The stars at night...are big and bright!

I'm here in the heart of Texas; and from what I have more or less been told by locals not only will I be priveldged to live in the best dern state in the US (and the world for that matter) but I will be living in the best dern city in the best dern state; of course I am refering to the city of Austin. And damn it! I ought to be mighty proud of it!

One thing I have learned while I've been here is that I can still use terms that I once thought as merely cliche or too stereotypical for Texas like y'all, folks, kin to, mighty fine, yonder ways (more to come I am sure). Another thing to keep in mind is that since this is "big country" every place in this state that has a claim to fame is named "The (famous thing) Country". For example. There is a place with lots of hills in North Austin. Of course, that is called "The Hill Country". If you're driving by a town with lots of cows and make a comment, the local will be sure to take the opportunity to let you know you are driving through "Cattle Country". And so on. Though one of the most valuable things I have learned is that they have a social system set up down here that can bail you out of any poorly timed or potentially offensive comment in a conversation. The secret is that all you need to do is end the conversation with a "Well...God bless ya".

I must say that I am feeling that these Texans are onto something with this whole "Texas Pride" thing. There are truly lots of superior things here. I mean check out the size of this watermelon.

They're pretty tasty, juicy too.

Of course, these pictures were taken in a place called Luling that grows really great watermelon. Indeed, Luling is also known as "Watermelon Country". In fact, they even have a good and proper holiday for the fine fruits grown out here. It's called "The Watermelon Thump". It is supposed to be really something for this town of 5,000. I am only sad that I am going to miss the crowing of the "Watermelon Thump Queen" as Matt and I will not have moved yet.

And my oh my. Smoked BBQ is no joke with these folks. It's really something. Notice the orange hard-hat. I think it's for real. These guys were like maryrs for Americana working with these smoke pits. The thermometer read well over 90 degrees in there.

More to come...