Three Good Things About This Week

In keeping with my intention to focus on the positive, I'm sharing my three nuggets of awesomeness for the week:

1. I made a small donation to the Pledge Music campaign for the Austin-based indie band Language Room. In return, I received the above note of appreciation.
2. There was an additional Smashwords download for Hannah Strong.
3. Zachary was sick, which seems like a negative. However, his quick recovery and the fact that it wasn't that awful Henoch-Schonlein purpura (HSP) disease, is a blessing. 

If you're having a bad day, week, or month, try to remember that things will get better. Write down your three positives and let them guide you through each day.

Why The Driskill Hotel is awesome

I wish that I could have spent more time at this iconic Austin hotel. It really is a gem and deserving of a visit. It's on the expensive side, which is why I only have a small glimpse inside the hotel. One day, I'll be able to write about a real overnight visit and report on the ghosts that supposedly inhabit the rooms and hallways of this gorgeous hotel. It's been around since 1886, so it's been the site of many historic events. According to the hotel's website, LBJ awaited his vice-presidential election returns there.

Unfortunately, it was very crowded at the time so the only half-decent picture I could pull off was this one:

How many hotel ceilings look like this?

Hopefully my next trip will yield more than a picture of the ceiling. 

Austin: The Weird and the Wonderful

Anyone who has traveled to Austin can testify to the fact that it is a different realm from most towns, especially most Texas towns. Weirdness is just expected when you travel to the capital of Texas. Aside from some of the best food around and people-watching galore, you can find enough there to make up an Austin-centric bucket list. I welcome any chance to go to Austin and had such an opportunity over the weekend.

I can't think of a more appropriate locale for a Museum of the Weird. Where else can you see the contents of an actual cow's stomach and the back door of an apartment that Johnny Depp lived in under the same roof? Apparently, it was a brief stay during the filming of What's Eating Gilbert Grape. And this is according to the guide, whose credibility I won't comment on. A check of IMDB did confirm that the movie was filmed in the area.

The back door now looks like this:

And all of this came out of a cow's gut:

It's true that they eat anything and everything. Really makes me question the sanctity of the hamburger.

That's all for now. I was going to post about the Driskill Hotel, but that place is worthy of it's own post. I'll get to that tomorrow.