Birmingham AL - The Garage

Troth full of beer!

After driving into Birmingham I was looking for a place to get some drinks. My host Joe and Mindy were very busy studying for an exam so they couldn't join me but they pointed me to a local bar called the garage.
The garage got it's name because it used to be a place that people could rent out garages to store their stuff. You can see the garages and the most unique aspect of the Garage when you walk out to their back porch.

There are various antiques casually displayed in each garage space and the back patio is filled with various lawn and fountain sculptures. I can see how this bar would be the place to go on warmer nights.
During the colder nights it's mostly a locals bar. Everybody at the bar seemed to know each other. Even if I wasn't a local the bartenders and the locals were very welcoming.
As for beer, they have a good variety but most beers aren't quality micro brews. The price was on the slightly steep side for the area but It didn't matter since I could get a Yuengling! Haven't had one in ages! Yuengling is a Pennsylvania beer that I used to drink a lot in Pittsburgh. It's not the best beer but a pretty fine cheap beer.
I did not try the food the first night but eventually tried their sandwich before I left Birmingham. I would say it's tasty for a bar sandwich not any tastier than small sandwich specialty stores.
So in conclusion I would recommend this bar for it's varied beer selection, unique setting and friendly locals.

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Crabby Jacks! - New Orleans

 New Orleans is known for it's creole food. Unfortunately I was too busy celebrating Mardi Gras to really go to the better food joints. Although I did have some excellent Gumbo at a corner super market run by an Asian couple! So what to eat as my last meal before I leave New Orleans... I tried to find a reasonably priced place that wasn't too far. I couldn't find a good creole place near by but I did find a local po' boy sandwich place near by called Crabby Jacks.

The place is known as a local spot and can get really crowded during lunch time. I got there right before the rush and ordered the roasted duck po' boy per recommendations on yelp.  The sandwich was pretty big but not very good! The duck was gamey and was not very big on flavor. Perhaps I have gotten spoiled from all the delicious duck dishes I used to get at the Thai places near my house. A lot of people seemed to have ordered some fried deliciousness for their po boy... Oh well just goes to show you that you can't always trust those yelp reviews.

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New Orleans! - Monday and Fat Tuesday!

The funny thing is that I didn't realize that I would be in New Orleans during the Mardi Gras. It was at Hueco while watching the end of the Super Bowl at a restaurant after a good day of climbing that I realized that Mardi Gras was going to align perfectly with my trip. I couldn't let that coincidence go to waste.
I was lucky that my friend's cousin Sidd agreed to host me for few nights!

Sidd and his friend Stacey after a long day of walking

Monday night parade!

We barely made it to see the end of the night parade and it seemed that the whole town was there to see the parade. It was a great fun vibe. Next was Bourbon St...

A glimpse into the packed mad house of the Bourbon St. experience.

Bourbon St is probably what most tourist think of when they think of Mardi Gras. The street is packed with people with beads being thrown form the balconies. There is a lot of drunkenness a fair amount of people flashing and general sense of drunken state of partying. To get plastic bead necklaces most of the time you DO NOT need to flash your breasts or do anything too embarrassing. Just make eye contact and give a big "woo hoo~!" and wave your arms. If they want you to do anything you don't want to just walk away, there are plenty of more beads just a few steps away.

A Jazz club whose name I forget...

Besides the Mardi Gras craziness there are plenty of good live music spots you can check out.

My beads! Didn't do anything too embarrassing for them... I think...

 Day Time Parade! Snagged me a Zulu Coconut!

My favorite part of Mardi Gras was actually all the cool costumes I saw! People go all out for their costumes! And the general mood of happiness and celebration was amazing too! It truly is an awesome whole town kind of party.

Crazy Fun Costumes!

The Best photo I have that shows the vibe, the energy of the streets.

Live street music, and yup, the girl on the left is playing the saw!

The Drum Cart! 3 set of drums, 1 bbq grill and one platform for a drunken satyr! Awesome!

My only problem with Mardi Gras was that it was so much fun you forget to enjoy the other goodies that the city offers. If you have a chance to go to Mardi Gras definitely go. It is a lot of fun! Oh and if you want some Mardi Gras beads, I'm coming back with a bag full :o)

Dallas! Family and Aquarium!

The drive up to Dallas was pretty interesting. I knew I was going to be driving next to snow covered roads but I wasn't expecting to do so in Texas! Apparently I missed an epic snow storm by few days!

Ummm... Dallas?

I was not planning to do any climbing in Dallas, although there are quite a few gyms in the area, including a converted silo that boast the claim of tallest indoor climbing wall in North America. Instead since I was visiting my cousin in Dallas I decided to treat it as a long rest days. Everybody on my trip has been nice and friendly but there was a comfort that can only come from staying with good friends or family. They fed me well, I rested plenty, watched the Olympics and even got to go to the aquarium!

