Last week (May 20 and 21) I made the voyage out to Texas to sign my contract, look for a place, and meet with my new Kindergarten team! I was overly excited and could not wait to get out there and really enjoy my new home. Although I encountered a couple speed bumps it ended up being a super successful trip and I got so much accomplished and checked off the list!
On May 20th I woke up at 3:45 am and headed to the airport. For those of you who don't know I fly stand-by thanks to Derrick for super cheap, but it usually requires me to get there for the very first flight of the day to have the best chance of getting on! I had to fly from Charlotte to Houston, then Houston to Austin. Well I made it to Houston just fine... but Austin not so much. So rather than get down and frustrated I just rented a car in Houston, grabbed my trusty GPS, and hit the high road to Austin (about a 2 hour and 45 minute drive). I called my mom on the drive, quite a few times actually, and told her about how weird it felt to be heading out to TX and not feeling nervous -- I ALREADY HAD A JOB! Now was the fun part! On the drive from Houston to Austin I ran into some pretty crazy and interesting things. For example, small towns where people were literally sitting outside of the run down general store in old, rickety rocking chairs (pretty sure they had some straw in their mouth too).
I saw a ton of cows and horses on the side of the road. Tons of ranches. But the craziest thing of all... I saw a car catch on fire!! I was driving along and noticed everyone getting over into the left hand lane. I opted to follow them and then I could see way up in the distance a lot of smoke coming from a car. Well, as I got closer I all of a sudden saw it go up in flames! The weird part was there was a cop and a farmer standing by it and neither seemed concerned.... hm....? Maybe it's a usual occurrence there?
Anywho -- so on I drove! I finally arrived and it was pouring and I had on a white skirt (awesome). I headed on up to sign my contract looking like a drowned rat but luckily it didn't take long at all! I think I was a bit overly excited though because I messed up on one paper 3 times because I kept forgetting to read the directions (First name first then last... when does that ever happen on a legal form???). OOPS! :) (check off signing contract)
After signing my contract I was STARVING! It was about 1:00pm in TX (this is for you mom... 2:00pm your time) and I hadn't eaten since about 6:30am (your time mom) on the plane when I buzzed the lady for a muffin because I fell asleep when she made her rounds (yep... I was that girl). I always get nervous getting off and looking for food in another area I'm not familiar with, even with a GPS, because I still manage to get lost - and getting lost in TX can be kind of expensive since there are tons of toll roads and every time you get off and get on you pay (I know this from experience). Plus, I seem to lose reception with my GPS a lot in TX (grrr). New technology can be quite frustrating sometimes!
Anywho, I found something on the drive so I grabbed a quick bite and then Derrick's friend Will was suckered into helping me for the day! It was sooo awesome to have someone drive my rental around and know where they were going. We drove around for about 5 hours and he showed me a ton of places! I ended up finding and signing my lease (check off signing the lease) and it begins August 5, so we will move sometime that first week of August. I then had to hurry back to drop off Will and head to my hotel to meet up with my friends Danielle (TriDelta sister) and Alex (college friend). Will is also a pilot and it worked out wonderfully that he was working and had an overnight in Austin, which is where he has a townhouse that he owns with his wife. He checked into the hotel room and then let me have it for the night (so nice of him!). The downside was that I had to pay $24 for valet because they didn't have a parking garage (What the **bleep**!?!?!?)
Danielle and Alex swung by to pick me up and we headed to a great restaurant downtown called Wahoo's (yummy fish tacos... sorry Alex you got food poisoning from the white beans the guy tried to convince me to get!). We then went across the street to a super cool bar called Rodeo for a couple drinks. Very neat decor (tree stumps for tables, cows and bulls on the walls). It was so nice to be in Austin and be able to really sit back and enjoy it; to take it all in.
Austin is definitely a different city than I had thought. Many people tell me it is so much like Charlotte, just newer. Well, I'd have to say that couldn't be more off in my opinion, at least looks-wise. Austin has a very old feel to it, not updated. Rather than build new apartments, they revamp the old ones. Lots of the areas look old but are actually very nice and remodeled. There are so many different types of people and things to do, I don't think it is a place you can get bored in - ever:) I'm excited to begin to explore in August!
So... that was day 1 of my trip to Austin! I got a lot done and was on cloud 9:)
Check back later for day 2 (and 3... yep... I hit a few minor speed bumps along the way.... surprised? I'm not....)
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