Good morning, friends!

I want to thank you for the outpouring of support I’ve received via comments, twitter, and forum discussions regarding my article, when they STOP mentioning it. (Click here to read) The topic is so important to me, and I”m glad to know that it is meaningful to others too.

On to the roadtrip!

I’m in Austin this morning, at a teacher’s conference, and yesterday was the big trip! We’ve already had quite a wonderful adventure. Lindsay and Laura got to my house at 11, and we hit the road.

Our first notable happening (if you don’t count the 1.5 hours of rapid-fire-get-to-know-you-better conversation, is a Texas GEM that almost everyone who has ever traveled from the Metroplex the ATX knows about.

CZECH STOP!

The Czech stop is a haven for kolaches and other amazing pastries. It is a right of passage, of sorts. If you’re going to ATX, you stop at czech stop and get a yum yum. I picked up a strawberry and cream cheese danish, and ate about half of it. Best $.99 I’ve spent in a long while.

We kept on trucking down the road, through a little bit of sleet, (and getting out of the way of 2 HUGE hay trucks that were raining down rubbish on my precious ride) and got to Austin in Great TIME.

We checked in at the hotel, picked up our conference materials, and set out to have dinner with Laura’s Bro.

We stopped at a place called, El Marcado (South) and I fell in love with Austin all over again.

This little menu disclaimer made me REALLY happy! They had a DELISH looking vegetarian selection, allowed for items to be prepared dairy free, and use no animal products (read: LARD) in their delicious sides!!

I ordered my standard, and my FAVORITE thing ever… 2 Verde Enchiladas (Prepared Dairy Free – meaning not smothered in Sourcream sauce and cheese- cause anyone who knows tomatillo sauce like I do, knows that tomatillo needs no other accoutrements taining its glory!) which was served with their Tex-Mex beans and rice (both animal byproduct-free! yay!)

I didn’t love the rice, and left that, but I positively DEVOURED the enchiladas and beans. The verde sauce was literally the BEST I’ve ever had… and I’ve had a lot! I wish I could eat there every day, because it was THAT good. YUM. YUM. YUM.  (sorry for the excessive CAPS-for EMPHASIS, but this is serious foodgasm business, people. )

We were there for literally 3+ hours, talking about all sorts of things. Laura’s brother was a great conversationalist, and we had a great time.

The prices were great too, my plate was under $8! Laura and her brother tried a beverage, that I didn’t try, called a Mexican Martini… 1 shaker yielded each of them, 4-5 drinks! All for four bucks! that’s a good deal!

The waitstaff was so nice too. Our waiter even photobombed us, without shame… Austin is a great time.

After saying goodbye to our host, the girls went and picked up a couple of emergency items,

and after a few more HOURS of conversation, we finally hit the sack.

All in all, a fantastic first day in austin.