Howdy y’all! Well they ain’t lyin’, everything is bigger in Texas. The roads, the pick up trucks, the portion sizes, the varied landscape. Texas is so huge and diverse it’s practically it’s own country. Infact, it actually was for a brief period between 1836-1845.
It’s the second largest state in the USA (behind Alaska) at a whopping 268,596 square miles (695,662 km). There is no shortage of Americanism culture here; you couldn’t go a few hours without seeing an American flag proudly displayed.
Amongst others, Texas is known for its legendary BBQ cuisine, fiery hot weather, live music, and rodeos. With cheaper homes, lower cost of living, outdoor activities and sports opportunities, lower tax, and super friendly people – we met plenty of American’s who had recently packed up their homes and had moved on over to the red state Texas (most frequently from California).
We had one week in the proud Lone Star State (the nickname paying tribute to the Lone Star flag, which was adopted after Texas became independent from Mexico in 1836). We had flown directly from Seoul on a long 13 hour flight to our first US stop, Dallas.
Dallas
We were here for two nights staying with John (“John No.1”) – one of Leon’s old colleagues and friends from when he lived in Paris. The guy has almost died twice, so he lives a very YOLO, Peter Pan lifestyle. He took us to the best spots and introduced us to the delicious local food scene: proper Texas BBQ food at Terry Blacks BBQ. Texans LOVE their barbecue food.
Inside, the whole place was full of smoke and country music was playing in the background. Outside, you could have a walk around the smokers and smell the most delicious meats which had been cooking low and slow for over 24 hours.
Good luck finding a better place in this world than Texas for a plate of juicy slow-cooked brisket. We had chosen a variety of meats along with generous helpings of hearty Texas home-style sides. We both agreed, the BBQ cuisine here is legendary.
With Texas and Mexico sharing a border, the beautiful hybrid creation of Tex-Mex cuisine was born. So for another dinner, John kindly treated us to delicious meaty tacos, black beans, rice, served with an enormous helping of queso dip (yellow, liquid cheese) with crunchy tortilla chips. If ever the basket was at half empty, the waiter would quickly top it up. It was an endless supply. John described the tortilla chip as “just a vehicle to get more cheese into American’s mouths”.
Another thing about Texas is their love of guns. The red state remains among the more heavily armed states in the whole country. Opposed to gun culture, myself and Leon were keen to hear the flip side. We had some very interesting conversations during our stay in Texas. It was certainly an eye opening experience to be proudly shown bags of guns, and hear some of the opinions of the gun loving American’s we met and stayed with. Though none of which persuaded us otherwise.
With mass shootings in schools occurring here, it’s a very sad and sorry state of affairs. The seemingly chosen response to mass shootings is a gun and a prayer. More than a third of Texas households have a gun, and some believe that their right to self-defense equals owning a gun. I get that social and drug issues are the real problem here, not specifically the guns themselves, but the person behind them. The American’s we spoke to want social change, more mental health reviews, and also, more guns. “Guns save lives” we heard. Though having had my career predominately working in mental health, I know how quickly mental health can spiral.
Texas, like most of America, is vast and spread out, so walking from place to place isn’t really an option. Especially when taking into account the fiery hot temperature. John took us for a drive and tour around downtown Dallas. Undoubtedly one of the saddest things that Texas is known for is the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 1963 in Dealey Plaza.
If you look closely in the photo below, you’ll see the rather morbid X in the middle of the road, marking the spot where the incident occurred. There were a few other tourists gathered here, taking photos, as well as conspiracy theorists handing out flyers, who John said are here all the time.
Rather randomly, there is a large eyeball sculpture downtown. Apparently there is no meaning behind the gleaming 30ft tall eyeball created by Tony Tasset. But it was plopped there one day and now everybody takes photos with it. It’s hard not to miss it!
John showed us around Deep Ellum; a quirky and lively neighbourhood in Dallas, known for street murals, art galleries, and performing arts.
We had a wander around and checked out the cool thrift stores, street art, and cafés. It was uncomfortably hot outside though, so regular pit stops inside air conditioned spots was essential.
