ONE VERY LUCKY DAY

John got in much earlier than I expected yesterday - a great excuse to skip going to the gym and laundromat, as I had originally planned. Instead, we went to Mimas (where we sat next to Ray Wylie Hubbard - who looks a bit like a homeless person), then to the feed store, where I was finally able to nab several kinds of basil.

Lex was due back from a job in Florida that evening, so we headed over to the Austin airport, to pick her up, around 5:00. For the first time ever, in a looong history of airport pick-ups, we got there exactly on time, her flight was exactly on time, and we nabbed a parking spot right across from the door, which ended up being free, since we were in and out in less than 30 minutes. John and I were both, like "Wow! The stars must be in perfect alignment today!"

We had planned to have dinner at Matt's El Rancho, sort of the premier Tex-Mex place in Austin, but found hordes of people waiting to get in. Guess we used up our luck for the day, huh? But wait! A couple of blocks away we spotted Maudie's. "Hey, I've heard good things about Maudie's. Let's give it a try." Great weather. Lovely shaded patio. Yummy food. All for half of what Matt's would have cost? Guess our luck didn't desert us after all!

While there, I realized we were right next to the Alamo Drafthouse theatre, where the movie The Runaways just happened to be showing. We drove by, on the slim chance that there would be a showing any time soon (there was!), or that we would still be able to get tickets for it (we did!). John was still driving around, trying to find a parking spot, so I sent Lex on in to grab some good seats, and I waited for him in the lobby. Couple of minutes later she's back. "Uh, Mom? The only vacant seats are on the front row." Ne-ver-mind.

Sooo, we got a refund, then managed to flag John down just as he finally got a parking spot back behind the theatre. He decided to take the rear exit and cut through the residential area behind the shopping center. All at once, all three of us were looking around, going "OMG. Lex! This is exactly the kind of funky little neighborhood you've been looking for! Imagine being able to walk to the Alamo, Highball, Maudie's and Kirbey Lane Cafe, or being five minutes from Threadgill's and Romeo's and everything else on Barton Springs. And, just look at all these houses full of character, no two alike. Do you see those garage apartments behind some of them?"

No, of course she didn't find her dream place right then and there - that would have been a bit of a stretch, don't you think? But, we did have just the best time ever, driving up and down streets, just looking, picking up flyers, and taking numbers. You never know. Missing that movie may have been the luckiest part of our day!