A NATURAL HIGH

We have a thing for the Bunkhouse Group, owners of some of our favorite hotels, motels and coffee shops.  Many are out of our price range, but a few are not -- especially when they offer you an end of summer bargain rate. Which is how we ended up meeting our BFFs at Austin Motel this weekend, for one of our 24 hour Lanford Adventures. When staying there in the past we've always been in one of these little rooms.

However this time, since we were getting such a good rate, we went for the larger poolside rooms, with their own covered parking spaces and a great view overlooking the pool area. Check-in time wasn't until 3:00, so we went to lunch first at Home Slice Pizza, and followed that up with some Amy's Ice Cream.

One thing we were a bit miffed about was that they were holding some kind of fundraiser event at the pool that afternoon, so we wouldn't have it all to ourselves. We started out just sitting on our private terrace overlook -- nice and shady and the perfect place for the boys to smoke their cigars.

But, the music was so good, and everyone was having so much fun, that, before we knew it, we were headed down the stairs to join them!

First we got to join in on some water aerobics led by a gorgeous redhead, and guess who was dancing around and having more fun than anyone? No, not me. Mr. Toad Sanford! I came in second. Then they cleared us all out of the pool so we could watch a water ballet performance by a local group of ladies.

I thought the announcer called them the So. Co. Hos, but surely that can't be right? Speaking of the announcer, turns out she is part of a group called Mama Sana -- a local nonprofit that provides midwifery services to help combat the fact that the US has such a high infant and maternal mortality rate, especially among working class women of color. We felt honored to participate. Funny, too, that the thing I was miffed about ended up being one of the best parts of our adventure! Just shows to go you, right?

After several hours of way too much fun and sun, we finally went inside to get cleaned up for dinner, then headed down S. Congress to try and choose between a plethora of wonderful options.

We were about to choose one of several good Italian spots when we decided to pop across the street to peek inside the new S. Congress Hotel, to see what options they had. Turns out their Central Standard Bar & Grill was participating in Austin Restaurant Week, and was offering a 3-course meal for $35. How could we resist?

We each started with our own platter of delicious wood-fired flat bread topped with all kinds of yumminess, then we had a choice between a roasted chicken entre or pork chops. I chose the chicken. YUM!

For dessert we had to choose between a whiskey cake with caramel and ice cream...

or this frozen lemon, cream cheese, and blueberry bar .

We wandered around S. Congress afterwards, trying to walk off some of those calories, then it was back to our poolside aerie.

The next morning I was up at the crack of dawn, headed for my favorite hangout, Jo's Coffee. I love just sitting there, watching the town come to life, with a constant stream of people stopping by to grab a cup of jo while they walk their dogs, do their jogging, or head off to work. When everyone else was finally awake, Hubby came to fetch me and we all went to have brunch at the new-to-us Joann's -- also owned by Bunkhouse I think -- which took over an old diner space right next to Austin Motel, and now connects to its lobby.

Alas, all good things must come to an end, but it's pretty amazing, just how much fun you can pack into a mere 24 hours -- especially when you're with the right people. In fact, there may even be a video floating around, of Miss Paula and I gettin' jiggy on our pool top overlook. Who could resist, when they crank up the volume on Play That Funky Music White Boy? Some might wonder if there was alcohol behind our dancing, but I promise, there was not. We were simply high on life, and gratitude!