My cousin and his wife in front of the Dallas Aquarium

The one thing to know about the Dallas Aquarium is, well... It's more of a zoo/aquarium hybrid. There is probably more space dedicated to birds than the fishes.

Is that a monkey in my aquarium?

You first enter into a green house of sorts that is filled with birds and monkeys that are free to roam around. It's pretty cool. You feel like you are in a safari, you are constantly looking around to spot the various birds and monkeys.

My Cousin and Me 

Ducks and Water Falls

 

Funky looking bird you can feed!

 Flamingos

 Bats!

The aquarium portion wasn't the biggest or the most extensive but it was fun an varied. You get to see the sharks, jellyfishes, funky looking seahorses and even a manatee!

 

Shark Tunnel!

Funky Fish with the Glassy Eyes

Sea Turtles, Gigantic Fishes and Manatees!

 

Jellyfish

 

Seahorse!

I think the place could be a tad cheaper but it was a good time for all! If you are looking for something to do in Austin definitely put the aquarium on your list.

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Snow's BBQ - Best BBQ in Texas?

I was talking to my friend Chris over the phone when he mentioned that the supposedly best BBQ in Texas was located near Austin. After some research I found out that Snow's BBQ in Lexington, TX was selected by the Texas Monthly as the best BBQ in Texas in 2008. There are a lot of good BBQs in Texas so that's a pretty bold claim. I decided to check it out.

Snow's BBQ

My journey to Snow's started in 7am in the morning. Why so early you ask? It's because Snow's BBQ in only open on Sat. from 8am till the meat is gone. The brisket has been known to run out at as soon as 10am! To make sure I get my meat I got an early start. The hour long drive was fairly uneventful besides the thick fog and my GPS freaking out when it thought I was driving on nothing... But I made it!

Mmmm... Meat...

I got there around 8:45AM and there was already a line and after I stood in line the line got even longer! I ordered my meat by pound but you can choose the plates, which comes with sides.

My Meaty Breakfast

I ended up ordering approximately .5lb of brisket, 1 sausage link, 1/4lb of pork ribs, 1/4lb of pork, coleslaw and red beans. The red beans are complimentary and can be picked up from a vat on the side. The first thing I tried was the brisket. My first bite was delicious. Besides the layer of fat on the outside a lot of fat seems to have been melted in to the meat itself. I found the fattier pieces of the brisket better than the leaner ones. The leaner sections seemed a tad dry. I think I prefer the brisket without the BBQ sauce. The sauce is sweet with a slight tanginess. The sausage was pretty tasty but nothing too amazing. The ribs were good but I think I preferred the Salt Lick's ribs. The pork slices also were good but nothing too amazing. The beans were a tad too salty for my taste but was a good break between the fatty meats.

So was it the best BBQ in Texas? Well, yes and no. The briskets were the best I have tasted in recent memory but everything else was good but not the best. Would I recommend you make a pilgrimage just for Snow's BBQ? I would say so only if you are around the 1hr-ish area.

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Austin Bouldering! Well... Indoor Bouldering - Austin Rock Gym North

I was hoping to be bouldering outdoors but the weather was not willing to cooperate. It was generally cold and rainy. I decided I still want to get some climbing in so I decided to go to the Austin Rock Gym. There are two gyms. The South gym is meant more for rope climbs and the north gym is meant more for bouldering. So I headed out to the North gym for a day of bouldering.

Austin Rock Gym North

When you are on N Lamar St look for the a toner store. The sign for the toner store is more visible. When you get in to the complex make a left and keep going till you see the gym.
The staff at the gym was very friendly and helpful but the gym itself was... well...

Signs of wear and tear...

The gym seemed to be a bit run down. Unlike the pristine pictures from their website <link> everything was falling apart. The padded floor was tearing and the foam from below was scattered all over the gym. Not a huge deal but still, after seeing the website photos it seemed almost like false advertising. And that's not all.

When I first went to their website one of the things that really intrigued me was the really tall over hanging wall. It showed that the landing was protected with a padded wall that ran almost parallel to the climbing wall (5th picture from the top on their site). Seemed like a real cool unique feature that I have not seen at too many gyms. But the reality was a bit disappointing to say the least...

The Padded Wall?

The wall was completely torn apart! I asked the guy who was working at the gym if they were going through a renovation and he told me that they weren't. Bummer. The top area of the middle boulder was also a complete mess too.
So how about the climbs? The climbs were o.k. There seemed to be a huge gap between the V3 and the V4 climbs. V3s being really easy and the V4s being a lot harder. A lot of the routes seemed to have some very odd sequences too.
I would not recommend climbing at this gym if you can find any other climbing options. Maybe the South gym is better maintained but I did not have time to go to both. A day pass will get you into both gyms.

