From Austin to Houston

So the rest of my time in Austin was really nice. Saturday night I went with my aunt and uncle to an art gallery show. I didn't know anyone there, of course, but was looking at the art and chatting with some of their friends who were there, when I saw SOMEONE I KNEW FROM MY CHILDHOOD IN DALLAS! And not just anyone, mind you: I saw my piano teacher, from the time I was 8 until I was 15 or so. I walked up to her, but she didn't recognize me at first....when I told her who I was, she was speechless. Truly. For at least 2-3 minutes she couldn't speak. But then we caught up, and I found out (I'd forgotten) that she lives in Austin now, that she has a different last name than when I knew her, and that her son, who was in my graduating class, lives here too.

I had breakfast with her (her name's Marty, BTW), and her son, Martin, and it was amazing -- totally like old times. Except that Martin is married with two kids, and he and I are both adults now. Crazy. Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture....I wish I had. But it was really great seeing her and catching up.

I also have to say that I've had a great time with my aunt and uncle. They have a really nice life. It was interesting seeing it. They wake up relatively early, around 7 or so, drink coffee and read the paper, walk the dog 2 miles, and then start working: my aunt on her scholarly activities, and my uncle taking care of the garden, house, whatever. They eat dinner around 6:30 or so, and then go to bed around 11ish.

I only spill the beans on their routine because they have one, which reminds me that I really don't. At least I haven't for the past few years -- some of which is due to my crazy ER schedule, and some of which is possibly laziness on my part. I tend to go to bed when I get tired, or when I get home from the ER, which means I go to bed sometime between midnight and 3am. I wake up sometime between 6am (with an alarm set) and 10am. I may or may not eat breakfast, and I never make coffee at home. My first meal is usually lunch, which occurs sometime between 11am and 3pm. I'm usually busy "getting things done" (whatever those things might be), and then eat supper sometime between 7-10pm. Then I tend to work on the computer or watch tv or work sudoku or crosswords or read until I get tired and go back to bed. But here's the weird part; even though I haven't been at work since March 7, I still haven't developed a real routine. And seeing theirs reminded me of this.

So I've noticed this about myself. I can't say that I exactly know what I want my routine to be, but at least I've learned something new about myself. I'll leave the lesson at that for now.

I left Austin yesterday, and I arrived in Houston last night. I went to medical school here (at Baylor College of Medicine 1993-1997), but I haven't been here in a long while. Last night I stayed with my former Atlanta neighbors, Michael and Renee. How funny that they now live in a city I used to live in....we talked for many hours about Memorial Park, the Texas Medical Center (their son has spina bifida, and is already a veteran of Texas Children's Hospital), the bayou, Buffalo Grill, Barnaby's, Churrasco's, and about the many, many differences between Houston and Atlanta.

It took me leaving Texas to appreciate this great state. And strange as it sounds, I'm glad to have friends who never lived here before, and who have just moved here, to see the same benefits that I only saw after I left. Makes me proud to be a Texan.

Lockhart BBQ Tour!

Well, I did it. I visited some of the Hallowed Halls of Texas Barbecue yesterday. First of all, let me state that Texas BBQ is BEEF, not pork, and beef brisket is the most famous cut of all. There are many, many famous BBQ places in Texas, but the best ones are in central Texas, in the old German and Czech towns. My uncle and I had many cities to choose from: Elgin, Luling, Taylor, Lexington, and Lockhart. We finally decided on Lockhart, and did what may count as the most gluttonous dining experience of my lifetime: we ate at FOUR BBQ restaurants in THREE hours.

First, there was Black's: it's the oldest continuously run BBQ place in Lockhart, started in 1932. There, we ordered the brisket (fatty AND lean, of course), and also tried the turkey and a beef rib, which was so huge, it looked like a dinosaur bone. Let me say that the first bite of the fatty brisket at Black's blew me away: the rub, the smoke, the wood, the meat -- I could taste it all. And it literally melted in my mouth. Unbelieveable. Maybe it was because it was the first taste of the day, but I could swear it was the best taste of BBQ I've ever had in my entire life. Zeke and I ate a few ethereal bites, and a bit of potato salad, and then we begrudgingly put the leftovers away so that we could head to the next place.

Which was Smitty's. Smitty's Market is a place of legend, one of Texas Monthly Magazine's Top 5 BBQ places in Texas. Even though it was around 2:15 when we arrived, we had to wait in a long line to order. And that line snakes right past the BBQ pits. So while the smell is outrageously delicious, waiting in line is HOTTER THAN HADES. But I got to see the soot-covered walls, the wood fire whose flames somehow get vacuumed into the smokers, and the pitmasters tending all that meat, all while sweating to death while waiting in line. Zeke and I ordered the fatty and lean brisket again, and this time ordered the hot links, as well (Smitty's also makes their own hot dogs, but I didn't see them on the menu), and potato salad. Unfortunately, our brisket was not good. It was overcooked, dry and leathery. Our hot link, however, was divine, and the potato salad was our favorite of the day. So I don't know if Smitty's just had an off day with its brisket, or if it is not living up to its reputation. I'll give it a second chance, but it was a disappointment.

