May 8th - Austin

​We celebrated Mothers Day at Grace Church in Solado. We drove an hour to Austin to see some live blues in the backyard of Oakwood BBQ and Beer Garden. It was a casual, shady venue that was kid- and dog-friendly. Saw one of the best lead guitarists I had ever seen. The band leader, Larry Harris, was a great storyteller, who explained the origin of each of his original songs. 

Angie and I had to move our feet to such great music, so we started dancing on the bare dirt yard. Larry called us his "Oakwood dancers". We spoke to him at set break. He had met Stevie Ray Vaughn, Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt.  He gave us a free CD. Our bartender, Josh, was from Portland, OR. He explained to us that no one in Texas recycles.

To exercise and cool the dogs off, we drove to the Lady Bird Trail along the river near the University of Texas. Hundreds of students were floating and paddling in the river. We saw one group of several dozen of them all moored together in the center of the river. I think Madeline would like this school!