Eeyore's Birthday 2008

Hope, Diego, Trent, Billy, Lindsay, LD, and I went out to Pease Park on Saturday for the 45th annual celebration of Eeyore’s Birthday in Austin. It was a beautiful day to play outside - moderate temperature, cool breeze, bratwurst, and beer. We spent the day people watching, wandering past vendor’s booths and through drum circles, and cheering for the jugglers and the band.

I am glad we went out to the park early in the day. The park really started to fill up by 2:00 and I enjoyed walking through the park before the crowd got very big. Of course a big part of the fun is the crowd and there was a lot to see this year, but I was moving slow that morning and needed the time to warm up.

LD, Billy, and I met Hope and Diego at the bean bag toss at about 11:30. Trent joined us a few minutes later. I ate too much blue cotton candy and watched Diego decorate the world with sidewalk chalk. Tigger was on stage to hand out prizes for the kid's costume contest. Trent and I browsed through all of the booths but could not find honey sandwiches, honey cones, honey candy, or honey wheat beer anywhere at the party - this seems like a serious thematic oversight on the part of the vendors.


We stayed until mid-afternoon, but after the sack races we took one more turn through the big drum circle, past the "free hugs" sign and headed back up the hill and out of the park for an early raspa dinner at Casey’s New Orleans Snowballs (mmmm... more sugar).

See you there next year.

- Joey

Camping at Guadalupe River State Park

Hi all!

Don - thanks for posting your pictures from the trip. I like the picture of Brian and Ewan very much.

The TNT trip to Guadalupe River State Park was splendid. Early Saturday morning LD drove out with Lindsey and Don to stake our claim to some adjoined campsites (a reservation guarantees campsites but does not specify which campsites - like open admission at the ballpark). They chose nice sites - reasonably separated from neighbors, vehicles, roads, and each other by a screen of trees, yet close enough to each other to allow us to share one fire ring. From our campsite it was a short hike to the river and the amphitheater and it was just a brief stroll to the playground and the bathhouse (a campsite with electricity and hot showers - luxurious!). If I didn't say it over the weekend - Lindsey, Don, LD, thank you.

When I go camping I (as a general rule) do so with the intention of putting a little distance between me and other people. To facilitate this, I associate camping with backpacking. I am more familiar with packing for a backpacking trip than packing for a camping trip where the car will be no more than a few feet away. That said, I got a little carried away by the freedom that came with a car worth of space - I packed enough chairs, cookware, boardgames, and food to furnish and stock a small apartment. And I wasn't the only one. Don and Lindsey had more than adequately provisioned their van and Brian and Robert, who got to the park just before me, brought their own car-load of supplies.

I arrived at the park just in time to lock my car and join the others for a hike. We chose a well marked trail and headed off into the brush. The trail meandered through gold meadows and from time to time we caught a nice view through the trees to the river sixty feet below us. We followed the trail about an hour in a winding loop that led back to our campsite. There we we met up with Misty and Ewan and began to set up camp.

When the tents were up a few of us set out to find a way down to the river. The hillside was not difficult, but just before we reached the river we came to the top of a limestone embankment about twenty feet tall. After a few minutes search (and a superb clifftop jog - the cliff is out away from the trees and the sunshine felt good (maybe I just don't get out of the office enough)) we found a fissure down which we scrambled into a briar patch though which we limboed to reach a trail at the bank of the river. We walked a little way down the trail and came upon a group of anglers. Misty asked one of them for directions back to camp. She politely informed Misty that a trail wide enough to drive a truck on was only a few feet from where we were standing. We eventually used that trail to get back to camp, but I liked our way better.

We spent the night on traditional camping activities: roasting potatoes, sharing dinner (including Don and Lindsey's 'Hobo Dinner' recipe), making smores, drinking hot chocolate, and telling stories around the fire. It was nice to spend some free time with friends. It was nice to see the stars.

In the morning we had a big breakfast of rolls and fruit, bacon and eggs, tea and hot cereal. Don and I stayed at camp to play Pente while everyone else went down to the river and the playground. At lunch we roasted hot dogs, and cooked sauerkraut and beans over the fire. We broke camp a just before two o'clock and drove home in a gentle rain that began just after we left the park.

