Spartans Take On Austin

Last weekend, Dan and I headed back to Austin with some work friends to party it up. The Spartan Operators (and Operator alumni like me!) are a close-knit group of 20-somethings and we enjoy hanging out. Usually our revelry is confined to biweekly happy hours, but one of our team hatched an idea to do a bigger trip. As usual, I was mostly there for the food, and we had some really good stuff!

Friday: Dan and I left around noon. We stopped for sandwich materials, ice, and beer before hitting the road. (Remember, I never go anywhere without food. Just in case...)

My coworker's husband works for Hilton and got us a sweet deal at the Hilton Garden Inn on 6th Street (the main party street in Austin). It's a very fancy/big HGI. Here's the view from the bar/restaurant on the 18th floor:

The dome just right of the center is the state capitol.

 Our peeps began trickling in as they finished work and drove the 3 hours to Austin. It started with just me and one other guy at the bar, but soon enough we had a whole team.

 When the last of our team of 18 arrived, we walked over to Moonshine's. There was, in fact, moonshine (well sort of, flavored 195 proof grain alcohol made onsite). And deliciousness...

 

Ruby Slipper: vodka, grapefruit juice, and grenadine. Yum!

 

Chicken and waffles!

 After Moonshine's we dressed for the evening and hit the bars. I wore a dress and didn't carry a purse so there's no pictures. Probably just as well. When we got back to the hotel, Dan and I devoured the one chicken finger and 1/4 waffle leftover from dinner. It was delicious as drunk food too!

The next day when all the party animals finally got up, we headed to an hour south of Austin to the city of New Braunfels to tube the Guadalupe river. Again no pictures, because my camera isn't waterproof. But I snagged one before we got in:

 It was pretty fun. You can bring drinks (no glass) on the river, so we just floated and chatted and drank beer and enjoyed ourselves.
After the river, we headed to The Salt Lick BBQ. Everyone ordered the all you can eat option, so they brought us a giant plate of meat. And then another. And then another. Delicious but we were SO stuffed!

 

 We headed back to shower off the river water, planning to head back out... but ended up passing out at 10pm. Party animals we are not!
 Before leaving town, we stopped at Flip Happy Crepes, which is basically a trailer in a gravel parking lot. It was apparently on "Best Thing I Ever Ate" and it was indeed delicious!

 We shared two crepes. One had spinach, cheese, and scrambled eggs; the other had cream cheese, smoked salmon and egg. They also have savory lunch crepes and sweet dessert crepes.

Then we headed back home, called our dads for Fathers Day, and I still had time to make a breakfast casserole for the week!