to me said ‘they’re great aren’t they’. i concurred. turns out he was the ‘proud pop’ of brothers Travis and Dallas Good who make up half of The Sadies. also met the father-in-law and the wife of Dallas. Mom Good had sung on one song and got up again for the last one along with Exene Cervenka, Rosie Flores, Dad Good, Jon Langford, and Kelly Hogan. phew!

next post will be about city stuff again.

PICTURES

a day in the park

susyt73 — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 18:11:07 +0000

the first full day of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, held in the Marx, Speedway and Linley meadows in the centre of Golden Gate park which is hillier and more national park like than i had imagined. i see a big bit of green on a map and think of Central or Hyde parks. there are 6 stages (Porch, Rooster, Star, Arrow, Banjo and Towers of Gold), numerous bands and singer/songwriters and even more numerous festival goers. this thing is crazy busy. getting there was pretty crazy too. i thought i had it sussed but then this other event, LovEvolution (a dance music parade & festival) was on at City Hall which is on the way to GG park so some of the busses weren’t going their usual routes. but i made it and in good time to see the first act i wanted to see Buddy Miller. what a treat when Emmylou Harris came out and joined him! would liked to have seen his whole set but i wanted to catch a bit of Guy Clark so hiked over to the Rooster stage. when you rarely get to see any of these people it’s hard working them all in so compromises have to be made. i was glad i got to Guy because i got to hear my favourite song of his, Dublin Blues (wish i was in Austin, drinking mad dog margaritas and not caring where you are…). back to the Towers of Gold stage for Austinites Okkervil River who could be the grand kids of a lot of the artists here. they were awesome. i’ll definitely be going to see them when they come back to New Zealnd (been twice already!). over to the Star stage for a bit of Dave Alvin & the Guilty Women then back to ToG for one of my long time favourites the Old 97s. they were excellent. Rhett Miller is such a great front man. Jon Langford joined them for a song as did X singer and ex of Viggo Mortenson, Exene Cervenka. bounced around between stages after that. it was hard to get up close anywhere as it was so packed but the sound systems were really good so i heard bits of Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, The Flatlanders, and Steve Earle & the Bluegrass Dukes. the wind was really cold and even though i was more appropriately dressed than friday i still got cold so ended the day there. tomorrow i’ll be wearing stockings.

PICTURES

best t-shirt seen today: picture of Sarah Palin winking and the words “putting the c*unt in country”

paddle faster, i hear banjos*

susyt73 — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 15:44:05 +0000

day 3 (friday 2nd) and the main events were biking the bridge and attending the opening of hardly strictly bluegrass 9. the morning’s UN breakfast was with a Dutch guy and a Taiwanese guy. have to say i am liking the bagels here. nice and chewy. very different to most at home. jumped on the cable car again. this time i got to stand right up front on the left which was loads of fun. rented a bike from Blazing Saddles at the Hyde St pier. helmets were optional so i opted not to. the route to the bridge (that would be the Golden Gate) is mostly flat and took me about 30 minutes, with stops to take pictures. it wasn’t super exciting and is not the prettiest waterfront, nor is the harbour the best i’ve seen but the haze might’ve had something to do with that. the bridge is big and orange and packed with tourists. saw a few of those sea lions frolicking below. the far side was very barren and boring but around a few bends the very pretty Sausalito appeared. this place reminded me a little of Eastbourne in Wellington, and the Nelson waterfront. i had lunch here at an overpriced but pleasant seafood restaurant. i washed my tuna steak sandwich down with a very tasty and refreshing local beer. then i took the next ferry back to the mainland. it went to the Ferry Building at the Embacadero which was further away than i wanted to be especially as i was hoping to get back to the hostel to change before heading to Golden Gate park. the best laid plans and all that. i took a very slow bus back towards town and changed to another slow bus that took me and masses of others almost but not quite as far as we wanted to go. everybody piled off one number 5 and had to wait for another. considering the potential for people to get frustrated and pissed off, all was very convivial. mind you, we were heading to a bluegrass festival… so i made it in time to see the legendary John Prine, who was joined on stage at one point by the up ‘n’ coming Hayes Carll (who i saw twice in Austin last year). John played my favourite song of his, Angel from Montgomery, and numerous others so i was very happy. Lyle Lovett and his Large Band followed. i managed a few songs before the cold drove me back to the hostel. had a delicious burger for dinner at Lori’s diner.

CLICK for pics (let me know if you can’t see these without being invited. you shouldn’t need an invitation)

best yacht name down at the marina – Slithey Tove

* seen on a t-shirt at the festival

a bit of a mission

susyt73 — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 05:22:44 +0000

day 2. 10 hours sleep. shared a breakfast table with a young Israeli girl and an older couple from Misery (Missouri). that’s what the man said. surprisingly decent coffee. slow to get going and i spent the first few hours of the day happily looking around Macy’s and other stores for jeans for my sister, Havaianas for both of us, and replacement Diesel shoes for me. found the jeans. that worked up my appetite so i grabbed a sandwich and piece of pumpkin bread from Starbucks and took it with me to eat at the nearby Yerba Buena Gardens where i sat and watched kids playing in a very cool playground that i thought my nieces would enjoy. the Starbucks sandwich was crappy but the bread was sooo good. i love anything pumpkin flavoured. i then had a look at the Martin Luther King memorial wall and fountain located in the gardens.

following that i raced back to change and then go meet my friend Adrienne’s cousin Katie. took me longer to get to her workplace than i anticipated but all was sweet. Katie’s been living here since 1991 so has an interesting mix of NZ and US in her accent. we took the subway down to the Mission where Katie’s recently bought a place. The Mission is quite different to Downtown. more like Cuba St or Grey Lynn or Newtown but way cooler than any of these neighbourhoods . it has loads of taquerias and 2nd hand bookstores and independent art galleries. we stopped by an uber alternative cafe like bar called Revolution for a drink (Sangria for me) before heading to Katie’s place. ten minutes later we were back out and down the road to a little Chinese place for some dinner. the crab wontons were melt in the mouth good. real crab not that rubbery stuff. we rounded out the evening propped up at the bar at the very much to my taste Elixir Saloon. had a very festive (in a Thanksgiving kind of way) Pisco sour (a Peruvian liquor with lemon juice, pineapple gum and some spice blend – definitely nutmeg) which was awesome and some other surprise drink which had basil in it. can’t remember what else but it was kind of like a mohito. Katie had to work so that was that.

PICS here

best 2nd hand bookstore name – Dog Eared