Honeymoon Days 29-31: Austin and Nashville

The final days of our honeymoon road trip were spent in Austin and Nashville, giving the end of our journey a decidedly (and unintentionally) musical flavor. But it almost never happened.

In Clovis, New Mexico, my yin and I had something of a breakdown – not mechanical, thankfully – but rather emotional. Neither of us wanted to admit that our trip was coming to a close, and throughout Arizona and New Mexico we had done an admirable job of maintaining our denial. But by the time we reached the central time zone it was impossible to deny any longer.

We pulled over in a gas station parking lot and talked about all the emotions bubbling to the surface. We had a solid eight hours of Texas in front of us, and the last thing either of us wanted to do was be uncertain, dreadful, and maudlin across the vast plains that run from Lubbock to Sweetwater to Abilene to Brownwood. Too often we humans seem to barrel ahead in life without much consideration, either drifting aimlessly like leaves in the wind, or else confining ourselves to decisions and patterns that no longer represent who we are:

like this fellow

Soon, however, my yin and I regained composure, and we ended up making it through western and central Texas in record time. This billboard on the outskirts of Austin summed our attitude towards the empty roads that day:

We arrived at our destination before sundown and were immediately ushered to a free concert downtown by my college friend.

me and Dana

me and Dana, circa 1998

When Dana first told us about this free concert, my yin and I envisioned five or six hundred people scattered about a few acres of land. It was a Wednesday night after all, the University of Texas was in summer session, and Austin in late June is not the most temperate of climates.

What we found instead was an incredible band rocking out – complete with moving lights, fog machines, and the screaming adoration of at least 5,000 fans. Apparently the headliner was the hot new band at this year's South By Southwest (SXSW) Music Conference:

This was the perfect introduction to Austin.

Eventually we found Dana's husband, and after the concert the four of us went for Mexican food. The next day and a half sped by so quickly and enjoyably that my yin and I barely thought to take photographs. As I suspected, Dana and my yin hit it off capitally:

peas in a pod

Our conversations ranged from the good old days in Chapel Hill to Dana's one-time benefactress to the importance of "happy chicken bones" when one is attempting to concoct a "bone broth soup":

i
m
age

(thankfully)

miss
in
g

Did I mention Austin is beautiful?

the Frost Bank building (center) was my favorite

We took a walk around the lake/river/reservoir that runs through the center of Austin, and I was amazed that there was such a serene place to run or hike or kayak running straight through the middle of the state capital. Some of the views even reminded me of Yosemite's Mirror Lake:

voila

There were also ill-tempered ducks milling about:

By the time we finished the loop, the three of us were very hot and very thirsty so we got a smoothie at this stand near the park:

Here, as in many places in Austin, the raw food movement is at the forefront of culinary snobbery, and this is the only store I've ever seen that had the (in)famous master cleanse as one of the items on the menu.

But this is beside the point.

The point is we decided to stay home that night and went to the local food co-op to buy groceries. Along the way we saw random restaurants adorned with Ganesha:

As well as a spunky little store that will undoubtedly outlive Blockbuster:

In spite of all evidence to the contrary,
I still believe the Divine favors the independents...

That night my yin, Dana, and I cooked tempeh stir fry while Mike kept us posted on the NBA draft. We shared a final meal together and went to bed early, and they planned to see us off early the next morning.

But...

My yin and I, in an act of collective super-genius, somehow reset the iPod (which serves as our alarm clock) to Eastern Daylight Time. We didn't realize this, of course, until we had already showered and gotten dressed the next morning. Dana and Mike were nowhere to be seen, and it was only when we looked at the clock on the stove – 4:54am – that we realized the mistake we had made.

Fourteen hours later we arrived in Nashville, staying with my yin's friend Amy and her fiancé Matt, who live in a groovy white house on the west end of town:

With a cute attic room that served as our honeymoon suite:

By the time the next morning rolled around, the four of us – only two of whom had ever met before – were joking and laughing with one another as if we had known each other for years.

After a trip full of family and old friends, it was perfect that our final night on the road allowed us to kindle new relationships. I realized that the sadness my yin and I had felt back in New Mexico was because we were focusing too much on the ending of our trip and not fully appreciating that with each ending comes a new beginning. This bit of wisdom – easy to say, challenging to practice – made that final morning shine in unexpected ways.

But I suspect Matt and Amy's cat knew it all along:

Rocky, philosopher and tabby