I am looking forward to our next camping trip. Maybe something in mid-summer to better accommodate swimming :-)
- Joey

Camping Trip

On March 8-9, the TnT group went camping at the Guadalupe River State Park, and a fun time was had by all.

We spent the day hiking and enjoyed dinner around a campfire.

For those who missed it, enjoy some of these lovely pictures of the trip.

The Bats - Our Group - Ice Cream

Friday evening we met at the church and carpooled down to the Congress Avenue bridge to watch the bats take flight. Don and I drove. I got to the Austin American Statesman parking lot (usually the best place to park when visiting the bats) a few moments before Don and found that it was blocked off due to construction. I dropped off my passengers, turned the car around, and with Ross riding shotgun began to go search for alternative parking. Just as I began to roll out onto Congress, Don pulled up in the southbound turn lane. Ross made a sudden decision to spare Don the inconvenience of the closed lot and lept mid-intersection from my car and, waiving his hands wildly in the air, ran through traffic toward Don's van. He redirected Don and jumped in the side door of the van just as Don pulled out of the intersection to follow me down to the TXDOT parking lot down the street.

While we were doing this, the other members of our party had selected a spot on the bridge from which to watch the bats. We made our way up from the TXDOT lot, found our group, and spent some time chatting as we waited for the sun to drop below the horizon. By 7:30 twilight had set in and the crowd had grown to several hundred bat watchers, children, and street vendors. At 7:46 the bats began to fly. They were awsome - lots and lots and lots of bats. I felt very Austin-patriotic. By 8:00 the bat flight was still a steady stream, but darkness had set in and the bats were only really visible by the light of the camera flashes from the crowd. We decided it was time for ice cream.

As a group we walked down Congress, across Riverside, and up the hill to Amy's. It was about a 15 minute walk, and mostly uphill, but the reward made the climb worthwhile. I had a scoop of cinnamon and a scoop of dark chocolate with pecans crushed in-between. We all sat behind behind the store and enjoyed our treats and each other's company.

Rally Day

Lee, Billy and I staffed the T'n'T table at Rally Day today. We met a few new friends that we hope to see at the Dog and Duck this Tuesday, at services in the coming weeks or at one of our upcoming events.

Don't forget that Theology on Tap-- with Sandy in attendance this month-- will be this Tuesday at the Dog and Duck at 7pm. We'll have a few beers (or not) and informally discuss some burning theological questions (or not). It's an a la carte evening. Look for familiar faces or, maybe, an Episcopal flag windsock.

Bon soir.

Blues on the Green

Last Wednesday Megan, Trent, Hope, Diego, and I took a trip on the Jimmy Reed Highway at Blues on the Green at the rock island in Zilker Park. The Jimmy Reed Highway is Omar Kent Dykes' and Jimmie Vaughan's musical tribute to the late great Mississippi Rhythm and Blues musician Jimmy Reed. We were a long way from the stage so we couldn't see much but the sound was just right.

This was the first time any of us had ever been to Blues on the Green (KGSR's free summer concert series) and the crowd was bigger than we expected, but not in a bad way. We spread out some blankets, had a nice picnic under the stars (two visible stars, three visible planets, and the spectacular glow of downtown Austin), took in the scene, and talked for a few relaxed hours. FYI - Diego is a fantastic dancer!
Megan and I brought our dogs. Katy was a bit nervous with two furry strangers in the back of the car with her, but they all got along fine as the evening rolled along. Many other music fans decided to bring their K9 companions out for the evening - We picked seats just behind a family with two beautiful spotted great danes and next to a family with a dachshund.
Last week was crazy busy for me, but I am really happy I took the time to go out to Zilker - it was really nice to spend some time relaxing with my friends - I need to remember to do that more often.
-- Joey

Adult Ed Class - Sunday July 29th

This is a message from the July 29th Adult Ed Class at All Saints. The (very blurry!) picture I took during class finally uploaded on our slow connection.

(For any of you wondering what this message is about, I led the Adult Education class at All Saints on Sunday July 29, 2007. I gave a brief talk on web resources and how they can be used to facilitate church activities. Along the way I showed my audience our "Twenties and Thirties" blog, took a picture of the attendees, and posted the picture with this blog entry). -- Joey