Jeremy and Sam go to SXSW! Day 2- Tulsa, OK to Austin, TX

So we're scheduled to get to Austin today. There was a little rain in the first part of the drive, but outside of that, we had a pretty smooth morning. Then we hit Texas.

We decided that once we hit Dallas, we would grab lunch. Well, we hit Dallas...and passed it by. So we decided to get off at the next exit and get whatever local grub we could find.

Driving in Texas is both nice and terrible. The highways are a Chicagoan's wet dream- they're new, there's ample lanes, and it was just far too pleasant for it to not be a tollway. Then we hit the streets. On the main roads, there seems to be a hierarchy in Texas as far as allowing drivers to do whatever the hell they want. The larger your carbon footprint (SUVs, pickup trucks), the more leeway you get. If you drive a smart car or a hybrid, you're screwed. luckily, my car came out unscathed.

One of the really cool features of Windows Phone is the Local Scout- it basically brings up a list of restaurants closest to you, and you can whittle that list down based on what you have a taste for. Sam looked at the list and chose a random place- Smokey Joe's BBQ.  What we didn't know is that we'd have to pass through an pretty desolate area to get there- but then again, what dive isn't in a sketchy place?

Like expected, the place was a shack- crack may have been developed in this place, but no matter...the barbecue was delicious.

Sam didn't grow up around pork, but the Itis is about to hit.

THE ITIS STRIKES AGAIN!

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We both ended up getting a brisket and rib tip sandwich. The sandwich was wrapped in the obligatory cheap white bread that any self respecting barbecue joint uses. The bones were still in the rib tips, which would have made for an unpleasant sandwich if it was eaten that way. There was very little sauce because Texans pride themselves on the how the meat is grilled and prepared. The sauce, more often than not, is just a secondary thing.




A couple hours after the crack house, Sam's GPS took us off on an exit....and to this thing:

Starship Pegasus, as it was named, looks to have been a restaurant at one point, and looks like something that was pulled from Star Trek (and after research later, we found it was). Sam tried to climb it, but it was too slippery and he only got halfway up. I got about four feet off the ground before I gave up.

We hit Austin late tonight, and I dropped Sam off at his grandparents place- I met them last year when they came down for graduation, and they are the stereotypical grandparents you see in all the movies- these sweet old people who could make a story about homicide sound charming.

I got to my sister's place a half hour later and all bedlam broke loose. I was bombarded by three small children who are on Spring Break- meaning they have no bedtime while I'm here. I think I need to rest up.