Houston is as I remember it. Huge, sprawling suburbs, lots of concrete. We had a great dinner with friends in the burbs and did little else other than try to resolve our fuel leak. Sweetwater was a quick one night stay. We were not there at the right time for the Rattlesnake Roundup and somehow missed the WASP Museum.
San Antonio is not quite what I remember from my last visit about a decade ago. The Riverwalk was much more crowded and, I think, more touristy. But spent some time in up and coming neighborhoods which were lively and interesting. Pascale found a great new shop, sloan/hall, to carry her vintage scarf collection. Biggest downside in San Antonio is the summer heat. We were told that last year (may have been two years ago) it was 100º for 100 straight days. Forget the dry heat argument. If not for hurricanes, I'll take 90º and humid in South Florida over the 110º every summer day in Las Vegas. And 100º for 100 days does not sound like fun. Of course, if you are in Vegas every summer for WSOP, you miss the worst part of the year in Texas or Florida and instead, get the worst of Las Vegas.
People in Austin argue that it is the best city in the country. I am pretty much convinced. There are two downsides. The summer is hot, pretty much the same as San Antonio. Second, it has become a very popular place to move to, especially for those who have gotten fed up with the high cost of living and other issues in places like San Francisco, so housing has gotten expensive. But for music, food, beer, which are all at the top of my list, it is pretty tough to beat. Bangers did, in the last year, expand from 106 to 207 taps. There is a long list of great breweries. We visited Jester King, who has a great selection of sours and Austin Beer Garden Brewery which has a huge outdoor area and had a band playing indoors with some really nice brews. Also had a stellar east coast style IPA from Pinthouse Pizza at Via 313 Pizza. While Chicago stuffed pizza is and always will be the best, there is something to be said for the square pizzas.
In 2017, there were 1284 permits issued to food trucks in Austin. I assume there were more in 2019. They are everywhere, in food truck parks, in shopping malls, in gas station parking lots. And you can get anything from vegan to BBQ. The new killer for me was Gourdough's Big Fat Donuts. Last year, I was blown away by the Five Daughters 100 layer donuts in Nashville. They were light, flakey, worth a trip to Nashville good. Gourdough's is the other extreme of donut. They are to light and flakey as Jester King is to sweet beer. I ordered to go one of the Black Out (chocolate icing, brownie batter filling, brownie bites, with chocolate chips) and, for contrast, Blue Balls (blueberry filled donut holes topped with blueberry icing). I guess I came at a busy time, around 10:45 on a Thursday night. After I ordered, I looked around the patio area and noticed a) it was full, with about 40 people and b) none of them had donuts in front of them. They were all waiting. And wait, we did. Almost an hour. But the donuts were absolutely killer, especially the Black Out. Rich, gooey, huge. Impossible to just have a taste. But they were so big, they lasted three days for the two of us. (Well, Black Out lasted 12 hours, eight of which were sugar infused sleep.)
We didn't just eat and drink in Austin. Missed a free Blues on the Green concert but did catch Shane Smith and the Saints at a packed Shady Grove. Need to schedule next time around a Marcia Ball concert. Have seen her a few times but only once in Austin. Last year we were able to see Lou Ann Barton the night we arrived. But there appear to be huge choices pretty much every night for music and lots of festivals and outdoor concerts. May be more options in NYC, but I'm not sure about that. And San Francisco is not in the same ballpark. "Ain't the same f'ing ball park. It ain't the same league. It ain't even the same f'ing sport!" (One of many great lines from one of the best movies ever made. Extra credit for identifying.)
Just a couple of notes on New Mexico. Wasn't sure what to expect in Clovis. I understand it has big time rodeo. But the main street was just the highway through town lined with gas stations, car dealers, fast food and one sex toy shop in the middle. There was a brewery in a bowling alley but we didn't try it. (Actually I think the brewery is in Albuquerque and they serve their beers at the bowling alley.) What we did get in Clovis was a tornado warning. Saw the really bizarre skies I remember from the midwest of my youth. Really dark in one direction, then sunny from another direction. Heavy rains and wind followed by absolute still (the calm before the storm). Being in an RV is not ideal in a tornado, but when the warning came, it was really too late to go anywhere and there was no place nearby to go. And the only worse places to be are walking (running) outside or driving a car (which was hooked up to the coach and was not going to be unhooked that night). Fortunately, after 30 minutes, the storm passed. No funnel clouds in Clovis.
I was surprised to learn that Santa Fe has a population of less than 100,000. Thought it was much bigger. Still a great place for art and food. Getting better for beer and coffee. And I have another great hat store, in addition to Burns. O'Farrell is also a long standing family owned custom hat store with great product and great people. Be warned, however, if you are looking for a hat for the WSOP, you will need to order around September as their wait is around nine months. Obviously, business is good.
Tomorrow we head to Arizona. spend a couple of days with my friends Rich and Di in Scottsdale, then on to Vegas where I am totally jazzed about playing the last flight of the Big 50.