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Austin - Salt Lick BBQ, Driftwood

My morning started out with a bit of a bummer. My car battery was dead! Thankfully my parents graciously got me a AAA membership right before I left. The AAA guy was originally from San Diego and was very friendly. Just remember that if you need your batteries completely replaced the AAA guy is convenient but it will end up costing you a bit more.
Once I was mobile once more I started my journey to Salt Lick BBQ in Driftwood.

Welcome to the Salt Lick BBQ

There are 2 Salt Lick BBQ locations but people insisted that I should go to the original Driftwood location. If you are in the southern Austin Area the drive should not be too bad. The sign can be easy to miss so keep your eyes open for it. I even had a GPS and I missed it and had to turn around.

The Pit!

Once you come inside the structure you are greeted with a view of the BBQ Pit. It is an awesome sight of meats galore. If you ask nicely they will let you come into the the cooking area to see the pit.
Now for the main show. The BBQ! I got the combo pack. The combo was $9.95 with beef briskets, sausages and pork ribs. The meal also came with beans, potato salad and coleslaw and some bread.

The delicious combo plate!

The Pork Ribs were pretty good. The Ribs had a sweetness even without the sauce. It reminded me a little of Chinese style pork. The Briskets were tasty with just enough fat to add flavor without being too fatty. The sausages were my least favorite of the bunch but still good. All the sides were pretty solid. The BBQ sauce itself was fairly tangy. The waiter saw me abusing the hot sauce and brought me some chipotle bbq sauce. I thought it was a good sauce but I think I prefer the normal sauce just a tad more.

I'm not sure why but I like posting the aftermath photos :o)

As you can see I ate everything up. I was fairly full but I saw the freshly baked pecan pies. As some people might know I'm a sucker for the pecan pies. When I got my pecan pie it was still warm and was topped off with a vanilla ice cream. The pie was very good! The pecans were baked with an almost caramelized cover. I was so stuffed but it was worth it!
I highly recommend Slat Licks BBQ, Driftwood! And if you are particularly hungry they have all you can eat specials for 14.95 on Mon~Friday till 4pm. That's a steal!

Austin - Kerbey Lane Cafe South

After a long day of driving to get to Austin I finally had a chance to get dinner! My couch surfing host Brina told me to go check out a local favorite called Kerbey Lane Cafe.
When I walked in it didn't seem that different than other cafes. The menu was a mix of Tex Mex and standard Diner food. As I often do when I get to a new restaurant, especially one where I have no previous knowledge of. The waiter was very friendly and recommended the Pear and Bacon Grilled Cheese Sandwich. The description goes,

It sounded awesome and it tasted even better! This is usually where I would insert the picture of the food but in my hunger delirium I ate it before I could get a photo! But let me tell you it was one of the best grilled cheese I ever had! The best one I ever had was definitely the one that Hot Knives served at the Grilled Cheese Invitationals. But that was a ridiculous grilled cheese with cave aged cheese grilled by the Grilled Cheese Masters. But besides that I think this was the best I ever had. The sweetness of the pear went very well with the saltiness of the cheese and the bacon. The kicker was the garlic basil aioli that added the garlicy flavor without being too over powering. Delicious! The home fries that came on the side was not bad but was nothing too special. The sad thing is this grilled cheese was listed on the menu as a seasonal menu! If you are in the area go eat one now! You won't regret it. Two thumbs way up for Kerbey Lane Cafe! 

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Hueco Tanks Bowling!

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As I mentioned in the previous post I took a half day of climbing and decided to join Val and crew bowling. The draw besides the bowling was the Cheap drinks!
The skinny on the Bowling Alley is that they have an arcade and even a roller coaster! The roller coaster was not in operations while I was there but I can't imagine it would be that much fun. The ball selection is pretty bad but the lanes seem to be in good condition.
As far as I can tell they have a special bowling deal everyday besides Wed. I think the most important ones to remember is $1 mini beer all day Monday and $1 mini Tecate after 7pm Tuesday.
I was all loopy from being so tired from all the climbing so adding some $1 beer to the equation certainly did not help my game but it still was tons of fun. Good folks, good bowling, and cheap beers = win! Check out the bowling alley if you need something fun to do on your rest day.

Hueco Tanks Bouldering! - Day 6 North Mountain

 The warm up, the name escapes me at the moment...

 After 2 days of awesome climbing I was dead tired and my muscles were pretty sore. Ideally I would have just used the day as a rest day but it was my last day in Hueco Tanks! All my climbing crew was taking a rest day so I ventured into the park solo. My goal was not necessarily to send any hard problems but check out some of the classic problems I have yet to see. There are so many quality problems that a weeks worth of time is not enough to climb everything you want. People say there is a lifetime worth of problems at Hueco.
The first noteworthy problem I tried was a V4 called the Bloody Flapper. I assume it was named that because of the very sharp "tooth" you need to start off on. Or it could be the real course sand paper like hold a few moves up. Either way I couldn't send it! It seemed like an o.k. climb but I wasn't too thrilled about it. It is not on my "must do next trip" list I started assembling. Next stop was the Martini Roof!

