#35 A Day in Denton

Even though I'm a UNT alum (MS in History), I didn't really participate in UNT life like I did in Austin.  I didn't experience a football game or even local eateries.  Most nights I was lucky if I had time to go through a drive-thru before class.  Thanks to Caitlin and Russell Andrews for letting me tag along to the UNT/UTEP Homecoming game this past weekend.  

We had lunch at The RG Burgers & Grill.  Even though they have all sorts of fun gourmet burgers, the cheeseburger came highly recommended so I ordered that.  I opted out of the lettuce because it's shredded and shredded lettuce has no place on a burger.  Other than that, the burger was great!  The bun reminded me of Hawaiian rolls, a touch of sweetness and beautifully grilled for just a bit of golden crispiness.  They use cheddar cheese instead of American and it was perfectly melted over the top of the think meat patty.  This burger was delicious!  It's always a good sign when you have to cut your burger in half in order to manage it.  The burger comes with bottomless steak fries which were good, but nothing to write home about.

After lunch, we headed over to Voertman's to get some UNT gear and Insomnia to satisfy our sweet tooth.  I sampled the S'mores and Snickerdoodle, both of which were super yummy!

The game had a slow start, but ended with a bang.  Unfortunately we missed the most exciting part of the game as the temperature was dropping and we were getting a bit chilled, so we left at the beginning of the 3rd quarter.  The Mean Green won, 20-17, even though UTEP has the better record.  Being Homecoming, there were quite a few festivities, including an amazing performance by the marching band, which has over 400 members.  They took up the whole football field and were fantastic!  Such a joy to watch them and listen to them . . . so much talent!  

#33 & #34 Fun times with Becky!

Becky is one of my oldest friends.  We've known each other since junior high.  We went to school and church together, and got into all sorts of shenanigans when we were younger.  (Ask me about our bike riding days sometime.)  She is full of adventure and is always interested in trying new things, so I knew she'd want to help with my #50by50.

We started our day with lunch at Mena's back in our old stomping grounds of Carrollton.  We enjoyed a delicious lunch on the patio.  Her brisket tacos looked fabulous, but I was perfectly happy with my fajita nachos.  Sturdy, thick chips with just right proportions of beans and melted cheese, topped with tender fajita beef and chicken.  It's a good thing I ordered the the half order, otherwise I would have eaten a whole order by myself they were that scrumptious!

After lunch, we headed to Downtown Dallas for a scavenger hunt with Let's Roam.  This was so much fun!  We picked the The Big Hunt which took us on a 2 mile walking tour of historical points of interest in Dallas.  We started at Dallas City Hall and had about 10 stops.  At each stop, we learned a bit about Dallas history both through the app and at the actual site.  At some of the sites, we even had challenges to complete to earn even more points.  We were lucky the day was so beautiful, especially after the dreary week we had.  This is a really great way to get outside, learn about a city, and spend time with friends or family.  And if you are thinking about Christmas gifts for that hard to buy for person, you should definitely look into this.  Let's Roam has scavenger hunts all over the country and often multiple options for one city.  For example, we did the Big Hunt focusing on Dallas history in downtown, but they also had one for the Arts District and Deep Ellum.

Giant Eyeball

@City Hall

City Hall

@City Hall

JFK Memorial

Old Red

Pegasus @TheOmni

Wrangling cattle @ Pioneer Plaza

#32 Deep Eddy Distillery

Every year, my college roomies and I head to Austin for a game.  Of course, we always want to go to our tried and true places,  but this year, I knew I needed to do at least one new thing.  As soon as we got to town, Diane and I took a little detour to the Deep Eddy Distillery in Dripping Springs.  The weather was perfect, with blue skies and temps in the 70s.  What better way to end a long drive down I-35 than with a cool refreshing drink?

We both enjoyed a flight of vodka.  Tasty, but vodka shots are not really my thing.  I prefer my vodka mixed with something.  So I finished our visit with a rhubarb mojito which was delicious.  If anyone knows where I can get rhubarb bitters, please let me know.   Next time you are in the Austin area, be sure to set aside some time for an afternoon at Deep Eddy.  Even if you aren't a vodka drinker, it's a fun place to just hang out.

#31 Violent Femmes

Just 3 days after seeing Willie Nelson at Toyota Stadium, I was invited by my friend Laura to see the Violent Femmes at the South Side Ballroom.  I don't know that you can have two experiences any more different than those.  And they were both new.  I was a big fan of the Femmes in high school, probably because they were so different than anything I was listening to on the radio.  And listening to songs like Add It Up made me feel rebellious.  But I never saw them in concert not had I ever been to the South Side Ballroom before.  Not only were the Femmes a fantastic show, but there were two opening acts that were also amazing.  I don't recall the name of the first act, but the second act was Me First and the Gimme Gimmes,  They were amazing!  They're a cover band who gives every song they perform a punk sound.  So creative and fun!  And of course, listening to the Violent Femmes took me back to high school.  It was such a fun night!  I guess we had so much fun we forgot to take a selfie.