Game Day - TX Longhorns 11.13.10

Our morning started out great with an awesome breakfast at Juan in a Million.  We've been Texas Longhorn fans for a while but had never actually been to a game. 

We changed into our Longhorn gear and headed to the game.  (Can you spot my USAF Parent Pin?  It's there - I always wear it!)

Here's me with Bevo from our Co-op shopping trip earlier in the day.

Check out the horns on this car - haha!

Our first close up view of the Darrell K. Royal stadium. 

Here we are inside the stadium - SO EXCITED!!!

My daughter Anna sent some Longhorn love from Washington.

You know I had to check out the bathroom!

That's right ~ M giving a H!GH 5!!

Did I mention what row we were on?

Yes, that's right - a not so obvious 5 alert.  6 + 8 = 14 and 1 + 4 = what's that you say?  I can't hear you?! That's right....5!!!!!

Look!  There's Mack Brown!

A view from the North end.

The stadium was pretty full.

Need I say more?

I've got some videos of the band because I am a proud band nerd.

The team coming out on the field.

 

Half-time show

 

Half-time exit

 

We had a super time and so glad we went even though we did lose.  We made some great memories and there are more to come...

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Juan in a Million

It's the morning of the game and we needed some nourishment.  My brother had suggested we try Juan in a Million.

We weren't deterred at all by the crowd outside waiting to get in.  We figured if there was a wait it must be good.

Once inside the hustle and bustle added to our excitement.  It really was a simple place but the energy really added to the ambiance. 

Our friendly server showed us to our table where we were greeted by menus, hot sauce and chips.  I thought it was a great idea to have the table already prepped for us.

Even though mimosas weren't on the menu we were happy to find out that they indeed were happy to make them for us.

CHEERS! to a good life... <3 Live <3 Laugh <3 Love <3

M ordered the "Don Juan" and this blurry pic does not do it justice.  The very tasty and very large portion of the secret combination of potato, egg, bacon and cheese was amazing.

I chose one carne guisada and one potato and egg taco.  They both were muy delicioso!

At Juan in a Million we found the prices very reasonable, generous portions (especially on the Don Juan plate) and overall great service.  It is definitely worth a trip and worth a wait if there's a line.  We give it an enthusiastic two thumbs up!

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Going Batty in Austin

After our Salt Lick BBQ adventure we headed over to the Congress Avenue Bridge so we could watch the over one and a half million bats emerge from beneath the bridge.  And yes, we counted. 

There are several warning signs that attendee's need to heed.

There are various informational markers near where the bats emerge. 

The bats began roosting after a major deck reconstruction in 1980.

As you probably know, most bats hunt prey using echolocation.

The bats usually remain under the bridge until late October or early November.  We were there November 12th. 

The Congress Avenue Bridge houses the largest urban bat colony in North America.

The best time to see the bats is in August.  The young pups are just beginning to fly and the hot dry weather causes the bats to be hungrier while the insects tend to be less plentiful.  Therefore the mother bats must emerge earlier to hunt. 

Here are some more shots of the underside of the bridge as the bats are emerging.  I know it's not the best shot but you get the idea. 

And now a short, very hard to see video...

 

After enjoying the nice fall evening and getting the chance to watch all the cool bats we headed back to the hotel and prepared to get ready for a great night's sleep because the next day was GAME DAY! 

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Salt Lick BBQ

So our little dinner adventure began with us in our car following the GPS directions fueled by our high hopes and hungry tummies. 

I love the name of the road we had to turn on....Nutty Brown Road.

 

We actually almost missed the entrance.

Since we arrived early in the afternoon (around 3:30) there was not a wait.  We were seated at this HUGE picnic style table with bench seats.  For two people this felt too large so we opted to sit on the same side.  Plus it's more romantic that way. <3

Interesting note: at the Driftwood location it's CASH only and they do not serve alcohol, it's BYOB.  We didn't know that so I ordered a coke (no ice of course) and M ordered some tea with his sugar.

Here's the story behind Salt Lick BBQ.

I know you can't read it but you can click on this link to find out more.

A view from inside.

I opted for the chopped beef bbq sandwich and M chose the beef brisket, pork ribs and sausage plate.  It came with potato salad, coleslaw and beans. 

Here's a pic of mine.  The pics I took of M's didn't turn out.  It's just as well.  I thought mine was fine but definitely not the best I had ever had.  M thought the beef was a bit on the tough side and was too chewy.  I think we would have been more disappointed had we had to wait a long time to eat there.  It just wasn't awesome and after hearing my brother rave about it and when we had also seen it on Man vs Food we kind of had our hopes up that it was going to be AWESOME and sadly it was not. 

The artwork on the wall near where we sat.

Of course I visited the restroom. 

The two things that concerned me was the close proximity of the plunger and the excessive rolls of toilet paper.  Apparently both are needed? 

There is no delicate way to segue to dessert so let's just go there.

I chose pecan pie and it was fine.  M chose the peach cobbler and it was the highlight of the meal because he thought it was really good. 

Accolades the restaurant has received.

There are some people that apparently liked it better than we did.

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