The third place we visited was Chisolm Trail. It was funny, in a way: it was the least crowded, and also the least expensive. There we ordered the brisket (fatty and lean again), along with some turkey and pork spare ribs. (Yes, to my kosher-keeping friends, I ate pork on this trip. Sorry.) And the meat here was the saltiest, by far, but it was delicious! The texture of the brisket was fantastic, and that salty rub made for some seriously divine bark (the crust on the meat formed by the smoking, for you non-Texas-BBQ folks). The rib was excellent, too. And Chisolm Trail had the best bread, by far. White, light, and fluffy -- way better than the supermarket bread that the other places served. The potato salad was mustardy, which I like, but I still liked Smitty's potato salad better.

And finally, we doubled back up 183 to Kreuz Market (pronounced "Kreitz"). This place is the holy of holies, the monastery of meat, a legend among legends. It started in 1900, in the location where Smitty's now stands, and moved to its new location in 1999, after a family feud (part of the family continues to own Kreuz in its new location; the other part of the family owns Smitty's, in the old Kreuz Market location). The building is HUGE, with multiple rooms for seating. And we didn't arrive there until around 3:45 or so. But the place was still busy even at that late lunch hour. We waited in a fairly long line again, and got to see the pits again, just like at Smitty's. But this time, there was no soot on the walls, excellent ventilation, and a bright space, which goes along with the brand-new building. Again, we ordered brisket (fatty and lean), and our two "ringers" this time were the prime rib and the jalapeno-cheese sausage. The brisket at Kreuz was excellent. And the bark on it was pretty astounding: if I ate jut the bark, I could swear I could taste the oak wood that fired the pits. I also had a hefty dose of smoke, and the meat was tender. The prime rib was outrageously good, too. The jalapeno sausage was spicy, but I was so full at that point, that I only ate one bite!

Finally, at 4:15 pm, we left Lockhart. Zeke and I were so full that we could hardly move, even though we only ate little tastes of the meat at each place. Karen, who is mostly vegetarian but will occasionally eat chicken or turkey, ate the turkey at Black's and Chisolm Trail, and ate ice cream comes at both Smitty's and Kreuz Market. So even she was pretty full! Needless to say, I needed a serious nap after that gluttony. But what a feast.

Tonight, Zeke and I pulled out the leftover meat for supper, and after carefully tasting everything side by side this time, we confirmed our preference. Here goes:

#1 and Top Honors goes to: Black's!!!!!

#2: Chisolm Trail

#3: Kreuz Market

#4: Smitty's

Highly recommended, for those of you who feel like an entire day of barbecue would be good for your soul (if not good for your waistline).

Austin, TX, and the Texas Hill Country

So I made it to Austin, my birthplace and the land of my terrific aunt and uncle, Zeke and Karen. I got here on Thursday. On Friday, we went to the darling little town of Fredericksburg, ate lunch at a really cute courtyard restaurant (Rather Sweets), and then walked around the shops for a little while.

The main attraction, however, occurred after we left Fredericksburg. We drove the Willow City Loop to look at the Texas wildflowers, which are in full swing this time of year. I saw the official Texas state flower, the bluebonnet, along with Indian paintbrushes, primroses, winecups, nettles, black-eyed Susans, saddleblankets, and so many others (although I didn't know the names of any except for the bluebonnets -- my aunt and uncle taught me the rest). I got some amazing photos, and really enjoyed looking over the Hill Country. It's amazing how beautiful Texas can be; I forget, since I usually see only Dallas, where I grew up and where most of my family still lives. And it's a city, like many others -- but seeing the wilder parts of central Texas was a revelation.

The freedom of uncertainty

Well, the Tour is really underway now, although it took a while to really get started. I took two interesting trips during March, while I was still in Atlanta: one to Aiken, SC, for the Juilliard Music Festival and to visit my reader from STAR and now good friend Patsy, and one to Charleston, SC, for my friend Diann's 40th birthday. Funny that the two trips were totally separate, and yet they were both in South Carolina.

But the two amazing things I did before heading out from Atlanta: I went to the Landmark Forum March 19-21, and then to the Landmark Advanced Course on April 9-11. Both weekends were really fascinating. I cannot even begin to really describe the experiences here, but suffice it to say that I learned so much: that I am responsible for my life, that I don't have to be held back by anything whatsoever, that any feeling of being held back in the past came from me and me alone, and that this is my real life, so I need to do something worthwhile with it. I still have lots of work to do in this regard, but I now feel ready for this trip. I feel like I have room now to be fully present on the trip -- to not obsess about what I haven't done, to enjoy the moments that occur, and to listen to what comes up during the trip. And thank goodness for Patty Farinola, who convinced me to do the Forum in the first place, because it did exactly what it said it would: it put me in the right space for this cross-country road trip.

So the Advanced Course ended on April 13 (for those who don't know, there's an evening session at the end of the course), and then I left town on Friday, April 16. I'm now in Dallas, visiting family, and planning the rest of the journey. Funny I haven't planned more yet; I know when I'm going to Austin, and basically when I'm going to Houston, but then I have no idea after that! I want to go to West Texas -- I've never seen it, I'd like to travel to Big Bend and Guadalupe Mountains National Parks, and I have to go to New Mexico, so West Texas is definitely the way to get there -- but I don't know the dates, where I'll be staying, which towns I'll be visiting, and what to do when I get to New Mexico. Wow! What a change from knowing every single day that I'll be going to PT, to Patty, to yoga, to lots and lots of meetings, to the ER to see patients, and so on. And the biggest revelation is knowing that I'll be okay, despite the uncertainties. That I can create my trip.

This is pretty cool, after all....