John took us to a place called the Fraternal Order of Eagles; an outdoor swimming pool and bar, which is open all day and evening. A hidden gem of Dallas he called it! Being in water is really the only way to tolerate staying outside all day.
The country music was loud and the place was peppered with American flags. Leon’s 4th July kitty swimming trunks from the Philippines fitted in perfectly. We soaked up in the hot Texas sun, met John’s friends, and played a frisbee game called Kanjam. If there’s anything Leon loves, it’s a game. We also tried our first seltzers here: popular, spiked sparkling water, absolutely perfect for a hot day. Now I’m hooked!
We later went to John’s friend’s birthday party at Cidercade (a very cool Texas chain of arcade machines and delicious flavoured ciders) and then ended up in the appropriately named club, It’ll Do, for a disco and dance.
Austin
Austin is a really cool city. Especially if you love live music, paddle boarding, and sports. Austin is the self proclaimed live music capital of the world. It has the most stages compared to any other city, you cannot go far without finding live music. We hired some e-scooters to check out the sights on offer.
We checked out the photogenic Texas State Capitol, the capitol and seat of government of the state, located in downtown Austin. We had a stroll around the grounds and inside this impressive grand building, built in 1885.
Would you believe it, we had two Couch Surfing hosts in Austin both called John. Hence having to number them 1-3. If you’ve not heard of Couch Surfing, I’ll explain. It’s social networking community for travellers, and you can use it to find a place to stay or share your home with travellers. There is a website and an app. It’s free, though now the app charges a fee for the initial sign up to verify, but of course we like to pay for meals or drinks out so we can say thanks and get to know our hosts. It’s a cultural and hospitality exchange.
It’s a great way to immerse yourself in the culture, much more rewarding than a faceless hotel in my opinion. I’ve only had great experiences through the couch surfing scene, having used it in other countries when I travelled solo through South America in 2018. For me, Couch Surfing is evidence that there are generous and kind people out there, opening their homes to strangers in order to meet new friends from around the world.
John No.2 lived on the well-known Rainey Street in a stunning apartment with his very handsome and friendly dog, Obi. Rainey Street is full of adorable homes converted into small bars and clubs. It is a very cool place to live, and the best place to be to soak up the nightlife.
Sadly the cute, homely bars and restaurants are being ripped down to make way for huge skyscrapers. That’s gentrification, y’all!
Next it was John No.3, weirdly enough his name was actually John The Third (talk about coincidence!). He put up with us for five days and introduced us to some cool places. We went to Meanwhile Brewery, Blues on The Green (an annual festival in the Zilker park), Ironworks BBQ, and the highlight: Johnny Sundays.
Every other Sunday, he hosts a party in Lady Bird River. He even wears a black captain hat and has a board with his face on it.
With highs of 40 degrees, being in water was the only comfortable way to survive being outside all day.
We took ice-cold Seltzers, red solo cups, played drinking games, made new friends, and I had my first experience at paddle boarding.
It was so, much, fun! People even bring their dogs, speakers, DJ decks. It’s a whole experience. We took out Percy for a spin so we could get a birds eye view (see below).
Coincidently, we were there during the annual Blues on The Green festival was happening, perfect timing. We sat on the grass and enjoyed the live blues music until the nighttime.
For our final day, we heard there was a Cidercade in Austin too, so we spent a few hours sampling the different flavours (there is a lot) and playing the arcade games.
We also checked out Fall Out Theatre for some improv comedy with a new pal we had met at Johnny Sundays, called Andy. Every Monday night they do a special called “F*** the Week” where members of the audience can volunteer and tell them something crappy which has happened to them that week, and the team of comedians have to improvise and act it out. It was absolutely hilarious, and not like any comedy I had seen before.
Our week in Texas was an absolute blast. We thanked and waved goodbye to John No.3, he very kindly took us to the airport to catch our flight to our next stop, Las Vegas baby!
Leon and Amy’s Big Adventures 