Baby Martini V6

The Martini Roof is the host of an awesomely fun climb called the Baby Martini V6. The climb consist of big juggy huecos that you climb completely upside down. I worked out and through many of the moves but I still could not get past through one of the cruxes. The whole climb might be a V6 but parts of the climb can range from V1 to V6. So I recommend everybody visiting Hueco Tanks to check it out. It's a lot of fun even if you don't complete it. A pure classic climb :o)

The next climb I checked out was The Lobster Claw.

The unofficial marker to the entrance of the Lobster Claw.

To access the Lobster Claw you need to go up the chains, make a right and follow the rocks till you see the "MOUSIE AdAME" Graffiti. Enter through the cave right of it and be prepared to do some squeezing through.

Lobster Claw V5

The Lobster Claw is a pretty cool V5. It is also known as the problem with the infinite betas. There are so many ways to climb the problem everybody seems to have different betas. While I was there I climbed with few fellow boulderers and we all had different Beta. I had to do the climb many times before I worked out the lower portion of the climb and then "stole" another persons beta for the upper portion of the climb. The upper portion of the climb was easier for me when I did it in a dynamic throw rather than the static controlled reach. I could do the climb in segments but had no juice to string the moves all together. The Lobster Claw is definitely making my "must do next trip" list.
I was so tired I did not climb all day. I took a half day and went to meet up with Val and crew to go bowling! All in all a no send day but it was a fun day for sure. I'll get some of those climbs next time!

Hueco Tanks Bouldering! - Day 5 North Mountain

The day started off with a cell phone lost scare, a false scare and a cracked windshield... So I was hoping my climbing day would go much better than how my morning started.

Oh hai~! I be a chip in your windshield!

I met up with the posse at the warm up Boulder. Not too surprisingly there were a good amount of people gathered to climb there. I only really did one new climb at the wall, The Butter Dish V2. When you go up for the right hand you will understand why that name is so suitable. The hold is a super polished. At the Warm Up Boulder we met Val, a student from Australia. She joined us for the rest of the day. 

  

T-Bone Shuffle V4

We next moved on to the T-Bone Shuffle V4. This was a fun climb with a crazy beta. The crux which is the far reach to the Hueco. This can be done as a dyno or it can be done the way you can see in the photo. You get your left foot out far out and do a drop knee. Crank the down knee real hard, as Marco said it best "Beyond what you think you can". It's a pretty cool climb.

 

Asylum Crack V3

The next climb we tried was Asylum Crack V3. The problem is a long sustained crack. One of the harder move especially if you are tall is trying to not dab on the rock behind you. I personally didn't have too much trouble getting past the rock behind me but still could not finish the climb. I even lost a good chunk of skin when my right hand popped out. None of our crew finished the climb but there was a girl from France, a super strong climber that flashed it! She even shook her hands out on some crappy holds. It was pretty impressive. 

Chris taking a break from the Gums.

On our way to the "main event", Sign of the Cross, we passed by a crimpy slabby problem called the Gums V2. This was a cool climb but it had a bit of a funky landing issue. Since there was a rock slab behind us we ended up hanging 2 sets of crash pads behind the climber. I luckily flashed the problem and did not have to test out the pads. Chris had to put his foot on the other rock when he needed a break. Good thing he's tall or he might be going the splits!

Me starting at Sign of the Cross V3

Finally we made it to the Sign of the Cross V3. Most people consider it a stiff V3. I did manage to flash it but it wasn't easy. I had to do one of those climbing by will power of not letting go once I touched the hold. I would highly recommend this climb to anybody who wants to climb the upper limits of a V3. And although I don't have a photo of it Pete had an awesome send at the very last moment! It was pretty sweet.

 

Val attempting Sign of the Cross

 

 Marco and John looking all Zen

Since we had some extra time we decided to go checkout one of Val's Favorites. I believe she was a fan of the See Sharp V6 but I tried the climb right next to it called the Be Flat V4. The holds are pretty small and crimpy but they are actually very good when you stick them. I'm glad I tried it. It was fun and I added another V4 flash into my climbing records!

Be Flat V4

After Be Flat, we didn't have that much time left but we couldn't help ourselves from trying this one move wonder dyno. I still can't figure out what the climb is called and what it is rated but it was a fun dyno that wasn't as ridiculous as some of the other dynos I've seen. It was definitely a fun climb to end the day.

Sticking the Dyno!
It was without a doubt an awesome day of climbing.